cheap boats

[Joe B]

I'm looking for a small(16-17') boat for mainly bay fishing.
A few boats are within my $ range mainly carolina skiffs, sundance, etc. Any feedback on how the flat bottoms preform compared to the semi-v's in chop would be appreciated. Any other options in the $6-8000 price range? Boat must be light weight, low horsepower.

[Mark Cahill]

For light weight, consider aluminum. Plenty around used in that size and price range.


<font face="Monotype Corsiva, sans serif" size="3" color="#0000FF">Mark Cahill<BR>Editorial Director, <a href="http://www.reel-time.com"><b><i>Reel-Time</a><marquee><img src="http://www.geocities.com/Baja/3297/flafish.gif"></marquee>

[ronl]

joe B- I have to agree with Mike about the aluminum boats. As for the flat bottomed boats they give a hard ride in a chop- this from many years of running the old style flat bottomed workskiffs used for clamming in Narragansett Bay. For my money I'd get a 16footer with 25hp. I had a 14footer with an 18hp and with 4 people I was clocked at 25 knots on my way out to the fishing grounds. Ron

[ronl]

mcahill- Sorry about calling you Mike, but I had almost finished my first post and lost it- ended up back on the original posting with no explanation. Kind of frustrating. Ron

[dusty]

I would also agree with the above posts. Aluminum seems like your best bet. It's lighter than fiberglass and much easier to maintain. I'm partial towards Lund myself (I use an alaskan 20ft), but they can be hard to find used sometimes...it's worth the search though. You definitely want some vee in the hull, otherwise a routine fihsing trip can be quite unpleasant. I used to have a 13' whaler that really was a blast when I was young, however as I got older the idea of launching off ripples in the water became increasingly less apealing.

[FlyByNite]

Joe- I bought a 19' Carolina Skiff w/ the semi V and 50 hp honda four stroke.I run it between Oceanside and Wantagh. Be careful about going too
small and light. Even in the "back bays", some of the big boys will show you no mercy as they blow past you at 30 knots. The Carolina Skiff semi V has a nice ride and turns on a dime. I've been happy with it.
Michael G

[mcollins]

I have a 16' Sturdee with a 25 Hp Yamaha. The entire rig cost about as much as a bare bones Maritime 16 w/o power with a little change left over. I had a tin boat before that. The Sturdee is a good boat for the $ but certainly has it's limitations. In that price range it's a compromise on many points. I'm very pleased with the boat since I knew what I was buying before I got into it. The Bristol Skiff is also very nice, more $ but better fit/finish. - Mark