Starter Boat Package

[MBM]

I am a long time float tube flyfisher. I have a wife and young 4 year old daughter who I want to take fishing and it is kind of hard to fit them both on my float tube. I want to get a small 14 to 16 foot aluminum boat set up to take them fishing to Strawberry, Jordanelle, East Canyon etc... that I can pull behind a mid-size SUV.

I was at Sports Warehouse this weekend and they had a boat package that included a 14ft Alumacraft boat and trailer, a 5hp Briggs & Stratten motor, seats, lights, life jackets, rod holders, fish finder all for $2800. Is this a pretty good package for a starter boat? What else should I look for? Any other boat packages I should look at? I am a long time flyfisher so this type of fishing is new to me but I am excited to get my family involved.

Mark
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[JigginJim]

THATS NOT A BAD PRICE FOR THAT PACKAGE IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A BETTER BIG WATER BOAT I GOT A 19 FOOT CHARGER BASS BOOT WITH ALL THE ELECTRONICS AND 55 POUND NEW MIN KOTA ELECTRIC. ITS A 1978 WITH A 175 HORSE EVINRUDE 3 LIVE WELLS AND RUNS GREAT I USE IT FLY FISHING THE BERRY ALL THE TIME AND DO GREAT JUST USE THE ELECTRIC TO KEEP YA SIDEWAYS IN THE WIND AND DRIFT BIG BUGGERS AND LEACHES WITH FULL SINKING LINE 3500$ TAKES ALL LIFE JACKETS INCLUDED.


JIM
870-9642
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[Kent]

Welcome to BFT. That might be a decent price, but personally I would be concerned about going on the larger bodies of water you have described, with your family, with that size of a boat; especially combined with only having a five-horse outboard.
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[MGB]

Kent has a good point. If you are willing to spend a few hundred dollars more and spent some time looking you could find a good/safe boat for your family. Don't junp into the first thing that comes along unless you feel like its a great deal.
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[Hellsangler69]

I agree Kent , but I did the boat rental thing at the berry and that is just about the same thing they rent at the marina and I felt pretty safe on it for the wind I dealt with that day . I would suggest trying one out at the marina for a day and see how you like that style of boat . I only have a 45 hp for my boat now and I still make a mad dash for the marina with the big wind . I would just watch the weather wind conditions . I liked the boat they carry and did consider it before I bought my boat and am happy to have the more HP with my used boat .
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[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850] MBM,

I have been fishing out of a 14' aluminum boat for 5 years now. My "starter" boat may just end up being my "finishing" boat too. Originally, it had a 6 hp 2-stroke. Since then I have upgraded to a 15 hp. Looking back, I took that 6 hp in some pretty scary places like a 4-hr one-way trip into the back country of Yellowstone Lake loaded with enough camping and fishing gear for 2 guys for a week. Looking back, that was pretty stupid.

My advice is that the setup you are looking at is good with the exception of the motor. Especially if you want to protect the safety of your loved ones. The setup you described is good until you have to fight wind and waves. Then is when nature can teach you some important lessons real quick. Hopefully, you survive to put those lessons to good use. True, a bigger motor does not ensure safety. But it sure improves your odds.

Now, if the waters you will be on will not normally have big waves (which does NOT include Strawberry), or if you carefully pick calm weather days to fish on out of that little boat, then you will probably be just fine and will have many wonderful family memories made out of that little boat. I just worry about the wind and large waves. That 5 hp may not get you out of a pinch.

Oh, and a big welcom to the Utah BFT board. That was a good question you posted. Keep um coming.[/#002850][/font] [/size]
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[Elkoholic]

First off let me say welcome to the board. Second, I would maybe look at buying your stuff piece by piece. Maybe get a boat and trailer, then find a good motor. There is a valco boat for sale on the "for sale" board (this is the same make and model I have).

I strongly agree with Old Coot on the motor. I too have a 14" aluminum boat that I have fished from for about 5-6 years now. I first had a 6 hp motor which fished just fine, but if you want to move to another location or try to beat the bad weather, it just dosen't cut it. That being said, if you wait too long to get off the water, a big motor dosen't do you any good in 3'-4' swells either.
What I do, is stick to the smaller waters or try to pick the better weather days befor going to the big watters of Beal Lake, and soon to come Strawberry. You and your family will like to get out in the boat. I was in the same situation 5 years back with a wife, 2 kids, and 1 float tube. Now we use the boat all the time, but I do need to upgrade to something a little bigger.

See you out there!
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[tomegun]

I saw that boat yesterday too. I thought it was very dangerous, unless you take it Salem Pond or some place simular.

The side are too low to kids on it. I would recomend to get a boat for high sides if you had kids. The kids heads may stick above the sides but bodies stay in easier.

It didn't very stable either. You put too many bodies or gear and it could tip over.

I'll join the others and state, get a bigger boat. Size, engine power, and stability are very important concerns.

I've had a Bayliner Capri and a couple of Ranger bassboats. All three are very safe boats. You don't have to spend a ton of money. Flashy fishfinders and trolling motors can be enticing, take your time before you decide.

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[MBM]

Thanks for the advise guys. It sounds like the 5hp motor is the biggest problem with that package. Maybe what I will do is see if I can get the 14ft boot package without the motor and put a better 15hp motor on it. Would this be a safer deal on bigger water like Strawberry? What is a good not to expenssive 15hp motor? Is 2 stroke or 4 stroke the better way to go?

Mark
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[ocean]

If you look around you can find a good boat for that price.I got one 2 weeks ago for $2500 and it was 21 ft had a 115hp and a 8hp engine on it also bimini top and is set up for trolling you cant beat that for that price.Look around and you will find something. ksl.com has had some really good boats for that price range.You dont wanna be on a big lake with that boat.I thought about getting it to but its to dangerous especially with kids.
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[Hellsangler69]

New motors cost a little bit of money . click on link for some prices examples.
[url "http://www.marine-products.com/engine/motor/gas/merc.jsp"]Mercury outboards [/url]

I just picked up a 2005 2 stroke 4 hp merc long shaft . 2 strokes with be a thing of the past with smaller motors because of the EPA emissions . 4 strokes will cost you more . You will need to decide if you need a short shaft or long shaft too . Depending on your boat transom height .
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[Theekillerbee]

You forgot to tell everyone that you traded your Ranger in for a sweet paddle boat! Watch out Smallies, cause Tommy can now cruise...pollution free, at a whopping 2.5 MPH! 3 if he eats his wheaties!

When we goin' bass chasin' sir Thomas?
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[tomegun]

Predator and I are taking my 200 hp paddle boat down south friday.[cool]

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[UTBASS]

dude, call brent halstrom at halstrom marine. 756-6078 he specializes in fishing boats and has a great aluminum boat! Perfect for what you need!

My friend also has an aluminum tracker boat for sale ... PM me and I will giv you his number.

He's trying to move it quick!
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[Ewetah]

Sounds like you have been getting a bunch of good info to help you make your decision. I will put in my two cents worth as well. I would advise you to buy a used boat rather thatn new one. The money you will save is substantial and you can get a very good rig if you spend some time and look around. This way you could get a bigger boat and motor for the same amount of money spent.

Good luck and have fun!
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[Kent]

My recommendation is to either purchase a larger used boat or plan on fishing smaller bodies of water. I have owned two boats, both 18 footers and I purchased both of them for $2,500 each. I have fought my way across Utah Lake (three times last year), Strawberry, Bear Lake and Lake Powell -- to name a few -- in huge swells and lived to fish again. Winds can come up faster than one can imagine and weather forecasts are often wrong. I have often seen small boats loaded with two to four adults and several children all the way across Strawberry, and I have just shaken my head in disbelief. A couple years ago I pulled two adults and two young teenagers from the water at Strawberry after they capsized a fourteen or fifteen foot boat.
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[PREDATOR]

STOP!
Lets dissect this idea you have here.

You asked "[size 1]Is this a pretty good package for a starter boat?[/size][size 2]"[/size]

Well, I will tell you this, in most cases you will get what you pay for.
I encourage you to take a serious look at the entire range of 14 ft aluminum boats out there.

What you will find is that there is a huge difference in the construction and quality of the boats available to you. These alumacrafts are the poorest quality boats I have ever seen.

As someone who worked at sportsmans and had the opportunity to sell these boats I can honestly tell you I never sold one. Actually I did the same thing for those folks that I am going to do for you.

First off, we had several of those boats come in with holes in them. Yep, holes. Places in the aluminum where it got real thin and pin holes or seams were present. In fact we had one on display and when you waked past it you could see light coming through the bottom of the boat.

But lets look in depth at the things you will want to look at when you compare boats.

First look at the hp rating on the transom. on the 14 ft flat bottoms they max out at 15 hp. On the v hulls I think they max at 20. This is an indication of how well the transom is biult and how well it is supported by the rest of the boat. A weaker less solid transom limits your hp. You can get 14 ft aluminum boats that are rated at 40 hp. There is a big difference in the boats rated at 40 to the ones rated at 15 max.

Next look at the way the boat is held together. What keeps the sides from collapsing in? On some boats its only the bench style seats that support the walls, on others its a set of supports running across the bottom on the boat. How beefy and solidly attached are these supports?

Whats the thickness of the aluminum? Some boats are made of .060 thick aluminum, most .080 thick, and some even up to .125 thick.

Look at the prices between welded construction ans riveted models.

Look at the passener and weight capacities. They are not all the same.

Look at the floatation. If you do get in some trouble, you will want to recover your boat versus buy a new one.

I just hate to see a guy get taken with low quality gear when he would be better off in the long run spending a bit more ande getting something safer that will last longer and perform better.

I wish sportsmans would stop carrying those boats. It will bite them in the long run if they carry poor quality gear and push it.
They like them because they are cheap and sell easy to a crowd that wants to save money, but those people really are ticked off when their brand new boat leaks like the titanic or the rivets pop out or they shimmy and shake with every crash of a wave.

Now on the issue of this motor, there is so much wrong with that thing I dont even know where to start.

First of all, its not even close to being a traditonal outboard. This is the first thing you need to understand about this engine.
Most of your small outboards are water cooled, they pump water out of the lake and run it through the engine to cool the block.
These briggs motors are air cooled. They have no water pump on them. This means the actual engine will get hotter. Dont put your hand on it or run a line across it or it will melt the line. You dont have to worry about these things with traditional outboards.

Be aware that as a four stroke engine, they dont turn the same rpms as a two stroke outboard, plus since they are basically a lawnmower engine, you have to understand that thier construction and performance is quite different from even four stroke outboards.
You will not achieve the same speeds or efficiency with this motor.

That motor was designed to be a shallow water marsh motor. Just look at the prop design on it. The narrow tripple blade design is not an efficient water mover, compare it to any traditional three blade outboard prop and you will clearly see the intended use is much different. it probably trolls nicely but wont be worth much at getting you off the lake when you want to be.

I could go on with the construction of that thing but you get the point.

Bottomline, there is a reason that boat only costs $3,000 for the entire package. Its hardly worth that much.

Yeah but it only a starter boat?
Your resale and enjoyment will be much benefitted by buying a quality unit that will still be in prime condition and function like new when you look to upgrade.

Like I say, if I was the salesman you talked to, I wouldnt have sold you that boat even if you wanted to buy it.
I am not a very good salesman, but I am a honest guy who doesnt want to see you get ripped off buying junk.

If I had to make a recomendation I would recomend looking at all welded boats with .125 thick aluminum and solid transoms rated at a minimum of 25 hp, 30 or 40 if you like.
These boats will be much stronger, safer, and will be a much better use of your hard earned cash.

There are a ton of them out there by a number of manufacturers, just a couple off the top of my head would be crestliner and war eagle. I would even look at the triton aluminums.
Power it with a 15 hp yamaha two stroke outboard and you will have a quick and solid boat and motor that will lost you for years and years and will retain its value very well.

It may cost you more than the alumacraft and briggs but it will last three or four times as long.

Thats just my overzealous opinion. No doubt there will be those who totally disagree with me. But thats the way life is, some guys like the cheapest stuff they can find, and dont care about quality, some guys like fancy name brands to support thier image, some guys want to be informed and smart about their purchases.
You just have to decide wich you are.
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[Bigcat]

If you do really plan on spending any amount of time on Strawberry........Do yourself and your family a big favor and don't buy anything smaller than a 16 footer and preferably an 18 footer. The waves can come up fast out there and even 16 foot feels really small in bigger waves when you have your family with you. If you do your homework and are patient you can get a bigger boat in good shape for about the same price range you are shopping in. It better to have peace of mind on the water and a bigger boat will accomodate a growing family or bringing along friends as well. May even be able to use it for skiing or tubing with the kids as well.
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[fencekid]

dude, i see those expensive little setups they sell around and just chuckle at the price. for that kind of cash, you could find a sweet used boat, and then some. inboard outboard and all. how bout this, 14' fiberglass with closed bow with a 18 hp outboard on trailor for $225. 18' crestliner with 90 hp johnson outboard with rack and pinion steering on trailor, $500. 19' bayliner with 160 hp inboard outboard, $1200. these are just a few of boats i have bought in my boating carreer, all found in the paper or ksl classifieds. point being, be patient and look around a little. i'm sure you'll find something perfect for u and your family. good luck. o, and by the way, welcome aboard. laters
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[sockeyeslayer]

I might be able to help.. I have a Starcraft 16ft Tri-Hull fiberglass boat that is curently in my garage and I bought a new boat so this might be a good option for you...I have 2 daughter's and it is very sturdy and accomidating for a family. the Motor is a Evinrude 115 hp v-4 in awesome shape it's a 1984 model. It would also be in your price range and It has a Eagle fish finder and life jacket's as well as dual battery switch and manual downrigger's. There is also a trolling motor bracket that is ready for one if you decide that you want one. I replaced the axel on the trailer with a new one a year and a half ago with new tires and wheel's as well. Give me a call and we can discuss anything else
sockeyeslayer
I sent my cell number to you in a private message
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