WTB 16-18ft Starter Boat
- Thread starter Geolofish
- Start date
Let's start out with "What's your approximate budget?". There's a ton of option in that size range and budget will have a lot to do with what choices people offer. Second "What kind of fishing do you wish to do?" (e.g. trolling for salmon, mostly crabbing and prawning). If you're more interested in crabbing and prawning, cockpit space would be more of an issue. If you're mostly interested in trolling and want to extend your season/increase your days of fishing, something with a cabin or a canvas top would be a better option. Do you only plan to fish in the salt water or do you want something that you can take into smaller rivers also? How willing are you to be cold and wet? Again if you're willing to dress for the weather an open boat can be OK but if you really value comfort, something with a cabin or a canvas top will be better. How much boating experience do you have and are you (in general) hard on your gear? If you're hard on your gear and have limited docking experience you might be better off with an aluminum boat. If you have some experience and are a generally careful person, fiberglass might be just fine. Do you ever plan on staying on the boat overnight? That's tough to do in a boat that size but I know of people who camp in a 16' C-Dory. Do you want to be able to safely fish in fog and other tough weather? If so, you'll want a small radar on board or at least an AIS radio.
On the most comfy side for a boat in that size range, I like the 16' C-Dory or the 19' C-dory. Both have fully enclosed cabins and you can put a heater inside of them. You could camp O/N in either but the 19 is more suitable for that. Both will provide excellent fuel economy and both will be relatively expensive for their size. Both will pound in a chop but for the size they are very sea worthy. Both have a "cute factor" that a spouse might like. Both have an enclosed cabin and it's easy to put a small radar on top of the roof and keep your electronics inside and out of the weather. With either you could install shore power and a diesel heater.
On the other side of the scale, a 16-18' open Lund is a pretty good all around about. Not too expensive, relatively easy to find used and in an open boat there's a lot more space for things like crab pots.
So explain a little more about what your intended uses are and people can give you better advice.
On the most comfy side for a boat in that size range, I like the 16' C-Dory or the 19' C-dory. Both have fully enclosed cabins and you can put a heater inside of them. You could camp O/N in either but the 19 is more suitable for that. Both will provide excellent fuel economy and both will be relatively expensive for their size. Both will pound in a chop but for the size they are very sea worthy. Both have a "cute factor" that a spouse might like. Both have an enclosed cabin and it's easy to put a small radar on top of the roof and keep your electronics inside and out of the weather. With either you could install shore power and a diesel heater.
On the other side of the scale, a 16-18' open Lund is a pretty good all around about. Not too expensive, relatively easy to find used and in an open boat there's a lot more space for things like crab pots.
So explain a little more about what your intended uses are and people can give you better advice.
Budget- 10-15K
Primarily Salmon as well as bottom fishing, with the occasional crab and prawn set (so a little bit of deck space is a must). Open boat with canvas is preferable. Minimal salt water boating experience, moderate freshwater and would like to think that I am not hard on gear. Staying overnight on boat not necessary, figured anything under 18ft and you probably wont be sleeping very comfortably. Also would generally say that with my minimal salt water experience I cant see myself being too adventurous in the fog so radar seems unnecessary.
Anyways, thanks for the first tip seadna, hopefully this can help to narrow the search. Cheers.
scott craven
Well-Known Member
That's good info. One thing I'd say in reply is that having radar takes a lot of the "adventure" out of boating in the fog. I didn't have radar on my C-Dory 22 for the first many years of ownership. You'd be surprised how often you can go out in good visibility and wind up in fog around this area. That's a pretty reasonable budget for a boat in that range. I'd look for something that either has a newer 4-stroke on it already or something that is cheap enough that you can re-power with a newer 4-stroke. As long as you can stay out of the rain (with a canvas or hard top), the cold can easily be handled with a combination or clothing and a Mr. Buddy (or similar) heater. If you buy used, focus first on the quality of the hull and the shape it is in. If you can find a nice welded aluminum boat with a good hull that's way better than an older (or perhaps even newer) riveted boat. After the hull, focus on the engine (unless the boat is so inexpensive that you plan to repower immediately). After that, I'd worry about the trailer and perhaps downriggers. Unless the electronics are very new, they have essentially no value on a used boat. Take you time and be patient until you find a good deal. HOWEVER, be ready to pounce when you do find a good deal as they don't last long.
rovingfisherman
Active Member
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-mo...oat/557552753?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
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Bait&Sea
Active Member
My 1980 Double Eagle 16' was sold for $3500 in a heartbeat with crap canvass and no kicker. A friend of mine had one of those 3cyl Yamahas and it ran perfect forever, he owned it for 15 years. Wouldn't be surprised if he had 4000 hrs on it when it was sold and ran flawless still.
Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
Either a Double Eagle or Hourston will give you better performance in rough water than the Cdory ( Sorry Cdory owners, but its true!) And I also agree that the 542 is wworth looking at.
No need to apologize, it is true (except for the C-Dory catamaran - which I own but that's well out of the price range). On the flip side, the flatter bottom C-Dory will give one much better fuel mileage than a deeper V hull boat. Boats are all about compromises and each owner needs to decide what is most important to them.
Degree of Freedom
Active Member
may have been mentioned already, but there's a hell of a difference between 16' and 18'. Go with the biggest boat you can handle...you won't regret it.
Pink Pounder
Member
me and islander55 slept overnight in is 14ft lund and it wasn't that bad ask him about it
lazylump
Active Member
Fish Nutz
Member
I have run a 1982, 16 foot double eagle for the past 6 years. It has a 2002 4 stroke Yamaha on it. It defiantly has it's pros and cons being a small boat. Fuel economy and trailering is great. With the deep v hull it is much more tippy than a whaler of the same size, although it is by no means unstable. It will handle rougher weather than you as a novice are comfortable in ( trust me I know this). If you pick your days offshore it is more than capable. The deck space is minimal so prawning days get cramped with 3 ppl but it can be done. If I were to do it over I would probably start with the 17.5 foot but I have no regrets about my choice of the DE. That said my next money pit will be 21-23 feet. Hope this helps
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