New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

[shawn7]

Hello,
I'm currently boat sitting my brother in laws Skeeter 15' Boat. First boat I've driven, loaded and unloaded into the water. Wife and kids love the whole experience. But we need more room. I'm looking towards a Dual Console. Just not sure what's out there. This is Salt Water, so not sure if that matters. Any Recommendations on Brand? Also, does Outbaord or inboard motor's make a difference in Salt Water. The kids like to fish a little, but nothing major. That's why I'm kinda steering away from Center Consoles.

Thanks for the help,
Shawn
Beaufort S.C.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Sounds like an inboard powered runabout would serve you best. Since you are running in salt, make sure if it is an inboard/outdrive it has a closed cooling system. What that means is the engine is cooled by antifreeze like your car, and there is a heat exchanger that uses the lake/ocean water to cool the antifreeze without saltwater being in the entire engine. You do still have the risers and the heat exchangers to worry about as far as corrosion goes, but flushing with fresh water after every use cuts the corrosion.

You can get an outboard powered boat and flush the ourboard and be fine, but in all honesty inboard/outdrive boats tend to be the choice for families. Women hate outboards, so you have that to factor in as well. They key in on the fact that their daddy had a smelly old 2 stroke outboard when they were kids, and the inboard/outdrive boats don't smell, you don't see the "motor thingy" and they just look sexyier.

The downside to I/O is they can be more spendy to fix as far as the outdrive goes, but the engine is cheap. Outboards are more expensive initially but repowering to a more powerful motor is as easy as hanging a new motor off of the back. Like I said before, for a family that just wants to get on the water and do some tubing or cruising, you cannot beat the 18-20 foot I/O runabout. Good luck....

 

[shawn7]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Jason, Thanks for the quick reply. Something like this?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Yup.

 

[shawn7]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

My only concern w/the inboard would be the ability to trim it up if I get up on a sand bar or any of the like. I've found my self a couple of times trying to manuever around or near some shallow creecks. Will I have that option w/the Inboard?

Thanks and sorry for the "Dumb" questions

~Shawn

 

[Silvertip]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

There are pro & con discussions about which is better and it all comes down to boats float (at least most of them do). If its room you are after then an I/O is a disadvantage because the engine is inside the boat and takes up space. I/Os are generally glass boats and they get heavy. It takes a bigger vehicle to tow them. Outboards can be glass or aluminum. Aluminum is easier to tow and if you do any work on the unit yourself you will quickly curse working on an I/O since you need to be a contortionist. With an outboard you stand along side it. With an outboard if you like the engine and hate the boat, you can get a new boat and keep the engine. If you hate the engine but like the boat you can sell the engine and by another. You can't do that with an I/O. Some say aluminim and salt water don't get along. For trailer boats you just need to hose them down at home. Since you are undecided, the best thing is to go to a few boat shows, visit local dealers and like buying a car, don't be persuaded into something you are unsure of. Determine you use, budget, tow vehicle capability, and then buy what lights your fire -- preferably from a local dealer with a good service reputation.

 

[KCook]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

New or used? Shallow creeks almost certainly means outboard power, not I/O. Some more popular brands include Boston Whaler, Edgewater, Key Largo, Key West, Scout, Sea Fox, Sea Hunt, Seaswirl, and Wellcraft. Which will cover a wide range of prices. And that's only about half of what's out there. Another approach would be for you to tell us the boats you've found that are interesting to you. Then we could try to help you with the differences.

Kelly Cook

 

[Texasmark]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

You may have ID's your boat and not know it. With what you have said I think you might like an aluminum OB fishing type boat; semi-V with maybe an open bow.

This makes for a light boat, easily manueverable, easy to push off the sandbars and beaches, easy to trailer and load and unload. Requires significantly less HP to operate. Buying the fishing type boat as compared to the Bass type Boat gives your kiddo's room to move around in the boat, not on the boat. The V type hull will help give you a smooth ride for when you are in open water.

Then there's price; the alum will probably be significantly cheaper to buy, insure, and operate on today's $3 gas.

If you plan to keep the boat for awhile include water skiing and tubing in your size-HP selection process. As the kiddo's get older (if they aren't already old enough) they will be wanting to play.

My 2c.

Mark

 

[Texasmark]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Hey Jason, you old RED BAND sucker you. Grin

You have one of those terrible towers that used to run circles around me when I had a '72 125 Johnny. Must be another reason why I switched over. LOL

Mark

 

[mattttt25]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

i know you said you didn't think it was a good choice, but i'll throw out the suggestion anyway- 18-20' center console. easily the most versatile boat out there. fishes great, cruises great, and can easily handle watersports.

 

[shawn7]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Thanks for all the replies and great advice. I will try and hit a boat show or two if they come my way. I might head to Savannah GA and go to Bass Pro outlets and see what type / style boats they have. We have a few in town, also. My kids (one is 11 and other is 3), my wife liked tubing on our neighbors pontoon, so she would also benefit from being able to tow. As for pulling power, I have a Yukon Denali V8 AWD, so power should't be an issue. I just want a good experience boating, and not have to worry about loading the damn thing

Again, thanks for the informative information.


Another quick question regarding financing.. What terms are available? What is the normal time ppl finace boats?



~Shawn

 

[KCook]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Most credit unions will finance boats with the same terms as for a RV

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

in my opinion for an all round family boat would be a 19' Deckboat. it's combination of a bow rider and a pontoon boat.. performs like a bow rider, and more spacious similar to a poontoon.. i personally prefer outboards. true there is more noise, but you don't have to take the boat apart to do major repair on the engine.. time in labor is $$$$. they are pulling my bother in laws engine this week just to change a starter. plus the cost of pulling the outdrive every year for service, for a first boat outboard is the way to go imho.

 

[dmarkvid2]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Shawn, How old are your kids? If they are younger, you might want to think about a boat with mabey a small cuddy. So if they get tired, or need to step out of the sun for awhile, they can get a nap, or just cool off abit. Theres nothing more miserable than a couple of tired kids (I say that from experience) When you're tring to make a FULL day, or weekend of boating. And don't forget about those romantic overnighters with you and your other half if you had a cuddy cabin. d::devil:

 

[shawn7]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Shawn, How old are your kids?

One is 11 and the other is 3. I can relate w/the tired and being too hot w/the little one. With this being my first boat, I don't know if I'm willing to fork out 30K for a new ride. I've been told by a friend the he would never buy used because of the problems. So, I'm taking that advie and looking for a new moderate priced boat. We have a Tahoe dealer near, and I plan on looking at their Q4 OB sport, the overnighter does sound like some future planning :devil:

 

[KCook]

Re: New to Boating.. what style do u recommend?

Here are some more threads on Tahoe boats -

http://www.iboats.com/bbboard/bbBoard.cgi?a=viewthread;fid=1;gtid=967364

http://boards.trailerboats.com/cgi-bin/trailerboats/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002284