Thinking About a Boat

So thinking out loud, I've been wanting a good trailerable boat for fishing for a guy and his wife with preferably four person seating would be nice for just pleasure cruising.

I'm thinking a 19' is a good all around length for one guy to launch and work with. Maybe a seventeen footer ... I don't want a big boat you have to keep in the water. Something that trailers good, is easy to launch and retrieve, and hopefully is a dry boat that doesn't get you soaking wet.

The trick is to find a boat that's big enough, but not too big. Probably your classic bass boat in some form for pulling it around central TX to lakes and maybe the shipping canal or bay for flounder occasionally .... tunnel hull would be nice maybe. Or a jet boat could do rivers :confused:... but a standard bass boat would probably do the best for us for pulling it to mostly lakes and fishing. We don't need a Mako to go out to the jetty's or around the bays and down the inter-coastal canal a couple times per year. Imagining .. ....:dunno:
 
N801BH said:
Kool...... Show me........

It must be one hell of a tidal surge though......

I grew up in Miami,, about 20 degrees north.. those tides were about 2.2 feet...
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Bay of Cambay (Kombat), India. It's on the Pakistan side of India. We took a jack-up drilling rig in there 20-some years ago. Ten meter tides and about 30 foot water depth, we put several boats aground...somewhere around here I have a panoramic photo set taken from the helideck that shows mud flats all around the rig.

Yup, there was some surge...it was the fastest tow I've ever seen...

Management said go do it but I don't think anybody understood what we really accomplished. As far as I know, no one has been back.
 
Well.. I learned something today. I always thought tides were latitude specific....And predictable....
 
N801BH said:
Well.. I learned something today. I always thought tides were latitude specific....And predictable....
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The "predictable" part is a little funny. We had tide tables but the times were somewhat "advisory" depending on location in the bay.

We did have to use the tide tables to pick the best times to pull the boats off mudbanks in shallow water, after trying at high tide and failing we figured out that we had to wait for a spring tide.

The entire job was just an operational nightmare...we were darn lucky we didn't lose any people or equipment. We did provide some entertainment for the locals when we put a workboat hard aground just off the harbor entrance...
 
Henning said:
I try not to use those ramps.
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On the island you don't have much choice, Look at the sea plane base here at whidbey, those ramps are very gentle slopes because the NAVY had to haul out 80k# aircraft with tracked tractors.
Boman bay in the park stops about 30' off the top, and at low tide the water is 100 yards from the bottom of the ramp. The Coronet Bay ramps were just completely redone . because they were so bad. They had a 3' drop off at the end of the cement. you had wait until high water to launch.
You will get your trailer wheels wet at every ramp around here.
 
txflyer said:
So thinking out loud, I've been wanting a good trailerable boat for fishing for a guy and his wife with preferably four person seating would be nice for just pleasure cruising.

I'm thinking a 19' is a good all around length for one guy to launch and work with. Maybe a seventeen footer ... I don't want a big boat you have to keep in the water. Something that trailers good, is easy to launch and retrieve, and hopefully is a dry boat that doesn't get you soaking wet.

The trick is to find a boat that's big enough, but not too big. Probably your classic bass boat in some form for pulling it around central TX to lakes and maybe the shipping canal or bay for flounder occasionally .... tunnel hull would be nice maybe. Or a jet boat could do rivers :confused:... but a standard bass boat would probably do the best for us for pulling it to mostly lakes and fishing. We don't need a Mako to go out to the jetty's or around the bays and down the inter-coastal canal a couple times per year. Imagining .. ....:dunno:
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It depends if you want to boat on the bigger lakes and busy days. When the wave height gets above 18" in a wind it starts getting pretty uncomfortable . Worse though is when it's all confused from hundreds of wakes coming from all directions. If you want a bit more rough/open water capability (maybe haul down to the gulf and do some salt water fishing at the platforms 50 miles out in deep water every now and then) you might consider a deeper V hull typical with a center console boat.

The easiest way to choose between prop and jet is just choose both. You can get a jet pump lower unit for many outboards. Use those and you can swap them in about an hour, change the water pump impeller while you're at it.
 
N801BH said:
Well.. I learned something today. I always thought tides were latitude specific....And predictable....
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No, they are geography dependent. In relative terms, as the moon goes around the Earth, it sucks up a wave of water that follows it around the world. When it can drag that wave into a decreasing space with no place to escape, it gets really high. The opposite lack of ability to refill on the pull is why they go so low. The NE corner of the Indian Ocean has really high tides as well from the East coast of India all the way to the Indonesian archipelago and Northern and western coasts of Australia.

Some of these areas only get one tide a day because the backside wave is stacking up the outflow of the frontside big tide.
 
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txflyer said:
So thinking out loud, I've been wanting a good trailerable boat for fishing for a guy and his wife with preferably four person seating would be nice for just pleasure cruising.

I'm thinking a 19' is a good all around length for one guy to launch and work with. Maybe a seventeen footer ... I don't want a big boat you have to keep in the water. Something that trailers good, is easy to launch and retrieve, and hopefully is a dry boat that doesn't get you soaking wet.

The trick is to find a boat that's big enough, but not too big. Probably your classic bass boat in some form for pulling it around central TX to lakes and maybe the shipping canal or bay for flounder occasionally .... tunnel hull would be nice maybe. Or a jet boat could do rivers :confused:... but a standard bass boat would probably do the best for us for pulling it to mostly lakes and fishing. We don't need a Mako to go out to the jetty's or around the bays and down the inter-coastal canal a couple times per year. Imagining .. ....:dunno:
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You should really think about where you're going to use your boat most. If you think it might be in the ocean, or big lakes, forget about a bass boat. They are flat water only. Remember, an ocean going boat can always run on flat water, or anywhere, but a flat water river boat, can't go in the ocean. For what you described, I would suggest a console boat. They're good all around boats you can take anywhere that are set up mostly for fishing but the family can still be comfortable on. They're easy to trailer and come in all sizes.

l_Mako_Boats_192_Center_Console_2007_AI-244092_II-11354739.jpg
 
Dav8or said:
You should really think about where you're going to use your boat most. If you think it might be in the ocean, or big lakes, forget about a bass boat. They are flat water only. Remember, an ocean going boat can always run on flat water, or anywhere, but a flat water river boat, can't go in the ocean. For what you described, I would suggest a console boat. They're good all around boats you can take anywhere that are set up mostly for fishing but the family can still be comfortable on. They're easy to trailer and come in all sizes.

l_Mako_Boats_192_Center_Console_2007_AI-244092_II-11354739.jpg
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I'd take a Shamrock, but yeah someting like that. Put a 9.9/15hp kicker on it with drag link steering to get you back if something happens to primary. Lots of guys run multiple big engines, (had 4 557HP outboards on the back of a 30' CC at the Miami Boat Show the other day.
 
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Henning said:
I'd take a Shamrock, but yeah someting like that. Put a 9.9/15hp kicker on it with drag link steering to get you back if something happens to primary. Lots of guys run multiple big engines, (had 4 557HP outboards on the back of a 30' CC at the Miami Boat Show the other day.
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WOW... I wanna see....

:needpics::needpics::needpics:
 
Henning said:
It depends if you want to boat on the bigger lakes and busy days. When the wave height gets above 18" in a wind it starts getting pretty uncomfortable . Worse though is when it's all confused from hundreds of wakes coming from all directions.
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A friggin men, brother! Our 21ft bowrider only has 17* deadrise at the stern, and our lake gets mega chopped up by all the guys running their 50ft sport cruisers and sedan bridges at max hull speed. Big honkin wakes, and when they cross, they get BIG. The bowrider rides like crap and I have to come off plane and go slow thru them. It's a pita. If there's a next boat, it will be one of the newer bow rider configured deep Vs.

Yeah, there I said it, a deep V with big honkin' outboards for an inland lake.
 
Henning said:
The easiest way to choose between prop and jet is just choose both. You can get a jet pump lower unit for many outboards. Use those and you can swap them in about an hour, change the water pump impeller while you're at it.
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You also get the advantage of having an inefficient jet pump strapped to the bottom of your outboard, so you get to buy more gas!
 
I'd second the CC like pictured above. Good for a variety of different conditions and comfortable enough to seat 5-6 people on a 20' boat. I wouldn't worry about a 20' boat being too big to trailer or launch/load. Most boats are just as easy to tow until you get to the 26'+ range, need a 3/4 ton tow vehicle, and a triple axle trailer. I've rarely heard of someone who was upset that they got a boat 2' longer than they initially thought they'd need.

Another option that slightly less "offshore" is something like the Ranger 621V or Lund Pro-V's. They have a deeper freeboard than the normal bass rockets and will take chop/etc much better as well. They won't keep you as dry as a bay CC will in truly nasty conditions, but they have full windshields which usually does a good job.

prov-gl-219.jpg
 
The boat we use the most, it can be carried in the basement of the coach. (no trailer needed)
 

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SoonerAviator said:
You also get the advantage of having an inefficient jet pump strapped to the bottom of your outboard, so you get to buy more gas!
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Yep, but if you want to run rivers, you save a bunch of prop money, not to mention getting your broke boat out of the middle of nowhere.:lol: That's why you only swap to it for trips when you'll need it. Lower units are easy swaps. Yeah, you can get a more efficient jet, but no jet will be as efficient as when you run with the prop. Swapping between inboard jet and out drive is not an option.
 
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SoonerAviator said:
I'd second the CC like pictured above. Good for a variety of different conditions and comfortable enough to seat 5-6 people on a 20' boat. I wouldn't worry about a 20' boat being too big to trailer or launch/load. Most boats are just as easy to tow until you get to the 26'+ range, need a 3/4 ton tow vehicle, and a triple axle trailer. I've rarely heard of someone who was upset that they got a boat 2' longer than they initially thought they'd need.

Another option that slightly less "offshore" is something like the Ranger 621V or Lund Pro-V's. They have a deeper freeboard than the normal bass rockets and will take chop/etc much better as well. They won't keep you as dry as a bay CC will in truly nasty conditions, but they have full windshields which usually does a good job.

prov-gl-219.jpg
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Yeah, a lot of the traditional bass boat builders have started using deeper V hull forms.
 
Center console's have become very nice in a short time frame. Some of them even have a head tucked away inside the console. That would be an excellent add-on for the femalian types and their crazy problems ..

This happens every time I start thinking about a boat. I start leaning towards the CC's for all around lake and salt water fishing.

Then the length, the options, and the price start going up and up and up ... :mad2:
 
Bill Jennings said:
A friggin men, brother! Our 21ft bowrider only has 17* deadrise at the stern, and our lake gets mega chopped up by all the guys running their 50ft sport cruisers and sedan bridges at max hull speed. Big honkin wakes, and when they cross, they get BIG. The bowrider rides like crap and I have to come off plane and go slow thru them. It's a pita. If there's a next boat, it will be one of the newer bow rider configured deep Vs.

Yeah, there I said it, a deep V with big honkin' outboards for an inland lake.
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I lost all modes of propulsion once on my fiberglass trihull about a mile and a half off the shore of the lake with 40 mph winds. I wasn't sure I was going to drift to shore before I just straight up sank because each set of waves was crashing over the boat and filling it with LOTS of water.

I don't think I ever turned wrenches so fast before. The 40 degree water was pretty concerning.
 
txflyer said:
Center console's have become very nice in a short time frame. Some of them even have a head tucked away inside the console. That would be an excellent add-on for the femalian types and their crazy problems ..

This happens every time I start thinking about a boat. I start leaning towards the CC's for all around lake and salt water fishing.

Then the length, the options, and the price start going up and up and up ... :mad2:
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If it was me, 25-27'cc and I would build a retracting T-top that drops around the console combing reducing the trailering drag, and securing all you electronics and and console mini cabin. The console not only has a head function, but a forward trunk as well that serves as a micro cabin where two people can lay down in shelter in a water tight cabin that also serves as an all storm survivavable retreat when bad goes to worst, and then the T-top retraction protects you as well.

I would power it with a single four stroke of 200hp or greater and a 25hp or less kicker with drag link steering and a second control at the helm as a come home kicker that can also server for an inshore as well as offshore big game trolling motor.

If your 180 is your "last plane" that will leave your possession as you leave the earth, and you are looking for a boat to be in the hangar with it at that time, let me know and we can put you together an awesome boat that will provide endless fun and security on the water.

If you want a new boat, it is cheaper for me to deal with the manufacturer and build a semi custom boat, than it is to buy the boat and customize it, it's also fare less wasteful, and usually I bargain in the value of being able to reproduce the concept from further use of the tooling. It doesn't cost much more to customize a small production boat from a quality small manufacturer during the build process. Typically I can do it cheaper than buying a new lower cost high volume production boat and customizing it to suit. In fact, there have been projects where the customizations more than doubled the cost if the boat as delivered.

However, I can customize and refit a used boat cheaper than I can buy the new high volume production boat for, the end result just isn't quite as slick and optimized.

Boating is like aviation, there are three factors people strive for, safe, fun, and cheap. You can have any 2 of the three.
 
I appreciate the advice. I've got a bunch of flying coming up, so I'm thinking that early/mid April I'll pull the boat out of its corner and work on the surge brakes some, and if I'm convinced of no more freezing by then fire up the engine and see where it all stands. I'm figuring early May will be likely for first time on the water.
 
We bought a Baja outlaw 25 last year. It is the most fun the family has had together. The Baja has a pretty deep hull so it does not beat the crap out of you. It has a single 502 and runs great!
On another note the boat is good for a full day out on the lake. If we just leave in the afternoon and stay a few hours the jet ski is WAY less trouble to deal with.
 

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Henning said:
If it was me, 25-27'cc and I would build a retracting T-top that drops around the console combing reducing the trailering drag, and securing all you electronics and and console mini cabin. The console not only has a head function, but a forward trunk as well that serves as a micro cabin where two people can lay down in shelter in a water tight cabin that also serves as an all storm survivavable retreat when bad goes to worst, and then the T-top retraction protects you as well.

I would power it with a single four stroke of 200hp or greater and a 25hp or less kicker with drag link steering and a second control at the helm as a come home kicker that can also server for an inshore as well as offshore big game trolling motor.

If your 180 is your "last plane" that will leave your possession as you leave the earth, and you are looking for a boat to be in the hangar with it at that time, let me know and we can put you together an awesome boat that will provide endless fun and security on the water.

If you want a new boat, it is cheaper for me to deal with the manufacturer and build a semi custom boat, than it is to buy the boat and customize it, it's also fare less wasteful, and usually I bargain in the value of being able to reproduce the concept from further use of the tooling. It doesn't cost much more to customize a small production boat from a quality small manufacturer during the build process. Typically I can do it cheaper than buying a new lower cost high volume production boat and customizing it to suit. In fact, there have been projects where the customizations more than doubled the cost if the boat as delivered.

However, I can customize and refit a used boat cheaper than I can buy the new high volume production boat for, the end result just isn't quite as slick and optimized.

Boating is like aviation, there are three factors people strive for, safe, fun, and cheap. You can have any 2 of the three.
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Much food for thought.


Center console modified or deep V would be the best all around trailering salt and lake boat is what I always come around to when I start looking. Not too big to take alone, but not too small for three or four souls either. I'd like to stay away from tandem axles, or a heavy boat maybe I can't handle. A 27' CC might get a bit ornery for one guy in bad launching/retrieving weather. Something smaller if they make one might fit the bill. Something on a single axle trailer with good brakes if there is such an animal. :redface:

I appreciate the offer. Chances are, if I find a boat, like every other boat I've ever bought, it'll probably be from some poor schmuck who's having the second happiest day of his boating life! :lol:
 
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I should be shot for wanting anything with another engine and parts and registration and insurance and ... :mad2:
 
txflyer said:
Much food for thought.


Center console modified or deep V would be the best all around trailering salt and lake boat is what I always come around to when I start looking. Not too big to take alone, but not too small for three or four souls either. I'd like to stay away from tandem axles, or a heavy boat maybe I can't handle. A 27' CC might get a bit ornery for one guy in bad launching/retrieving weather. Something smaller if they make one might fit the bill. Something on a single axle trailer with good brakes if there is such an animal. :redface:

I appreciate the offer. Chances are, if I find a boat, like every other boat I've ever bought, it'll probably be from some poor schmuck who's having the second happiest day of his boating life! :lol:
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I'm not sure why you'd shy away from a tandem trailer. Aside from the infrequent cost of another two trailer tires over a single axle, they are usually a joy to tow. Less finicky about tongue weight and load-equalizing so it doesn't bounce up and down or fishtail as much. Operating a 4k lbs boat isn't much different solo than a 3k lbs boat, and can be easier in wind/currents due to not being affected as much with the higher weight. Plenty of guys running big boats solo, it just takes some time to learn the low speed handling.
 
txflyer said:
I should be shot for wanting anything with another engine and parts and registration and insurance and ... :mad2:
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Trust me, I understand the addiction and the sickness. I have long suffered from it and now that I have more money, it only gets worse. We should both be shot for our own good as well as our family's. :yes::lol:
 
Dav8or said:
Trust me, I understand the addiction and the sickness. I have long suffered from it and now that I have more money, it only gets worse. We should both be shot for our own good as well as our family's. :yes::lol:
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Money is the root of all evil.

Every boat I've had, and I've owned three, I said I'd never own another boat again. Vile water logging creatures they are.

It definitely is an addiction. Addicts should be put down. :D
 
Pfft. I have five floating things right now. 27' Excel, 17' invader, Kawa ZXi, Yamaha 1100, paddle boat. I stopped counting prev boats at 30.
 
txflyer said:
Much food for thought.


Center console modified or deep V would be the best all around trailering salt and lake boat is what I always come around to when I start looking. Not too big to take alone, but not too small for three or four souls either. I'd like to stay away from tandem axles, or a heavy boat maybe I can't handle. A 27' CC might get a bit ornery for one guy in bad launching/retrieving weather. Something smaller if they make one might fit the bill. Something on a single axle trailer with good brakes if there is such an animal. :redface:

I appreciate the offer. Chances are, if I find a boat, like every other boat I've ever bought, it'll probably be from some poor schmuck who's having the second happiest day of his boating life! :lol:
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Bow thrusters are cheap for the handling challenged, 23 makes a good boat too. Smaller than 23 is pretty tight for 4 guys to fish.

BTW, handling isn't a worry, I'll get you confident and competent in a couple of hours.
 
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txflyer said:
Money is the root of all evil.

Every boat I've had, and I've owned three, I said I'd never own another boat again. Vile water logging creatures they are.

It definitely is an addiction. Addicts should be put down. :D
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The better you build them to begin with, the better they work for you down the road. Nothing wrong with addiction as long as you enjoy it rather than regret it.

As for trailers, tandem axle is the way to go IMO. Triple axle sucks, but tandem is nice to tow.:dunno:
 
Whatever it is, it has to go behind a F350 crew SRW powerstroke longbed. I have a 110 gallon buddy tank in it for fueling tractors. If I could find a diesel boat, that would be the shiznet. Because I could fuel it with the truck whenever or wherever I want.

While I'm dreaming, why not a diesel SeaVee CC with iPS drives? Before it's over, I'd want GPSS steering with auto pilot and position hold.

What are we up to? $200,000.00 by now? :mad2::lol:





.
 
Dav8or said:
Trust me, I understand the addiction and the sickness. I have long suffered from it and now that I have more money, it only gets worse. We should both be shot for our own good as well as our family's. :yes::lol:
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Many of us are gear/motor heads. If it turns dead dinosaurs into power and noise, I LIKE it. Planes, cars, bikes, boats....
 
docmirror said:
Pfft. I have five floating things right now. 27' Excel, 17' invader, Kawa ZXi, Yamaha 1100, paddle boat. I stopped counting prev boats at 30.
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I'm fairly new to boats, I own #5 now. I gave up owning a sailboat, crewing for others on their boats satisfies my sailing cravings well enough.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Many of us are gear/motor heads. If it turns dead dinosaurs into power and noise, I LIKE it. Planes, cars, bikes, boats....
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:yes: :yes: :yes:

Don't forget chainsaws! :D
 
Bill Jennings said:
Many of us are gear/motor heads. If it turns dead dinosaurs into power and noise, I LIKE it. Planes, cars, bikes, boats....
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It is called the 'cylinder index' and a measure of manliness. Every cylinder on a working internal combustion engine in your possession counts.
 
weilke said:
It is called the 'cylinder index' and a measure of manliness. Every cylinder on a working internal combustion engine in your possession counts.
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I'm slacking now. I sold my last V12 in 2013. I haven't bought 3 new four cyl things to make up the diff. :loco:
 
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