Old Ironmaker

Below is a sticky from iboats.com. Everyone looking at a used boat should have this list with them and use it. A Good Buyers check list. The absolute FIRST and MOST important question you should ask the seller is this. DO YOU HAVE THE PROPER PAPERWORK. The boat is a useless paperweight without it. Absolutely positively DO NOT believe that obtaining a title is easy because in most cases it isn't. As a matter of fact offer the seller an extra $100.00 to get the proper paperwork, I bet you 95% of the time the seller will say no at that point walk away no matter how pretty and shiny the boat is WALK AWAY. We are going to Start with the hull. The hull. Start at the bow outside and work your way back. Go over it from bow to stern with a fine tooth comb Are there any major knicks or gashes. Are there any splits in the fiberglass. Look for gel coat spidering or stress cracks. Is the gel coat or paint faded or is bright as if it has been cared for? Is the hull straight no major dents in especially on the bottom side. I.e. an obviously visible hook in the hull. Is there barnacle build up on it anywhere? How does the rub rail look is it mashed in anywhere? (signs that a boat was owned by an inexperienced owner). Look for brown water staining visible around the transom motor mount bolts streaking down from them (for an outboard). Look for brown water staining streaking down from the splashwell plug (again an outboard). Look at the trim i.e. (lights, rubrail trim, horns, anything metal) does it look pitted and corroded or well maintained? Move to the inside of the hull. Start from bow to stern How is the general condition of the upholstery does it look well cared for? How solid is the floor in ALL spots if it is spongy squishy or weak in any spots walk away (unless you are looking for a project). Don't believe that it is going to be a simple fix boats tend to rot from the bottom up. Lift all the hatches and look underneath are there any signs of dampness or rot? Poke prod and feel everything especially all of the hidden areas. Look in the ski locker if equipped how does it look any signs of dampness or rot? Look at the seat bases for signs of dampness and rot. Look at the carpet is moldy and mildewed, or does it have normal wear. If the floor is Plywood encased in fiberglass which is painted look for signs of delamination (fiberglass pulling up). Test all of the electronics. Make sure the bow and stern light are functioning properly. Make sure the horn is working properly. Make sure the bilge pump and blower are working properly. Follow the wires do they look like they are properly connected and running through proper USCG approved fuse boxes? Does the wiring look like proper marine grade wire. Test the radio and speakers make sure they are connected and working properly. Test the steering to make sure it functions properly and easily. Move to the stern. Lift all of the hatches and motor cover. Inspect the motor mounts do they look dry and clean inspect for dampness and rot. How does the bilge look is it clean or has someone been draining the oil into the bilge? Are there signs of brown water stains in the bilge area? Inspect the transom from the inside look for signs of rot. Tap on the inside of the transom with a rubber mallet how does it sound does it sound rock solid or kind of hollow does it feel solid or does it feel like mush.

The price seems fair, even good depending on what HP that Merc. is, you forgot to mention that. It is the most valuable component of any boat. For a used boat it's all about condition. Even a clean boat 9 years old can have a punky transom and floor.

A new Sheriff in town. Welcome Chad. We need all the help we can get. Now that I have had the opportunity to join several other forums from gardening to Pro Football I always find it very interesting what is a suspend able offence on most sites isn't a big deal on this site. I.E. on most sites they don't want you quoting large posts that have multiple pics and or videos just to refer to an original thread or post. I guess I takes up big space on the server unnecessarily. On the old Buffalo Bills.com doing that would get you a mod Q and eventually a invitation to leave permanently. The other biggie to many is copyright infringement. I was basically kicked off another local fishing forum for my second copyright infringement. Knowing what exactly that means would be a first step in not infringing. I copy and pasted an article word for word including the publication/date and author thinking I have all the bases covered and that's a no no. I thought it was what you need to do, newspapers do it all the time without naming the author. Here it happens every day. I really can't see the Washington Post or L.A. Times going after Stomp in a court of law in London to sue him, for what I wouldn't know. He seems to be paranoid concerning being sued over copyright laws. I really have a question after all that Bull above, what is copyright infringement as defined by this site Chad?

We will pay any increase, and they know it. It was 98.9 last week in Cayuga and yesterday it was 1.08. Another 10 cents, we'll pay it. We live in the land of 4X4's here. Every home has at least 1 in the laneway.

An older Smoker Craft is being rebuilt at the shop right now. It isn't that old either and came in like she was rode hard and put away wet. They don't seem to age well. It will be a nice boat once done, basically a body off restoration if it was a car. I voted to have it blasted with crushed Corn to the bare Aluminium and won the vote. I want to see any cracks, loose rivets under all that paint before we put a young family in it on the water.

Who's Mike Babcock again?

Or visit a Pep Boys after you cross the ditch and have them change them for you. They charged something like 35 USD an hour and not $115.00 that Crappie Tire does the last time I used them to do the brakes for less than 1/2 the price when I was forced to on the way to Myrtle Beach. Poor planning, my bad but I ended up saving money. I bet the bearings are a portion of the price. I wouldn't risk screwing the job up and stuck on the side of I-75 with a melted wheel. Not Rocket Science but I wouldn't risk ruining a trip.

I'm like a kid that can't sleep on Christmas Eve. Going to fire up the Bassassin this morning. I might as well splash it for a test run. While I am in the water we may as well wash a bait or 2. If I point it Nord we can hit Hamilton or a bit Nord East hit Jordan area and troll the mud line. If I drive down the road east for a few miles here we can launch at Port Maitland. Reports are catches of Perch of the Lake Erie size in good numbers in 60 feet of water. Maybe early but if we launch at Steve Hardcastle's there is always a possibility of hammering a Dunnville Mud Cat or a few Yellow Bullheads. There were more than few boats out on Sunday below the Dam in the usual spots. A $9.99 frozen shrimp ring from Food Basics is all you need. A Dollar store lighter and you can always eat the bait with a bit of Tabasco sauce. I am wondering who has some Emerald Shiners around here? Fish Farmer you reading this? I need to call the Marina. The Bufflehead are feeding along the shore, I wouldn't be smart enough to put a few minnow traps in the water. No,,,,,,,pay for them. Decisions, decisions. Life is good this time of year for us addicts. The Betty Ford Rehab Clinic in California nor Dr. Phil can help us. Wormdunker called me Friday afternoon. He sounded pretty good. His yappability factor was good, talked for a good 20 minutes and he sounded strong. He said to say Hi. God bless the old fart.

Ex's usually come with a new car or boat in the foreseeable future Geoff, sometimes with a soon to be future ex, sometimes all 3. If I liked them I refer to them as former, ex is so harsh a word.

TJames, that G3 and Polar Craft Moxie gave you leads for both look good on paper. Not exactly down the road to go take a look. The G3 is exactly like Italo Labignons and he loves it. The advantage of it is the wind shield, especially for keeping the family dry. The disadvantage is the windshield. Extra weight, less fishing room with less HP with that 90. The Polar Craft is a good quality vessel, many say no, that isn't my opinion but I have never owned either, my opinion comes as a passenger and a fisherman and not an owner. The biggest plus for it is the extra room to fish and a 115 Horse O/B. But the kids can't hunker behind the full windshield, nor your wife. I chose full wind shield over working size for the sake of my 1st mate and haven't regretted it, especially when the wind is up and the water is cold. Buddy Ted has a 21 foot Star Craft very similar to mine but a walk around, he stays dry but no one else. Get to Quebec ASAP. Both are very nice boats, tough choice James, very tough to choose, condition, condition, condition and a splash for certain. Running a boat in the driveway and running her in the water under load can make a huge difference. Like idling a car in a driveway and going out on the 400. I would lean towards the G3, you can always swap out the 90 for a 115 in 10 years but you can't make her longer. When the kids are almost full size you can upgrade then or get smaller kids. Are you good to tow it with what you have now? I got a new truck out of my deal just for towing, the old 1/2 ton wasn't the truck for my 19 footer with it's age and 500K on her, as much as about brakes than her weight capacity.

Like many brands of most consumer products quality and workmanship seem to have slacked as it also may have when it comes to Tracker boats. Looking at how they are built on the showroom is proof, I can't believe these are the best that they have to display. And they have always came woefully under powered from the showrooms, getting you to upgrade and thus the price gets to what it should be. I remember reading the adds for Trackers in the 80's in the Sun and drooling over them and the prices, thousands below other boats new. I remember also the old timers at work explaining why a 25 HP wouldn't move a 17 foot boat with a full wind screen very well. A 16 foot like FishFinder has with a 30 HP would be very underpowered in my opinion. We are rebuilding a 16 foot Smoker Craft and it is going to have a 90 on her. I think the Transport Canada tag max says 115 Horse. A black anchor would be an old Mercury engine, thus only good for an anchor. A white anchor a Johnson a silver anchor a Mariner. Old boat guys jokes.

My man, no better way to start the open water season Simon by getting one on your first cast. Slip Bobber eh? Got me thinking now. Hitting a lake that is basically a big bowl on opener. Drops to 20 feet a cast from the shore. Slip bobber might be in the cards. Now I have to buy some of those magic bobber stops.

Don't even think about a Tracker. Many that own them say they are fine what I see out there on Bass Pro's showroom floors are a disaster when it comes to fit, finish and quality of materials. Even Lada's were shinny coming off the assembly lines in Russia. I read that you want to put 4 people in a 16' boat. You better max out on HP if you want to do that. It will also feel like you are in a sardine can with 4 on board. I have to give you this, you like shopping. For what you want, like it or not your budget is 5 grand low for what your wish list is. You say boats are over priced on Kijiji, not really they are selling for what the market will support. My neighbour just sold his 2004' 16 foot Lund with a 90 Yamaha for a few grand more than he paid for it 10 years ago, in 4 days. We used to bring boats and cars north from the US, now the trade route is going the other way, especially late model pick up and apparently now boats too. A pick up 6 years or newer are all going south at a 40% profit so says my GM guy. They are basically giving me 75% of what I paid in 2012, problem is a new truck of the same model is that much more money. I saw a 2017 F-150 1/2 ton today with a sticker price of $72,000.00 plus, plus. A pick up truck and not a Ferrari. I wouldn't want to be 21 again and starting out in life that's for sure, I have total empathy.

Bill, buy more than 1 boat. A hobby over the winter and during in climate weather (Erie summer hurricanes) is to work for food(code word for free) at a buddies building where there are no less than 23 boats now. Just today we put a 14'er outside with a for sale sign on her. The chuckles today would to have a slip for everything from the 12' Duck boat to the 34 foot Grew and everything in between. Want to slow troll down the Grand on a nice evening take a 14'er, when there are 2 meter waves and the 444 tourney is on take the big Grew. Take my 19 footer for Bass along the lakeshore and 1 of a 1/2 dozen others all around the same size depending on what the target fish is or who wants to tube. So no self respecting fisherman only has 1 boat, right? Please see classified post for 14' er for sale. Thanks Johnny D.

I have no experience in sump pumps other than to lend my Jenny to the neighbours when the power goes out. I have experienced shallow well pump wars. I was so sick and tired of changing them every 2 to 3 years I went out and broke the bank on a Grunfos. Stainless steel impellor, body, etc. 5 year warranty and it is still going after 7, paid for itself. I see now that here when they dig a basement along the lake here they run a line with a check valve from the sump directly out and down hill if there is enough elevation. Most of our properties are elevated from the shoreline. No pump, float, power, nada. Nice to let Mom Nature work and she usually does the best job. Price a Grunfos, not cheap but they work like a plow horse and last more than a few years. If I were you I would be making sure that sump pump is working every time it rains. Art any experience with Grunfos (sic) pumps? Art has spoken, listen carefully, there is a pipe bitter that knows of what he speaks.

I would love to have a nice solid glass boat for here on Great Lakes. What a difference when you are in some chop both on the old back and for ease of mind compared to a Aluminum of the same size. My fuel budget however does not like the difference in consumption nor getting them on a trailer when beat at the end of a long day on the water. I'm sure there are tricks of the trade getting them on a trailer. I fished out of Dan Columby's glass Walleye/Musky/anything boat for Musky a few years back on the West Arm, I can't remember the brand of course. I would feel quite safe in almost any water with that beast under foot. I think they were bought out by Ranger or vise versa. Built like a tank and with 300 ponies strapped to the back it flew. It had a paint job that made it look like it was going 50MPH sitting on the trailer, what a pretty boat too. I'm having an Oldtimers moment. Not a Skeeter. TRITON, it's a Triton. Very interesting boat brands, I can say I have never heard of any of them. There certainly is both a cultural as well as taste difference from Ontario and the rest of the country. I remember my 1st trip to Vancouver Island and saw copious amounts of Hard Apple Cider being consumed, more popular than a good old cold brown pop back then. I still don't get it.

We have one for you but I don't think you are going to drive to Lake Erie to get it, 6 hours on a good day with all that crazy traffic from Orillia to Hamilton. We wouldn't even know what a fair price is. I do remember renting a nice 17 foot Aluminum with a 25 elec. start on it back in the early 90's when we stayed in your neck of the woods. Cozy Cove Cottages, nice place, great fishing, my best ever Walleye that week from Nippising, 29" and thick. It was $750.00 for the week and that was a very long time ago, it was the same price as the nice cottage for the week. I can't imagine what a rental goes for now. Nothing further north where he is heading? You can't swing a cat without hitting water.

If you read the regs on page 4 it says a person with a disability "that requires assistance from another person" to fish. If you are fishing alone you may need a license. I don't know I missed a few years of Law school.

There's a boat welding guru out here on Hwy #3 and Sandusk Rd. South of Hagersville if you don't find one closer to Hamilton.

I went out with some locals and they were transferring Walters from the lower Grand to above the Dunnville Dam in April. Zap and up came 1/2 dozen of the biggest Pics I ever seen caught in that section of the river, ridiculous and fun.

Be careful on that silly season ice. Many an experienced northerner without the UK accent has been lost. Sometimes experience is a most hazardous asset.

I don't have to look outside or check the Weather Channel to know it's raining and cold. I just gauge the weather by the effort to get ambulatory in the AM. Went by Southbrook Golf Course yesterday and #'s 11, 12 and what I could see of 13 were completely under brown creek water, not a spot of grass. I don't know why Binbrook floods so much. The mudline here on Erie is out about 5 miles. Many years we played our first round of golf on April 1st, green, dry and warm. "What's going on around here?". (Vince Lombardi circa 1964) Talk about open seasons during spawn in the US, don't forget Lake Erie Walleye and Pike are open 365 days a year in Ontario, just try and find one. If you know where to go you will.

Me thinks your strategy to go after Trout in a lake not known to hold them is an exercise in frustration. That big Laker might have taken a wrong turn and ended up in a no Trout lake. Why do you want to punish yourself because you saw 1 solitary Trout in 18 years? I think the biggest info is the locals don't fish for them, ask yourself why? The Family has fished a smallish Upper NY State lake since the 50's, me since the 80's. In all that time a single solitary Walleye was caught in it by cousin Frank back in the 80's and nothing reported since. It was such a big deal it hit the weekly rag in Teresa NY. The fish got into there because it as well took a wrong turn. Bring some Pickerel Rigs too. Why punish yourself Sterling, why? In the meantime I hope you hammer that Trout, notice the singular.

I just today went through my thousands of dollars of plugs, spinners and spoons. I need to call the Insurance company. Since I took my pension I buy a lure every month on pay week, $10.00 X 12 = $120.00 X 17 = $2040.00. I know I spend more than 10 bananas a month so it's probably closer to 4K not $2000.00. Don't add it up. Sharpened hooks, changed hooks and swivels and polished chrome. I have them lined up in order of weapons of mass destruction. All I need is some warmer weather (arthritis and cold mornings is a no go now) and to turn the key on the StarCraft. Thanks for the tips Andrew.

I'm jealous. I need to get my boat out ASAP, no excuses. That is one pretty fish there. You must be proud to put the Pops on his first Brown. I have never got one yet as well. I don't fish for them but this month yes sir. I am expanding the pic to see what you are using. No clues.