Advice on first boat?
 

I'm wanting a aluminum boat for use while camping on an island in Lake
Champlain. I need something I can beach and pull up out of the water.
I'm also thinking of getting it used.

Would $3500 be reasonable for something basic? What should I look for,
and is there anything I shoud stay away from? Should I plan to buy a new
motor?

I'm thinking of buying one from a marina, but I haven't started shopping
yet.

Any advice and pointers would be appreciated.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 21:57:43 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

I'm wanting a aluminum boat for use while camping on an island in Lake
Champlain. I need something I can beach and pull up out of the water.
I'm also thinking of getting it used.

Would $3500 be reasonable for something basic? What should I look for,
and is there anything I shoud stay away from? Should I plan to buy a new
motor?

I'm thinking of buying one from a marina, but I haven't started shopping
yet.

Any advice and pointers would be appreciated.

$3,500 isn't out of the question for a new boat, but I'd jack the
target price up $1000 or so for a new boat of decent construction.

Based on my Lake Champlain experiences, I would think that you would
want something in the 16/18 foot category with decent freeboard and in
the vicinity of a 25 horse outboard. To save some money, consider
obtaining a two stroke.

What I suspect you are probably looking for is a utility type boat
rather than an open boat. Those will also be slightly cheaper.

Lunds are the premier aluminum utility boat line and they are pricey,
but Princecraft are excellent boats along with Starcraft - those are
boats that I've have direct experience with. Tracker makes a series
that has a lot of freeboard and those are a little less expensive.

Later,

Tom

There are a lot of things you need to consider...

-How many people will be in the boat?
-Will you use it for fishing?
-Do you want a console or a tiller steer motor?
-What kind of motor do you want? (2 stroke, 4 stroke)
-What sort of weather or time of year will you be using your boat?
-If $3500 is your budget are you willing to spend another $1,000 to outfit it?
-Do you need a trailer?

You get the idea. That is a pretty big body of water so you don't want to look
at 14' rowboats with a 9.9 clamped to the back. And in your case I would be
more concerned with the value and condition of the motor than the boat. At a
minimum check the compression (or have it checked). That is one of the quickest
ways to spot abuse.

Plug in some information here and see what you get back. It's a buyer's market
in the northern states right now so hold out for a deal! The dealers are going
to add a premium (profit) so a motivated private seller is going to be your best
bet for value.

http://www.boattraderonline.com/newadsearch.html

Good luck!
Dan

wrote:
I'm wanting a aluminum boat for use while camping on an island in Lake
Champlain. I need something I can beach and pull up out of the water.
I'm also thinking of getting it used.

Would $3500 be reasonable for something basic? What should I look for,
and is there anything I shoud stay away from? Should I plan to buy a new
motor?

I'm thinking of buying one from a marina, but I haven't started shopping
yet.

Any advice and pointers would be appreciated.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:



$3,500 isn't out of the question for a new boat, but I'd jack the
target price up $1000 or so for a new boat of decent construction.

Based on my Lake Champlain experiences, I would think that you would
want something in the 16/18 foot category with decent freeboard and in
the vicinity of a 25 horse outboard. To save some money, consider
obtaining a two stroke.

What I suspect you are probably looking for is a utility type boat
rather than an open boat. Those will also be slightly cheaper.

Lunds are the premier aluminum utility boat line and they are pricey,
but Princecraft are excellent boats along with Starcraft - those are
boats that I've have direct experience with. Tracker makes a series
that has a lot of freeboard and those are a little less expensive.

Later,

Tom

I second the 16-18 Aluminum... w/ a 25-30-35 hp Johnson/Evinrude w/
forward controls. A boat w/ lots of freeboard - Smokercraft &
Alumacraft(LOVE the Lunker 16...) are two more brands to look at in this
category. The boat will last nearly forever, so get on top of your
powerplant with a good survey, and you are headed in the right direction.

Rob

For the lake I'd recommend what my buddy used for family fishing on the St.
Lawrence ... an old 18' c/w 40 hp (with controls he installed himself) ...
but let me tell you, after partially beaching that boat, there is no way one
person (maybe four) would be hauling that size aluminum boat completely out
of the water (without mechanical assistance, rollers).

wrote in message
...
I'm wanting a aluminum boat for use while camping on an island in Lake
Champlain. I need something I can beach and pull up out of the water.
I'm also thinking of getting it used.

Would $3500 be reasonable for something basic? What should I look for,
and is there anything I shoud stay away from? Should I plan to buy a new
motor?

I'm thinking of buying one from a marina, but I haven't started shopping
yet.

Any advice and pointers would be appreciated.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower