Capt.Canuck

Ha, that's what I told my wife about the 345hp I have in my car. "Honey, it's for emergency passing power on the highway!"

The boat is brand new. It may just have been the conditions - it was quite windy and 3 ft swells. I just don't know the difference I guess, as it is my first console boat.

Ha...well that's where it gets interesting. I don't have a vehicle that can tow the boat so I just went and bought my wife a new Acura MDX this evening so I can tow it. Pick that up Tuesday morning, get the hitch installed that day hopefully, then off to the marina (out of town) on Wednesday or Thursday next week to pick it up. The only real modification/swap I made was I got a Lund Pro Seat for the drivers seat as I found the standard seat was too flexy for my liking.

Thanks, I looked at a number of boats but the configuration of this one really seems perfect for my intended usage. It's a Merc 125hp Optimax. Way more power than I feel I need at this stage, but it sure goes nice out on the water.

I just purchased a Lund 1810 Predator with a 125hp Merc Optimax. This is my first boat with a console, and in my first drive of it today I found the steering quite heavy. Granted we were in choppy conditions on big water, but steering the boat seemed a lot more work than I expected. The marina I purchased the boat from said that they would put in hydraulic steering if I wanted it, but encouraged me to own and drive the boat for a while first before making that decision. My preference would be to just go ahead and get it now, but would I regret that later? I'd appreciate some input. TIA.

Hi guys, A quick follow up on the thread... I ended up finding a brand new Lund 1810 Predator at a great price, so I purchased it this afternoon. Thanks again for the sage advice. Cheers, CC

Nope, agreed. Can anyone recommend some good reliable marinas in the Ottawa area that would be willing to do the complete inspection on a 3rd party sale? What does such an inspection cost generally?

Good info, thanks everyone. When you say "have the motor verified", what do you mean? Take it to a marina that sells that brand of motor and have them do the car equivalent of a "safety"? On a related note, when someone says they have X number of hours on a motor, what would be considered a high mileage motor? In other words, are there any guidelines as to purchasing used motors, i.e. "I wouldn't touch a motor with more that XY hours on it."?

First time posting, so be gentle. I've fished all my life on lakes within an hour or so of Ottawa, and up until recently have been quite happy with my 12' deep V aluminum boat with 9.9. I decided recently that I should get something larger, so that my son (age 6) my father (70s) and I can all fish out of the same boat in reasonable comfort - and then still be comfortable to tour around the lake adding in my wife and my mother (5 people total) or other guests that may visit. I'm looking at models like the Crestliner Fish Hawk and Alumacraft Classic series. In terms of size, anywhere from 16-19 ft. I confess I've had a bit of sticker shock (my most recent boat and motor purchased from a family friend for a princely $800) but I'm coming around to spending $15-$20K on the purchase. - I've looked around a bit online and it seems like my dollars would go a lot farther if I bought used (2005-2010) than if I bought new. But knowing very little about boats and motors, I'm understandably cautious about buying a boat with expensive hidden problems. I'm looking for advice on what process I should follow in buying a used boat, and tips on things I should look for and do to ensure I have a positive outcome. Thanks in advance for the advice.