Pros/Cons of these Two Boats? 2024
Brett's_daddy reply :
http://nh.craigslist.org/bik/5538077957.html
1993 Grumman Renegade w/1993 Evinrude 48hp motor
http://plattsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/5540106978.html
1995 Sea Nymph w/2002 Johnson 50hp. Spoke to the owner tonight and asked him a bunch of questions, only has 1 battery and it's not a deep cell, live well isn't hooked up but is operable when attached to a battery, said there are no soft spots in the flooring/deck but described it as "spongy" in some areas and expects it made need replacing within the next 2-3 years (this worry's me...should it?). Said cash talks and he doesn't want to sell the boat but needs the money so I expect I could get him down fairly significantly.
Keep in mind we will be fishing mostly small ponds/lakes around 76 acres or so and most likely wouldn't be venturing out into really big water.
Kevin22 reply :
The first one looks like a pig with lipstick on it.
The second one is the best boat but from your description sounds like it will need some tinkering. This would be a much safer family boat. Its 20 years old, soft floor is not surprising.
Side note- what does BRO stand for in that last listing? He wants to be paid in British Royal Opals or what?
Brett's_daddy reply :
I would say Best Reasonable Offer :).
I just don't want to buy a boat and turn around and have to put $1500 into a new floor in the near future...is that asking too much? The guy said the outside is immaculate and even the trailer is in excellent condition.
A-Jay reply :
Seems like so far your available choices, (recent past & present) have sounded - let's call it below average.
Perhaps it would be wise to wait a bit, save up some more $$ and purchase a boat, motor & trailer from this century.
Replacement parts would most certainly be easier to find & many of the humans who have experience effecting repairs would still be alive.
A-Jay
Brett's_daddy reply :
Not an option! We've already been approved for the loan and received the money. It is what it is...not expecting to find something perfect in my price range just want something that isn't going to need a lot of work done right away...they're out there, I've seen them but I've always been a step too slow. This is a first boat...I'm sure many of you had a first boat that was older and not in pristine shape but it got the job done and you were happy with it until you had the funds to upgrade and did so...that's what I'm looking for, doesn't have to be super fancy just reliable and safe for the family so we can have a fun time out on the lake fishing :).
Kevin22 reply :
Everyone who has bought one of those "starter boats" you are referring to will give you the same advice as A-Jay. Wait and find something good. You will find out REAL soon that the initial investment in a boat is the cheapest it will ever be. Buying someone's "junk?" is going to cost you big time in the long run (possibly short run also!).
For instance your second boat here. Going to need 2-3 batteries right off the bat, that's $250-400. Floor replaced in 3 months? A lot of time and probably $100 in wood. If the floor is rotted out then there is a lot of other problems about to appear, it means it was stored outdoors or at least a very damp area.
The boats you have shown so far are other people's problem boats that they are dumping off on craigslist because the problems are costing more than the boat is worth. That was probably the case with the dealership that was rude as well, he probably took it in on trade and didnt realize it was a problem boat until he had it. Now he has to dump it off at $2400 to break even and was upset... just like you will be in 6 months if you buy one of these money pits.
From what I have personally seen, if the price is below 6-8 grand you don't want to mess with it unless you NEED a boat now and plan to sell it off for a loss soon. There's exceptions of course, jon boats and resort boats which are pretty basic to begin with. But a $1500-3000 V or bass boat is like buying a $200 car.
A-Jay is spot on with what he said.
Brett's_daddy reply :
The rude dealer actually was the one who re-did that Lund boat for the owner. He just re-did all of the flooring, put on the brand new expensive trolling motor, new seats etc. last year. That boat is solid and I'm sure would last us for a few years...it's just the attitude of the dealers that doesn't sit well with me!
A-Jay reply :
@Kevin22 ~ That post is tough love.
Hard to post up and even tougher to read (for the OP).
But it had to be said.
Should really be a "sticky".
A-Jay
Kevin22 reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 1:27 PM, Brett's_daddy said:The rude dealer actually was the one who re-did that Lund boat for the owner. He just re-did all of the flooring, put on the brand new expensive trolling motor, new seats etc. last year. That boat is solid and I'm sure would last us for a few years...it's just the attitude of the dealers that doesn't sit well with me!
I don't think that info was in the other thread?? At $100/hr shop time think about how many hours he put in that boat to fix it up, plus the cost of materials. I can understand why he got upset now.
Brett's_daddy reply :
We were going based on a boat we looked at at another dealership earlier...that guy had it on consignment for another customer and he had it listed at $3000 and when we asked him what was the best he could do on it he dropped the price down to $2600. It was the first boat we had looked at so didn't want to jump on it until we had seen something to compare it too though. That's why we thought we could dicker if the other guy had come down $400 from his asking price on a newer boat and that boat being on consignment even that this local dealer who owned his boat outright would have more wiggle room to strike a deal with.
Kevin22 reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 1:27 PM, A-Jay said:@Kevin22 ~ That post is tough love.
Hard to post up and even tougher to read (for the OP).
But it had to be said.
Should really be a "sticky".
A-Jay
I'm just trying to end the beating around the bush and make sure he FULLY understands about the quality of boats he is looking at before he commits and ends up spending a lot more money to fix a bad purchase. It happens on every forum every season and it is hard to watch. It upsets me to look at craigslist and see the pure junk some people are trying to pawn off as just needing small repairs and what not. And when you do find a good deal on there its always shady as heck... Divorced wife selling husbands boat (does she own it??), someone selling a boat with a COPY of the title (collateral on another loan, bank going to take it?), someone who needs cash to pay bills and has a garage full of "toys" he could sell before his boat that "he absolutely loves and hates to see go", someone who bought it from an old guy who had it in storage and has not used it in 15 years , etc. All popular craigslist "scams"
Catt reply :
A boat is a hole the water where you pour money!
Kevin, A-Jay, & I completely understand your enthusiasm in wanting to get a boat ASAP!
But ya gotta be patient!
I will add avoid any 33. 48, 88, or any of those off the wall horsepower motors like the plague!
Further North reply :
Brett's Daddy...I've forgotten; what's your upper price limit?
On those boats, I agree with most of the above and will add the following comment: "Spongy" means replace this year or next, not 2-3 years from now. If you do it yourself, it'll take the boat off the water for a couple of weeks unless you can really dedicate a lot of time to it.
On 4/16/2016 at 8:10 PM, Catt said:A boat is a hole the water where you pour money!
I've never understood that...I've found that if I buy smart and take care of things, that's not true.
If I do that' I've found that boat maintenance/repair costs are usually as predictable and manageable as they are for cars and trucks.
Catt reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 11:17 PM, Further North said:I've never understood that...I've found that if I buy smart and take care of things, that's not true.
If I do that' I've found that boat maintenance/repair costs are usually as predictable and manageable as they are for cars and trucks.
Thing breaking has nothing with maintenance!
Boats, cars, trucks, appliances know when you have extra money or ya broke!
Further North reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 11:47 PM, Catt said:Thing breaking has nothing with maintenance!
Boats, cars, trucks, appliances know when you have extra money or ya broke!
I went down that path with old English and American SxS shotguns...they have to make the parts when they break. Makes boats look cheap.
I still shoot SxS shotguns...but modern ones. Same with boats...the advice above to try to avoid other people's problems is spot on.
Further North reply :
Here's a decent rig, about two hours south of me: http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/boa/5500001717.html
Here's another: http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/boa/5500001717.html
This time of year, good stuff goes fast.
Brett's_daddy reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 11:17 PM, Further North said:Brett's Daddy...I've forgotten; what's your upper price limit?
$3000 is my upper limit.
Catch 22 reply :
I have to add the corney old expressions.BOAT
Break
Out
Another
Thousand
Two happiest days of a boat owners life
The day they buy it===&
The day the get rid of it.
To be honest, Iv`e had good things to sell with peeps coming to really low ball me. I tell them I`m not running a charity. The low prices the op mentioned in the other post would have me walking away too.
Be patient,sometimes things are meant to be.We went thru 33 houses before a purchase. It turned out good.
C22
Allen Der reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 11:37 AM, Brett's_daddy said:http://nh.craigslist.org/bik/5538077957.html
1993 Grumman Renegade w/1993 Evinrude 48hp motor
http://plattsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/5540106978.html
1995 Sea Nymph w/2002 Johnson 50hp. Spoke to the owner tonight and asked him a bunch of questions, only has 1 battery and it's not a deep cell, live well isn't hooked up but is operable when attached to a battery, said there are no soft spots in the flooring/deck but described it as "spongy" in some areas and expects it made need replacing within the next 2-3 years (this worry's me...should it?). Said cash talks and he doesn't want to sell the boat but needs the money so I expect I could get him down fairly significantly.
Keep in mind we will be fishing mostly small ponds/lakes around 76 acres or so and most likely wouldn't be venturing out into really big water.
If you are really fishing ponds and small lakes of that size, why do you need these boats with 50HP motors? I just got back from fishing an 80 acre lake in my kayak and I paddled across the thing in less than 10 minutes. You just need a basic boat with a 25HP or less motor. Heck you could even get away with a big electric motor. Minn Kota makes an electric outboard for under $1,000.
BrianSnat reply :
On 4/17/2016 at 6:41 AM, Allen Der said:If you are really fishing ponds and small lakes of that size, why do you need these boats with 50HP motors? I just got back from fishing an 80 acre lake in my kayak and I paddled across the thing in less than 10 minutes. You just need a basic boat with a 25HP or less motor. Heck you could even get away with a big electric motor. Minn Kota makes an electric outboard for under $1,000.
I agree with that. Considering the size of the lakes he is referring to something with a 9.9 HP tiller motor will work just fine. It will also get him on those smaller lakes that limit HP to under 10 HP without having to shell out another grand or so for a used 9.9. I have a 9.9 on my 14 ft boat and it gets me up to 18 mph which is plenty for ponds and lakes of 76 acres or so that he says he will usually be fisihng. He can pick up an nicely decked out boat with a 9.9, electric motor, fish finder etc. for under $2k.
Brett's_daddy reply :
But how many people will a 9.9 motor push around? I expect almost all the time I'll at least have my wife with me and most times my 5 year old son too.
BrianSnat reply :
On 4/17/2016 at 12:24 PM, Brett's_daddy said:But how many people will a 9.9 motor push around? I expect almost all the time I'll at least have my wife with me and most times my 5 year old son too.
I'm 250 lbs. I don't know the weight of my boat, but it is pretty heavy for a 14 ft aluminum. Probably in part because of the 3/4'" marine plywood floor. The 9.9 gets the boat up on a plane and to 18/19 mph with just me in it. With my wife (130 lbs) in the front it still gets up on a plane and hits about 15 mph. Replace my wife with large male, it isn't much slower. The only time it struggled was when I had my brother (about 220 lbs) and his two teenage boys with me. It topped off at 11 mph and couldn't get up on a plane.
But it is all a matter of weight (obviously). I had a much lighter 14 footer before this one and the 9.9 got it up to 24mph when I was solo and 20 with the wife in it. I could even get it up on a plane with the wife and packed with with camping gear. My friend on the other hand has a 9.9 on his 21 ft Lund and the most he can get out of it is 5-6 mph.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love a bigger motor, but some of the better fishing lakes here in northern NJ have a 10 hp limit. So the 9.9 it is and it moves me and my fishing partners around pretty good. Be sure to check to see if there are any HP limitations on the smaller lakes that you intend to fish, otherwise you may find yourself needing to use the electric to get around. I see that all of the time here, guys with beautiful bass boats who have to rely on their electric because they can't legally use the gas motor. Even if the 10 HP limit is not an issue where you are, surely a 15 or 25 HP motor will move you and your family around quite briskly.
On 4/17/2016 at 9:59 PM, briansnat said:I
Brett's_daddy reply :
Isn't there a motor mod that you can do to a 9.9hp to get it up to 15hp?
shaggydog reply :
cancel the loan, find a nice 14ft alumacraft for $1000, and go enjoy the outdoors.
Allen Der reply :
On 4/17/2016 at 10:09 PM, Brett's_daddy said:Isn't there a motor mod that you can do to a 9.9hp to get it up to 15hp?
dude, you're overthinking this too much and combined with your lack of boat experience, I feel like you are going to make a mistake with your purchase. around here, guys have tournaments where they only use electric trolling motors with 2 guys in a boat. my starter boats were 14ft aluminum v-hulls with 3 bench seats and a 30lb thrust trolling motor. these boats are more than capable for 80 acre puddles you'll be fishing. why do you even care about speed on these tiny lakes you can get across in 5 minutes? a 9.9hp on a narrow 14ft v-hull is going to be like the equivalent of a 50HP on a 17ft bass boat.
this is the kind of boat you should be looking for. 
Klebs01 reply :
Allen is absolutely right. When I started fishing from a boat, it was in a rented 14' aluminum V with 8hp on a 2400 acre lake. I would go out with my wide and It was plenty of power for what it was. I now have a 17.5' with a 115. Yeah, it's more comfortable, but it doesn't really do anything the smaller boat couldn't. If I was to bring it to ab 80 acre lake, I wouldn't even start the big motor. Wouldn't be worth it. The trolling motor would be much better, more efficient and effective on that size pond.
Jaderose reply :
I fish a 76 acre lake all the time and use a 30 lb trolling motor ONLY. Up North I fish a 700 acre lake with a 7 horse Yamaha on a 14 ft. V jon boat with me an my wife. We are not small people. That little 7 horse does just fine. How fast? I have no idea but I'm fishing. Not skiing or tubing. How fast do you need on an 80- acre lake? Hold on to your money and buy something very basic
Evan K reply :
My budget is way tighter, but I'm looking at a 12' riveted jon boat from BPS, $600, and have a new 55 lb thrust Minn-Kota Traxxis TM. Going to put a good sonar on it and hopefully a bow mount motor and keep the whole package under $1500. Maybe something like that?
Allen Der reply :
Ok I briefly looked at the first few pages of the NH craigslist and came up with these 3 gems. All from this century with newer 4 stroke motors that should be bulletproof. no rotted wood to worry about and low maintenance. Just add a 12v transom mount trolling motor, battery, and fish finder to it and you're still under your budget.
http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5541760670.html
http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5541513181.html
http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5540879203.html
I know these aren't what you are envisioning or want long term, but they are "starter boats" to get your feet wet. I know guys who fish 2,000+ acre lakes with boats like these and are better fisherman than most. the best part is when you are ready to upgrade, you can sell these easily for about what you pay for them. If you buy one of those 30 year old money pits, you're going to be lucky to get $500 when you trade it in (if the motor hasnt blown up by then)
WIGuide reply :
Much of the advise here is spot on. If you're fishing nothing but smaller lakes I'd start out with a jon boat or something similar. Not much that can go wrong with them. A lot of what you're looking at has been overpriced in my opinion. I'm not totally against buying an older used boat as long as it's the right one. One that's been taken care of is going to have far less issues than those that have not. Up until two years ago I owned an 86 Ranger, I had that for roughly 5 years or so and aside from small things like trailer lighting and aerator pumps the only money I put into it was on upgrades. I've got a 97 now and again haven't had to do much. I know that doesn't guarantee that I won't sometime down the line. The one thing that needs to be stressed here is TAKE YOUR TIME! I know how bad you want a boat, but you need to wait for the right deal to come along. When you do, that's when to act fast because it won't last long. Also, now is the worst time to buy when it comes to prices. The beginning of the year everything goes up because of the upcoming season. The best time to buy is mid-summer into the fall/winter.
Just a little motivation to keep you going. Both of these specimens were purchased within your price range. Granted these are not the standard going rates for these, but just to show that you can still find a deal out there if you're patient.
Kevin22 reply :
Remember he is taking his wife and small son out as well. A 14' Jon or skiff might not be the correct boat for family safety...
S Hovanec reply :
I've bought 4 boats like your looking at. The first one, I put more money to get it in shape than I paid for it. Fished it for a year cause it wasn't what I wanted.
Second one, needed a new floor. The one place I didn't check was bad. Rebuilt that one and fished it for a year. Not what I wanted.
Third one I rebuilt and never even fished out of before I sold it.
Then I bought my current boat cause I was tired of settling. I've been in it since 2005.
Thought I wanted a small lake boat, so I bought another project. Started into it and said screw it, not worth the time and money. I sold it after I tore out the transom.
Brett's_daddy reply :
I just found this...
http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/boa/5541230712.html
Looks like it has some hard water stains but that can be cleaned up if the rest of the boat is soldi. What do you think?
S Hovanec reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 12:06 AM, Brett's_daddy said:I just found this...
http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/boa/5541230712.html
Looks like it has some hard water stains but that can be cleaned up if the rest of the boat is soldi. What do you think?
Call me a cynic, but there's a reason there were no pictures taken with the cover off.
Brett's_daddy reply :
These are pics he sent me. Says the water stain is from leaving it in the lake house every summer but that it was winterized every year. Reason for selling is they sold the lake house and are moving away and needs to sell it in short order.
CarolinaBoy4Life reply :
I will give you honest insight since I just last year purchased my first boat. I found an 18ft Quest center console. Had some issues with the engine (carbs). Talked to the guy and he didn't mind my boat mechanic coming out and checking it out. Boat mechanic went through all the steps, engine compression, testing the engine out, looking the boat over, checking the wiring and trailer and tires and all (he knew I was green when it came to these things so he did a pretty in depth look for me). Needless to say for $1600 my boat mechanic was down right giddy and said if I didn't buy it he would right on the spot. Bottom line is you CAN find a good boat that may need a little work. I came out way ahead with this boat and if you do the proper homework and checks you could too. Have an experienced boat mechanic check the unit out for you before purchase. He can give you a rundown of costs on what may be wrong with unit and give you an idea if its worth it or not. Don't just buy it too say you own a boat because without checking it you could make the worst decision of your life(at least it would seem that way)
Brett's_daddy reply :
We don't have our own private boat mechanic willing to come with us on a moments notice for a 3 hour drive to check out a boat...that's just not feasible unless it's a local sale.
S Hovanec reply :
Color me surprised. Not what I was expecting under there. My only concern is that thing looks narrow. Narrow = tippy.
Brett's_daddy reply :
Looking it up it says that the boat has a 5'11" beam.
Brett's_daddy reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 1:08 AM, S Hovanec said:My only concern is that thing looks narrow. Narrow = tippy.
NADA says that it has a 5'11" beam.
Kevin22 reply :
That's a standard size alum bass boat, not extra wide for sure. That appears to be just what you need. Now be sure to water test it before buying. Stop at autozone or NAPA and get or rent a compression tester on your way there. Water test it, run it, test the livewells and bilge, test everything you can think of. Check the compression on the motor and carefully inspect the engine, as well as the lower unit housing/prop hub. With the transom savor off, gently shake the motor front to back and see how much flex the transom has.
If it all checks out, I think its worth what he is asking. If he won't let you do any of the tests I mentioned then walk away and forget about it. Don't let him give you excuses to why you can't test something.
Brett's_daddy reply :
How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? How much flex should the transom have? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.
gulfcaptain reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 2:40 AM, Brett's_daddy said:How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.
Okay, you need to find someone that know's what's going on. Everyone here may sound like we are giving you a hard time, but we are just trying to keep you from well being bent over. A transom saver is a braket that keeps the motor from bouncing while trailering. Hence transom saver as it keeps undo stress from occuring to the transom of the boat. Water testing means put the boat in the lake and go run it. Check everything out. See how it handles, make sure things work, see how the engine sounds under a load with you and him in the boat. Compression checks mean you pull out a spark plug and shove the little tester in the hole and crank the motor over. It will give you an idea of how much compression each cylinder has then you can cross check to see what it's supposed to have. So say it's supposed to have 60psi and you find one that has 30psi and the other is 55psi. The 55psi is okay, but 30.....well you have an issue. If the seller won't let you test run the boat out on a lake, then well by at your own risk from that point on as I myself would thank him and walk away.
Further North reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 12:53 AM, CarolinaBoy4Life said:Have an experienced boat mechanic check the unit out for you before purchase.
This is spot on. Those guys can find things even experienced boat owners can't see.
On 4/19/2016 at 12:58 AM, Brett's_daddy said:We don't have our own private boat mechanic willing to come with us on a moments notice for a 3 hour drive to check out a boat...that's just not feasible unless it's a local sale.
Can you find a boat dealer/marina near where the seller lives?
When I bought my last boat, it was for sale in Chicago - about 6 hours away. I worked out a deal where the seller would haul it to a dealer of my choice to do a full inspection on my dime. It cost me about $200, but was worth every penny - I got the same report as CarolinaBoy4Life did: If I didn't want it, they'd take it on the spot. I asked them to change the oil, the impeller and the lower unit lube, add it to my bill and called the seller to tell him we had a deal. It took us 4 weeks to find a spot in our schedules to meet in Madison, WI to do the actual deal...but it was worth the wait.
If you can get this done before you drive up, that'd be great...but even if you have to go up there and haul the boat to the dealer yourself, it's worth the time. Have them check out the tires, bearings and wiring on the trailer at the same time - it'd be a PITA to buy the boat only to have something go wrong with the trailer on the way home.
On 4/19/2016 at 2:40 AM, Brett's_daddy said:How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? How much flex should the transom have? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.
Given that you asked these questions, I'd say it's even more important that you have a pro look at the boat before you put your money on the table. That looks like a decent rig, but it could be hiding all kinds of expensive problems that gould cost you another two grand in the next year...then you'll be into the the boat for a lot more than it's worth.
Here's a picture of a transom saver:
shaggydog reply :
buy it
thomas15 reply :
Brett's_Daddy,
I have to agree with much of the above, you are getting some very good advice. And I totally understand you want a boat now.
I grew up on the Jersey Shore, we had boats, our friends had boats, everyone we knew had a boat. The only question was how big was your boat. When I got out on my own I tried to convince myself that I had boats out of my system and I did a very good job for over 30 years. I finally folded three years ago. I no longer live in NJ and it's lakes for me now.
One of my good friends from NJ is a boat mechanic. Whenever in the past I got the itch to buy a boat I would go over to his place and look at all the work he had, that generally put the brakes on anything cheap. 
Anyway, when my son was about the age of yours I was drooling over something small but even then we didn't have the resources to buy anything with a motor and that needed a trailer. We had a canoe that costs $200.00 and we still have it and it's worth at least what we paid for it. But this isn't a matter of misery loves company, you are asking for advice and you are getting it. Not what you want to hear but in my opinion what you are getting is very good advice.
The Starcraft you are looking at is very similar to my boat. Mine is a 2005 StarCraft 160, it has a 2005 50 HP Mercury. It's 16.5 feet long and I get about 35mph on the water with it, fast enough for the size and certainly not the slowest boat around. The only big difference between mine and the one above is mine has the console further astern than yours, this limits the amount of room behind the seats. That is the only thing I like about the StarCraft above better than mine. That is the only thing. Again, I have had mine 3 years and so it was 8 years old when I got it. In general I really like my boat, it's a bit small for more than 2 people but it is a solid little boat. I had a lot of problems with the motor the first year but other than that pure fun. It's in good condition and the trailer is good, I paid 5K for it. I have put at least another $500.00 in the actual boat since. I paid a fair price and got what I paid for. I would not expect to find anything similar condition for a whole lot less money than what I paid. Yes perhaps if I really made a job of it I might have done better but not that much better. All of the problems I had with the motor were paid for by the seller the only negative was it took about 4 boating months to iron out all the wrinkles.
OK so I'm coming as an individual that likes StarCraft and would get another. But the fact that this boat spent all that time tied up in the water is in itself a good reason to forget about this boat. Why you ask? An aluminum boat has a skin and maybe the floor deck made of aluminum but under that deck is foam that does two things. One is it adds buoyancy and the other is rigidity. Some will argue, "but the foam in my starcraft is closed cell" ok, maybe, but if any water is under the floor then it is in the foam. There are three ways water can get into the foam, rain water sitting in the boat with plug installed (or leaves blocking the drain hole), a leak around the holes for the electronics and a leak in the live well plumbing. To find out if the foam is waterlogged takes some knowhow.
Water in the foam will rot any wood (yes some aluminum boats have wood in the transom) and water weighs 8.3 pounds/gallon, so 50 gallons of water in the foam is 400 pounds of additional weight. Not saying that the boat is waterlogged but I would be very surprised if it didn't have at least some water in the foam.
All of this worry goes away when you are looking at a Jon boat or similar that doesn't have a deck. Stuff hiding under the deck. Again a good honest 14' aluminum with a 10 or 20 HP is a great way to learn basic seamanship skills especially on small water. Our main boat when I was a kid was a 14' Bay Skiff (my Dad made this boat) powered by a 5.5 HP outboard. In an environment where everyone had a boat ours had 5 horsepower and somehow I survived to adulthood. One thing to remember is there is always someone with a bigger nicer boat no matter what you get.
You can buy any boat you want since your an adult but the truth of the matter is your price range means getting: 1) cool looking, faster with lots of potential problems or 2) boring and slow but honest and solid. It's really that simple.
Things that are NOT a selling point for a used boat are "New Floor" hiding other problems, "one small soft spot" again hiding problems, "needs new carpet", hiding a soft spot. Boats rot from the bottom up so by the time the deck is soft the transom and stringer are whooped.
thomas15 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 2:54 AM, gulfcaptain said:Okay, you need to find someone that know's what's going on. Everyone here may sound like we are giving you a hard time, but we are just trying to keep you from well being bent over. A transom saver is a braket that keeps the motor from bouncing while trailering. Hence transom saver as it keeps undo stress from occuring to the transom of the boat. Water testing means put the boat in the lake and go run it. Check everything out. See how it handles, make sure things work, see how the engine sounds under a load with you and him in the boat. Compression checks mean you pull out a spark plug and shove the little tester in the hole and crank the motor over. It will give you an idea of how much compression each cylinder has then you can cross check to see what it's supposed to have. So say it's supposed to have 60psi and you find one that has 30psi and the other is 55psi. The 55psi is okay, but 30.....well you have an issue. If the seller won't let you test run the boat out on a lake, then well by at your own risk from that point on as I myself would thank him and walk away.
Compression on that motor should be around 110-120 psi, the three cylinders, the high and the low should be within 10% of each other. For example my 50 HP merc is #1 114psi, #2 116, #3 118 This is acceptable. If it is 60psi then walk/run. Warm the motor first with muffs (a device that lets you hook up a hose to the motor, $6.00 at walmart), then check compression with the dead mans switch in the off position.
There should be almost no flex in the transom.
Also, does the motor have power trim and does it work? In one of the pictures it looks like a block of wood holding the motor in the up position. If this is true a good question to ask is "why"?
Allen Der reply :
On 4/18/2016 at 10:11 PM, Kevin22 said:Remember he is taking his wife and small son out as well. A 14' Jon or skiff might not be the correct boat for family safety...
seriously? A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat. And again we are talking about very small lakes.
Kevin22 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 10:33 AM, Allen Der said:seriously? A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat. And again we are talking about very small lakes.
No, the small lakes are the ones around here, 10-15 acres. Lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety though. A boat full of ribs and benches is not something I would want a youngster crawling around on. I've been in plenty of these SEMI-V and jons being suggested here, if you fart they rock side to side.
thomas15 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 10:33 AM, Allen Der said:seriously? A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat. And again we are talking about very small lakes.
I mentioned in my post above that we had a 14' homemade Bay Skiff when I was a lad. My Dad and Grandfather were old time seamen and my Dad built two absolutely beautiful boats in his lifetime. Our skiff was flat bottom, lapstreak cedar sides, Mahogany transom and seats. It had as I said a 5.5 HP rude, later a neighbor gave us a 14HP rude. We had that boat out on the Barneget Bay many times and in the ocean several times. Small boat in big water but truthfully it is scarier in the Bay when it's choppy than in the Atlantic Ocean with 1-2 foot seas that just roll. We had our kids in our canoe in small south jersey rivers when my daughter was small enough to curl up on two flotation cushon. So I agree with you Allen totally. If taking kids out on the water make sure the weather is ok first but a small boat that is seaworthy is better than a larger boat that is unseaworthy and has motor issues.
On 4/19/2016 at 10:41 AM, Kevin22 said:No, the small lakes are the ones around here, 10-15 acres. Lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety though. A boat full of ribs and benches is not something I would want a youngster crawling around on. I've been in plenty of these SEMI-V and jons being suggested here, if you fart they rock side to side.
With all due respect the child you are thinking about isn't really mature enough to be in a small pleasure boat. Some adults are not mature enough either.
Kevin22 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 10:41 AM, Kevin22 said:No, the small lakes are the ones around here, 10-15 acres. Lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety though. A boat full of ribs and benches is not something I would want a youngster crawling around on. I've been in plenty of these SEMI-V and jons being suggested here, if you fart they rock side to side.
I would like to clarify one point I tried to make here. I said "lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety"... Well obviously it does when you think big water means bigger waves. I meant it in terms of moving around inside the boat, and obstacles within that could be a tripping hazard.
Just wanted to clarify that!
thomas15 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 11:02 AM, Kevin22 said:
I would like to clarify one point I tried to make here. I said "lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety"... Well obviously it does when you think big water means bigger waves. I meant it in terms of moving around inside the boat, and obstacles within that could be a tripping hazard.
Just wanted to clarify that!
Kevin at first I didn't agree with you but on second thought I think your post has considerable merit. I come to this discussion as an individual who was the son of a commercial fisherman. I knew from a very young age how to operate a small pleasure boat. Since this is not the case with the OP perhaps a larger boat is a better choice. I had my BIL out for an afternoon in the SS Minnow and he not being an outdoors type had no real feel for being in a small boat. This is just something I have always taken for granted.
Brett's_daddy reply :
The boat sold...just before we got there. yup, you heard right, just before we got there after a 2hr 45 minute drive. We contacted the seller just before we left as we knew he had another person supposedly coming to look at the boat and said look, according to our GPS we'll be down there just about the time of the other guy...we don't want an awkward situation, are you sure we should still come or should we wait until the next day. The seller told us to come. So the whole family continued on the road trip. My son had an upset tummy half way down so we had to stop so he could go to the bathroom but we finally make it down and when we pull in the yard there's another truck there with a couple of guys in it. We meet the seller and he shows us the boat anyway which we thought was kind of weird with the other guys right there but he went all through testing out the boat and showing us the features etc. and then he speaks with the other guys and gets a piece of paper and writes out a bill of sale. He then comes over to us and says well, these other guys came just before you did and they're buying the boat but I thank you for coming down...and this guy knew how far it was for us and we even asked if we should still come down noting we'd be there about the same time as the other perspective buyer and he told us to come anyway. Regardless, once seeing the boat in person I wasn't going to pay what he wanted. The seats were filthy (cosmetic which could be cleaned) and needed re-stapled, the trolling motor had the paint chipped completely off the bottom around the dome by the propeller, carpet was filthy (again, cosmetic so not that big of a deal) and when he ran the engine it didn't "pee" well, at idle there was no water coming out even though the hose was to it and he had to throttle up to get the water stream to go but the engine sounded like there was a skip. A blessing in disguise that we weren't the ones that bought it but a complete waste of an almost 3 hour drive down and back. Oh well, the search continues!!!
thomas15 reply :
On 4/19/2016 at 7:30 PM, Brett's_daddy said:.... A blessing in disguise that we weren't the ones that bought it but a complete waste of an almost 3 hour drive down and back. Oh well, the search continues!!!
Amen Brother, well said.
ON EDIT:
Your story reminded me of when I was looking for my boat. We took a trip to look at one about 2 hours away at a dealer. He had several in my price range but all of them were in disrepair and most had been moored with all the water stains, etc. BTW, it's not that easy to clean those stains. I took a pass on all of them and on the way home I hit a piece of sheet metal on the interstate and ended up doing almost $1000.00 worth of damage to my car.
In the end I purchased my boat locally after many months of searching. Boats are a luxury item, always keep this in mind.
gulfcaptain reply :
Odds are the seller wanted both of you there as so it looked like it was in high demand. The other guy probably jumped to get it and since you took everyone's advice you saw things that caught your eye and were red flags. The water issue would have been a HUGE red flag. And I bet if you asked him to go take it for a test run he would have come up with an excuse why he couldn't. Take that trip as a learning experience and apply it to your "quest" to find the boat you're wanting.
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