Hourston 17 (was rental) advice

[jbv]

Gentlemen.

looking at a 17 Hourston that has not been set up for fishing. is/was a rental like those in Sewells marina.

it is underpowered with a 60hp motor but otherwise in good shape and newish, 2008.

owner says it's bare bones but rock solid, not all kitted out for fishing but can be. other than the power, are there downsides to these rental 17's?

any advice, and opinions welcome!

 

[Fishin]

Depending what the price is it could be a decent deal being a 2008 I wouldn’t be super worried about rot, I’m not sure if they still use wood in the construction or not now, (I have an 89 17’ hourston) does it come with a trailer Atleast? Being a rental You don’t really know what the motors been through in its life, seen lots of rentals getting pretty beat up by inexperienced Boaters, definitely get a compression test done and water test if possible. If you think you’ll be fishing with more than 2 people in the boat the 60s definitely going to be a little underpowered especially once you add a kicker and all your gear I have a 115 Yamaha 4stroke on mine. Overall if it seems to be in decent shape and the price is right I don’t see why not. Just my 2 cents. Cheers

 

[scott craven]

Trailer not likely, but the 60hp will have some resale value.
Count on 8-12K to repower with a 90-115 HP.
Nice hull and worth a redo

 

[sundance]

Gentlemen.

looking at a 17 Hourston that has not been set up for fishing. is/was a rental like those in Sewells marina.

it is underpowered with a 60hp motor but otherwise in good shape and newish, 2008.

owner says it's bare bones but rock solid, not all kitted out for fishing but can be. other than the power, are there downsides to these rental 17's?

any advice, and opinions welcome!

 

[sundance]

I had a Sewells. 17 it was a plain boat came with a 50 hp 4 stroke Mercury , ran great with 2 people good, fishing Sooke Area upgraded to a 75 merc 4 stroke camp return quite a improvement Very good on gas also , lots of room good sea boat also

 

[N2013]

I’ve seen a couple rentals skipped off docks/slips. Having seen that, I’d never buy a rental boat. Ever.

 

[Rain City]

How many came up for sale after that storm that hit Sewells last year?

 

[Stizzla]

Trailer not likely, but the 60hp will have some resale value.
Count on 8-12K to repower with a 90-115 HP.
Nice hull and worth a redo

With controls install and taxes it’s more like 12-16k

 

[GDW]

I owned a 17 hourston with a 60HP Yamaha for 11 years. Haters will hate but the only time I ever felt under powered was when I had three adults On board plus over 100lbs of halibut on the deck.

It wasn’t until we picked up 4 crab traps that I thought ok, this is too much.

thats with a kicker, two fuel tanks, two batteries , an anchor plus whatever other gear was in the boat.

Run the 60, you’ll be fine.

 

[Dorman Point]

We have a ‘91 Hourston 17 that was an ex-Sewell’s rental. Have had it since ‘93. Still going strong, a great little all-use boat. Fishing, water-skiing, cabin commuting, picnicking. They’re just great little boats. I think 90hp is perfect for that hull. Have had a 90 Yammy 2-stroke, then a 115 ProV 2 stroke which I felt was too much power (too skittish at top end) and now have a 90 Tohatsu 2 stroke which has proven to be a great engine.

Yours likely has the fibreglass seat frames? If not, the plywood box frames rot out eventually and I have replaced with aftermarket seats which have plastic frames and are a budget option to the Royal City bedding ones Hourston installed originally.

Ski tow post, some rod holders and downrigger mounts and you’ve got a super little boat.