08-14-2007, 06:11 PM
You know, it really depends on where you are going to fish. I have seen a LOT of people on this board touting using 14' boats on the berry all day long. You can do it if you stay in the bays, but it really limits you. It really hasn't been long at all since one person that thought he was just fine with his 14' aluminum boat on the berry found out too late that he was wrong. Unfortunately, two people lost their lives in that one where the wind came up, water filled and sunk the boat. I'm sure we are all familiar with that one as it was all over the news for weeks during the recovery efforts. A very 
situation.
Yes, you will be fine most of the time, but is it really worth the risk, especially where you mention taking your son out.
I personally started with a 14' boat a few years ago, trolling the bays at strawberry. I finally decided I wanted to be able to get anywhere I want on the lake, so I bought an old tri-hull 17.5' boat with a 135hp outboard. That boat did great for me for a few years. The tri-hulls are very stable with people moving around in the boat as they are made to sit flat on top of the water. However, I found this has one drawback. If you get into big waves, the tri-hull tends to want to climb the wave, then fall down the back side of the wave. The next wave can come and fill the boat with water if you don't know how to steer those things in heavy waters.
After a few years I decided it was time to upgrade again. We now have a 19' deep-v hull with a 305 i/o motor. This thing will go anywhere and I've been in some pretty rough waters on the berry. Just take it easy and it cuts right through the waves. It has a remote-troll on it for trolling and is an overall great fishing boat.
One thing to keep in mind if you are going to be fishing larger lakes like this, and looking at larger boats, is look for how much room you have to fish off the sides of the boat. A lot of boats have windows that cover much of the side, making it harder to fish that area. Some Bayliners are really bad that way.
The boat you posted does look nice and Lund makes a great boat. I don't think it would fit my wants for the berry, though. If a storm comes in and you are over by the narrows, you will pretty much be stuck by the narrows until the wind and waves die down.
Again, there are probably people that will disagree with me on that, and that is fine. It's just not worth the risk to me, especially with a family.
[signature]
situation. Yes, you will be fine most of the time, but is it really worth the risk, especially where you mention taking your son out.
I personally started with a 14' boat a few years ago, trolling the bays at strawberry. I finally decided I wanted to be able to get anywhere I want on the lake, so I bought an old tri-hull 17.5' boat with a 135hp outboard. That boat did great for me for a few years. The tri-hulls are very stable with people moving around in the boat as they are made to sit flat on top of the water. However, I found this has one drawback. If you get into big waves, the tri-hull tends to want to climb the wave, then fall down the back side of the wave. The next wave can come and fill the boat with water if you don't know how to steer those things in heavy waters.
After a few years I decided it was time to upgrade again. We now have a 19' deep-v hull with a 305 i/o motor. This thing will go anywhere and I've been in some pretty rough waters on the berry. Just take it easy and it cuts right through the waves. It has a remote-troll on it for trolling and is an overall great fishing boat.
One thing to keep in mind if you are going to be fishing larger lakes like this, and looking at larger boats, is look for how much room you have to fish off the sides of the boat. A lot of boats have windows that cover much of the side, making it harder to fish that area. Some Bayliners are really bad that way.
The boat you posted does look nice and Lund makes a great boat. I don't think it would fit my wants for the berry, though. If a storm comes in and you are over by the narrows, you will pretty much be stuck by the narrows until the wind and waves die down.
Again, there are probably people that will disagree with me on that, and that is fine. It's just not worth the risk to me, especially with a family.
[signature]