Newbie boat questions

[rlsmallwood]

Yes, I know, but I searched I swear.

So... Just starting to look into a fishing boat for myself and my two twin boys (age 11). I am not new to boating (sailor for many years), and I'm not new to fishing (fly fishing for many years), but I am new to fishing boats.

As most first-time potential boat owners, I am still naive enough to hold onto the hope that if I find just the right boat, I can have a one-size-fits-all solution that will provide a lifetime of fishing without breaking the bank.

That said, the 47 years spent on this planet tells me I'm probably in for a rude awakening.

Basically, I would like something that:

• Allows me to fish electric-only lakes
• Allows me to fish really small electric-only lakes (like Conasauga and Winfield Scott).
• Fish the Larger lakes during non-peak hours (ok, maybe during peak times once in a while)
• Run to the coast for some inshore fishing for reds, flounder, trout etc.
• Is comfortable for 1 large man and two boys (who will be two large men before I know it I'm sure) to hang out in all day.
• That doesn't need 15 batteries for a weekend worth of fishing

Things it does NOT have to do:

• Go really fast
• Pull Tubers or Skiers
• Win fishing tournaments
• Impress the neighbors

So, doing the natural progression from canoe to inflatable to Jon Boat to Skiff to V-hull etc., I think I've settled on something like a 16 foot Carolina Skiff but I'm not sure about a couple of things and couldn't really find any answers here after reading through a s*** ton of old threads.

I'm pretty sure something like that would be perfect for the coast. Probably OK for Lanier on the weekends with a little common sense. Probably great for other large lakes or Lanier in winter and week days, but what about the electric-only angle?

• Is it practical to remove the motor from a boat that size every time you want to take it to an electric-only lake?
• With motor removed, is it realistic to expect to be able to haul something like that up a forest service road even with a pretty capable truck?
• Is it practical to think that you could put enough batteries on a boat like that to get you through an enitre weekend of fishing using one or two trolling motors?
• Is a 16-foot skiff really big enough for 3 people to fish from?

I really don't want to try and sell the idea of having to invest in two boats. Heck, getting one through the finance department is hard enough, but I don't want to set unrealistic expectations either.

Speaking of financing, I'm basically looking at paying cash for a used one and, since I'm in no hurry, I have plenty of time to look for the right deal to come along. And as long as we're on the topic, having had a sailboat on Lanier for several years, I am already conditioned to the concept of "boat money" but specifically for a trailer-able fishing boat, what additional hidden costs am I looking at? Insurance? Storage? Maintenance?

If you were starting out with my requirements, what would you do? Any advice would be appreciated.

And thanks for reading.

Oh yeah. 47, Alpharetta, Married, 4 kids, Originally from Michigan (Go Green!) but have been in Georgia for 24 years now. Been mostly a lurker here but this forum has been a fantastic source of information throughout the years.

 

[NCummins]

Welcome to the forum!

On a 16 foot skiff you are looking at a 15hp or more motor. I'm not sure that a 15hp with 3 people and gear on a boat like that would get on plane. It might though I just dont have experience eith that set up. If you aren't worried about speed and don't mind putting around at 5mph I guess that would be OK. I honestly wouldn't want to remove a motor that is bolted on at all, and I think 15hp is the biggest motor with a clamp on mount.

Since you want to make the most of the room you'll have and will be removing the motor a tiller steer is a must. I have a 16' Lund tiller and I wouldn't dream of 3 people fishing from it. I've taken my 2 neices out when they were 8 and 10 and it wasn't to bad though. Really depends on what kind of fishing you are doing I guess.

I can run my boat for about 5 hours on one battery before I run out of juice with my 55lb thrust 12v trolling motor, so 3-4 batteries would last you all weekend if you couldn't recharge 1-2 every afternoon.

Just about anything will tow a 16' skiff on just about any kind of road.

To be honest you should buy the biggest boat you can afford that is in good shape, I think everyone wishes they had an extra foot or two.

Maintenance isn't too bad, change your lower unit oil every season, motor oil if it is a 4 stroke, wheel bearing on the trailer every few years and I'm sure you'll re wire your trailer every few years or change the tail lights at minimum. You can count on things breaking though, especially if you buy an older boat. You might get lucky, my boat is a 1990 with a 1990 evinrude and judging by all the dents it has been run pretty hard and I haven't had any troubles yet besides some carburetor problems, a fuel line, and some wiring.
An 1860 series Jon boat sounds like something you might want to look into, but wanting to be able to take the motor on and off really limits what you can do.

 

[rlsmallwood]

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you! Been lurking for a while. Great source of information over the years.

On a 16 foot skiff you are looking at a 15hp or more motor. I'm not sure that a 15hp with 3 people and gear on a boat like that would get on plane. If you aren't worried about speed and don't mind putting around at 5mph I guess that would be OK. I honestly wouldn't want to remove a motor that is bolted on at all, and I think 15hp is the biggest motor with a clamp on mount.

I think this paragraphs answers a LOT of my questions. Since I'm looking at a skiff, my understanding from reading a lot of older threads, is that it's not a fast boat to begin with given the flat bottom, so I'm guessing that getting it on a plane is not a priority considering how wet a ride it is anyway.

The point about the engine size is a big deal though. I'm guessing that puttering around with a 15hp clamp-on motor is not ideal for inshore coastal fishing so the idea of not having a larger motor and the center console to go with it is not a great option I'm thinking.

Since you want to make the most of the room you'll have and will be removing the motor a tiller steer is a must. I have a 16' Lund tiller and I wouldn't dream of 3 people fishing from it. I've taken my 2 neices out when they were 8 and 10 and it wasn't to bad though. Really depends on what kind of fishing you are doing I guess.

To be fair, I haven't been on one yet, so I'm sure I'm being more than a little naive about how much room there is on that boat based upon the pictures I see on the Internet. I'm anxious to see how far off I am.

That said, we're currently fishing from a canoe, so... there is that.

I can run my boat for about 5 hours on one battery before I run out of juice with my 55lb thrust 12v trolling motor, so 3-4 batteries would last you all weekend if you couldn't recharge 1-2 every afternoon.

Just about anything will tow a 16' skiff on just about any kind of road.

Finally some good news

Great post. My takeaway is ...I'm going to probably need to buy two boats. Maybe time to start looking for a cheap j14 with a 9.9 and rig it for electric-only lakes.

Very helpful, thank you.

 

[NCummins]

I don't have a lot of inshore experience but it seems alot of the guys I see doing it when I go to the coast are fishing out of 16' skiffs with 25hp engines.
I believe I misspoke though, a 15hp would probably get you and your boys on plane.

If you are down lining or pitching live bait you would be good to go in that kind of boat, but with 3 guys casting and retrieving like bass fishing it would be pretty crowded.

Like I said before though, having tiller steer REALLY opens up the boat and makes for way more room.

 

[rlsmallwood]

I don't have a lot of inshore experience but it seems alot of the guys I see doing it when I go to the coast are fishing out of 16' skiffs with 25hp engines.
I believe I misspoke though, a 15hp would probably get you and your boys on plane.

Interesting, so I'll need to check into that. Most of the boats I see for sale come with at least a 40 and most of the time a 60. So still a significant downgrade from what is customary there.

If you are down lining or pitching live bait you would be good to go in that kind of boat, but with 3 guys casting and retrieving like bass fishing it would be pretty crowded.

Like I said before though, having tiller steer REALLY opens up the boat and makes for way more room.

Ideally, yes, yes and yes so really need to check one out from a size standpoint then. Interesting what you're saying about going with a tiller.

Thanks again.

 

[aspringfield]

A buddy of mine has a Yamaha 25hp clamp on motor that they use to use on a 14 (or 16 foot can't remember) Boston whaler for fishing 10000 islands and lanier
I think that they would fish with 3 people mostly using live bait.

 

[StriperrHunterr]

I'd trade the canoe for a scanoe, that will allow you to get into the little electric only waters easily, and retain your ability to river fish.

I had a Tracker Pro 17, which is very comparable in size to the J16 series you're talking about. My Pro 17 couldn't hold but around 6-700 lbs. Me, plus a buddy, plus a 20 gallon bait tank and tackle and we were always pushing the limit.

http://www.carolinaskiff.com/j.html says that you'll get up to 1000lbs in it so you'd be fine on weight.

More than that, is the beam width. According to CS, the beam width on the current J16 is only 34". That's going to be really dodgy when someone stands up to battle a fish, or when multiple guys are standing to cast and shifting around. I got out of my Tracker because being on Lanier on the weekends never felt safe to me, and I think you're looking at the same scenario if you try to get the J16 out there at the same times.

 

[rlsmallwood]

A buddy of mine has a Yamaha 25hp clamp on motor that they use to use on a 14 (or 16 foot can't remember) Boston whaler for fishing 10000 islands and lanier
I think that they would fish with 3 people mostly using live bait.

Thanks. I'm starting to think 3 people casting for bass on a 16-foot boat is not ideal.

 

[rlsmallwood]

I'd trade the canoe for a scanoe, that will allow you to get into the little electric only waters easily, and retain your ability to river fish.

I had a Tracker Pro 17, which is very comparable in size to the J16 series you're talking about. My Pro 17 couldn't hold but around 6-700 lbs. Me, plus a buddy, plus a 20 gallon bait tank and tackle and we were always pushing the limit.

http://www.carolinaskiff.com/j.html says that you'll get up to 1000lbs in it so you'd be fine on weight.

More than that, is the beam width. According to CS, the beam width on the current J16 is only 34". That's going to be really dodgy when someone stands up to battle a fish, or when multiple guys are standing to cast and shifting around. I got out of my Tracker because being on Lanier on the weekends never felt safe to me, and I think you're looking at the same scenario if you try to get the J16 out there at the same times.

May have to look at the scanoe. Good tip.

Many folks have said the Carolina Skiff boats are much more stable than the typical jon boat, so I was hoping to be able to get away with a smaller boat.

May have to re-think. Starting to think that my initial gut that a single boat option is a bit of a pipe dream was correct.

Sounds like I'd end up with a boat that wasn't really suited at doing anything well.

 

[Nitram4891]

Not going fast is fine until you get out on the water and first thing you will want to do is go faster. I think having a 3 person boat that can do inshore and all electric lakes is not feasible. You are going to need two! Or kayaks.

 

[rlsmallwood]

Not going fast is fine until you get out on the water and first thing you will want to do is go faster. I think having a 3 person boat that can do inshore and all electric lakes is not feasible. You are going to need two! Or kayaks.

Yeah, this sounds like the way to go. Love the kayak idea but the boys aren't old enough I think, plus, the Good Lord only knows how much trouble they could get into if they had the chance to wander off on their own when I wasn't looking

Thanks

 

[StriperrHunterr]

May have to look at the scanoe. Good tip.

Many folks have said the Carolina Skiff boats are much more stable than the typical jon boat, so I was hoping to be able to get away with a smaller boat.

May have to re-think. Starting to think that my initial gut that a single boat option is a bit of a pipe dream was correct.

Sounds like I'd end up with a boat that wasn't really suited at doing anything well.

It's not that it won't do anything well. It's that with the criteria you've given the J16 will disappoint, IMO, on the larger waters because it just wasn't designed for that.

The stability really improves when you get the wider beams and I don't see the beam width being all that different between the two. The skiff will be slightly heavier than the jon, so that will give some stability, but not the night and day difference you'd expect.

Take a look at Arnie's West Point thread, particularly the first few moments of the video where he takes wake across beam. Look how much he is moving there, and that boat isn't all that different than what you were looking at. In fact, it's wider in the beam than what you were looking for. Combine that with the confused wakes that are common on Lanier and you've got a very uncomfortable day.

I did a lot of shopping before I settled on my DLV. If you exclude the requirement of being able to use it in electric only waters, there are tons of options, and some deals to be had.

What style of boat do you like, if you drop the electric only requirement?

 

[MrRipaLip]

Keep in mind some electric only lakes will not allow gas motors on them, even if they aren't cranked.

 

[rlsmallwood]

What style of boat do you like, if you drop the electric only requirement?

Great question. Probably dream boat would be some kind of center console that was small enough to be easy to trailer and launch, yet large enough for three people to fish comfortably, or 5 to six people to enjoy for short excursions as a sight-seeing / nature watching boat. Would be great if it was suitable for both larger lakes here and everything up to but probably not including offshore (inshore and near shore) coast waters.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[rlsmallwood]

Keep in mind some electric only lakes will not allow gas motors on them, even if they aren't cranked.

I was under the impression that MOST electric only lakes would not allow a gas motor on the boat at all.

 

[StriperrHunterr]

Great question. Probably dream boat would be some kind of center console that was small enough to be easy to trailer and launch, yet large enough for three people to fish comfortably, or 5 to six people to enjoy for short excursions as a sight-seeing / nature watching boat.

Thanks again for your input.

Anytime. I'd look at the DLV series then, but I am biased since I just bought one.

I have 3 people in it all the time and it works great. Trailering is a little tougher than the tracker was, but that's because this boat sits up higher, like any CC would, and the 96" beam makes it hard to see what's directly behind you.

I'm looking to get some different style mirrors for my Expedition to try to alleviate some of that.

Other than that it launches and recovers like a dream.

Do you want new, or used?

 

[rlsmallwood]

Anytime. I'd look at the DLV series then, but I am biased since I just bought one.

I have 3 people in it all the time and it works great. Trailering is a little tougher than the tracker was, but that's because this boat sits up higher, like any CC would, and the 96" beam makes it hard to see what's directly behind you.

I'm looking to get some different style mirrors for my Expedition to try to alleviate some of that.

Other than that it launches and recovers like a dream.

Do you want new, or used?

Yes, dropping the small and electric-only lake requirements probably puts me into V-hull territory. I have 8400lbs towing capacity on my truck so I think the options are wide-open.

Was thinking of paying cash for something used and waiting for the right deal. Not in any hurry, especially now that it looks like I'm going to rig out a reservoir boat first.

 

[StriperrHunterr]

Yes, dropping the small and electric-only lake requirements probably puts me into V-hull territory. I have 8400lbs towing capacity on my truck so I think the options are wide-open.

Was thinking of paying cash for something used and waiting for the right deal. Not in any hurry, especially now that it looks like I'm going to rig out a reservoir boat first.

Good luck.

 

[MrRipaLip]

I was under the impression that MOST electric only lakes would not allow a gas motor on the boat at all.

I have been to some that are electric only, no attached gas motors. I have been to some that allow them on the lake but not on. The majority of the small lakes that do allow gas are usually 9.9 hp or under.

 

[Micropterus Salmoides]

Lund 1650 Rebel XL

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