My mom is retiring to central Florida, and issuing demands for frequent visits
from our family.

My wife and I were discussing all of the excellent fishing opporunties. We
talked about trailering our bass boat down, or possibly upgrading to a bay
style boat for both fresh and sal****er fishing. But our primary people mover
is a mini van, and while it will pull the bass boat, it's just too far for
serious tow duty. An upgrade to a large SUV or conversion van is one
possibility.

Another possibility is keeping a small rig down in Florida at my mom's place.
Her husband likes to fish but probably would never buy a boat himself, so we
figured he could use it if he was motivated to do so.

I'm thinking something like a used Carolina Skiff or an aluminum hull in the 16
foot range. The primary use would be bass fishing on smaller lakes, but we
might occassionally want to use it on the gulf side in calm conditions. My
motivations are the convenience of not having to haul a boat 800 miles round
trip every time we go, and keeping it simple on the Florida side in terms of
maintenance, worrying about wear and tear, etc. Probably be an older boat,
smallish two stroke motor.

Thoughts on appropriate brands and models appreciated.


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site

"Rich Stern" wrote in message
...
My mom is retiring to central Florida, and issuing demands for frequent
visits
from our family.

My wife and I were discussing all of the excellent fishing opporunties.
We
talked about trailering our bass boat down, or possibly upgrading to a bay
style boat for both fresh and sal****er fishing. But our primary people
mover
is a mini van, and while it will pull the bass boat, it's just too far for
serious tow duty. An upgrade to a large SUV or conversion van is one
possibility.

Another possibility is keeping a small rig down in Florida at my mom's
place.
Her husband likes to fish but probably would never buy a boat himself, so
we
figured he could use it if he was motivated to do so.

I'm thinking something like a used Carolina Skiff or an aluminum hull in
the 16
foot range. The primary use would be bass fishing on smaller lakes, but
we
might occassionally want to use it on the gulf side in calm conditions.
My
motivations are the convenience of not having to haul a boat 800 miles
round
trip every time we go, and keeping it simple on the Florida side in terms
of
maintenance, worrying about wear and tear, etc. Probably be an older
boat,
smallish two stroke motor.

Thoughts on appropriate brands and models appreciated.

Rich,

Carolina Skiff makes a fine product. I see many people running them down
here in the Ft Myers area and a good friend of mine ran the 16 ft with for
years with a 30 Honda 4-stroke. Kinda of bare bones, in that it was not
fancy, or loaded with options, but a boat with the ability to be there when
you need it.

There are plenty of used boats in Florida, so you should not have much
trouble finding one that meets your needs. Far cheaper than buying a new tow
rig if you asked my opinion.

Rich Stern wrote in message
...
My mom is retiring to central Florida, and issuing demands for frequent
visits
from our family.


If the family has trouble making it...I may be willing to act as a stand in
for Jan -March period..
All I would need is my own private room and bath. :-)

Hmmmm .. Not only am I partial ( and a little prejudiced) about Carolina
Skiffs, I am doing the exact same thing, but in reverse.

We live in South Texas, and have a summer place in Wisconsin. I'm towing my
16 ft. Carolina Skiff, with a 40 hp Yamaha, to Lake Geneva for the Summer.
She will reside there for the rest of it's ( or my ) natural life. My wife
had a case of "white knuckle" disease whenever she had to drive the tow
vehicle for short distances on the trip.

So, this addition to the fleet is her fault! She loves the idea that it will
be a one-way, never again, commute this time.

p.s. I was able to pick up the enter rig up, used, for $4,000. and added
another $600.00 or so. That is close to ONLY the taxes and registration
fees on a full-sized SUV!
--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners

Rich Stern wrote:

My mom is retiring to central Florida, and issuing demands for frequent visits
from our family.

My wife and I were discussing all of the excellent fishing opporunties. We
talked about trailering our bass boat down, or possibly upgrading to a bay
style boat for both fresh and sal****er fishing. But our primary people mover
is a mini van, and while it will pull the bass boat, it's just too far for
serious tow duty. An upgrade to a large SUV or conversion van is one
possibility.

Another possibility is keeping a small rig down in Florida at my mom's place.
Her husband likes to fish but probably would never buy a boat himself, so we
figured he could use it if he was motivated to do so.

I'm thinking something like a used Carolina Skiff or an aluminum hull in the 16
foot range. The primary use would be bass fishing on smaller lakes, but we
might occassionally want to use it on the gulf side in calm conditions. My
motivations are the convenience of not having to haul a boat 800 miles round
trip every time we go, and keeping it simple on the Florida side in terms of
maintenance, worrying about wear and tear, etc. Probably be an older boat,
smallish two stroke motor.

Thoughts on appropriate brands and models appreciated.


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site



There are plenty of Carolina Skiffs used on the inland lakes around
Orlando, and out on the Gulf side, and in the rivers and bays.

There are plenty of used boats in Florida, so you should not have much
trouble finding one that meets your needs. Far cheaper than buying a new tow
rig if you asked my opinion.


My thoughts, exactly. Thanks!


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site

If the family has trouble making it...I may be willing to act as a stand in
for Jan -March period..
All I would need is my own private room and bath. :-)

Good of you to offer. Of course, reciprocation during peak Canadian fishing
season would be nice...


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site

p.s. I was able to pick up the enter rig up, used, for $4,000. and added
another $600.00 or so. That is close to ONLY the taxes and registration
fees on a full-sized SUV!

That's about what I am seeing. Seems $3500 - $5000 is the magic range.

Thanks for the feedback.


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site