Need info on a good used boat.

[N II Deep]

Bob,

If I was looking I would keep an eye out for a 20-23' slick or tiara, with the black outdrive. Keep it simple and easy. I've been on four of these boats and the handle the water great, very open in the back, load nice on the trailer. Ive seen them on craigslist 5 to 10k. Just my two cents

[sherman51]

charters do have there place even for us weekend fishermen. my first trolling trip on lake michigan was on a charter. and i didnt like the way he did things. he set the hook on every fish and got the 1st run then handed the rod off. but we did learn enough to get us started. and then started fishing it on my own. then i moved to the western basin of erie, but that was back in the good old days before the zebra mussles cleaned up the lake. and all you really needed was a boat and a few gold and silver nuggets and you could go out and get limits. but even then we followed some friends up from indiana and they told us where and how to fish, and that got us started. then we tried different things and then started trolling as the water cleared up. we knew enough to change as the fishing changed. we still did alittle drifting but always did better trolling.

then when i moved to the central basin i didnt have a clue. so i took out another charter, and he put us in school, he had us running the boat by noon. i had never even seen a dipsy diver except in the stores. by the end of the day i could run 3 divers on each side. then when i took my boat up the 1st trip we went out with him again on our 1st day. that was about 12 yrs ago, so this last july we went up for 2 weeks and i chartered another guy out for the 1st day. im sure glad i did, we learned alot from him. it never hurts to take a charter out just to go to school. so i do highly recommend a good charter for new guys to the big water fishing.

but then after you go to school there is nothing like being out there with my boat and my crew. we all work together and we all take pride in our catch. and yes sometimes one person will grab the rod and hand it off. but we try to have the person that is up next in the back of the boat so they can get the rod when a fish hits. and the way we do it i might get the rod and hand it to you, but next time you might get the rod and hand it to me, so it evens out. whoever can get the rod first gets it and makes sure there is no slack in the line. its not like the 1st charter where the capt got the rod every time and got the best run from the fish then hands it off.

i love taking my own boat out, and when we get fish it really has its rewards. but i learned more on those charters than i could have learned in years on my own. it just makes me a better fisherman for when i take my crew out. so i would recommend a charter every once in awhile for any weekend fisherman. but i would never be happy going out on charters all the time. i still have alot to learn about fishing the central basin of erie. but now i can take my boat and usely catch enough fish that everybody has a good time. but i still plan to take out a charter every once in awhile just to get alittle more schooling. and i have tried new things on my own. some of them are better and some are not.

two of the best things i,ve done was go to the lite bite slide diver and the chamberlain release for my riggers. the lite bite slide diver has been a real blessing on small trash fish. i have the trigger set as lite as it will go. so even a white perch will usely trip the diver. and the same with the chamberlain release, i set it loose for the bite and tight for the rod, it works great. good luck to you all.

sherman

[1mainiac]

I never meant to sound like I was bashing charters many of my friends charter and I try and go out with one of them every year as a paying customer. However there are still many that that the captain or the mate do all the fishing and you get to reel them in and a few who will even yell at you if you don't reel em in the way they want you to. I can remember one time a few years ago telling the mate to put the rod back in the holder and I would just turn the handle or better yet he could just hand me the filets when the day was done. and I would just sit and complain about the fact he was not filling my cooler fast enough.

[coralee]

Well at this point I'm going to start with Jon's advice as a couple of slickcraft 235's have popped up so I'm going to check them out. I just need to see if its reasonable to be able to fish a boat this size alone. Thanks for the input so far. The search is not over and all other options remain from aluminum to glass, from newer to older but as much as I don't like a gas hog there is good reasoning behind the much lower cost to buy. I have been spoiled using only 3-6 gallons per trip in my boat.

[1mainiac]

Well I personally would pass on a Slickcraft I just don't care for the overall ride in them plus the big doghouse. I would look for a center console with outboards. and a T top that can be folded down to fit in the barn.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2005-Albemarle-242-Center-Console-101829857

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2002-Glacier-Bay-2260-Canyon-Runner-101885706

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006-Dynasty-2300cc-Polar-101048898

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1985-Mako-236-Inboard-101856509

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006-Sea-Hunt-Triton-232-100736468

There is a few I would look at if I wanted something to fish solo in.

[1mainiac]

Well at this point I'm going to start with Jon's advice as a couple of slickcraft 235's have popped up so I'm going to check them out. I just need to see if its reasonable to be able to fish a boat this size alone. Thanks for the input so far. The search is not over and all other options remain from aluminum to glass, from newer to older but as much as I don't like a gas hog there is good reasoning behind the much lower cost to buy. I have been spoiled using only 3-6 gallons per trip in my boat.

I used to agree with that but to be honest after fishing in my 26ft for 5 years I can't imagine going out in a smaller boat very often. Steve has a 17 that we fish in a lot and it is great to save some gas money but most days he would rather give me 20 or 30 bucks for gas to fish in mine than spend 15 to 20 and fish in his. There is a lot of comfort in a bigger boat not to mention storage space for all the gear. It is currently setup to fish 14 rods but I can slide in the other 8 rod holders in the tracks if need be. Everything can be put away so there are over 700 spoons 25 or more flashers 8 divers 20 boards. 26 rod and reel setups 5 tackle boxes 2 nets the list goes on and on. But the fact is everything can be stored and the boat can be used with it all put away. And I still have a large under deck storage I have never even used.

[SeaCatMich]

For fishing alone or with up to 4 onboard a 21-23' center console is a good answer -- I do the sole thing about half the time. Since you're near the lake (Holland) not having a cabin is usually not an issue. Only downside (or upside depending on your perspective ) is my boat does not have an enclosed head and most women don't like that. There are a lot of center consoles that have added a head in the console though.

Here's a link to an older CC that has been repowered with a new eTec outboard which is being auctioned in Grand Rapids. Pics show it on a trailer but the description says the trailer isn't included. http://auction.repocast.com/details.cfm?ID=1065471

[sherman51]

I never meant to sound like I was bashing charters many of my friends charter and I try and go out with one of them every year as a paying customer. However there are still many that that the captain or the mate do all the fishing and you get to reel them in and a few who will even yell at you if you don't reel em in the way they want you to. I can remember one time a few years ago telling the mate to put the rod back in the holder and I would just turn the handle or better yet he could just hand me the filets when the day was done. and I would just sit and complain about the fact he was not filling my cooler fast enough.

didnt really take it that way. i was just saying there are good things about charters for guys like me who owns our boat. you can learn alot from a guy thats out there all the time. and i,ve been fishing the big water since 77 and the charter we went out on back in july the capt told me a couple of times i had my rod to high,LOL. but i still enjoyed fishing with him and did learn a few new things. the best thing i learned was where to start fishing on day 2 when we were in my boat,LOL.

sherman

[1mainiac]

Yea it would be nice now to just have the GPS in your phone record the entire track then you could play it back at home and plan your next day.

[coralee]

A lot of good stuff. I do agree that having all the gear underfoot and in the way is a huge pain. I am looking at all the posted items. The "catamaran" style boat is interesting and I wondered what kind of ride a boat like this gives? I'll keep checking all the links and do appreciate them. Gives me a lot of info and options I never thought of and haven't seen.

[mattmishler]

I know a lot of our customers that bring up their boat call us and keep in contact with us for the remainder of their trip. We have no problem if you want charter us then fish your own boat with keeping contact, it's another set of eyes on the water to cover more water.

[1mainiac]

Cats have a great ride and fish very well You lose the cabin and some storage but you won't be upset with the ride. You can run that cat wide open in stuff that would shake your teeth out in your Lund. I saw a tri hull a couple years ago that was a regular boat with fold out hulls that went flat against the hull for trailering. So on the trailer it was 10ft wide but in the water it was about 16ft wide it looked pretty cool.

[Leafybug]

Cats are cool, I've only been out on one and it would have been comfortable on a rowboat that day so I don't know much about rough water handling other than what I've read. I have a 25' Grady White Sailfish and I'm fairly comfortable heading out in some hairy stuff. I personally don't think you can get a better hull design than a Grady. My fishing partner has an older (mid/late 70's) 20' Grady. I've been on all different sizes, types, models, and brands of boats all with varying power set ups and even though I think that Tiaras and Hatteras's are the best boats on the water, I prefer to fish my Grady. It's just built to fish. Just my 2 cents... best of luck in your "pursuit" (another great boat) of a new boat.

[prop nut]

we have some nice late model used boats

as well as new hewes craft

We try to fit any budget

the hewes boat itself is not expensive compared to a lund or any other quality aluminum we are used to see around here in fact they are as much as 30% less money

when you consider the average cost to bring a Hewes Craft here from Washington state on a Insured properly wrapped legal carrier is a average of 2500 per boat

The Cat hull boats we have pretty much given up on selling new they are just too expensive to consider a option in the economy these day they will give you a ride beyond anything a mono hull boat can do its just the nature of the beast

All in all the budget is and will always be the most important consideration in any and all boat purchases have fun with the shopping and please if there is anything we can do we are here to help you have fun on the water !!!

and thank you to our loyal customers and friends for mentioning out products and services in threads like these

Frank Calumetmarine.com

[SeaCatMich]

I have had my 21' SeaCat (the CATtitude Adjustment) since August of 1999. In the rough stuff (3'+ seas) it is the equivalent of a good 24' V hull. Worst stuff I have had it out in was 6-7' head seas coming in from West Sister Island to Sterling State Park on Erie. No we didn't go 30 mph but did run at 10 mph and never took water over the bow and really didn't get too wet from spray either in the ~18 mile run. Another time the waves built from a nice 2' chop to 8' seas out of the north off Manistee. Had 3 other BIG guys (all 6' 4"+ and 300#+ each) plus me at 200# on board. After catching our limit of Kings we made the long run back in. The guys were simply amazed at how the cat hull handled the seas.

In more reasonable waters that I normally fish (1-3') it will run at 20-25 mph and slice through the seas nicely with only wind spray getting us wet. My hull is rated at twin 90 hp and it isn't going to be the fastest boat in 0-1.5' seas -- needs about a 1' chop for best speed to help lift the hull a little. From 2-3' though it does great. I am often amazed at how nice and smooth we are running in the slop while other V hulls are getting beat launching off the tops of the waves and crashing into the trough.

The twin hulls also make for a very stable boat when fishing. The day with the 3 BIG guys on board they were delighted that all three could be on one side of the boat and not risk capsizing the boat. The hull dipped about 2".

There are a couple of downsides to the cat. First it takes a little deeper ramp to be able to launch since the hull sits higher on the trailer. Second, you need two decent size outboards on the rear. The twin outboards was actually the reason that I ended up deciding to go cat. I had decided since I did a lot of solo fishing, I wanted to have twins for safety. Once I made that decision, the cat hull was a viable option.

I have owned 5 different boats that I would consider "Great Lakes" boats over the years. 1) 18' MirroCraft center console twin 80 hp OB, 2) 20' Bertram cuddy I/O, 3)24' Chaparral cuddy I/O, 4) 22' Cruisers SeaDevil WAC 230 hp OMC SeaDrive, and the 22' SeaCat w/ twin Honda 90 hp OB. The SeaCat handles seas better than any of the other boats. The 24' Chaparral was not a good hull (too much front to back flex) and the cat easily handles 3' seas much better. The 22' SeaDevil was a very heavy hull that handled heavy seas well but the cat does better and is a much dryer and smoother ride at the same speeds.

When I bought the CATtitude Adjustment I was living in St. Joe with a condo on the river with a boat slip out the back door. Pretty much left the tackle on the boat or in the garage 300' away. I did 3-5 days per week on the lake -- Sat & Sun plus 2-3 days after work if the weather was good. The center console is great for solo fishing and is very versatile for both trolling for salmon or drifting for walleye -- real nice to put 2 anglers in the bow and two in the stern. Now that I have it on the trailer and tow 2+ hours to get to the lakes, I sometimes wish it had a cabin to store tackle so I could leave it at the lake or in an unattended slip. There are compartments but since it is an open hull, most of the tackle is in boxes on the deck. The center console has my batteries, tool box, and a small porta-potty.

The 21' cat hull is big enough to handle any conditions I want to be in on the lake but is small enough to easily handle launching and docking on my own. If I had to do it again, I think I would have gone with the 23' model. The extra 2' is in the rear of the boat and for more than 2 on board that extra space would be nice. The SeaCat hull has been owned by 3 different companies since 2000 (SeaCat, SportCraft - SportCat, and now SeaCat again) and the same hull is now rated for 115 hp outboards. While my twin 90s do a good job with a top speed of 28 mph, I would think a pair of 115 would push it to over 40. I might be able to do better with different props too.

There are also two different types of cat hulls -- displacement and planing. The Glacier Bay boats are displacement hulls while World Cat and SeaCat are planing designs. With the displacement hull it does not lift the boat on top of the water but rather pushes the twin hulls through the water. In slow speed conditions the planing cat also pushes the hull through the waves but when power is given it lifts similar to a V hull. Boat handling is somewhat different between the two styles but I don't see a significant difference between mine and the V hulls I have had in the past. The big difference I do see is when maneuvering the boat during docking. With the twin OBs on the corners I use the throttle to steer most of the time when putting the boat on the trailer. By putting one engine in reverse and the other in reverse the boat will spin in a circle about the length of the hull.

[SeaCatMich]

Just noticed that the auction is at the Repocast Flint location.

[ChampionShip]

We have some guys from MN that come 4-5 times a year and with their lodging and two trips every time they are still saving money over hauling their boat over here. Fun guys, too, and it's nice that they like to do quite a bit more than average groups do.

[coralee]

That boat in the auction looks interesting but yes its too far away. Weird that is says trailer not include when it shows so many pics of the trailer and tires.

[ThumbsUP]

It seems to me that you might like a starcraft islander based upon your description of the boat you want. Does it have to be glass? It seems like if you want a bigger boat that is still trailerable this might be the way to go. I have run across many in the 2-5k range that are in nice shape recently. While the ride might not be as nice as a glass boat, you will get the size you want and still be able to tow it with a half-ton truck.