Boat buying advice for NH/ME waters

[deerme]

i believe NHTF bought a new Lund last year and may be able to provide some helpful info if you PM him...

[surflizard]

Quote: I have talked the wife into investing more into the right boat, but we have decided to buy this fall. I'm thinking a Lund Alaskan side console with a 60 horse and a kicker of some kind, but she is willing to let me look into a newer boat and motor. 

Sounds like ya already landed a nice keeper Jethro ! 

[newfoundpleasure]

 

I think I'd set up a bow mount 80# thrust MinnKota with I-pilot instead of the kicker. Has GPS built in and can remember two different paths. Can hold a heading and speed Also can hold position even in wind. Comes with remote that you can mount to your sleeve like a big watch.  Steer the boat from anywhere on the boat.
I've had a few occasions on Squam that I hit a school of Whites and had to keep starting the motor, go up wind, shut it down and drift over the school and jig em up, and then do it all over again and again and again for a few hours..  It's nice to be able to hold position over them.. The I-pilot GPS is my next big investment.  Expect close to $2k for that with a pair of good batteries and onboard charger.
This one made for saltwater:
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/products/accessories/ipilot/saltwater.aspx

You could troll electric, but with an 18' boat and a 60hp Yammy 4stroke at idle you wouldn't need more than dragging one bucket to get down to 2mph..

I actually catch more fish in a bigger boat dragging six 5gal. buckets going 2.2mph than I do in the 15' with trolling plate.   No lie!  


Updated:
Jethro, I've been waiting for someone else to chime in on this one. Since nobody else is mentioning it, I will.  60hp on a 16' deep-V aluminum is a good choice.  On a Lund Alaskan 1800.. No Way..  That 1800 is almost 19' long.  Way too much boat in my opinion for 60hp..  Enough if fishing within 1 or 2 miles of where you launch, but cutting across Winni or staying in Rockwood or Greenville, Maine and traveling 10-15 miles in the early morning trying to get to Spencer Bay only doing 20mph and you'll be cussing us out.  You want to be able to do 35mph on smooth water minumum.  For that 18' I'd bump up to 90hp..  Just go back to that Alumacraft link I posted on page 2 with the boat size/ HP tests.  An 18'9" Alaskan people and gear, will be lucky to hit 24mph with a 60hp.  I really hope others chime in.

NB

[Oddfish]

Jethro,

A lot of good advice here.  My .02, I lke fiberglass better than aluminum.  either work, but I am comfotable with fiberglass repair. It's esay and cheap.  Of cours if you are well versed in aluminum welding the same can be said for aluminum.  Both are more than adaquate material.  I would forgoe the tiller what ever size boat you get.  sittin in the back of a small boat going against the wind is a good way to flip a boat, especially in gusty conditions.  If you do go with a tiller put the fuel tank up front it'll help.  16 is a good enough sise for a lot of what you want to do, but Dispy is dead on you will always want bigger so push what you can get now and you will be happier in the long run.  One boat notmentioned here is the boston whaler.  They won't sink...even if you cut them in half.  I have gone out father at sea in a 17 whaler than I usually go in my 25 steiger craft.  Their two down falls are they are expensive unless you by a junker and rebuild, and the foam gets water logger over time (doesn't effect the floatation much) and this makes them much more heavy than they originally were.  But a 15' Boston will get you thru a lot of weather and is a very stable craft.  My personal choice would be a boat that floats even if capsized.  I am comfortable in the water and provided I was not knocked out I would ride the flipped boat to what ever shore the wind blew.  If the boat goes down you have to swim it yourself, much more exposer risk there.  I would be looking for a physically ugly boat that is structurally sound with a trailer that has a sticky berring that is easy to fix but knocks the price down.  The motor does not have to be big since in rough weather and trolling you are going slow anyway.

Oddfish

[BoutTime]

Jethro,

I picked this up December 2009.  I had been looking for 2-3 years.  I came across totally by accident while window shopping on CL.  I happen to look in the boats section, then went to the RV section looking to pick up a snowmobile for icefishing.  Then went back and refreshed the boat section and saw this come up.  I called, jumped in my car and laid the money down.  No haggling.  Once in a great while a really good deal comes along. Usually when unexpected.  In late fall/early winter you should be able to find a good deal on a late 80's Starcraft Holiday or SeaNymph Great Lakes Special.  They are 19 footers.  Those were a bit big for my taste as I already have a 22' I keep in Newfie.  Everyone is telling you 14' to 18'..  Split the difference and look for 16'    In a few years, I'm either going to spend a winter restoring my 15' or get rid of both the 15 and 22 and get a new17'-18' of one of the three I mentioned in earlier post.  Be aware that the state keeps talking about having to register canoes/kayaks.  You can realistically only fish one rod while paddling.  Those Hobie's are big money, I know as I was looking at going that route with the pedal drive.  There have been many a calm morning when looking out over Newfound at 6am seeing the rises on top of the mirror, I wish I had a canoe with electric.. If it's been working for yah, you probably wanna keep it.

My $900 find.


NB

Hey I have that same year and size F&S.

You have any more pics NFP? The trailer even looks the same as mine.

Id definately go with an aluminum 16' Jethro. I beach mine alot, and have had no issues at all. I love my bowrider, its a great nap spot when the fish wear you out!  Make sure to look for soft spots in the floor and transom of any boat you check out too.

[newfoundpleasure]

I'm a huge fan of Whaler.  good points made fiber vs. alum. Depends on what it's use will be. My lake neighbor only buys Whaler.  We caught a lot of fish out of his center console 190 MONTAUK or Dauntless(I forget which) with a Yammy 4 stroke.  He was fortunate enough to catch a few 50# Stripers too with it.  His wife wanted wind screen so he got rid of it for a Whaler Outrage 19' with bowrider deck.  Still a great boat, but has had trouble with his Optimax.(keeps going back in for repairs/ loud as hell too).  I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Whaler if I had the money..  But, I don't!  I've helped him drill holes in his Whalers to mount fishing items.  All I can say is, they are built like a floating tank.. My Larson only has 3/8-1/2" of fiberglass in places his Whalers had 1 1/2" or more.
You also see larger whalers at sea, but not many with rods hanging off the side on the lakes.    x2 on if you are gonna beach your boat regularly get aluminum.
I'm a huge fan of those 15' Whaler Super Sports.  But in my opinion aluminum is better for New England sportmen(lake camping/remote areas).  Nobody I know wants to tow a 3000# Whaler down a pot hole filled dirt road in upstate Maine.    Again, intended use.  I'm thinking because you're moving from a canoe up to a boat, aluminum would work better for your style of fishing.  If mostly striper fishing then hitting the lake sometimes then the Whaler.
Another buddy of mine has his heart set on getting a Whaler for his family..  I keep trying to talk him out of it.  Only because I know how he'd use it..  One doesn't understand how a fiberglass bottom holds up on a pebble beach during a wind storm until they have had a chance to own one and take it out of the water only to look at all the damage to the bottom.  I know if my neighbor keeps the place on the lake, then a Lund is in his future too.  We've talked about it.

Lunds float pretty well too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M30nDtZ4iys

Also be careful that the boat is not under powered.  Look at last springs posts here where I was asking questions about powering my SeaNymph..  It had a 50hp on it.  Last owner said it did 40mph with that.  I had it in my head I wanted a 25hp 4stroke(mainly so anyone without a boat lic. could take my dad out with it.)  Someone told me here to keep the 50 and get a small kicker or Electric.  I didn't listen, and wish now I had.  The 25hp on the 15' without the happy troller trolling plate on went 22mph at 5900 rpm planed out just about 16mph.  Then we put the happy troller on because we just couldn't get it to go slow enough  at idle.  Now with the happy troller up because of the added drag, I can just barely hit 17mph and it takes all day to get it to plane out.  Nobody without a boat lic. ever takes my dad out.  This year we bought the 55# MinnKota, and if it does well, the trolling plate is coming off and I'll patch the drilled holes.  You can't go faster than 20mph in chop.. however you do want enough power to get you comfortably to 30mph on calm days so you can move to a different area of a lake if one area is not producing.

Jethro, you suck for starting this post.  
Now I want a new LUND.  
Just thought of these  reasons for console forward over tiller is weight forward to help boat plane and able to stand up and see what's in front of you easier in skinny water.
If I had trained my Chessie to retrieve ducks, I'd get the Wilderness Alaskan, but I didn't.
I've been drooling over the new Impact model 1775..  The beam is almost 8' wide.. Holy Crap:
http://www.lundboats.com/boats/2011-aluminum/impact/1775-impact-new


BoutTime, No other pics of just the boat.  I do love mine, and because it's old, I don't worry about the rocks at some of the boat launches around the state.  But, I do wish it was just a tad bigger.   The whole 2 footitis I guess.

[BoutTime]

Yeah I beach mine on 2x6 cribbing if its going to be weeks or months at a time, it saves the bottom quite a bit.

I usually fish by myself so its perfect size for that use. I can take the kids/grandson without too much crowding though.

I only paid $600 for the boat/motor/trailer, but mine wasnt too pretty when I brought her home. Ive been trying to do upgrades here and there, and Ive got her almost done. Yours looks real snazzy though. LOL

[Sinnian]

Sinnian, this looks like a great deal here, pretty much perfect for the money. Trailer is redone, that's nice.

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/2363781564.html

I have talked the wife into investing more into the right boat, but we have decided to buy this fall. I'm thinking a Lund Alaskan side console with a 60 horse and a kicker of some kind, but she is willing to let me look into a newer boat and motor. 

I saw that ~ tempting.  I am a teacher and waiting to make sure I am employed next year before I can do anything 

Have you seen this:
http://maine.craigslist.org/boa/2366711137.html

[Jethro]

Oooh, I like that... I could almost buy that now... almost.

[Jethro]

I only paid $600 for the boat/motor/trailer,

Wow, $600, I'm into my canoe for way over double that including the gas and electric motors.

[BoutTime]

Yeah but thats an awesome canoe Jethro, never saw one that wide.

[Sinnian]

Wow, $600, I'm into my canoe for way over double that including the gas and electric motors.

That looks very similar to my set up, but with a 14' Osprey OT instead (and no gas motor).  Where did you get that cup holder?  (road looks familiar too, Oak Hill?)

[newfoundpleasure]

Me again..  Sorry!
It's Mother's Day, so no fishing this morning for me.     Monday and Tuesday though.

I was going to send Jethro a PM with this link, because I'm sure everyone is getting sick of my long winded posts.
But I located this article that I wanted to share with everyone in the same boat!  
The only thing I don't agree with the article is a shallow-V with very low degree dead-rise.  I never plan on fishing in 6" of water.  More dead-rise handles bigger water better.
This person put a lot of time and energy into this:  The Alaskan looks to be the way to go if not wanting to customize.
http://www.correllconcepts.com/boat_conversion.htm

And Jethro,  That's a mean canoe set-up..  You might wanna keep that one..

Scott

[Jethro]

Where did you get that cup holder?  (road looks familiar too, Oak Hill?)

I made both the bow and stern shelfs in an afternoon with some various scrap I had. I don't have good picture of it, but the piece of alum bar stock you see on top? It's the handle to an old skimmer and has inch measurments to 20" or so.



The front work deck is really cool, mostly because I stole a buddies idea I fish with a lot, but made it way better. Everytime he fishes in my he's pi$$ed how much nicer mine is, and that is good. See the two cup holder sizes? One works with a big, thick foam coozy, the other for a coffee or something smaller. And there is a lip on the front so things don't roll off.

[Sinnian]

Thanks Jethro, I am going to have to try to copy those