small boat for non-gas lakes 2024

weekend_hooker reply :

Just wondering if anyone has bought a small used glass boat, lets say in the 15-16' range to use primarily on small lakes that doesn't allow gas motors. I have thought about a jon boat, but the thought of something that small and two big guys moving around in it just gives me the vision of us flipping over and our tackle sinking to the bottom. I have found a few late 80 and 90 models for around 1000 bucks, just wondering if that would be a good idea or not. Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

BrianinMD reply :

Glass would have to much weight, tin boats are perfect for it. Just do not go with something less than a 48 inch wide bottom, the wider the better.

Angry John reply :

My current plan is to get a normal boat and put a 24v trolling motor on it for just that reason. The lakes in CT would allow you to have a motor on your boat and you could not lower it into the water. Do the rules of your state not allow you to keep the motor dry???

J Francho reply :

These boats are powered by electric motor on the stern, and a typical bow mounted trolling motor. All the controls are the same as a gas motor, though top speed is probably around 10 mph. I can't remember the name of the maker. Should be able to google it.

12poundbass reply :

There are plenty of tin boats that are stable for two big guys. Like BrianinMD said as long as you're at least 48" wide your good to go. I have a 14' Tracker 48" wide and I sometimes cram myself, 6 year old son, and wife in our boat. I stand almost the entire time with no issues what so ever, even with my son moving all around! Don't be afraid of the tin boats they are good and will last you a lifetime.

weekend_hooker reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 1:19 AM, Angry John said:

My current plan is to get a normal boat and put a 24v trolling motor on it for just that reason. The lakes in CT would allow you to have a motor on your boat and you could not lower it into the water. Do the rules of your state not allow you to keep the motor dry???

No you can keep your motor dry, its just I store my bass boat at the lake during the summer and the lakes I want to fish are in the other direction, just hate to have to run half the day going to get the boat and then back to fish.

On 1/17/2017 at 3:29 AM, 12poundbass said:

There are plenty of tin boats that are stable for two big guys. Like BrianinMD said as long as you're at least 48" wide your good to go. I have a 14' Tracker 48" wide and I sometimes cram myself, 6 year old son, and wife in our boat. I stand almost the entire time with no issues what so ever, even with my son moving all around! Don't be afraid of the tin boats they are good and will last you a lifetime.

I have nothing against a tin boat, my bass boat is a BT185, but I was just worried about the stability if we both was to try and stand, plus the weight issue, we would be pushing 500lbs combined, before adding any gear.

Megastink reply :

I've got a 16' Alumacraft that my buddy and I decked out. It has a 70" beam, and can fish THREE full grown men without fear of flipping. It's a very stable rig, which is why I bought it. I put an 82lb 24v motorguide up front.

BrianinMD reply :

Hey wait there Megastink, why do you have my truck.....

Nice rig, perfect for the OP's purpose.

Megastink reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 4:11 AM, BrianinMD said:

Hey wait there Megastink, why do you have my truck.....

Nice rig, perfect for the OP's purpose.

I think the OP and I have the same needs. I love my Jon boat. Cost me $2k from Cabelas.

fishnkamp reply :

I have had several boats that ran on electric only lakes and several of my friends have also. They were stable and enjoyable to fish from. My friend Ed fishes in an electric only club in Carroll County MD. If you are caught up on the fiberglass then you will need a pair of Torqueedo 4.0 or something like it.

Here in MD we have lots of waters that electric is the only thing allowed. Check out a few of these that are for sale.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/5957043204.html

This next one has been used in tournaments and works fantastic. This is a stable as you are going to get and the owner needs to sell it since his new one is almost done.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/5924509836.html

slonezp reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 2:46 AM, J Francho said:

These boats are powered by electric motor on the stern, and a typical bow mounted trolling motor. All the controls are the same as a gas motor, though top speed is probably around 10 mph. I can't remember the name of the maker. Should be able to google it.

Probably Torqueedo.

Minn Kota also makes an electric motor that fastens to a gas outboard as well as some hefty tillers. The E Drive and the Vantage

"hamma" reply :

Just an fyi

A coleman crawdad, or bass raider, have been the electric choice for many years now, and both have stability in the water.

A bigger and "better" tin rig with a bigger electric motor, seems to be the craze nowadays, and a viable electric only option. But they require more money,..effort,..and "need" a trailerable ramp.

I have a small 8' basshunter I can slide into my trucks bed and close the tailgate, with 2 motors, 2 batteries, humminbird finder, with temp and speed gauge,... and the ability to fish just about anywhere,..ramp or not.

Granted its a one man deal, but the crawdads, and bigger bass raiders can handle two anglers, and still slide into a trucks bed, with the same ability to fish ponds and lakes that have no ramp.

AGAIN,...just and fyi

weekend_hooker reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 4:16 AM, Megastink said:

I think the OP and I have the same needs. I love my Jon boat. Cost me $2k from Cabelas.

Good looking rig you have there. How did you frame out your deck, wood or aluminum?

Megastink reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 8:39 PM, weekend_hooker said:

Good looking rig you have there. How did you frame out your deck, wood or aluminum?

My contractor-friend helped me BIG TIME! I'm not very handy, but here's a photo of how we did it. I wanted lots of support. We drilled into the seats and into the spacers along the floor using short 1"-1.25" self-tapping screws and an impact gun. There are no vertical supports, but they can always be added later. We made two storage compartments too.

Catt reply :

Tin or Plastic doesn't matter as long as you remember bottom width equals stability!

What makes plastic boats so stable is they are 48" wide.

The problem with most tin boats is to get a 48" bottom ya gonna go 14' in length.

My personal preference in tin boats is 42" bottom width minimum but 44" is preferably.

J Francho reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 10:14 AM, slonezp said:

Probably Torqueedo.

Not a Torqueedo. They haven't released their higher HP equivalent outboard yet, and this did not run on a self contained lithium battery. They had them on the boats down at the Kingfisher Society.

fishnkamp reply :

The most popular high power electric outboards are Torqeedo, Parsun, and Ray electric. The Torqeedo 4.0 is a 9.9 hp electric outboard, and Parsun produces electric outboards up to 9.9 hp as well. Ray Electric motors come in several voltages. Their 60 volt motor produces 5 hp. If you look closely at the picture above, you will see the small blue Ray emblem on the side. For decades Ray was "THE" motor to have. It was the standard since the 70's till Torqeedo came along.

J Francho reply :

Ray is the one! Thanks @fishnkamp!

http://www.rayeo.com/

fishnkamp reply :

Torqeedo has made the 4.0 They used to say it was equal to a 9.9 They now say 8.0 hp. This is the motr that a lot of guy are running here in MD to fish our reservoirs. I have even seen several guys using two of these motors. These 4.0s are higher horsepower and get better battery usage. The 5 hp Ray requires 60 volts and most of the reservoir tournament guys run 10 6 volt batteries in order to get decent battery usage. However think about this. The 6 volt batteries they usually choose weigh the same as high end group 31 agm or lead acid batteries. This means they have to spead the weight throughout the boat. A Torqeedo 4.0 requires 48 volts.

J Francho reply :

The Ray equipped boats I was in predated the Torqueedos. I see they have their 10.0 out - around 20hp, only $8K. That's about twice a gas powered engine. Prices are definitely coming down.

weekend_hooker reply :

On 1/17/2017 at 10:32 PM, Megastink said:

My contractor-friend helped me BIG TIME! I'm not very handy, but here's a photo of how we did it. I wanted lots of support. We drilled into the seats and into the spacers along the floor using short 1"-1.25" self-tapping screws and an impact gun. There are no vertical supports, but they can always be added later. We made two storage compartments too.

Quote

Thanks, that helps a lot, I appreciate everyone's input. I have contacted one guy about a alumacraft 1648, going to look at it Friday.

fishnkamp reply :

Well the guys in MD that set boats up for our drinking reservoirs build their boats just to fish these types of water. In fact if you get a permit to fish Liberty, Loch Raven and Pretty Boy reservoirs you have to sign a paper stating that you will not run your boat in any other body of water. You can not even splash it in the other two reservoirs in our area. There are clubs that only fish the reservoirs, so if they would spend 25 grand for an gas outboard new then they consider the price of one of these motors and a stack of batteries to be normal.

curtis9 reply :

I have a G3 1548 that I use for an electric only lake. I added deck extensions to the front and rear using aluminum and added some additional foam. The aluminum deck extension is much lighter than the wood the original owner installed. I keep the boat in the lake year round, so I wanted something that wouldn't rot. I have a 65 lb trolling motor on the front with a 55 on the rear. I've fished it a few times with 2 guys ~220-250 lb each. It's not as stable as a glass boat, but no one has fallen in and we both fish standing up. As long as you get a wide boat you'll be fine with aluminum.

weekend_hooker reply :

Well I bit the bullet Friday and bought one, can't wait for the weather to clear up and try it. I really do appreciate everyone's input and opinions on this. So glad I found this site.

fishnkamp reply :

That looks like a great boat. Go get a bunch of big ones!

Wayne P. reply :

On 1/24/2017 at 1:28 AM, weekend_hooker said:

Well I bit the bullet Friday and bought one, can't wait for the weather to clear up and try it. I really do appreciate everyone's input and opinions on this. So glad I found this site.

Now that you have the boat, this is the motor for it:

http://newatlas.com/30hp-aquawatt-most-powerful-electric-outboard-motor-in-the-world/18511/

weekend_hooker reply :

Think I might have to wait until the wifey calms down, she just shook her head when I bought it. lol..boys and their toys

12poundbass reply :

On 1/24/2017 at 1:28 AM, weekend_hooker said:

Well I bit the bullet Friday and bought one, can't wait for the weather to clear up and try it. I really do appreciate everyone's input and opinions on this. So glad I found this site.

You'll be very happy with it, and I'm willing to bet impressed at how stable they are. Enjoy!

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small boat for non-gas lakes 2024

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