gobigkahuna
Seaman
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2008
- Messages
- 54
I've been debating this for a while now, maybe some advice here will help me decide:
I want to get a small boat that I can use for both work and play. For work, I'll need to carry two adults and take a very small gas generator (40 lbs) and some electronics equipment (in a waterproof case, another 50 lbs). For play, I'll need to carry two adults, plus surfboards and maybe some other toys. I'd guess that I'd use the boat 60% of the time just cruising around, 30% of the time hauling surfboards to a remote destination (5 miles away) and 10% of the time for work.
I live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the boat ramps I'll be using are either 1 mile away, 5 miles away or 15 miles away. My vehicle is a 4 cylinder Nissan Frontier 2WD. I have just enough room in my driveway for a 14 foot fiberglass boat and trailer. My total budget for a boat with motor is roughly $2 - 2.5K. I'm looking at either a 14' fiberglass skiff or 12' inflatable. I've seen a fair number of suitable fiberglass boats in that price range, most need some work and look pretty heavily used. I'm an experienced mariner and handy with fiberglass, but I'm not really looking for another project.
I'd get a fiberglass boat except I'm concerned about:
a. the additional wear and tear on my little truck pulling a boat up and down a ramp,
b. the additional work / upkeep a used boat & motor requires
c. fairly large motor requirements and the gas it will burn (most boats this size have a 30 or 40 HP).
The advantages to a fiberglass skiff I think would be:
a. lots of room in a 14' boat
b. better durability for beaching and hitting sand bars oyster shells
I'd get an inflatable boat except I'm concerned that:
a. for its size it lacks much space for gear (my surfboards are 9' long and where would I put a generator that wouldn't be a fire hazard?)
b. the additional hassle / time / work to pump up and rig an inflatable boat
The advantages to an inflato boat I think would include:
a. easily transported in the back of my little truck
b. pretty easily launched from all sorts of spots, not just boat ramps
As you can probably tell, I've thought this out a fair bit. Anyone have any thoughts or advice?
Thanks!
I want to get a small boat that I can use for both work and play. For work, I'll need to carry two adults and take a very small gas generator (40 lbs) and some electronics equipment (in a waterproof case, another 50 lbs). For play, I'll need to carry two adults, plus surfboards and maybe some other toys. I'd guess that I'd use the boat 60% of the time just cruising around, 30% of the time hauling surfboards to a remote destination (5 miles away) and 10% of the time for work.
I live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the boat ramps I'll be using are either 1 mile away, 5 miles away or 15 miles away. My vehicle is a 4 cylinder Nissan Frontier 2WD. I have just enough room in my driveway for a 14 foot fiberglass boat and trailer. My total budget for a boat with motor is roughly $2 - 2.5K. I'm looking at either a 14' fiberglass skiff or 12' inflatable. I've seen a fair number of suitable fiberglass boats in that price range, most need some work and look pretty heavily used. I'm an experienced mariner and handy with fiberglass, but I'm not really looking for another project.
I'd get a fiberglass boat except I'm concerned about:
a. the additional wear and tear on my little truck pulling a boat up and down a ramp,
b. the additional work / upkeep a used boat & motor requires
c. fairly large motor requirements and the gas it will burn (most boats this size have a 30 or 40 HP).
The advantages to a fiberglass skiff I think would be:
a. lots of room in a 14' boat
b. better durability for beaching and hitting sand bars oyster shells
I'd get an inflatable boat except I'm concerned that:
a. for its size it lacks much space for gear (my surfboards are 9' long and where would I put a generator that wouldn't be a fire hazard?)
b. the additional hassle / time / work to pump up and rig an inflatable boat
The advantages to an inflato boat I think would include:
a. easily transported in the back of my little truck
b. pretty easily launched from all sorts of spots, not just boat ramps
As you can probably tell, I've thought this out a fair bit. Anyone have any thoughts or advice?
Thanks!