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.

 

[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.

 

[David58]

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

Grew up on a lake in Tennessee, we owned a marina. Been almost 45 years since my dad sold the place, am just now getting ready to buy my first boat since then - fishing (especially walleye) is too good up here not to have a boat. But I learned long ago to place no faith in any propulsion for a pleasure boat that isn't a sail or a paddle...always have a kicker motor and a good mechanic at home.

David
Coeur d'Alene

 

[Mule Kick]

Well I don’t have much to offer other than a Congrats on the new dinghy.
I can’t afford much more than a Walmart kayak currently, but I do enjoy reading about such things more than about anything political related
Maybe someday!

 

[seeth07]

Anyone else get the fishing bug this winter and pass the time looking at boat ads? If so, what are you looking to get?

Well I didn't until the AK results showed up and found out I drew an unique moose tag. I now need to figure out how I'm going to buy a boat to get me up river and so I'm in the market now. Anchorage marketplace makes it seem like there are many options so hopefully that is the same come late August when ill be there to buy one.

 

[Knight.54]

@Big Fin
…when the right boat comes along, you have to buy it.
I closed on mine in November…a life long dream come true.

 

[cgasner1]

You need a bowfishing boat for them little rascals and you in a major major major way….

I don’t have much use for the fancy fish finders

 

[Addicting]

Something to get our minds off politics, policy, and other new headlines, I thought I'd make this post and invite others to post their boat season thoughts, purchases, or sales.

I need a new boat like I need a new gun - Nice to have and if the right deal comes along, my "want" becomes a "need."

Thanks to some nudging from @stillkickin and @mn taxidermist, along with @schmalts doing an A++ inspection of a boat that is 1,250 miles from me, I decided my "want" was now a need."

Given Mrs. Fin demands that we fish 20-40 days per summer, all for walleyes, she questioned my tightwad nature and asked, "Why aren't you buying that boat?"

Ok, twist my arm.

I've never owned anything other than a Lund. I had one Mercury motor on my first Lund It was a continual hassle and concern once we got out of site of the boat ramp. Mrs. Fin sold the boat the next year. Since then, every boat I've owned has had a Yamaha. I have since owned eight Yamahas and not a single problem. Thus, Mrs. Fin has a requirement that any boat with her name on it will have a Yamaha.

I've been told that Mercury has made some huge changes in the last twenty years, so Mrs. Fin's threats of divorce if I bought a boat powered with a Mercury might not be as valid. Still, a threat is a threat, and having just passed my 37th anniversary, I'm not risking my 38th celebration on the reliability of a Mercury outboard.

So, I've been casually looking for a fiberglass walleye boat over the last few years. The hard part is that the only fiberglass boats that come with a Yamaha are Skeeter (owned by Yamaha), Yar-Craft, and Vexus. All the others I'm aware of require a Mercury. Paying extra for a motor upgrade is not even a possibility.

Hearing mixed results on Skeeter durability (not sure what the wiring issues are, but I'm not an electronic tech). Hard to find many Yar-Crafts with Yamahas. Vexus is newer, a company of former Ranger employees, but finding those rigged with Yamahas is challenging and is usually reflected in a premium price.

The last year Ranger allowed a Yamaha custom order was 2021, with a few 2022 models that were on order when the decree came from White River Marine Group (Johnny Morris's group that is the new owner of Ranger) that Yamahas were not even allowed as a custom order. Not sure what part of Brunswick/Mercury he owns, but all of his boat brands must come powered with Mercury.

Around Christmas I was surfing some of the boat ads. Listed as a 2022 Ranger 620FS Pro, powered with a Yamaha. Wow, one of the unicorns. I reached out to the guy with a ton of questions. He sent pics. After buying him breakfast at SHOT Show, Schmalts offered to drive over and inspect the boat. If you ever saw the level of inspection Schmalts does on a boat, you'd encourage him to start a service doing such when he retires from Harley. His report, "As close to showroom condition as a used boat can get." His 16 videos and album of photos seem to confirm.

So, I am now the owner of a 2022 Ranger, meeting Mrs. Fin's requirement to be powered by Yamaha. 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.

Now, I am touching up my old boat, getting it detailed, and questioning why I upgraded to the finest electronics you could buy, just last summer. The answer to that "Why did I do that" rests in Mrs. Fin finding out that you could have front/back side imaging that syncs with a Minnkota trolling motor. I'm gonna take a beating on that investment, only having fished about ten days with that new package.

Gonna miss the old 2003 Lund. It has helped us catch a ton of fish. It still runs like a champ, reflecting Mrs. Fin's detail to care and maintenance. It will likely be listed here for sale before I consign it with a dealer.

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Anyone else get the fishing bug this winter and pass the time looking at boat ads? If so, what are you looking to get?

Hmm, I’m looking for a 2003 Lund.