Boat Buying Season?

[Big Fin]

OMC/Bombardier (Evinrude/Johnson) owners are the best mechanics among all boat owners. By necessity and experience.

 

[Gellar]

This is the single most accurate post I have read in a very long time on here.

Those motors suck. Bad.

I concur. I have one. I just bought another one with a bad cylinder because my lower unit went out. so I have parts. I thought they’d be easy to find, but I think a lot of other people had the same thoughts as I did.

 

[Big Fin]

I gave Mercury another try in 2013. Rented a boat with a 150HP Optimax for a moose hunt way up on the Kateel River. The guy I rented from wrenched on it the entire way from Galena, down the Yukon, and up the Koyokuk and Kateel, before dropping us off at camp.

The crew was a bit nervous when a man of such mechanical talent was leaving us and they would be in the hands of an accountant to keep that thing running. Little did they know that Ol' Fin's father was a purveyor of Johnson, Evinrude, Spirit, and Chrysler outboards, giving me an outboard mechanical aptitude not normally found among CPAs. I rescued us from disaster three or four times on that trip.

Suffice to say, that did nothing to restore my already shaky comfort with Merc. My best walleye fishing buddy has a 2009 Optimax that runs like a champ, and he fishes more hours than anyone I know.

 

[Art Vandeley]

Congrats, let’s see a pic of the new vessel

 

[Big Fin]

Mrs. Fin says I have an attraction to blue boats. Every boat I've ever owned was blue. Guess old habits die hard.

All of 86 hours on the F300. Same Minnkota I have. Humminbird Solix G3 15" (helm) and 12" (bow).

 

[Southern Elk]

Mrs. Fin says I have an attraction to blue boats. Every boat I've ever owned was blue. Guess old habits die hard.

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[Wild Bill]

Nice rig.
I’ve got a 2018 Reata 1850 with a Yamaha on it and it’s been great for me. Handles well on big waves on Oahe.

 

[recon6036]

I’m looking and have been for some time now. I can’t decide between an aluminum fishing boat (Lund, G3 or Crestliner) or a center console for my retirement adventures in Florida.
Either way, it will preferably have a Suzuki or Yamaha outboard.
My wife and I went to the boat show in Green Bay, WI a couple weeks ago and she tried to talk me into a Pontoon boat….not a chance!

 

[EKYHunter]

Congrats on the new boat. I’m a Ranger guy myself. Keep an eye out for stress cracks in the top cap. Lots of guys are having issues with their hulls and other issues. Seems to coincide with JM taking over. Issues are well documented on line. Check out the Ranger Boats section on Bass Boat Central. Hope you and the Mrs. load the boat every time out.

 

[Flatrock]

To hedge her bet she warned me, "We better catch more fish out of that boat than we catch from our 2003 Lund." Damn, talk about setting the bar.

We both know the answer to that... Highly unlikely. Ha.

The first boat I had was a small 16 footer with a 9.9 on it. We have upgraded a time or two to a nicer boat but I honestly don't do all that much better out of a bigger boat. The massive improvements in electronics has helped though.

Obviously bigger boats are more comfy to fish out of and buzz around in so that's a plus. And I'm sure you will enjoy the ride on rough water a lot more in the Ranger.

 

[brymoore]

Boat has become a four letter word in my family. Every time I decide to buy a boat, I have an emergency offset expense to use to boat money. Wife and I now shush each other if one of us mentions buying a boat. Knock on wood stuff.

 

[sneakypete]

Congrats on the new boat. I just up graded my electronics to Garmin .

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

I hope it's as fishy as the old Lund.

 

[Tradewind]

You will love the Ranger. My dad is a crappie fisherman down south and loves his. So much so that when he finally got tired of dealing with the POS Evinrude motor, he put a brand new Yamaha on it. Keeping the old Ranger and all of the new electronics just made sense.

Here’s a piece of advice for anyone looking at used boats. Do not buy a boat with an Evinrude motor. They went out of business a few years ago and it is hard to find a shop that will work on them and even harder to find parts.

just put 7 bills into the "switchbox" on my Evinrude the last week of fishing season....after about 4 bills into the steering earlier
in the season. I'm good for a while. I'm sure it will start on the first crank when I put it in for the opener

 

[schmalts]

Randy thinks he got off easy with my boat inspection. Little does he know I have intel when he might be at fort peck boat ramp. I might be standing there with a cooler of beer, 2 sticks of deer summer sausage and a big bottle of sunscreen looking like a homeless person looking for a ride. I have to say, I was curious what X dollars got for a used boat in this level. I mean it's a lot but I am out of touch with reality what these things cost new, holy crap. I fell in love with the thing, it's so sweet. I dig all the LED lighting in all the storage areas and the main touchscreen control panel is sweet. And blue is my color as well. It's a head turner for sure.