Re: Official Business of the 3V Club ( aka tri hull club )
Just posted this on the original tri-hull thread...not sure which is active:
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Hmmm...I guess I've been a member for 3 years now without knowing it...lol! I picked up a 1980 Imperial 15' tri-hull 3 summers ago just to take on family camping trips up on this beautiful lake near Canada in the Adirondacks that I go on with my kids and about 5-6 other families. Previously we had brought up canoes, kayaks, etc...but it is a motorboat lake with virtually zero traffic on it and a nice ramp in the state campgrounds. So I found this old Tri-Hull from a guy in PA on Ebay...took a chance (950 bucks...including trailer and depth/fish-finder...not too much of a risk).
Turns out it has re-awakened the "boating bug" in me (had a 17' bowrider when I was young and single and living right on the LI Sound in CT back in the early 90s...then came that whole wife and kids thing...) :ballchain:
Anyway, now I take it not only on the camping trip each year, but out on local lakes and also on the Hudson River in the spring for the annual Striped Bass run..... except for a few bucks for engine stuff (plugs, engine fogger, lower unit lube, etc) and new trailer tires ($100) and some foam and fabric to redo the seats ($50), I have not put a nickel into it. I have also rigged it up pretty good for fishing (can't really see in the pix), bow-mounted trolling motor with foot controls, pole holders, down-riggers...I get some odd looks when I am out on the Hudson from the guys with the real $$ fishing boats...don't see tri-hulls rigged up like this too often I would think.
The Evinrude 70 is bulletproof...starts right up every time. Even after sitting outside all winter...I am amazed. Sure the carbs could use a some tweeking (hole shots take a little effort or it will bog down), but I haven't bothered because I only take the kids tubing not skiing yet, so who cares. The only real problem with the boat except for aesthetics, is the transom is a bit soft, it flexes in one spot. I keep an eye on it and it has not gotten any worse in 3 years, but clearly not worth my time/money to fix.
No restoration in the future though...looking to upgrade to an 18' center console fishing boat next spring, will probably just give the tri-hull to someone rather than go through the headache of selling it. With the transom as it is, I'd probably get more money if I just sold the motor/battery/gas-tank/fish-finder and trailer, and scrapped the hull. But it is a very cheap and really reliable way to get out on the water, so I will just find someone who wants it.
This boat could sink tomorrow and it would still be the best 1K I have ever, or probably will ever, spent!! Viva los Tri-Hulls!
Where can I get the sticker?
:rockon:
