Boat Decision?

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, I am in the market for a small aluminum bass-type boat between 14 - 16ft. I have found two that I have looked at but since I'm new to boating not sure which one would be better so if you expereinced boat people can give me your .02 I would greatly appreciated it!

First is a 1994 Sylvan Sea Monster, 15ft. v-hull, early 80's 35hp Johnson 2-stroke outboard, 1987 trailer (great shape). The boat appears to be in really good shape, a few scratches here and there but nothing major on the outside. Interior looks really nice, decks all seem solid, has 3 pedestal chairs in great shape, live well, rod storage, the thing I find interesting is it has no instrumentation on the console...not even a speedometer...just the steering wheel. It also doesn't have a trolling motor (but it's wired for a bow mount) or a fish finder (but again it's wired for one). The dealer said he would go as low as $2600.

Second is a 1989 Lowe 161, 16ft. semi v-hull, 1989 Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 trailer (in good shape, new wheels and tires and new winch), The boat is still wrapped from winter but the dealer opened a slit in the cover on both ends so we could peer inside. Looks to be in great shape on the outside and the inside looks really nice too, all flooring and decking appear in good shape, has live well, rod storage, 3 pedestal seats in great shape, full instrumentation on the console (speedometer and tachometer), 1989 Johnson bow mounted trolling motor, Eagle fish finder. The dealer has it listed at $2800 but I believe I can talk him down to about $2400 or so.

So let's assume that both boats run good and everything functions as it should...which would you choose and why? Thanks for any input!!!

[slonezp]

Sounds like boat 2 is ready to fish, boat 1 is not, its $200 less, a foot longer, and 15 more hp. Seems like a no brainer

[Brett's_daddy]

Anybody else care to add their opinions?

[Scott F]

What would make you even consider the smaller boat?

[Brett's_daddy]

Really the V-hull, heard they ride a lot smoother but is that only on big water? I doubt I'll ever be out on big water and will mostly stick to smaller ponds/lakes. My wife likes the Sylvan because it's 5 years newer and the gas can and batteries are enclosed out of the way by a lockable storage deck-type box in the back but I'm thinking it wouldn't be too tough to build that for the Lowe too with some marine grade plywood and some industrial pieces of carpet...just don't know how it would attach to the boat is all?

[NinjaAbassin]

Boat 2. Seems like it's ready to go. Has guages, fish finder and trolling motor. Semi v and v hull will both break through the water. Plus you only plan on fishing smaller lakes. Creating a box for battery and gas shouldn't be that hard. If it were me I would always take something that has everything and ready to go over something almost finished that needs more money and work put into it. Just my $0.02

[Brett's_daddy]

I'm definitely leaning towards the Lowe myself, I asked the dealer to bring it inside and unwrap it for us so we can check everything out tonight but assuming that it runs well and everything works as it should I'll probably make an offer on it. The wife is into aesthetics and the whole gas can and battery out in the open with no cover thing makes her wrinkle her nose...making an enclosure out of marine plywood and carpet remnants doesn't seem too hard but how would it actually attach to the sides of the boat? I think if I did this she'd go with the Lowe too.

[R H Clark]

Lowe. To hide battery and gas you want a plywood lid that sits flush behind the rear bench seat. You need to look at a bunch of finished-decked boats to get some ideas. You have to make it so you still have easy access.

[Brett's_daddy]

Yup, i would cut out two squares in the top and use door hinges so that they open and close...just not sure how to actually attach it to the boat?

[R H Clark]

3 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

Yup, i would cut out two squares in the top and use door hinges so that they open and close...just not sure how to actually attach it to the boat?

On my old boat I made brackets from some 2" aluminum angle stock. I screwed to the transom and to the back bench seat and fit my lid down flush with the back seat. I had a plywood transom, so no holes all the way through the boat. Just bolt it to the brackets. If you want to stand on it for extra casting deck just screw a vertical and horizontal 2X4 support on each side.

[Brett's_daddy]

What would you use to seal the screws?

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, so we went over to the dealers tonight and the Lowe was in the shop and they were working on the electrical and charging the battery's. I must say that some of the luster of the Lowe was lost seeing it uncovered for the first time. The decking is solid but looks worn, the battery and gas tank sit literally under the rear pedestal seat, it doesn't have a bilge pump but rather the floor is creased in the middle with a floor drain beside the drivers seat and the dealer said if water came in the boat it would follow the crease to the floor drain and then would drain into two small wells in the back of the boat and then to get it out you would pull the plug in the back. It has A LOT of unpainted aluminum...all over both outside and inside (which my wife didn't like because the aluminum looked "old").

That being said we did find another boat that caught our eye, this one is a 1989 Lund Pike D 16ft., v-hull, 1989 Mariner 50hp outboard, a trailer in good condition (maybe need to replace the tires down the road), a newer (maybe 1 or 2 years old) Minn Kota Powerdrive 45lb thrust trolling motor (the thing looks brand new), rod storage, live well, bilge pump, 2 marine batteries (one for trolling motor and one for outboard/electric...the Lowe just has one battery), one large 6 gallon gas tank and one smaller maybe 2.5 - 3 gallon tank, 3 good condition pedestal seats with a mount in place for a 4th (and the pedestal rod in storage so just missing the seat), the wife definitely likes the blue paint job and it looks new or at least recently done, the Lund is definitely wider/more room than the Lowe which probably has to do with the hull design...it just feels like a bigger boat even though both are 16ft long, it does weigh a little more than the Lowe (480lbs. vs. 435lbs.) but not enough to make a huge difference. It has a Humminbird fish finder (older one which I would replace, can you use the existing hook-ups and maybe just replace the transducer with the new models transducer?) compared to the Eagle fish finder on the Lowe. Some of the wood laminate is peeling up on the inside trim and rod locker but I figure if we got this boat we could either carpet those over or maybe use a marine paint and just paint them blue to match the boat.

The dealer is asking $2800 for the Lowe and $2400 for the Lund.

We're kind of leaning towards the Lund now as while we think we could get the dealer down to $2400 on the Lowe we think we can get him down to $2000 (possibly lower) on the Lund...what do you guys (and gals...lets be politically correct) think based on the above knowledge?