Is this a good boat??

http://nashville.craigslist.org/boa/2858895514.html

Im 14 and ive been around boats my whole life i have a 14ft with a 25hp jhonson right now and im looking to upgrade. Dont tell me im to young or i cant afford this because i have $4000.00 saved up to put into a boat. and i goo fishing every weekend with my friend on my boat

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Welcome aboard! Dont get edgy man. Age doesn't matter, having fun on the water is what counts! Id say it looks like a fast turn key boat, for a fair price. Id check the transom out very carefully, its getting older and a rotten transom junks the whole thing!

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

haha amen its just some people think im too young but i love boating and fishing tounaments. thanks i will go look at it and check it out is there anything else i should check out.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

In my limited experaince (I'm only 25) the transom and the engine are the two biggest concerns. Since he states it runs, I would want to see it run for 4-5 with muffs or in a garbage can including shifting gears. Have you considered aluminum boats or is your heart set on fiberglass? I've owned both and have found the aluminum MUCH easier to work with... just completely replaced the transom on my Starcraft in the evenings and was easy. The hulls basically last forever. Food for thought.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Do you have a parent or older friend that can go look at the boat with you? I'm not saying that you don't know boats, but having an adult with you will help with negotiating price, etc etc.

Also, it's possible that a seller might not sell to a minor for legal reasons.

From the pics, the boat looks pretty nice.

Hope it all works out well for you.

BTW: How does a 14yr old save $4000 bucks?

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

I use to own a 89 Astroglass, which is the sister to the Procraft and unless that thing has been garage kept it's whole life I'd be concerned about the flooring and transom. It would be a really big project and a costly one too if they need replaced. I'd suggest the same thing that Chieftain recommended....go aluminum.. You could probably find a nice one well under your saved amount that would be reliable and give you years of fishing time and when you're ready to upgrade again you'll probably get what you paid for it as long as you take care of it and don't beat it up. Or look for a aluminum boat that you can build the decking you want and add a livewell also, that way you get to design it the way you want it and you have a almost maintenance free boat, that will weigh a lot less than a fiberglass and less issues too. Not saying you're too young but look at it this way, what happens if you purchase a fiberglass boat like the one you posted and then 2 months later you find out that the floor or the transom is rotten? And you'll need to dump $1500 into it? Or that 115 takes a dive...and you need to dump another 2300.00 in a rebuild?
Regarding the boat: The front livewell is worthless, might as well plug it and use it for a dry storage compartment. The back livewell, make sure you always put a clip in the latch when you're towing, if not the latch can work loose and the lid will fly up going down the road and bend the hinge. As far as construction goes, they're built tough, I've been caught out in some big lakes in TX with mine and was airborn about 40% of the time to get back into weigh-in. They cut waves nicely and if you end up spearing a wave with the bow, it'll lift right out of it too. Quick stops will get you rollover so if you do cut throttle bump it when the wake gets close to the rear of the boat or you'll have it come over the top of the rear deck (depending on how heavy that 115 is vs the 150 I had on mine) I think they're rated to a 175 hp..can't remember it's been some years since I had mine. Check to see if they sealed every hole they drilled in the transom when installing stuff like a depth finder transducer, etc.. If they didn't then I'd suggest turning around and walking away completely.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

hey flappy im with you on the age im 15. The bass boat looks decent but check over every little thing any thing you don't like that you can't change don't buy it. i learned this the hard way about boats. What waters are you boating on?

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

are you sure you want a bass boat? they are limited purpose boats. If you want to also use it for tubing and taking the girls out, you might want to look at a center console bay boat design.

fiberglass is quiter than tin

check on the insurance requirements before you buy. yes you have to have it. chances are, your 14' 25 hp might be covered under your parents' homeowners, but this boat probably won't be.

Since you can't drive, are you going to leave it in the water? Storage an issue?

Point is, when you move up, some of the logistics get more complicated, and expensive.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Flappy - down in our area two main things to look for first is rotten wood (transom and floor mainly) - humidity down here can kill a boat quick and the sun beating down on the surface can do weird things - and wear. Bass boats get "rode hard and put up wet" in this area. If you're trying to fish competitively, I can understand wanting a boat like this one (and I think it's worth a look) - but if not competitive fishing, I'm with Home Cookin' - there are other, and better designs out there.

Do you have a good marine mechanic that you know to take a look at the boat with you?

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

I think it looks pretty decent for the money, but the real test will be when you go look at it. As everyone has stated, look for soft spots in the floors and transom. Ask tons of questions about the storage and maintenance of it.

As for it being the right boat - only you can answer that. When I was 14, I took girls out on a 12' tinny with a 6 hp. At that age, you make your own fun!

Last thing - if you haven't already, take a boating course. Might not seem as fun as getting right out on the water, but it will be well worth it. Have fun and be safe.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Procrafts have a questionable reputation (I believe there was a good era for them and then they got real shoddy but I don't know the time period). That one looks real cherry for it's age and well worth checking out. If it's got a solid deck and no flex in the transom, go for it!

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

I'm way more of an expert on things that can be wrong with a mid 80's bass boat than i ever wanted to be. I bought one a few years back and the floor transom and motor where in very good shape. Mine ended up having waterlogged foam in the hull. There was no outward clue except for weight that could have clued me in. Except what I later realized.... tire pressure. Trailer tires normally hold more pressure than normal car tires but when the tires look low and you put a gauge on and it reads 55lbs. you know there are huge problems at that is your chance to walk away. I noticed the low tires when i went to look but just figured it was because the boat had been in storage all winter. Ive been told bass boats are pretty much disposable around this age. It had to have taken a while for you to save $4 grand, so take your time and be prepared to walk away from a deal over any of these above issues.

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Flappy, I don't have a clue about Polarcrafts but for price comparison point your browser to http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=522445&highlight=realdon and look at the Ranger that I purchased. I realize that it was in a different part of the country but it still might give you a price idea as the boats are somewhat similar.

Don

Re: Iis this a good boat??

Re: Iis this a good boat??

niceto see another younger boater. im in TN and we have a lake house on tims ford and live close to percy priest

Re: Is this a good boat??

SBL

FlappyCheeeks said:

http://nashville.craigslist.org/boa/2858895514.html

Im 14 and ive been around boats my whole life i have a 14ft with a 25hp jhonson right now and im looking to upgrade. Dont tell me im to young or i cant afford this because i have $4000.00 saved up to put into a boat. and i goo fishing every weekend with my friend on my boat

Click to expand...

On January 2, 2012 you had a 9.9 Suzuki motor.
On January 3, 2012 it was a 1994 Manual Start 9.9 Suzuki motor that you wanted to add an electric starter to.
On January 9, 2012 you didn't know what year it was.
No mention of a boat in any of these posts.
On February 21, 2012 it was a 1988, 9.9 Suzuki w/oil injection and a 12' V hull boat
Yesterday, March 5, 2012, you suddenly have a 14' boat with a 25 horsepower Johnson that you want to upgrade and you claim to be 14 years old.
Today you got an answer from smallboatlover who has been posting on iboats since 2009, has made over 1100 posts and who claims to be 15 years old.
I've looked over your posting history and SBL's as well. Your grammar and punctuation seem to me to be strikingly similar to his.
SBL spends most of his time on iboats asking question after question about what he should do with one or the other of his boats. It looks to me like you are starting off with the same pattern.
I may be wrong (and I hope I am) but I could almost swear that I smell a strong odor of BS emanating from your direction.

Re: Is this a good boat??

The plot thickens.......

Re: Is this a good boat??

Wow Mel....you must have some time on your hands. Not saying it's right or wrong but I would have never even considered searching their profiles and postings. I guess I just don't get it why someone would post like you're saying they are. You may very well be right but it just didn't enter my mind that there's people on here doing that kind of stuff.
If it's true....good eye!

Re: Is this a good boat??

If you are might Mel, what's the point?? Why start a new profile just to ask a couple auestions?

Re: Is this a good boat??

HEY OL'MEL Might be on to something #1 house on the lake#2 15 yr.old #3 14 ft .boat # 4 been saving $ WHO KNOWS IT'S A CRAZY WORLD

Re: Is this a good boat??

Busted!!