Well now what the heck do I do? (Boat advice)
- This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated Sep 17, 2008 at 11:40 pm by
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Abe, I’m having a bit of trouble feeling sorry for you on this…
Most of us would be asking for a boat and getting a big fat no from she who must be obeyed… 😉 ;D
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A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
Abe, I’m having a bit of trouble feeling sorry for you on this…
Most of us would be asking for a boat and getting a big fat no from she who must be obeyed… 😉 ;D
I know, I know.
My Mitzi 15, and my buddy’s 17, flats skiffs are great boats for what we do – shallow water sight fishing in both fresh and salt water, and we love them.
Buy a boat but think hard about what you really want. Depending on your life stage, you preferences could change. Starting in my late 20’s and continuing to age 40, I have wanted a bass boat, an off shore boat, and in shore boat, a flats boat, a sailboat, a Hobie cat, and a pontoon boat. I have made offers on several of these and looked seriously at all of them.
Ultimately, however, I have realized that my personal fishing preference is mountain streams so I don’t really need a pure fishing boat. At this point, I am leaning toward a 22 foot tri-toon pontoon boat with a 115 hp or higher engine. I could put a trolling motor on it for fishing but the real goal would be family time. I presently own a fishing kayak, a canoe and an Outcast pontoon. I am restoring a Sunfish for the kids.
I thought about it. SWMBO and I talked about it. I thought some more. Here’s what I came up with.
My wife and I used boats for VERY different things growing up. For me, my brother, and my dad, boats are transportation to the duck blind, the cabin, or the fishing spot. Sometimes they pull water skiers. Most of our boats growing up were some semblance of camouflage, aluminum deep-V’s. For my wife, boating WAS the event. Her family owned various sailboats, runabouts, and pontoon boats. She didn’t fish much, but grandpa had a small aluminum fishing boat. Boating in her family was cruising around the lake, looking at cabins, and going to lakeside restaurants.
Different uses. So we talked about what we both wanted. The list we came up with was as follows:
Fishing 2 people comfortably.
Fishing in tailwaters for stripers.
Fishing in lakes for bass/walleye.
Fishing in saltwater (intercoastal) for sea trout and redfish a couple times a year.
(Longshot desire) shallow draft for someday fishing for bonefish.
My wife and I taking the dog out for a ride on local reservoirs.
Taking friends out for cruising.
Taking friends out for skiing/tubing.Additionally, I wanted a boat under 20′, something that I could easily trailer solo. I’ve looked at a ton of stuff online and talked to a lot of friends and a few boat dealers. The consensus pretty much came down to a “bay boat”, a shallow-draw fiberglass boat with an outboard. These can sit in as little as 10″ of water, but still have a hull that can handle some chop.
After WAY too much ‘net surfing, the attached picture below shows what we’re going to look at this weekend in SE Georgia. It’s a Sea Pro SV1900CC, a 19′ center console bay boat. Comes with the fishing package, the full cushion package for guests, and a rippin’ 150HP 4-stroke Mercury outboard.
I’m stoked and nervous enough to puke.
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