Purchasing a used boat from a dealer % rate

[Old Ironmaker]

I'm glad you have decided to pull the trigger Akrisoner. This is a good time to buy actually. Check around the Marine dealers for your boat. Many have taken in trade ins from the Boat Show.

The owner at the building where we all work on our boats has a nice 16' tinny side council we worked on rainy days last Fall It was torn out to the skeleton  and rebuilt properly, new foam, new marine plywood, new carpeting, new paint, battery and 3 good seats plus other add ons like rod holders. I think it has a 50 or 60 Merc on it and a front electric troller. The engine has been gone over totally and has a clean bill of health. It will take 3 fisherpersons with comfort as long as they weren't former Offensive linemen. I was looking at it for myself actually if I decide to downsize from my 19' StarCraft. It's a Smoker Craft. You won't need a LOC to buy it either. It would be a great starter/fart around boat until you see what you actually want in the future. I will forego my finders fee which is usually a free lunch I end up paying for. PM me if interested and I'll put you in touch with them.

Johnny D

Edited February 14, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[AKRISONER]

2 hours ago, BillM said:

But as far as making use of the space you've got, big tiller hands down.  Easily room for 3 guys or more.    I think it really depends on the type of fishing you do, that should dictate the boat you'll wanna go with.  

Cant say i disagree but at the end of the day when im really thinking about how i would be fishing this boat specifically, 99% of the time it would be mostly for bass fishing...thats the one beauty of a true bass boat is that they get somewhat devalued because of their lack of use for much else other than bass fishing. I would definitely never downrig or even do any open water fishing in it at all. No need for skiing or cruising either as we have boats to cover both of these things as well. Shallow hull, rod and gear storage and lots of deck space for standing up is the key...speed is also a big plus because im on georgian bay, travelling is part of the game.

17 foot bass boat with a 100-150hp looks really good thus far.

As far as hitting big water, going out in really bad weather or multi species angling..thats when i would leave my boat at home and head out in the old man's boat.

 

Edited February 14, 2018 by AKRISONER

[aplumma]

Finally the old tiller VS console debate lol. I have a 1989 Ranger with the 150 0n it. It is a great boat for fishing and getting around from spot to spot quickly.  The 1989 GT 150 burns 8/10 of a gallon every minute with a 28 gallon tank doing 55 mph. With a few mods you can turn it into a GTX 150 and burn 9/10th gallon at 60 mph. I will say it needs to do 20 mph before it sets it nose and rides on the pad like it should. Wakes and waves are easily dealt with using common sense and goodspeed and trim adjustments. While looking at bass boats check the coring and structural carefully  recoring a bassboat is not cost effective and easily overlooked. The newer Rangers from 1990 did away with wood encapsulation and the pad was redesigned for more stability. The 1989 was the last year of the IMHO best pad for speed and tracking . 

 

Art

[Raf]

are you sure you want a glass boat fishing georgian bay (i'm assuming glass when you said bass boat)?  shallows/shoals at that?  one thing for a cruiser tied up to a dock, different story for a fishing boat IMO.   glass and granite don't mix well.

even an aluminum, with the low draft found in a typical bass boat would not be my first choice when the rollers kick up.  a 'walleye' boat, different story.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Raf

[BillM]

A true bass boat out in GBay?  Eh..  Wouldn't be my first choice to be honest.   

[AKRISONER]

13 hours ago, Raf said:

are you sure you want a glass boat fishing georgian bay (i'm assuming glass when you said bass boat)?  shallows/shoals at that?  one thing for a cruiser tied up to a dock, different story for a fishing boat IMO.   glass and granite don't mix well.

even an aluminum, with the low draft found in a typical bass boat would not be my first choice when the rollers kick up.  a 'walleye' boat, different story.

ive got a 19 foot alumacraft that i can use for the days that the bay isnt being friendly...id be fishing this boat much like i do my tinner.

Ive also been fishing small tourneys in the kawarthas now, this boat would be 100% perfect for those days.

Come the fall when things turn ugly and get cold im always out with my pops in his boat anyways.

I am interested in some of the aluminum shallow hull side consoles..but selection is fairly limited...you cant beat the amount of casting room on a bass boat though.

Edited February 15, 2018 by AKRISONER

[JoshS]

I was in the same boat as you (lol) years back when I was looking. If you can afford it, 100% go for it man! If you;re anything like me, the reward was far greater than the financial impact. Worth every penny.  It was a life changer for me. I wanted a rig forever, and the freedom of towing my own boat to where I want to fish was the greatest feeling. The times I've had in that boat and fish caught are priceless to me. 

I also thought long and hard about it. My finances were tight at the time albeit times were also a bit different back then being post recession and our dollar on par. I went down south and gotta deal. But it was still a bit of a stretch for me at the time and looking back, and I don't know what I was stressing over. Don't go over board (lol) on cost and get something comfortably in your range and you'll feel good about it.

Go get a boat man and don't look back!

[aplumma]

I would run a bass boat around granite before a deep V bottom it drafts less on and off plane. I use mine at lake Nipissing but to be fair I have been there 6 or 7 times. Now get me in open water and the V hulles win. I also have a jet boat aluminum boat and don't kid yourself they will pop a hole on rocks just like a fiberglass boat. They however are easier to repair and cheaper.  The ease of fishing a low side bass boat is worth it's weight in gold for me and after fishing both the  bass boat wins formy style of fishing. 

 

Art

[Old Ironmaker]

A glass Walleye boat like the Stratos would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Plenty of room for 3 to cast in the shallows and stable enough for bigger water. A quality boat can last you a lifetime if looked after.

[AKRISONER]

41 minutes ago, aplumma said:

I would run a bass boat around granite before a deep V bottom it drafts less on and off plane. I use mine at lake Nipissing but to be fair I have been there 6 or 7 times. Now get me in open water and the V hulles win. I also have a jet boat aluminum boat and don't kid yourself they will pop a hole on rocks just like a fiberglass boat. They however are easier to repair and cheaper.  The ease of fishing a low side bass boat is worth it's weight in gold for me and after fishing both the  bass boat wins formy style of fishing. 

 

Art

You and i seem to think alike...i also fish the same place all of the time...there were a few years where i smacked rocks lol...but now I know my lake pretty well.

[Raf]

what do you guys do when you need to go onshore to drop a deuce.. and you can't pull your glass boat up on the rocks?  or camping... and your beach is granite?

Edited February 16, 2018 by Raf

[Lape0019]

Get to shore carefully and take care of business. lol.

Glad to hear you're biting the bullet. It's definitely exciting to shop for boats. Downside to buying in December (for me) is not being able to use it for a few months. It's being stored at the dealer until I pick it up in May and this has been the longest 2.5 months ever!

 

 

[AKRISONER]

15 hours ago, Raf said:

what do you guys do when you need to go onshore to drop a deuce.. and you can't pull your glass boat up on the rocks?  or camping... and your beach is granite?

 

its called the Cirillo Aqua Dump, my buddy mike perfected it...you hang off the ladder and let the trolling motor create a bidet

[grimsbylander]

Ok, I know it can happen to me easily as I get older but I'm confused 

A bassboat?? Last month you said:

"Not to spark up the debate about bass boats...but I have always said that those things are friggin stupid when fishing big open lakes. Id personally never buy one because how in the hell is a boat thats 1 foot off of the water ever going to stay afloat in a 6 foot chop."

Now I happen to know you're comment was based on a lack of knowledge about what happened on Big O and the fact you have no experience with then but why the sudden change of heart? 

[AKRISONER]

41 minutes ago, grimsbylander said:

Ok, I know it can happen to me easily as I get older but I'm confused 

A bassboat?? Last month you said:

"Not to spark up the debate about bass boats...but I have always said that those things are friggin stupid when fishing big open lakes. Id personally never buy one because how in the hell is a boat thats 1 foot off of the water ever going to stay afloat in a 6 foot chop."

Now I happen to know you're comment was based on a lack of knowledge about what happened on Big O and the fact you have no experience with then but why the sudden change of heart? 

I havent changed heart at all, id never fish a bass boat in big open lakes...Obviously that seems weird when I fish G bay...but Pointe Au Baril is a set back off of the main lake, and I never venture into the open section of the lake unless im in a 20+ foot boat...that lake can blow up way too big way too fast to even risk being caught.

My understanding on okeechobee was that they were running at speed and basically darted headfirst into a roller with the nose of the boat and that was it.

As ive said earlier in the thread, this would be my fishing ripping around boat that I can trailer to other lakes when need be. The old man has bigger boats for when the weather is ugly or you need to head to big water.

A few years back i was heading out for laketrout with the old man in the 26 footer, it was absolute glass calm through the back channels, only to come out on the open lake into 10 foot rollers, friggin scary as hell. I swear the great lakes in 10 footers is wayyy scarier then the 20 foot rollers that I was in out off the north coast of haida gwaii a couple of years ago...totally different type of waves.

Edited February 16, 2018 by AKRISONER

[grimsbylander]

My advice to you is simple, I know you're not buying a boat anytime soon but investigate, talk to, ride in, whatever...the boat you think you want and just as importantly, boats you like but don't think can do the job. I'm not out to convince you of anything but I lived and fished GBay for 16 years and ran the gap many times in a bassboat, fished eastern Lake Ontario in a bassboat and now fish Erie in a bassboat; if you fish bass 99% of the time, you need to get an accurate view of the capabilities of a decent bassboat. Frankly, your assumptions are dead wrong. If I had to cross the gap in 6 footers I'd pick my Ranger all day. I'd get wet, but I'd get there safely. I can't tell you how many times I've driven past aluminum deep V's on Erie in the rough stuff. It's not a shot at deep V aluminums...they great boats, I get it. But if you think you're going to buy a bassboat that runs 55-65 MPH and NOT make runs out to the untouched waters at PAB, you kidding yourself. One thing these boats do GREAT is make big bodies of water really small. The first time I was ever in a bassboat was in Midland around 1989. We ran from the docks to Roberts Island east of Beausoleil in ~5 minutes. I was sold because previous to that, it was a journey to get there. Point Au Baril to the outer islands in under 12 mins?  unless to happen to smack the granite! LOL But the big advantage today are the graphs...go dead slow the first and lay down a trail...if you don't hit at 25mph, you're not going to hit with that boat up out of the water at 60.

[AKRISONER]

7 minutes ago, grimsbylander said:

My advice to you is simple, I know you're not buying a boat anytime soon but investigate, talk to, ride in, whatever...the boat you think you want and just as importantly, boats you like but don't think can do the job. I'm not out to convince you of anything but I lived and fished GBay for 16 years and ran the gap many times in a bassboat, fished eastern Lake Ontario in a bassboat and now fish Erie in a bassboat; if you fish bass 99% of the time, you need to get an accurate view of the capabilities of a decent bassboat. Frankly, your assumptions are dead wrong. If I had to cross the gap in 6 footers I'd pick my Ranger all day. I'd get wet, but I'd get there safely. I can't tell you how many times I've driven past aluminum deep V's on Erie in the rough stuff. It's not a shot at deep V aluminums...they great boats, I get it. But if you think you're going to buy a bassboat that runs 55-65 MPH and NOT make runs out to the untouched waters at PAB, you kidding yourself. One thing these boats do GREAT is make big bodies of water really small. The first time I was ever in a bassboat was in Midland around 1989. We ran from the docks to Roberts Island east of Beausoleil in ~5 minutes. I was sold because previous to that, it was a journey to get there. Point Au Baril to the outer islands in under 12 mins?  unless to happen to smack the granite! LOL But the big advantage today are the graphs...go dead slow the first and lay down a trail...if you don't hit at 25mph, you're not going to hit with that boat up out of the water at 60.

how big is your boat grimsby?

 

I dont think i will be getting anything over an 18. added bonus is that Ive got a boat house that i can jack the boat up into in the winter for storage. 

If the right boat comes along, i could pull the trigger immediately...but it would have to be the right deal. So far ive found one boat in the province that fits the bill pretty nice.

18 foot 2002 skeeter with a 100 yammy 4 stroke that had the bottom half redone last year, under budget as well...big fan of yamaha outboards, might have to at least take a peak.

[grimsbylander]

I was told 30 years when I wanted to buy my first boat to save my money and when I had enough to buy an 18" boat with a 150... keep saving and get a 20' lol It was VERY good advice. The difference in price and the difference in ride, comfort and fishibility(yeah, that's a word lol) makes it a no brainer.  The disclaimer to this is if you know you're going to fish a small Haliburton lake 99% of the time...like a cottage owner for example. And in spite of the US exchange right now, shop the US! People just look at the exchange rate only but that's a mistake... it's a supply and demand market and the US has a $hi! ton of boats on the market.

[AKRISONER]

17 minutes ago, grimsbylander said:

I was told 30 years when I wanted to buy my first boat to save my money and when I had enough to buy an 18" boat with a 150... keep saving and get a 20' lol It was VERY good advice. The difference in price and the difference in ride, comfort and fishibility(yeah, that's a word lol) makes it a no brainer.  The disclaimer to this is if you know you're going to fish a small Haliburton lake 99% of the time...like a cottage owner for example. And in spite of the US exchange right now, shop the US! People just look at the exchange rate only but that's a mistake... it's a supply and demand market and the US has a $hi! ton of boats on the market.

I wish i could grab a 20 footer but its out of the question, i dont have anywhere to put it. gotta keep it small so that I have storage for it in the winter. If only our dollar was in the total crapper...need those oil prices to drive up again and make the dollar climb a bit. Definitely keeping an eye on the US market, not sure what it takes to get a boat back over the boarder legally? 

[BillM]

It's not much work, I think we spent 5 mins in customs when bringing back out Lund from Michigan.

[grimsbylander]

2 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

 not sure what it takes to get a boat back over the boarder legally? 

Dead easy...worry about it if and when you find a boat.

[grimsbylander]

1 minute ago, BillM said:

It's not much work, I think we spent 5 mins in customs when bringing back out Lund from Michigan.

I brought back my old Ranger and they spent more time looking at the stuff my son bought (clothes, etc) than the boat!! Honestly, they never looked inside or opened a single compartment! lol  

[BillM]

Us either.  Just walked in with the paper work and that was about it!

[Old Ironmaker]

With all the proper paper work buying a boat south is a breeze. Make sure you know what is required on both sides first. I have brought back 5 cars over the years and a boat for a pal that can't cross. I was his eyes and ears.

The difference of only 2 feet in a boat can be huge. I fished a few times in a 17' Lund, only 2 feet shorter than my StarCraft 190. To me it felt very crowded with just the 2 of us and no where near as stable in just 2 foot chop as mine, not close. I can get my deep V into water that a Bass boat will go with the electric. Mine is a deep V but doesn't have much of a draught, 18" if not loaded down. The key is how much draught a boat has rather than the hull design.

As far as making a 2 pile, that's what 5 gallon pails are for. Reduce pollution by way of dilution.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[aplumma]

Match the boat to the water and style you fish most of the time. I own 4 boats one is a 28ft twin 318's aluminum marinette that lives in the water and holds 8 people comfortably. One is a 18ft Ranger bassboat that trailers from lake to rivers in both Canada and USA. I have a jetdrive aluminum john boat 20ft for running shallow rivers and rapids. The final is a pontoon 10ft that fishes farm ponds and fits in a pickup bed. Each boat has a body of water that it spends 90% of its time on. No boat will fulfill all of your needs so pick the body of water you most often fish and get the boat that you like to fish from. Casting off of a deep V is not near as easy or enjoyable as a bassboat but trolling from a bass boat is not as easy and enjoyable as a deep V. . Down here there are few deep V fishing boats because we rarely troll for the species we have to fish for. I am in luck because we have stripers that come up river from the ocean so trolling is available and anchor fishing for 50 lb blue catfish makes owning a 28ft cruiser viable. You can usually hang around a boat ramp and ask people about how there boat fits into their lives and see how they set it up. I am sure that an offer to split costs and a great lunch might get you a day on the water with a new friend. 

Art