Re: ANY INPUT APPRECIATED

[Alpster]

RR-Well,

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a good plan with a resonable budget. Where I live, boats less than 12' long do not have to be registered. You can go to your local Motor Vehicle website and find boating regulations. That should give you the info you need. I hope you fill that little boat up with fish!

Ronnie

[Travlin_Man]

How much does the boat weigh? If you are going to put it on top of your van , the weight  is very important unless you are big enough to go bear hunting with a switch.

[bassboy1]

I would stick with a 10 or 12 foot jon boat.  Should be lighter, and it is easier to fish from one of them than the plastic boat.  The seats are spaced out better.  Plus, the jon has more room for expansion.  It is easier to add a motor or a storage deck(deck extending one of the seats back 18 or so inches to use for storage.  Since it is not used as a casting deck, and leaves plenty or room to stand on the bottom deck, there are no stability concerns.)  And, they never die.  If you get a whole bunch of leaks, just coat the interior with this product called Gluv-it and your good to go.  

I got this from an old race car engineer. "Remember, aluminum wont rust, bust or collect dust.  The ultimate metal"

[RR-WELL]

Alpster, Thks. Confirmed registration is required according to HSMV:

"I only use a small trolling motor when I use my 12 foot boat in the canal behind my house. Do I have to register my boat? Yes, all vessels used on public waterways with any kind of motor must be titled and registered."

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Travlin_Man, Thks. Boat weight aprox. 175 Lbs, gonna check weight cap of car rack.

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Bassboy1, Thks. yeah thought about the jon boat as an option and yes the Al should last longer. I'll look into different models offered in the area.

Thks to all again,

RR_WELL

Wellington, Florida

[vaparrothead]

I have a 9.5ft Bass Assasian plastic boat. What I especially like about mine is the high seats; like on a regular bass boat. In the picture you have it appears that the seats are even with the top of the boat (not sitting high) which I think you might find a disadvantage. Overall I really like my boat; fits in the back of my Town & Country; I can pull it out, attach the trolling motor and seats and be fishing in less than 5 minutes.

[RR-WELL]

Vapor,

Thks. Ill search for it in the web and take a look at it.

No luck on my search.. Can you give me more info on it??????

Do you have photo or link to a site?

RR-WELL

[SteveFinMD]

I see a number of boats similar to that on the water I fish.  I would say they are a lot better than nothing.  Might be great if you always fish alone.  I think they are pretty small for two people.  Good luck.

[Travlin_Man]

RR  You are welcome. My point was not so much the capicity of the roof rack, but @ 175lbs. how are you going to lift it and put it on top of the vehicle unless of course you are big enough to go bear hunting with a switch.

[RR-WELL]

Travlin,

jejejeje. Thats an issue I have to solve, but 2-4 friends shall do it, although only one can go fishing with me at a time.

RR

Wellington, Fl

Last weekend a friend AAA and myself went on a rented 9.4 ft boat see forum link

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1176135905

and all worked out fine on that 9.4 plastic boat We wre out there for 4 hrs with a 40LB trolling.

[T_Dot]

if you have tried out something simliar, and are happy with your experience.  get it.  no sense in getting something different, and something you havent tried out.

though if you were going to go with i jon boat, i would suggest a 14 foot, instead of a 10/12 foot.  the extra feet makes a difference, and it could still be a car topper.

stick with the plastic boat, as it looks like you had a very good experience with it.  go with what works.

[BHoffman]

I have a small 2 man plastic boat, a BassHound 10.2

Here in AZ any boat that has a motor (gassoline or electric) must be registred ($20.00) with Fish and Game. So not all states register boats with DMV.

My boat has a 6hp Mercury 4 Stroke Outboard and a 55lb thrust Mincota Maxx "trolling motor".

It also has a fairly big (and heavy) battery. and a Lowrance GPS/Sonar unit.

So far, I love it! It is great for me and one of my grandchildren.

It fits in the back of my PU Truck. I can launch/recover it by myself if I remove all of the motors and batery. Sometimes, I can recover it by backing the truck into the water until the tailgate is in the water an"float" the fully loaded boat into the truck. This involve wadeing chest deep into the water to get beind the boat and pushing it into the truck. Not something I want to do in water less than 60 degrees. Thinking about mounting a small wench at the front of the bed of the truck.

I am, however, a littled weight restricted. It is diffacult to stay under the maximum load capacity and person weight capacity if there are two adults using the boat.

Also, it is a little cramped and hard to move around due to it's narrow beam (48").

It is definatly better than no boat. It is a good first boat. However, you will be wanting something bigger (12') in the near future.

[RR-WELL]

Dear B

Thks for your inout.

I will most likely invest on a 10.2 - 11 feet floater. We rent a 9.4, its OK, but no seats and a little more space would be nice.

thks

RR