which cheap boat?

[yater]

I'm looking for something that I'll use for a little bass/crappie fishing, duck hunting, and hopefully some brackish water redfishing (Louisiana style). At one point, I had a 14' alumacraft jon boat with an 8hp yamaha...this was a great setup for occasional lake fishing and especially duck hunting. I'm wondering how it would fare in the tidal (inland) waters along the coast. There can be some nasty swirls and currents at times but I've never tried redfishing in a flatbottom. I will more than likely splurge for a new 2stroke 8-15hp motor for piece of mind. I've also considered the smaller whalers (13') but the price gets up there quick and they won't do for hunting. In short...does anyone safely use a smaller flatbottom for inland saltwater (brackish) fishing?

 

[11 footer]

Re: which cheap boat?

Why won't a whaler be good for hunting?<br /><br />You can't beat a 13' with for stability, I think one would make a great hunting boat. 13'BW is they are more expensive then an aluminum, and you'll want at least 25 hp to get decent performance. You can find a pretty nice older one with old or bad power for around two grand, and it WILL hold its value, unlike the others mentioned.<br /><br />Disclaimer,<br />I have two whalers, an 11' and a 17', so naturally I'm a bit bias.

 

[yater]

Re: which cheap boat?

I'm sure I could make a whaler work but I don't think $2000 will snag one around here.

 

[11 footer]

Re: which cheap boat?

Check the local papers, sometimes old ones, from the 60's and early 70's sell as bare hull in need of minor work cheap

 

[yater]

Re: which cheap boat?

Well I think I may get my old 14' flatbottom back! I sold it to a friend a few years ago and he says it's just sitting in the back yard. I'll still look for a relatively new 8 or 9.9hp for it. I've done some searching on the texas and louisiana fishing forums and plenty of guys are running these little boats in the coastal marshes for specs and reds....just in case anyone else wants to know

 

[Realgun]

Re: which cheap boat?

If'n you go make darn sure you have all the safety equipment you need. And a VHF radio would not hurt. I would not worry to much however just keep an eye on the weather.