Need info on a good used boat.

[coralee]

Thinking of getting into something with a bit more room and looking for info. What would you recommend based on the following criteria:

Around 20'

Fuel efficient (love my 4 stroke kicker)

Comfortable

Some sort of top possibly a hard top?? Would like to keep the rain and sun off my head!

Storage room.

Easy towing and launching

Able to ride and fish in 3' seas if needed

Fishablility mostly Salmon in Lake MI

I have an 18' glass boat that does well but its a bit to small and has no storage space or room to kick back so to speak.

anything else I should consider?

What boat(s) should I be keeping any eye out for?

Thank you for your input:thumb:

[1mainiac]

Mine may be on the market this spring plenty of room for 4 or 5 guys to fish and will handle more water than either of us want to fish in. Avg fishing trip is 12 to 15gal of gas. full canvas cabin with stand up head and a sink and water plus wash down in the back. Rear deck is completely flat has been a good boat for me. It is a 26ft Four Winns.

[KJ pluggin]

I really depends on how much your looking to spend... If it's an option I would look into something like the boat in this thread.

[RedRider]

try here http://boats.oodle.com/j_srxx_/3222560774-22339u448,28/boats.oodle.com___yuaZyJhd50V4Y0QQhALUVVb2kvnU9rYETZqpj2j2oogy96gc-GEbPz5_5Wg95hETVjWIwTssQZYx8MQt3dY6FH-0qN0pbdA1DKDNVjWon4Dd_ulvdAdYOE6uTu2yXiJuZZeakkGLT3I_GbZHtM2KaDizfVcjvJTTS6tI7ZmXR9kmOuV8SG5xnQ,,

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Boat trader is always a great source of info. on any boat size, and yes, like Jim says, I highly recommend a 26' boat or greater size for the big lake, money?, or safety?, that's each individual's decision to make. It could just save lives in the end, money can always be made later, and it's a buyers market right now on any size boat.

[1mainiac]

The reason mine may be for sale is I am hoping to get a bigger boat they are cheap and everywhere. I have found several 32 to 36ft boats I can own for less than I owe on mine and I don't owe all that much on mine. Last I knew GLF's boat was still for sale and is a pretty good fishing boat as well.

[sherman51]

this spring im going to have a great deal on a boat. it is winterized right now and i want to leave it that way. but heres the story. i bought a 1986 28 ft sea ray amberjack. it has a bimina top with complete inclosure. it has been upgraded with twin 4.3 mpi 6 cylenders, with the inclosed water system. im not sure when these were installed. i put it in the shop and said i want it water ready. it got 2 new alternators 2 new belts 1 new raw water pump, 1 new starter. i took it to lake erie and it did good untill i lost fire to the right engine. it just died. took it back to the camp ground and checked it out. it wasnt getting any fire. i started playing around with all the plugs on the motor. then just out of the blue hit the starter and it fired right up. we took the boat back out fishing and it ran good. then we went out and fished all day and everything went good. we started back in and went about 2 miles and it died just like i turned the key off.

we didnt even pull the motor covers. took it home and parked it, was planning on checking it out and getting it running. but i had other things going on. so i took it in and had it winterized and the lower unit oil changed. i was going to get it running this summer. then the 10th of may my little brother died. he was my driver and my best friend. then about a week later my next best friend died. these were the guys i fish with. so i just lost interest in the boat. i had already bought a new coil and a new distributor for it. and had bought 2 brand new 4 blade props for it. i still havent touched it.

a coon got in the bathroom and tore some rubber down. but it didnt get in the cabin. my son told me it had got in the engine compartment and tore the vent hoses but didnt look like anything elce was hurt.

i talked to a mercruiser tech and told him how the motor had done. he said it sounded like the main wiring harness plug had come loose. he said it happens all the time, and it was an easy fix. so this next spring i am going to get out there and get this motor running. the back on the drivers seat is broken and it needs replaced. the boat could use just alittle tlc, but its going to make somebody an awesome big water boat.

its setting on a brand new trailer that costed the dealer 4000.00. i believe the engine is an easy fix, and i plan to get it fixed in the spring as soon as i know it wont freeze after i get it running.

I,VE JUST LOST ALL INTEREST IN THIS BOAT ALONG WITH THE CREW I PLANED TO FISH WITH. I JUST WANT TO RECOUP SOME OF MY MONEY. I WILL PROBABLY SELL THE BOAT AND TRAILER FOR 4500.00.

i did offer it to one guy for the value of the trailer without batteries the way it is for 3500.00 and if the right engine turned out to be something major all he had to do was bring it back and i would refund his money for 10 days. then it was as is. but this would be plenty of time to check it out and get it running. it could just be as simple as cleaning a wire or just making sure the wires were pluged up. if its the coil it comes with a brand new coil. it comes with a brand new complete distributor. it could be something as simple as the shift safety switch bad. but it is electrical.

if you think you might be interested in it this spring you can pm me. if your really interested in it you can pm me your email address and i will send some pictures.

sherman

[coralee]

Thanks for all the replays so far, I'll be checking them all out. Red Rider I could not get your link to work. Those boats from Calumet Marine are awesome and I see they have a 20' hardtop also but most likely out of my price range. One reason I want to stay a bit smaller is I often fish alone and don't know about launching and retrieving a larger/heavier boat. I'm not interested in fishing all day with a backache. I'll keep the safety issue in mind plus I know bigger allows more fishing days when otherwise I'd be sitting at home.

Thanks also for info on boats for sale. I'll keep them in mind as I get more info and decide which way to pursue. Maybe I can be talked into a larger boat but for now gas consumption will be a factor. Can a kicker be added to a 26' boat?

[coralee]

Sherman. Thanks for the offer and I don't know if by spring I may have a change of heart but for now I don't think I would be interested in going to that big of a boat. I'm going to try to keep it a bit smaller for now.

Thank you

[mattmishler]

. Can a kicker be added to a 26' boat?

The Win-n-Angle has a 60hp kicker on the back of their 31 blackfin. It takes lot to push them big fiberglass boats, can you put a kicker on it, yes. If you in rough seas, running both/the big motor is going to be a must.

[mriversinco]

I love how every time (me included) people post looking for a boa, others put up those hewescrafts. Nice boats... yes, but they're way out of most weekend fisherman's price range. Don't get me wrong, they sure look awesome but starting at their prices and the sky is the limit for the additional stuff they are only in the picture for people looking for new boats. To help the op, I'd say there's a ton of boats from 5k on up that would work very well.

When I was looking, I made the decision to get a 24' aluminum boat because I figured my truck could pull a 20-22' glass boat, or a 24' metal boat without taxing the truck too much. I thought the bigger boat was better at cost of ride in the waves. For you, it's entirely your decision on that but I'd start looking around and getting ideas. The more boats you can go see, the better you can make a decision. Start with craigslist in your area and go check them out to start getting informed.

Feel free to pm me if you want actual ideas of brands and make/models since it's tough to post everything on a site.

[Paulywood]

I think that the biggest factor in what kind of boat people are going to recommend is your price range. If you are looking for boats under $5k then that is a whole different kind of boat than if you have a $20k budget, or more. If you are looking for a trailerable boat then a boat like Jim's (26') is going to be about as big as you want to go. In my opinion the ride on a fiberglass boat is much better than an aluminum boat. But they are heavier to tow. I have towed a friends 26' Islander (hardtop) and didn't notice any difference between towing it and my boat (22' Sportcraft). It is also a good idea to try and get out on a few different boats and see how they ride and fish. To be honest, I don't really fish in any worse weather now than I did with my previous boat, a 22' bowrider. It's just not than fun. If you give people an idea about a budget range and style then you might get some more concrete ideas. Oh, and have fun with the boat search. I actually enjoyed it.

[1mainiac]

Like Nick said I don't fish in much worse weather with the 26ft than I did with the 18 it replaced. I am however much more comfortable doing it and can run wide open in stuff I used to have to slow down for. If I get a bigger boat it will to have something my wife can go out in on decent days so I am looking at some pretty heavy and wide boats. And when the weather is nice we will take Steve's 17 and save the gas money. Going from the 18 to the 26 gained me about 5 fishing days a year but it also got my wife to fish with me for 3 years. Since her accident she has not set foot on the boat I am hoping something bigger may get her back out fishing again.

[coralee]

Well as far as dollar amount I am not set on that yet but figure it will either be a higher cost boat to get the fuel efficient 4 stroke motor(s) or a cheaper boat that likes to drink. I'm leaning toward putting more into the investment up front and being able to afford to fish when I have less or no income then to put 100 in gas in every time. Sorry for being vague but I need more info before I can narrow things down. I still am leaning toward 19-22' long with either a 4 stroke main motor or at least a 4 stroke kicker but these comments have me thinking about bigger now. I might even consider new but I think there are good deals on used out there. I do appreciate all the input.

[perchjerker]

I really, really do like my Grady White Adventure 208

Its a little on the small side, but its easy to tow, rides very nice and I can launch it myself.

A good custom trailer like I have is worth its weight in gold. Loads perfect every time.

If I could change anything I would repower with something more fuel efficient, but the old Johnson 200 just keeps ticking. I wont replace it until it dies

[1mainiac]

I guess one thing I have looked at hard is can I even use a boat enough to see the fuel savings yes it costs more to take my 26ft out every trip. But I have only been skunked 3 times in the 5 years I have owned it. 5 dollar a gal gas has driven it up to roughly 100 bucks a trip so if there are 4 of us on the boat it is 25 bucks ea for gas which is not bad. When I bought the boat 10 to 15 bucks ea was plenty. Most of my fuel is running in and out trolling does not cost much so when I can I try and troll back to port gives us more fishing time and cuts down on the run in. I may or may not keep mine another year it depends on what happens over the winter and what I decide in the spring. However if it were not for my wife's neck injuries I would fish it till I am too old to fish anymore. It is simple to upkeep and most parts are fairly cheap it is also something I can work on because it is a Chevy engine. My plan before my wife was hurt was to upgrade to fuel injection and electronic ignition which would cut down on the fuel used. The point to much of this is find 2 similar boats you like one with a older motor and one with a high efficiency motor and compare fuel burn rates you will see why mine has not already been upgraded. Because it takes about 260hp to push my boat 40mph on flat water at 24 gph of gas. The 3 thousand dollar upgrade might cut it to 22 gph of gas. At a 3000 rpm cruise my boat is about 14gph at 28mph the upgrade would cut it to about 12 gph or about a .3 mpg increase. which means if my math in my head is right about 9000 miles to break even I might put 300 miles a year on the boat in cruising which to me means 30 years to break even. There are however other advantages which come into play.

So when you look at it you really have to consider TCO because some times less really is more. To put it another way if I had my choice and it was just me I would be looking at a 26ft Hewes Craft with twin Honda's. To me it is nearly the perfect big water combo easy on gas great fishing platform. However the boat I will likely buy is a older 10m Trojan here is why the Hewes will be close to 90 grand by the time it is setup and my wife will never fish on it. The Trojan is 20 grand already setup the way I would like it so given the same budget I could blow 70 grand on gas fishing gear and repairs to the Trojan before I even took the Hewes out 1 trip.

[mattmishler]

What 10meter all set up can you get for 20,000?

[1mainiac]

Matt unless it sells to someone else or I pass on it I will keep that a secret for now. It is a fresh water boat on the great lakes has radar auto pilot rocket launchers down riggers and a fish hawk with fairly recent electronics. It also is a long haul from here but I have a friend who can haul it for me cheap. It is not listed yet was passed on to me by a friend in New York. There are however 2 decent 10m boats online under 30 and either of them can be bought for closer to 20. I also know of several boats that can had for the storage bill. Lots of people walking away from older big boats. Esp the ones with big block chevy's. Not many willing to watch a boat drink 30 to 40 gph of gas nowadays I am one of them LOL. It is a early 80's 10m with twin 454's which is one reason I have not said yes to it yet. I also found a older Chris Craft 36ft Commander in great looking condition pretty cheap but again big blocks drink a lot of gas. That Trojan is a decent boat but will drink 40 gal of gas every time it leaves the dock. I also found a couple of F32 Trojans with small blocks under 10 grand there are tons of big boats for sale many people just want to rid themselves of the slip and storage fees. Storage and slip can avg out to 400 a month to not even use the boat. Most would be amazed at how many boats are darn near free just to get rid of the cost of maintaining it.

[1mainiac]

As a example the 10m would cost 3000 a year to store with oil changes and clean up add in a cheap slip at 1700 a season and your at 4700 a year without even using it once that is 391 a month add in a 300 a month payment and insurance and your pushing 800 a month for a toy you can use maybe 5 months a year. Oh and you still have not put any gas in it. At least with a trailer boat you can park it in the back yard and save some money. There are a lot of people making that 800 a month payment that don't even use their boats and would love to part with them.

[coralee]

Thanks for the input Jim and total cost is something worth examining. Because I normally fish alone and not with 4 guys and if I do take people I don't ask for any money I absorb most all the cost so for now I'm still looking in the 20-22' range not only for fuel cost but easier on and off the trailer and fit in my barn. I have an 8' high door now but could change it to almost 10 if needed. All the input has me open minded however and fishing from a larger boat sure is nice. I do have a nephew who is a mechanic so a car motor might have some advantages over an outboard for repairs but I like an outboard for early and late season. -I think my head is starting to spin hmmmm.

[1mainiac]

My boat budget for this year would have let me do 10 charters and I still would have had enough to fish on the 17ft on nice days pretty much any time.

[mriversinco]

Good point about the charter bill Jim. I know I could go out a ton of times over the year on a charter simply for the amount of money I drop into the boat, but it's that darn feeling of accomplishment when you get some good buddies into a mess of fish. Gotta love the feeling of going out with 4 guys and bringing home a dozen nice kings.

[mattmishler]

You guys are more then welcome to become my new favorite customers, if you book 10 charters.

[1mainiac]

Ok Matt but you have to have the boat ready when and where I want to fish. I actually have no plans to start using charters but was making a point for the guys who only get out a few times a year it would be way cheaper to just do charters. If I had to start over and replace everything I would just do a bunch of charters and fish inland lakes in my own boat. Besides honestly fishing on most charters is not even fun sit there and wait till someone hands you a rod with a fish on it.

[mattmishler]

Besides honestly fishing on most charters is not even fun sit there and wait till someone hands you a rod with a fish on it.

See thats where i have to disagree, alot of the boats that i work on in various port have very customer friendly. I have lots of guys that want to get very involved and we make sure it happens.