Re: The Guns That Weren't There
top notch story telling, and a great story to boot. If I weren't a fisherman first, I'd love to have a boat like that, or many of the other wooden boats out there.
Thanks! But I should point out that these old boats were -- and still are -- perfectly good boats, suitable for fishing, skiing, whatever.
I understand that some folks are inclined to turn old, wooden boats into trailer queens, but they're perfectly usable. We use the Whirlwind for fishing, tubing and touring. It's completely reliable and doesn't leak a drop.
And here's a secret...
If you're willing put a _small_ amount of sweat equity into an old boat, you can save a _large_ amount of money versus buying a new boat.
A new, 16-17 foot fiberglass boat -- a quality brand with trailer, motor, et al -- is going to sell for $15,000 to $20,000.
Conversely -- considering the original purchase, trade, upgrades, repairs, et al -- I probably have about $12,000 in the 16-foot Whirlwind. It has modern amenities, like a marine radio, depthfinder and GPS. There's plenty of storage space for rods and gear. It starts with a push of a button. The molded plywood hull will take wave pounding far better than any fiberglass hull and won't fry you like an aluminum hull.
Yes, it is down on horsepower. It has 40 horses whereas a modern boat in the same size would probably have 75-100 horses.
However, since the wooden hull is so much lighter than a fiberglass hull, the speed differential is not as great as you might expect. I have a 10 pitch prop on the boat now and have a top speed around 24 mph. Not blazing, but adequate for most uses.
There are liabilities... Motor parts, while generally available, tend to be expensive. Everything -- the hull, the motor, the trailer -- needs to be monitored more closely than with a modern boat.
But yesterday, in a three hour buzz around the lake, we must have had two dozen people come up and tell us how much they love the boat.
That made it all worthwhile
Thanks!
Dave
