Pros/Cons of these Two Boats?

[Klebs01]

Allen is absolutely right. When I started fishing from a boat, it was in a rented 14' aluminum V with 8hp on a 2400 acre lake. I would go out with my wide and It was plenty of power for what it was. I now have a 17.5' with a 115. Yeah, it's more comfortable, but it doesn't really do anything the smaller boat couldn't. If I was to bring it to ab 80 acre lake, I wouldn't even start the big motor. Wouldn't be worth it. The trolling motor would be much better, more efficient and effective on that size pond. 

[Jaderose]

I fish a 76 acre lake all the time and use a 30 lb trolling motor ONLY.  Up North I fish a 700 acre lake with a 7 horse Yamaha on a 14 ft.  V jon boat with me an my wife.  We are not small people.  That little 7 horse does just fine.  How fast?  I have no idea but I'm fishing.  Not skiing or tubing.  How fast do you need on an 80- acre lake?  Hold on to your money and buy something very basic

[Evan K]

My budget is way tighter, but I'm looking at a 12' riveted jon boat from BPS, $600, and have a new 55 lb thrust Minn-Kota Traxxis TM. Going to put a good sonar on it and hopefully a bow mount motor and keep the whole package under $1500. Maybe something like that?

[Allen Der]

Ok I briefly looked at the first few pages of the NH craigslist and came up with these 3 gems.  All from this century with newer 4 stroke motors that should be bulletproof.  no rotted wood to worry about and low maintenance. Just add a 12v transom mount trolling motor, battery, and fish finder to it and you're still under your budget.

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5541760670.html

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5541513181.html

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5540879203.html

I know these aren't what you are envisioning or want long term, but they are "starter boats" to get your feet wet.  I know guys who fish 2,000+ acre lakes with boats like these and are better fisherman than most.   the best part is when you are ready to upgrade, you can sell these easily for about what you pay for them.  If you buy one of those 30 year old money pits, you're going to be lucky to get $500 when you trade it in (if the motor hasnt blown up by then)

[WIGuide]

Much of the advise here is spot on. If you're fishing nothing but smaller lakes I'd start out with a jon boat or something similar. Not much that can go wrong with them. A lot of what you're looking at has been overpriced in my opinion. I'm not totally against buying an older used boat as long as it's the right one. One that's been taken care of is going to have far less issues than those that have not. Up until two years ago I owned an 86 Ranger, I had that for roughly 5 years or so and aside from small things like trailer lighting and aerator pumps the only money I put into it was on upgrades. I've got a 97 now and again haven't had to do much. I know that doesn't guarantee that I won't sometime down the line. The one thing that needs to be stressed here is TAKE YOUR TIME! I know how bad you want a boat, but you need to wait for the right deal to come along. When you do, that's when to act fast because it won't last long. Also, now is the worst time to buy when it comes to prices. The beginning of the year everything goes up because of the upcoming season. The best time to buy is mid-summer into the fall/winter. 

Just a little motivation to keep you going. Both of these specimens were purchased within your price range. Granted these are not the standard going rates for these, but just to show that you can still find a deal out there if you're patient.

[Kevin22]

Remember he is taking his wife and small son out as well. A 14' Jon or skiff might not be the correct boat for family safety... 

[S Hovanec]

I've bought 4 boats like your looking at.  The first one, I put more money to get it in shape than I paid for it.  Fished it for a year cause it wasn't what I wanted.

 

 Second one, needed a new floor.  The one place I didn't check was bad.  Rebuilt that one and fished it for a year.  Not what I wanted.

 

Third one I rebuilt and never even fished out of before I sold it.

 

Then I bought my current boat cause I was tired of settling.  I've been in it since 2005.

 

Thought I wanted a small lake boat, so I bought another project.   Started into it and said screw it, not worth the time and money.   I sold it after I tore out the transom.

[Brett's_daddy]

I just found this...

http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/boa/5541230712.html

Looks like it has some hard water stains but that can be cleaned up if the rest of the boat is soldi. What do you think?

[S Hovanec]

12 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I just found this...

http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/boa/5541230712.html

Looks like it has some hard water stains but that can be cleaned up if the rest of the boat is soldi. What do you think?

Call me a cynic, but there's a reason there were no pictures taken with the cover off.

[Brett's_daddy]

These are pics he sent me. Says the water stain is from leaving it in the lake house every summer but that it was winterized every year. Reason for selling is they sold the lake house and are moving away and needs to sell it in short order.

 

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

I will give you honest insight since I just last year purchased my first boat. I found an 18ft Quest center console. Had some issues with the engine (carbs). Talked to the guy and he didn't mind my boat mechanic coming out and checking it out. Boat mechanic went through all the steps, engine compression, testing the engine out, looking the boat over, checking the wiring and trailer and tires and all (he knew I was green when it came to these things so he did a pretty in depth look for me). Needless to say for $1600 my boat mechanic was down right giddy and said if I didn't buy it he would right  on the spot. Bottom line is you CAN find a good boat that may need a little work. I came out way ahead with this boat and if you do the proper homework and checks you could too. Have an experienced boat mechanic check the unit out for you before purchase. He can give you a rundown of costs on what may be wrong with unit and give you an idea if its worth it or not. Don't just buy it too say you own a boat because without checking it you could make the worst decision of your life(at least it would seem that way)

[Brett's_daddy]

We don't have our own private boat mechanic willing to come with us on a moments notice for a 3 hour drive to check out a boat...that's just not feasible unless it's a local sale.

[S Hovanec]

Color me surprised.   Not what I was expecting under there.  My only concern is that thing looks narrow.  Narrow = tippy.

[Brett's_daddy]

Looking it up it says that the boat has a 5'11" beam.

[Brett's_daddy]

28 minutes ago, S Hovanec said:

My only concern is that thing looks narrow.  Narrow = tippy.

NADA says that it has a 5'11" beam.

[Kevin22]

That's a standard size alum bass boat, not extra wide for sure. That appears to be just what you need. Now be sure to water test it before buying. Stop at autozone or NAPA and get or rent a compression tester on your way there. Water test it, run it, test the livewells and bilge, test everything you can think of. Check the compression on the motor and carefully inspect the engine, as well as the lower unit housing/prop hub. With the transom savor off, gently shake the motor front to back and see how much flex the transom has. 

If it all checks out, I think its worth what he is asking. If he won't let you do any of the tests I mentioned then walk away and forget about it. Don't let him give you excuses to why you can't test something. 

[Brett's_daddy]

How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? How much flex should the transom have? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.

 

[gulfcaptain]

14 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.

 

Okay, you need to find someone that know's what's going on.  Everyone here may sound like we are giving you a hard time, but we are just trying to keep you from well being bent over.  A transom saver is a braket that keeps the motor from bouncing while trailering.  Hence transom saver as it keeps undo stress from occuring to the transom of the boat.  Water testing means put the boat in the lake and go run it. Check everything out.  See how it handles, make sure things work, see how the engine sounds under a load with you and him in the boat.  Compression checks mean you pull out a spark plug and shove the little tester in the hole and crank the motor over.  It will give you an idea of how much compression each cylinder has then you can cross check to see what it's supposed to have.  So say it's supposed to have 60psi and you find one that has 30psi and the other is 55psi.  The 55psi is okay, but 30.....well you have an issue.  If the seller won't let you test run the boat out on a lake, then well by at your own risk from that point on as I myself would thank him and walk away.

[Further North]

6 hours ago, CarolinaBoy4Life said:

Have an experienced boat mechanic check the unit out for you before purchase.

This is spot on.  Those guys can find things even experienced boat owners can't see.

5 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

We don't have our own private boat mechanic willing to come with us on a moments notice for a 3 hour drive to check out a boat...that's just not feasible unless it's a local sale.

Can you find a boat dealer/marina near where the seller lives?

When I bought my last boat, it was for sale in Chicago - about 6 hours away.  I worked out a deal where the seller would haul it to a dealer of my choice to do a full inspection on my dime.  It cost me about $200, but was worth every penny - I got the same report as CarolinaBoy4Life did: If I didn't want it, they'd take it on the spot.  I asked them to change the oil, the impeller and the lower unit lube, add it to my bill and called the seller to tell him we had a deal.  It took us 4 weeks to find a spot in our schedules to meet in Madison, WI to do the actual deal...but it was worth the wait.

If you can get this done before you drive up, that'd be great...but even if you have to go up there and haul the boat to the dealer yourself, it's worth the time.  Have them check out the tires, bearings and wiring on the trailer at the same time - it'd be a PITA to buy the boat only to have something go wrong with the trailer on the way home.

4 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

How do you test the compression on a motor? How do you turn a transom saver off? By water test I'm assuming you mean put a hose to the motor and run it? How much flex should the transom have? He says he has a brand new spare prop for it too.

 

Given that you asked these questions, I'd say it's even more important that you have a pro look at the boat before you put your money on the table.  That looks like a decent rig, but it could be hiding all kinds of expensive problems that gould cost you another two grand in the next year...then you'll be into the the boat for a lot more than it's worth.

Here's a picture of a transom saver:

[shaggydog]

buy it

 

[thomas15]

Brett's_Daddy,

I have to agree with much of the above, you are getting some very good advice. And I totally understand you want a boat now.

I grew up on the Jersey Shore, we had boats, our friends had boats, everyone we knew had a boat. The only question was how big was your boat. When I got out on my own I tried to convince myself that I had boats out of my system and I did a very good job for over 30 years. I finally folded three years ago. I no longer live in NJ and it's lakes for me now.

One of my good friends from NJ is a boat mechanic. Whenever in the past I got the itch to buy a boat I would go over to his place and look at all the work he had, that generally put the brakes on anything cheap.

Anyway, when my son was about the age of yours I was drooling over something small but even then we didn't have the resources to buy anything with a motor and that needed a trailer. We had a canoe that costs $200.00 and we still have it and it's worth at least what we paid for it. But this isn't a matter of misery loves company, you are asking for advice and you are getting it. Not what you want to hear but in my opinion what you are getting is very good advice.

The Starcraft you are looking at is very similar to my boat. Mine is a 2005 StarCraft 160, it has a 2005 50 HP Mercury. It's 16.5 feet long and I get about 35mph on the water with it, fast enough for the size and certainly not the slowest boat around. The only big difference between mine and the one above is mine has the console further astern than yours, this limits the amount of room behind the seats. That is the only thing I like about the StarCraft above better than mine. That is the only thing.  Again, I have had mine 3 years and so it was 8 years  old when I got it. In general I really like my boat, it's a bit small for more than 2 people but it is a solid little boat. I had a lot of problems with the motor the first year but other than that pure fun. It's in good condition and the trailer is good, I paid 5K for it. I have put at least another $500.00 in the actual boat since. I paid a fair price and got what I paid for. I would not expect to find anything similar condition for a whole lot less money than what I paid. Yes perhaps if I really made a job of it I might have done better but not that much better. All of the problems I had with the motor were paid for by the seller the only negative was it took about 4 boating months to iron out all the wrinkles.

OK so I'm coming as an individual that likes StarCraft and would get another. But the fact that this boat spent all that time tied up in the water is in itself a good reason to forget about this boat. Why you ask? An aluminum boat has a skin and maybe the floor deck made of aluminum but under that deck is foam that does two things. One is it adds buoyancy and the other is rigidity. Some will argue, "but the foam in my starcraft is closed cell" ok, maybe, but if any water is under the floor then it is in the foam. There are three ways water can get into the foam, rain water sitting in the boat with plug installed (or leaves blocking the drain hole), a leak around the holes for the electronics and a leak in the live well plumbing. To find out if the foam is waterlogged takes some knowhow.

Water in the foam will rot any wood (yes some aluminum boats have wood in the transom) and water weighs 8.3 pounds/gallon, so 50 gallons of water in the foam  is 400 pounds of additional weight. Not saying that the boat is waterlogged but I would be very surprised if it didn't have at least some water in the foam.

All of this worry goes away when you are looking at a Jon boat or similar that doesn't have a deck. Stuff hiding under the deck. Again a good honest 14' aluminum with a 10 or 20 HP is a great way to learn basic seamanship skills especially on small water. Our main boat when I was a kid was a 14' Bay Skiff (my Dad made this boat) powered by a 5.5 HP outboard. In an environment where everyone had a boat ours had 5 horsepower and somehow I survived to adulthood. One thing to remember is there is always someone with a bigger nicer boat no matter what you get.

You can buy any boat you want since your an adult but the truth of the matter is your price range means getting: 1) cool looking, faster with lots of potential problems or 2) boring and slow but honest and solid. It's really that simple.

Things that are NOT a selling point for a used boat are "New Floor" hiding other problems, "one small soft spot" again hiding problems, "needs new carpet", hiding a soft spot. Boats rot from the bottom up so by the time the deck is soft the transom and stringer are whooped.

[thomas15]

7 hours ago, gulfcaptain said:

Okay, you need to find someone that know's what's going on.  Everyone here may sound like we are giving you a hard time, but we are just trying to keep you from well being bent over.  A transom saver is a braket that keeps the motor from bouncing while trailering.  Hence transom saver as it keeps undo stress from occuring to the transom of the boat.  Water testing means put the boat in the lake and go run it. Check everything out.  See how it handles, make sure things work, see how the engine sounds under a load with you and him in the boat.  Compression checks mean you pull out a spark plug and shove the little tester in the hole and crank the motor over.  It will give you an idea of how much compression each cylinder has then you can cross check to see what it's supposed to have.  So say it's supposed to have 60psi and you find one that has 30psi and the other is 55psi.  The 55psi is okay, but 30.....well you have an issue.  If the seller won't let you test run the boat out on a lake, then well by at your own risk from that point on as I myself would thank him and walk away.

Compression on that motor should be around 110-120 psi, the three cylinders, the high and the low should be within 10% of each other. For example my 50 HP merc is #1 114psi, #2 116, #3 118 This is acceptable. If it is 60psi then walk/run. Warm the motor first with muffs (a device that lets you hook up a hose to the motor, $6.00 at walmart), then check compression with the dead mans switch in the off position.

There should be almost no flex in the transom.

Also, does the motor have power trim and does it work? In one of the pictures it looks like a block of wood holding the motor in the up position. If this is true a good question to ask is "why"?

[Allen Der]

12 hours ago, Kevin22 said:

Remember he is taking his wife and small son out as well. A 14' Jon or skiff might not be the correct boat for family safety... 

seriously?  A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat.  And again we are talking about very small lakes.

[Kevin22]

26 minutes ago, Allen Der said:

seriously?  A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat.  And again we are talking about very small lakes.

No, the small lakes are the ones around here, 10-15 acres. Lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety though. A boat full of ribs and benches is not something I would want a youngster crawling around on. I've been in plenty of these SEMI-V and jons being suggested here, if you fart they rock side to side. 

 

[thomas15]

19 minutes ago, Allen Der said:

seriously?  A v-hull is ideal over a jon but I'd be more comfortable with a little kid in a boat with some free board than on a bass boat.  And again we are talking about very small lakes.

I mentioned in my post above that we had a 14' homemade Bay Skiff when I was a lad. My Dad and Grandfather were old time seamen and my Dad built two absolutely beautiful boats in his lifetime. Our skiff was flat bottom, lapstreak cedar sides, Mahogany transom and seats. It had as I said a 5.5 HP rude, later a neighbor gave us a 14HP rude. We had that boat out on the Barneget Bay many times and in the ocean several times. Small boat in big water but truthfully it is scarier in the Bay when it's choppy than in the Atlantic Ocean with 1-2 foot seas that just roll. We had our kids in our canoe in small south jersey rivers when my daughter was small enough to curl up on two flotation cushon. So I agree with you Allen totally. If taking kids out on the water make sure the weather is ok first but a small boat that is seaworthy is better than a larger boat that is unseaworthy and has motor issues.

11 minutes ago, Kevin22 said:

No, the small lakes are the ones around here, 10-15 acres. Lake size doesn't have anything to do with safety though. A boat full of ribs and benches is not something I would want a youngster crawling around on. I've been in plenty of these SEMI-V and jons being suggested here, if you fart they rock side to side. 

 

With all due respect the child you are thinking about isn't really mature enough to be in a small pleasure boat. Some adults are not mature enough either.