Trying to decide between 3 older boats!

nola mike

nola mike

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Strychn9ne said:
Yup I passed on all those and some others after looking at them and finding lots of soft spots all over them all. The Twain had a really soggy floor at the rear. Even a 1990 regal I looked at had floor rot!

After lots of looking I did find a good one though and just brought it home! It’s a 1976 Hy-Ryder tri-15 with a 1975 evinrude 70 hp on it. Trailer is a 1997 shore lander with rollers. Very very clean, solid, and dry everywhere. This thing is in better shape than the 90’s boats I looked at! Engine pops right off without even choking it or using the warm up lever.

The guy took real good care of it and said it was never left outside, which I believe wholly after the inspection. It also came with a top, lots of line, life jackets, and a 2 person tube, spare gas cans, lots of extra stuff. Even had the original manuals and maintenance paperwork.

I’m happy with it. Me and the wife were talking and decided that getting this one for a cheap price, then getting a brand new lund (or equivalent aluminum fish and ski type boat) 5 years down the road or so when the truck is paid off would be ideal for us.
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No one's gonna believe this without pics
 
Strychn9ne

Strychn9ne

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Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
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nola mike said:
No one's gonna believe this without pics
Click to expand...

Lol yup I’m sure. I’ll get some better ones when I’m off work and ready for the water later this week. It’s been raining on and off since I brought it home so she’s staying in there for now!
8C126ED5-898C-4A49-87EA-409B810A74DA.jpeg
 
A

airshot

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No glass boats for me, especially old ones...problems for sure!!! Go aluminum, wait and shop, but cant beat a tin with an outboard unless tou want a bigger tinny with an I/O. Just sold my Islander (22') with 140hp merc, great boat!!! Just cant handle the load, and unload at age 73. Just picked up a 1993 Sylvan 16' with 40 hp merc in excellent condition, I mean really excellent!! No worry about rot, lighter weight means less fuel usage!! Yep, they are much harder to find, but well worth the wait to get a boat with far less maintenence !!!
 
Strychn9ne

Strychn9ne

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
34
airshot said:
No glass boats for me, especially old ones...problems for sure!!! Go aluminum, wait and shop, but cant beat a tin with an outboard unless tou want a bigger tinny with an I/O. Just sold my Islander (22') with 140hp merc, great boat!!! Just cant handle the load, and unload at age 73. Just picked up a 1993 Sylvan 16' with 40 hp merc in excellent condition, I mean really excellent!! No worry about rot, lighter weight means less fuel usage!! Yep, they are much harder to find, but well worth the wait to get a boat with far less maintenence !!!
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I definitely agree, aluminum with an outboard, especially an old omc, is about as reliable as you can get! After this Hy Ryder I’ll likely be going brand new and getting a StarCraft or Lund fish and ski type of boat.

I actually had an old aluminum one lined up to look at, but it got sold the day before I was going to go! It was a 1984 blue fin with a Johnson v4 on it. Engine wouldn’t run in water, but would on muffs but the price was so low I’d have had a few grand left over so I knew I could get it running. Oh well!

Those old blue fins are quite common around here actually for Lake Michigan salmon fishing. Not the best looking but they do look sturdy!
 
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