I Think I Messed Up...

[Quarry Man]

I have gone fishing a few times a year with my dad or grandpa since I was little. I am now 19 and in college. I caught my first bass going into sophomore year of high school. I quickly became addicted and wanted to learn everything about lures and bass fishing. My dad isn't really into fishing, but will go every once in a while. My grandfather loves it and will go every chance we get. He lives an hour away so its not too often. My uncle lives in Massachusetts and is a professional fisherman. He does saltwater and Great Lakes, but knows a lot about bass. Other than him, I don't really have anyone to teach me and help me learn.

 

Anyways, my grandpa and I bought a 14' boat 3 years ago and we really like it. Its nothing special, has two trolling motors, a seat, platform, and a 9" Garmin. Only issues are lack of storage and being too wobbly for grandpa. I came across a bigger 14' with a 25hp for only $100 a year ago. after a year of sitting there, I decided it was time to fix it up just how I like it, low in the back for grandpa, deck with storage in the front for me.

 

I am a college kid. I spend all my money on fishing and gas. I am absolutely frugal with my money elsewhere. My grandfather and I split costs 50/50. I alone have already invested $2,000 into this boat, and him another $1500. The boat is gonna be awesome, but its becoming a money hole. I haven't even fixed the trailer or the motor yet. I am running out of money. I did spend 800 of those dollars on 2 9" garmins. I am worried that I made a mistake and got way over my head with trying to build the ultimate jon boat to bass boat all by myself with no prior tool experience.

 

My lake house is on a small and shallow electric only lake. big boats would get scratched up on it. Back home, I fish more electric only lakes as well. I never had a big boat or an outboard to get on real big lakes safely. I am starting to think that I should have bought an older bass boat, as I could fish bigger lakes, have more balance, and now that I started a college team, use the boat for that.

 

I am planning on selling the older boat once the new one is up and running, and I would love to have the 14' boat and an older bass boat, but im not sure what I should do.

[rejesterd]

What is wrong with the trailer and the engine?  The answer really depends on that imo.

 

Also, where did the other $1200 go from your $2000?

[Quarry Man]

6 hours ago, rejesterd said:

What is wrong with the trailer and the engine?  The answer really depends on that imo.

 

Also, where did the other $1200 go from your $2000?

carpet, latches, plywood, onboard charger, foam, etc. overall we've put in at least 3k combined

engine used to run but it got beat up due to moisture in the garage. Trailer is ok just rusty

[GreenPig]

I've got over 14 G's in my 14' er. They can and do make you lighter in the pocket but she's a perfect bass chasing moosheen.

[Guitarfish]

Boat decisions are just a thing. Do what works for you.

 

I'm not a college student, but is that new math on splitting costs 50-50, lol?

[Tennessee Boy]

I'm an older guy who was obsessed with bass fishing in college and I have been ever since.  I think I can say with certainty that when you are my age (57),  you will not worry about the money you wasted in college but you will cherish the memories of sharing a boat project with your grandfather.  It's the money wasted after college that haunts most people my age.  Spend any extra money you have on the boat if you enjoy working on it. Try to spend it wisely. DO NOT USE A CREDIT CARD TO FUND THE PROJECT!!!   Fixing up the trailer will increase it's value a lot and all it should take is a lot of elbow grease and some paint.  If it cost too much to fix the motor, just use a trolling motor for now.  

 

Don't over estimate the value of a boat in catching fish.  Any boat will give you access to more water than you will have time to fish.  Even people fishing out of $70,000 boats wish they had the latest electronics, trolling motor, etc.  The quest for the perfect boat will NEVER end.  If you want to be a good bass angler,  focus on spending as much time on the water as possible.  Most important thing,  spend as much time as possible fishing with your grandfather.  

[Quarry Man]

12 hours ago, GreenPig said:

I've got over 14 G's in my 14' er. They can and do make you lighter in the pocket but she's a perfect bass chasing moosheen.

what did you do to it?

11 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I'm an older guy who was obsessed with bass fishing in college and I have been ever since.  I think I can say with certainty that when you are my age (57),  you will not worry about the money you wasted in college but you will cherish the memories of sharing a boat project with your grandfather.  It's the money wasted after college that haunts most people my age.  Spend any extra money you have on the boat if you enjoy working on it. Try to spend it wisely. DO NOT USE A CREDIT CARD TO FUND THE PROJECT!!!   Fixing up the trailer will increase it's value a lot and all it should take is a lot of elbow grease and some paint.  If it cost too much to fix the motor, just use a trolling motor for now.  

 

Don't over estimate the value of a boat in catching fish.  Any boat will give you access to more water than you will have time to fish.  Even people fishing out of $70,000 boats wish they had the latest electronics, trolling motor, etc.  The quest for the perfect boat will NEVER end.  If you want to be a good bass angler,  focus on spending as much time on the water as possible.  Most important thing,  spend as much time as possible fishing with your grandfather.  

I agree all the way. If only I could finish building it and get on the water!!!

 

I have no intention of ever using a credit card ever. I see so many people who use em and wind up in debt. My grandfather is frugal and had never been in debt. I like the motto if you've got the cash, you can afford it. something like that.

[GreenPig]

Lowe 1448, trailer, 25 hp Mercury 2 stroke, All aluminum decking, sub floor, center floor, many feet of angle aluminum, built 10 - 3600 trays storage under deck, front & rear aluminum hatches, built aluminum battery trays in the rear seat, 9.739 miles of wires/cables, Minn KotaTerrova 80 I - Pilot With Bluetooth, Minn Kota quick release mount, 360 Imaging with a Cornfield Crappie mount,  Solix 15 SI GPS Bluetooth on a Kong mount, 3 Duracell group 31 AGM's, exterior green LEDs, interior red LEDs, under deck LED lighting, 8 switch gang panel custom labeled, Delta Volt Tri Pro on board charger, 750 Gph bilge pump, hand built(welded) pods, wife spent 25 hours doing a camo stencil paint job, removed the oar mounts, fuse panel, 2 battery shutoffs, some kinda Humminbird box under ther deck, Tuff coated all walk on surfaces, Driftmaster bases all over for trolling/catfishing, and I'm sure there's more. It adds up and that's with free labor.

[TnRiver46]

21 hours ago, Quarry Man said:

what did you do to it?

I agree all the way. If only I could finish building it and get on the water!!!

 

I have no intention of ever using a credit card ever. I see so many people who use em and wind up in debt. My grandfather is frugal and had never been in debt. I like the motto if you've got the cash, you can afford it. something like that.

That’s what I thought about credit cards at your age and it’s still the best policy in my opinion. However the people that loan money to buy houses won’t loan you any money if you don’t have any debt. It’s really weird but I had to get a credit card and go into debt in order to get a “credit score” and subsequently a loan. It’s all a big ridiculous bunch of silly 

[Hammer 4]

Credit cards aren't all bad IF, you pay them off every month. Doing this just elevates your credit score, which will help you down the road, i.e. if you decide to buy a home, ect.

 

I'm on  a fixed income, and every now and then I'll charge something for an amount I know I can pay off way before the due date, I never make payments. So, give that some thought.

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s what I thought about credit cards at your age and it’s still the best policy in my opinion. However the people that loan money to buy houses won’t loan you any money if you don’t have any debt. It’s really weird but I had to get a credit card and go into debt in order to get a “credit score” and subsequently a loan. It’s all a big ridiculous bunch of silly 

My son has zero credit cards. His student loan repayment along with a good job secured him his first mortgage at 29 years old.

[TnRiver46]

Just now, slonezp said:

My son has zero credit cards. His student loan repayment along with a good job secured him his first mortgage at 29 years old.

I never had the student loan, maybe that was the credit. They advised me to get a credit card , buy some stuff and pay for it, and I would get a credit score. Prior to that I had always just paid cash for everything. They don’t like that anymore 

[Sam]

On 4/25/2020 at 11:45 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

I'm an older guy who was obsessed with bass fishing in college and I have been ever since.  I think I can say with certainty that when you are my age (57),  you will not worry about the money you wasted in college but you will cherish the memories of sharing a boat project with your grandfather.  It's the money wasted after college that haunts most people my age.  Spend any extra money you have on the boat if you enjoy working on it. Try to spend it wisely. DO NOT USE A CREDIT CARD TO FUND THE PROJECT!!!   Fixing up the trailer will increase it's value a lot and all it should take is a lot of elbow grease and some paint.  If it cost too much to fix the motor, just use a trolling motor for now.  

 

Don't over estimate the value of a boat in catching fish.  Any boat will give you access to more water than you will have time to fish.  Even people fishing out of $70,000 boats wish they had the latest electronics, trolling motor, etc.  The quest for the perfect boat will NEVER end.  If you want to be a good bass angler,  focus on spending as much time on the water as possible.  Most important thing,  spend as much time as possible fishing with your grandfather.  

X2

[slonezp]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I never had the student loan, maybe that was the credit. They advised me to get a credit card , buy some stuff and pay for it, and I would get a credit score. Prior to that I had always just paid cash for everything. They don’t like that anymore 

I get the whole "you need credit to get credit" thing. It's not the end all be all. Use your credit wisely.

[TnRiver46]

23 minutes ago, slonezp said:

I get the whole "you need credit to get credit" thing. It's not the end all be all. Use your credit wisely.

I agree. As soon as I got the loan for the house I went right back to paying for things up front as often as possible 

[Quarry Man]

how feasible is saving to pay up front for your house?

[slonezp]

12 minutes ago, Quarry Man said:

how feasible is saving to pay up front for your house?

That's a trick question.

A $200,000.00 house will cost $400,000.00 if you finance and $200,000.00 if you pay cash.

[rejesterd]

On 4/24/2020 at 6:23 PM, Quarry Man said:

carpet, latches, plywood, onboard charger, foam, etc. overall we've put in at least 3k combined

engine used to run but it got beat up due to moisture in the garage. Trailer is ok just rusty

In general, you have to focus your attention to the engine.  You have to narrow down what "beat up" means. The engine's service manual will help you do that.  Then you'll have a general idea of how much it will cost to fix.

[VolFan]

I think you need to assess what the boat needs. Make sure it floats, then make sure the outboard runs reliably, then start doing whatever customization you're going to do. If you've dumped $3.5 K into a jon boat build and don't have anything to show for it yet or a running motor, your plans are backward or your priorities are wrong.

[Quarry Man]

I will barely use the outboard. I fish lots of electric only lakes. boat trailer and motor were $300. I spent the majority of the money on aluminum electronics and carpet and tools.