My New Used Boat

[goteeboy]

A month ago i sold my first boat, a small entry level 14ft-er 3 bench, 9.9hp, you know the deal and was quickly looking to upgrade.

 

So i searched through i would say around 200 plus boats on craigslists in various northern cities in America, primarily Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, and ebay and anything and everything in the Toronto area like Autotrader, fishing forums, etc. During the search i decided on what i wanted.

1. aluminum v hull

2. steering wheel

3. front casting deck

4. increased motor hp

5. and an added plus would have been a fishfinder and trolling motor included.

 

Well i looked on ebay and found a 2001 Lowe Sea Nymph FM165. It's a V-hull riveted aluminum 16.5 feet in length with a 50hp Johnson 2 stroke. The pictures looked great and the boat appeared to be in very good condition. And then i found a 2000 Lund 16 foot Rebel SS near Milwaukee that was in excellent condition, but was $6500 which was a tad over my budget. So i called and they said they'd go down to 6000. but there was something about the Lund that i didn't like. The layout of the inside was poorer than the Lowe and the height of the boat seemed shallower than the Lowe.

 

Finally after humming and hawing, i gave up on the Lund and focused on the Lowe. Did I mention that the Lowe was in TEXAS, near Amarillo, 23 hours from Toronto? The seller was selling cuz his lake in Texas was drying up from 80 to 40 ft and he had only had it on the water less than a handful of times.

 

Well, I bought the Lowe on ebay after asking the seller a gazillion questions. They seemed real straight-up and were even more so when i met the sellers in person. The Lowe had all the things mentioned above and more.

 

We started our journey south and as we arrived we couldn't find the house....and the thought of "i've been swindled" came to mind. But we were on the wrong side of zero and finally found the house a few blocks down the road.

 

We drove from chicago (which was where i was vacationing), to iowa, to kansas to oklahoma to texas! 15 hours of corn and then once we were in texas, we saw the oil rigs pumping and doing their thing. We left chicago at 4am, just the wife and me, and we arrived in Texas at around 6-7pm. As we were approaching Texas i told my wife, "i must be crazy!" several times for buying this boat and taking this trip. She didn't disagree. hehe. And, THANK GOD FOR GPS!

 

When i saw the boat i couldn't believe how new it looked. here are some particulars.

1. just one noticeable scratch on the outside rear of the hull

2. carpet looks brand spanking new

3. the current owner said he bought it about six months ago and only took it out a couple of times.

4. the first owner bought it in Oklahoma, from of all places, Jimmy Houston Marina (he was a former bass pro, has a tv show, does the speaking circuit at fishing shows, author, etc)

5. so the last registration sticker on the hull read 2003 which could likely mean that the original owner had only used the boat for at most 3 years, and by the looks of the boat, i think my guess is correct.

6. motor runs great

7. included trolling motor and basic fish finder

 

we paid the balance and headed off to Oklahoma City where we had booked our motel and arrived at midnight. fell asleep and leisurely came back up north through Springfield Missouri (bass pro shops HQ) which is also where all the BPS rods that have lifetime warranties are returned and then repaired and sold at a fraction of the cost. So i dug through around 200 rods and found a gem, the top of the line BPS casting rod, 7 ft, but it had lost 2 inches off the top and repaired w/ a new top guide. it's a 200 dollar rod i got for 50 bucks! woohoo! and then the wife found 2 crocs slippers for the kids for 10 bucks each (they normally go for 35)!!! if you ever get the chance check out the outlet store at BPS Springfield Missouri. You will find some great deals on very new, but still in great condition rods minus the warranty of course. I could go on, but i will stop there about BPS. And just about 30 min North of Springfield is the Tracker boat factory where you'll see acre after acre of boats while driving on the highway.

 

We saddled up again and did the final leg to Chicago where we witnessed the most amazing and beautiful lightning storm in and around southern Illinois. It must have lasted an hour. We finally got home at around 11PM. Did you know trailering a boat sucks up a lot of gas, especially up and down the hills of the ozarks? holy schmoly!

 

we stored it in my brother's garage for a week and brought it back over the border on Sunday. With the dollar being so strong, the customs guys in Sarnia said they get 2 imports an hour!!!

 

anyway, i paid my duties, all i have to do is get the trailer safety approved and the new boat license #, hopefully i could be on the water sooner than later. i cannot wait to open her up and see what she can do. It used to take me 30 minutes to get from the launch to our fishing spot on balsam, i should be able to cut that down to 10 minutes now.

 

with the cost of gas/hotel/duties, i think i still got a great deal on a great boat. i don't know if i'd recommend going to texas, but there were a ton of great boats in the midwest. if you're looking, you should check out the near by states.

 

 

[Fisherman]

Nice boat, now don't keep us guessing, how much?

[goteeboy]

okay here's the cost

5700.00 for the boat

about 1000 for all the rest (tax, gas, motel)

[Bondar]

i've been to that Bass pro on my way to Kansas where i went to Cabelas then Turkey hunting for 2 weeks it was a great trip and both amazing outdoor stores !! Congrats on the new rig

[Shane70]

very nice boat, I hope you get to enjoy it very very soon.

 

I love the colours

[tizfun]

Very Nice... I had this boat on my Ebay watch ..... I'm glad someone got a great deal ..... Figured it was a bit far to drive.. I too look everyday for the perfect boat in the USA and found one I'm working on.. Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's the one I'm look at.. Seems like alot of boat for the money.. Asking $8900.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best of luck to you !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Tiz

[Lowe Rider]

It's a great boat. It looks the same as my 2003 but yours is Blue. I want that top, some days you need to hide from the sun.

As for speed I can get between 25 & 30mph with two little guys like me and Copper on board my boat.

If it has the 100l gas tank it goes forever with the 50hp 2 stroke but when it needs to be filled it hurts. LOL The only time I have wanted more HP was with more than two on board, you can feel the difference. Tons of storage is another plus.

You will not be disappointed.

Edited September 3, 2008 by Lowe Rider

[Greencoachdog]

CONSOLES RULE!!!

 

Sweet lookin' ride you got there!!!

[Garyv]

I've had my Lowe 1605 for 12 years and like it as much today as I did when I traded for it. I run a Honda 50 and Honda 5 on Huron most of the time and don't have any desire to purchase a newer one. You should be very satisfied.

[goteeboy]

while i was down there i picked up a fold away tongue conversion kit (3x3 inches) made by Fulton at West Marine w/ the added 3 yr warranty. I thought the boat wouldn't fit in the garage, but thank God it actually fits, though i did have to totally rearrange the garage. I will post it for sale soon for what i paid for it in the sale section of the forum once i get unpacked and dig up the receipt i'll post an add. anyone interested?

[fishindevil]

Nice looking fishing machine !!!!..i hope she treats you well,take care of her !!!...lets see a few fishing reports now,..lol..lol. a perfect reason to call in sick for a few days....ya you are not looking so well,better call in right now.....cheers

[goteeboy]

finally took her out after all the paperwork was done. she does 53KMH.

[Reef Runner]

Very nice ride. Hope you get her slimmed soon.

[addy79]

thats a steal!

Cabela's in KC is the size of teh Rogers Centre! awesome place

[Dano]

Nice ride man, congratulations! That trip will be remebered for a long time.