Need a few honest opinions on buying a boat.

[axlr8]

I grew up fishing in walleye conditions, so 2-6' rollers in a 18' boat with a 75 tiller and a very experienced driver. Now that I am of the age to buy my own, I have started the search. I would like to get something 16-18' and a deeper hull for big water. (Mainly fish northern MNs well known chain of walleye lakes.

I went and visited a closed boat shop today and he is selling a few options that look very appealing to me. All are going to need work and I feel VERY safe that I am able to do the work myself.

One of the three has a motor that is missing the trim/tilt pump assembly and possibly more.

All need interiors and complete seal/ cleanup jobs.

Anyhow here are the options starting with the most expensive option first.

1981 Starcraft 16' 90hp Merc (6 cylinder I think) hasnt ran in 5 years and is missing the trim/tilt pump and possibly more. $1000

1983 Starcraft SS160 No motor, rough interior, couple hull dents here and there. $500

1985 Blue Fin 16' No motor, rough but complete interior, possible leak near bow of boat. $500.

If I were to put a motor on the latter 2 of 3, what should I look for size wise? they are both rated to atleast 90 HP

Speed is not a desire, but torque is for tubing and getting going in wavy situations.

Im leaning towards the Blue Fin at this point but need some other opinions.

Im new here, always liked to read about others restoring boats. I have always loved being on the water, and boats as well!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Your going to end up sinking a bit of money into any of those three. I say pile up some cash and get a boat that is water ready

 

[ezmobee]

For the conditions you describe, I'd look for an 18' Starcraft as opposed to a 16'. Having owned both, the 18 is much more substantial in every dimension.

 

[SeaDooSam]

For the conditions you describe, I'd look for an 18' Starcraft as opposed to a 16'. Having owned both, the 18 is much more substantial in every dimension.

+1 16 ft is a bit small for "big water" in my opinion. I would say save up for something that only needs one (major) thing done to it. For example look for something with a great interior but garbage engine . Or bad interior, nice rebuilt engine. This way you only have one thing to fix, instead of practically building a boat from scratch.
Jmho

 

[CV16]

I'll agree with the others. Save up and find an 18' that's water ready. Search Craigslist, this time of year is the time to buy.

 

[savetexomabeaches]

I agree with others and say "Save up and wait a bit" --- I know that's easier said than done, but I jumped on getting my "first" boat, and man that was the biggest money pain ever. Was a 1971 VIP with a 50 hp evinrude $500.00. Ending up basically giving it away and about 2 months later, boat with a cheaper price came along.. 1992 Invader with a 3.0 mercruiser $400.00. Best thing I've bought thus far.

 

[Watermann]

I too think an 18'r would be more boat that you won't regret having. I do however believe that buying someone else' second hand "water ready" boat is not the way to go. If shop for it, you can get a Starcraft 18' SS with motor for 1000 or less and have a blank canvas to build your own walleye boat. Take a look at my SS rebuild in the link below. Great looking boats with some serious potential.

 

[axlr8]

Thanks for the help guys, sorry for the late reply, fall means harvest around here and I sure have been busy. Do the starcrafts come in an 18' variation and with an outboard? I am really not wanting an inboard...

On another note, what are you guys' opinion on a 87 Alumacraft Trophy 170? 17' with up to a 115 HP rating and it has a decent interior as far as I can tell. Really looking for something I can own and be happy with for the next 10 or so years. But I dont want to have to stick tons of money into something and have virtually no value in it for resale if that needs to happen in the future.

Thanks again for the input thus far!

 

[jbcurt00]

Condition
Condition
Condition

Brand makes little difference at the price point you're shopping for a used boat.

There can still be plenty of ugly hidden beneath a seemingly decent interior, even in an aluminum boat.

Go see dozens of boats, put your hands on dozens. The internet is a great source for info, but w out pix of any of these boats, not hearing any of the motrs run and digging around inside all the nooks and crannies of them, it will be challenging to help you pick which one is a good possibility or any that should be rejected out right.

Buying used means putting money into it while you own it. Maybe a little, could be a lot.

Buying new means you take a hit on depreciation.

In MN, its getting to be a good time to buy, bad time to sell. But it can also be challenging to get a seller to take you for an on the water test.

No water test, means no buy for many of us.

Read this topic:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...eeding-help-buying-a-boat-a-buyer-s-checklist

Good luck w your hunt

 

[ezmobee]

Do the starcrafts come in an 18' variation and with an outboard? I am really not wanting an inboard...

Absolutely. I have one. Probably as many or more 18' out there than 16'.

 

[axlr8]

Well seeing as the boat market around me seems to think that anything somewhat decent with a motor is worth 700+ even in VERY rough condition, and as expected, any motor with reasonable size is 1500 at least. I am thinking that I will be buying a motor and boat package separately and mating them later.

While thinking of that, I had seen an ad on CL for an old rotten fiberglass boat with an 80 mercury on the back. For $900 I was skeptical to even call, but after I did the seller told me that all he really wanted for the boat/trailer/motor was $250 so he could show the boss that he got something for it. First thing friday morning I am going to try to go look at it. Im hoping I can salvage some extra parts from the fiberglass boat and retrofit them onto any boat that I may buy down the road.

I have been searching for boats for a few hours now that you guys are suggesting an 18 over 16 and it definately seems like that is the way to go for me. BUT I know that a 16 would do well for the right price. (Speaking from experience, I have fished that same water in a 12' 1946 Alumacraft with an '85 Johnson 15HP for a few summers and it does well in a slight breeze, but as soon as the first whitecap rolls over, I either have to beach it and have a picnic, or head back to shore for the day, and as a walleye guy, that is pretty frustrating.)

Hopefully in the next few days Ill have some pictures for you guys.

 

[ezmobee]

Yeah it's not uncommon for guys to have to mix and match when trying to put together a usable set up on the cheap. Outboards are pretty expensive. The best deals on them are usually the ones still attached to some old rotted out boat. Boats, however, are nearly worthless with no motor so sometimes you can find a great deal on a boat with a missing or dead motor.

 

[Watermann]

I have a 16' fishing boat that's been great over the years but I've decided to go to the 18 SS for more room and to be safer on some of the larger bodies of water I fish for walleye The boat is a blank slate right now but I have some plans for making it what I want. The extra 2 feet also makes for a wider and deeper boat than a 16'r not to mention the increase in motor size. Take a look at the link below to my 18' SS build. It's a ton of work but well worth it.

 

[axlr8]

Ill be honest, I read the Cheiftain 18' thread last night and thought that one was the link you were speaking of and now I see that it was the V5 thread you wanted me to check out. Nice build, ideally that is the sort of boat that I want to end up with. A nice aluminum boat with a great ability to fish from and a solid boat for 4 people or so to cruise around in when the fishing is slow.

 

[savetexomabeaches]

With the outboard vs inboard option, you mentioned you'd rather have an outboard vs inboard.. Just curious why that is?

 

[axlr8]

Main reason being rocks and obstructions in the waters that I fish. I like being able to look back at the motor and see where the trim/tilt level is at. My biggest fear is smacking a rock with a lower unit.

Plus, I know much more about running, repairing, operating an outboard vs an inboard. Which helps me understand how much something will be to repair, and how much it is going to cost to run.

Basically it boils down to what I am used to, and personal preferences.

I wouldnt completely outrule an I/O boat, but i would much rather run an outboard.

AND, in the long run, if something happens to an outboard, I can just go out and buy a different brand/model, whereas in an I/O scenario, I dont feel like that is the case..BUT i could be wrong.

 

[axlr8]

With high hopes of finding a hull that I want to restore and turn into a dependable rig for my family and I, this weekend I scored a motor and some small parts and pieces for the future project. There is a local online "buy/sell/trade" page that I like to visit sometimes, and it paid off this Saturday evening.

I came upon a link that showed pictures of a rough but complete 1982 16' Rinkerbuilt fiberglass boat, a shorelander roller trailer, and an 80 HP mercury 4 cylinder for $900. So I contacted the seller and talked with him for a few minutes, and found out that he wanted it gone and out of sight before winter. So I made an hour drive or so and looked it over, everthing that I hoped to be in decent shape were found to be so. Aside from a rotten floor and 4" of rotting leaves on the boat, I managed to drive away with everything for $250. Motor is free and has tilt/trim pump that appears to work as the motor was held up by it.

Anyhow, I had no intentions whatsoever of keeping the glass hull, so I convinced a buddy to come help set up a 'chop shop'. In a little over 3 hours we managed to strip the complete boat of anything that we found that could be re used, or sold later on. Some of the major components we saved were the outboard, the windshield, trolling motor, a few sets of seat bases and seats, all the controls, the trailer, and some other odds and ends.

As far as I can tell, the motor is a 1982 Mercury 80 with the blue decals, a rough prop and a broken skeg. (Not too concerned about the latter 2, I can replace/rebuild them if need be. My main focus in the coming weeks will be to get the motor fired and check function of its operation. I did the easy gearbox check and it didnt make any bad noise or seem to be stuck. Hoping all goes well and we got a good deal on a nice motor.

I have pictures of the boat, I will try to get them uploaded and give you guys something to look at.

 

[Watermann]

That's the way to do it, bottom feeder prices and lots of good parts!

Good luck on the motor.

 

[ezmobee]

Nice score

 

[axlr8]

Hoping to have something for you guys to look at here in the next few hours. I have got to figure out how to upload pictures from my phone.