new member question/opinion

[munsterrr]

irst off i just want to say hey from NC and happy easter ladies and gents.

i have been looking at various forums and have been asking around.

i am brand new to this hobby(which looks more like a lifestyle) and am looking to purchase my first boat here.

im looking to spend no more than 3000$ right now just being its my first boat and this one will be the learning experience(take it apart and learn all the small things) and i dont want to be pissed if i tear it up.

ive been looking at this one site http://www.laniermarine.net/ and it looks like a great place to aquire a starter boat


to make a long story short does anyone have an opinion on this company and does this http://usedboatyard.com/usedboat/198...aft_28567.html look like a good deal to you more experienced boaters?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: new member question/opinion

Boat don't look bad.
Can't say much on the i/o stuff as I do not know much about them.
Please take a boat safety course.
Welcome to iboats.
You will get plenty answers here.

 

[munsterrr]

Re: new member question/opinion

yea i dont know much about boats either but im sure ill be asking tons of questions around here.

i didnt think the boat looked bad either my wife wants this pontoon though so we are fighting about that

http://usedboatyard.com/usedboat/1985Harris_28175.html

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: new member question/opinion

If the floor and stuff has not been re-done on it, then it more than likely has rot and would have to be replaced.
Don't know about that one, but mine is all aluminum so I don't worry about that and it's a '84 model Funtoon.

 

[munsterrr]

Re: new member question/opinion

i look forward to spending the time/money to put work into a boat. thats how i want to learn. and i could make things my own way.

 

[steelespike]

Re: new member question/opinion

First check and see if the I/O is an OMC if it is pass.
I/Os have their good points.Quiet,smooth,Engine is familiar to most as it is based on an automotive engine,But there are drawbacks,Engine takes up room in boat,stern heavy,hole shot can be sluggish,High maintenance;2 pumps,universals,gimbles,bellows,occasional exhaust riser failures,awkward oil changes,more involved winterizing.they have a motor that is not intirely happy in a marine application.
Outboards are lighter,generally have a better hole shot,easier to work on
less complicated.simple winterizing,no oil changes( 2 stroke)Are designed spicifically for marine use.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: new member question/opinion

Plus should be able to find something useable with that money if you shop locally. Good luck

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: new member question/opinion

If you need a lesson you can come work on my boat!

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: new member question/opinion

Munsterr, The first boat you posted does not include the trailer, I assume you will need one. Will prolly break your budget.

Sounds like your wife and you may have different ideas. That 24' toon will have al lot more room, but it doesn't say anything about the motor size or year.

Keep looking, and let us know more about what you want the boat to do (fishing, cruising, watersports, etc.) and folks will be very helpful.

 

[pduquette]

Re: new member question/opinion

Hi munsterrr welcome aboard!
Isent you a P.M. (click the top right corner of your title block)

 

[Silvertip]

Re: new member question/opinion

I strongly suggest an outboard for a first boat. If you love the engine but the boat is a piece, you can keep the engine and sell the boat. If you love the boat but the engine is a piece you can part out the engine and sell it on e-bay and install whatever you like. With an I/O you can do neither. They are hard to work on. Their only advantage in my view is they are a little sexier to look at. An outboard you can stand along side to work on. An I/0 you either have someone else do the work or you spend lots of time on your gut cussing. Been there and done that - ain' going to happen no more.

 

[munsterrr]

Re: new member question/opinion

i can find a trailer around here for less cheap. this whole area is a fishing community(sneads ferry/camp lejeune NC). im starting to think that too after reading alot of what people have said. i wouldnt be too upset at all with a pontoon.

like people have said outboards are easier to work on and all that goodness. ive seen some crazy outboarded boats so if i really want to i guess i could just do what silvertip said and part it out.

i guess realistically i would be happy with both purchases. originally i was going to get a pontoon anyways(other friends have fast boats, i was gonna have the chill party boat they could dock to kinda thing) but going fast is fun too

 

[JB]

Re: new member question/opinion

EEK!!

Spinner called it a floor!!.

Boats do not have floors, they have decks.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: new member question/opinion

I strongly suggest an outboard for a first boat. .

I "more than strongly" agree, and will come over there and take yer beer away if ya do somthing else.
Search Craigslist for local buys..look for anything about 18 feet..with an older Johnson....and ya good to go. No Bayliner Force, or any I/O.
Or you learn too darn quick of "why did I do this?"
After 50 years, (own 4 boats).thought I needed a big 5000# I/O. First I'O.
For sale....and never an I/O again, unless ya like spending for time in the "doghouse", as compared "helm".....go OB Johnson..'nuff said..

 

[munsterrr]

Re: new member question/opinion

closer to the toon boat

 

[wca_tim]

Re: new member question/opinion

sooo.... where are you lookin to go boating? You got some of the best water there is within a short drive... and could do anything from offshore to the skinny water up behind swansboro and emerals isle... little further East and you're on the back side of the outer banks, etc... if youw atch the weather, doesn't take a lot of boat to make the trip out to Cape Lookout. Righwhere you're at, there's absolutely a million private little islands and beaches as well as beautiful water up the river... not far to the Neuse either.

That being said... a LOT of the water is going to be brackish or downright salty... much would not be a lot of fun on a pontoon boat... I would think you might want something built for all around, that would cover distance without taking forever... that was made out of fiberglass... not metal (aluminum dissolves in salt water eventually), definately an outboard, say minimum of 25 or 30 mph cruising speed, would think it owuld be nice to have something big enough to handle a little water. I do hear what you're saying about friends with "fast" boats... but it does kinda suck when everyone else want's to go play and you can't tag along, nor leave yours behind... ya know? I wholheartedly agree on the outboard.

After saying all that, there was a time when I covered every bit of the distance between swansboro and cape lookout more than a few times in a little aluminum 17 foot with a johnson 35 horse on it... fishing the salt marshes, inlets turning basin up by Beaufort, playing up in the river(s), day trips out to Shackleford and Cape Lookout, flounder gigging, camping out on Bear Island, ... oh, and it did eventualy kinda start to dissolve in the salt water...

I'm sure we'll be down that way playing some this summer, that whole area (from about where you are to 50 or 60 miles east) is one of my favorite places to play on the water.. and it's been way too long since I've been down that way. Thanks for the reminder.

Echo the above on boating safety course...
and be careful buying stuff round there... If I remember right, although there are some really reputable dealers around, not everyone ya meat in that neck of the woods worries much about the fate of someone they sell a boat to...

Also, don't forget that boats aren't selling too well these days... and you'll have an awful lot to choose from. No need to be in a big hurry.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: new member question/opinion

EEK!!

Spinner called it a floor!!.

Boats do not have floors, they have decks.

Sorry JB, I'm an ol redneck and about anything we walk on is a floor.

 

[munsterrr]

Re: new member question/opinion

alright well after that nice long explanation of my surrounding area i am leaning more torwards a bowrider kind of boat.

ive been out on the water around here a few times and have found alot of fun places to go catch a huge variety of animals, site see, or just cruise around. there definatly is alot around here.

 

[Silverado6x6]

Re: new member question/opinion

Good luck finding your boat, I mean it.
I too am new here and i thought i would jump in and say that I too am looking to buy a boat, in my case I live in Alaska and I have a well paid seasonal job, I'm not rich enough to buy a half million dollar yacht but I could finance up to $100,000 but I prefer to stay away from the payment plan thing, I just paid off my 2002 Silverado dually and this next winter I plan on taking another vacation in Florida, last time I rented a vacation rental for a month for the family.

Soooo, I will then spend time looking for a boat, I've been on Craigslist for over a week now and have found some amazing deals for some big boats like over 30' which is what I want,many are under 5K with better ones though older still under 15K, what I prefer is a bit of a fixer upper,over 30' but under 60' hurricane salvage or just a lucky deal, I plan to avoid salesmen if possible and just have at least 5K cash available because that speaks best, I plan to do liveaboard for at least 4 months the year maybe 6, the rest I will find summer storage or a slip with someone to check on it, I'm 51 a master mechanic and a fabricator plus I drive concrete mixers, in a few more years I may retire anyway. Alaska in the winter is getting to be a drag, its at least 6 months long.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: new member question/opinion

we happen to have a young member who lives in Dawsonville, or near there, i believe. going to send him a PM to look at this. as far as Lanier is concerned see the boat before you buy. they are a junk yard. they have good and bad.