Many of you have nice boats great for all sorts of fishing. I have owned a few small boats. All of my boats have been either small lake/river 16 foot Bass Trackers or something close to that. Now it is time for me to step into something a little larger.
I work with a Christian group taking kids fishing, camping, and hunting. I also recently got married, and we want to start a family. We now believe we need to find a 19-22foot boat that can be used for taking 6-8 people to fish the lake or maybe bottom fish some wrecks out of Charleston.
So now on figuring what type of boat. Maybe a cuddy cabin or center console. We don’t like bay boats and think we want something with higher sides on it. There are tons of mandators out there though and we need a starting point. Sea Fox, Sea Hunt, Century, Cobia, Edgewater, Sea Pro, Mako, Trophy, Scout, etc. How do we know which company to go with? All I know is Bostons and Gradys are great but both of us are teachers and can’t afford that price tag.
Say we were looking in the $20-$25K range. Do we look used or new? Are boat shows the way to go? Do we worry if the engine is a Yamaha vs Mercury? Do we make sure it comes with great electronics or add them later? We are in no rush so any advice to get us started would be great.
buying a personal decision. So I will tell you mine.
A cuddy cabin will cut your fishing space by almost half. think of what it would be like to have 6-8 people in a 15 foot boat. In july/august it is brutally hot and will the cabin.
CC is the most versatile.
Any of the major boat makers(which you named) would be good. some of them are on the upper side wow expensive. Sea Hunt is the #1 boat seller in the country. .
New or used is another personal thing.
The boat show is this weekend. Go put your feet on the decks. it will help you think about what you like and do not like. Go from there.
You could come to the charlestonfishing oyster roast tomorrow and meet lots of people that have tons of experience and opinions
We live in Clover and will be working on the farm tomorrow or I would try to get to the oyster roast. We do however plan to head to the boat show in Greenville after church on Sunday. The only reason I am thinking maybe going the used route is price, but then again I’m not sure I want to be buying someone else’s problems. I’ve always heard, “the best days of a boat owners life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it”.
Anyone know much about SeaFox and how it compares to the rest?
You will not fish the near reefs comfortably with 8 people unless you have a 30’+ boat. That’s just the way it is. Mine is 24’ and my max I take offshore is five and that’s tight. Four is ideal on my boat. You can get six on a 22’ boat for fishing the lake, but that is very tight fishing.
For 25k, you can find deals on five to seven year old deep vee boats, but they will be single motor and will need a good mechanical inspection at that age. Your best bet to put price in perspective for you is to go to a boat show.
It’s tough because you want a boat for multiple things and I get that, but really look hard at it and figure out what you want to use it for 90% of the time and then make an educated decision from that info.
If you’ll be using it mostly for the lakes, then it’s hard to beat a 22 or 24’ bayboat for as many people as you are trying to accommodate. If you will be using it at the Charleston sixty reef most of the time, I’d look into the 23’ deep vee range, but you’ll be limited to the number of people you can take due to weather and safety. Once you get above 23, most boats are twin engines and the price starts to climb significantly.
Yeah? When I say 6-8 people understand that 3-4 of those will be kids. While I would like to fish off the coast most of the time the truth is we will only get to do that 3-4 times a year due to living so far inland. We will spend far more time on lakes like Murray, Santee, Wylie, Wateree, etc. We are going to the Greenville boat show later today. I know to get new we may have to go up in price to $30-$35K, and that is why I would think about buying used. However it’s not like you can go to a company like carmax and be sure you are getting something that has not been run into the ground.
Me personally, and this is just my opinion, if I were going to be mainly taking kids on the lake and I truly thought I was going to take five to six kids plus one other adult most of the time, I would get a pontoon.
It’s certainly not speedy, but it’s a big stable platform with lots of room and seating and for 25k you can get a pretty dang nice boat. It’s probably not the sexiest choice, but very practical for that application.
I wish you the best and thank you for taking time with the kids!
Yeah true I believe that a Pontoon is the answer for most if you are fishing lakes. However I want to take them to the Harbor and out to some wrecks for bottom fishing. I can’t spend 20K+ on a boat that won’t allow that. I run the SC FCA Outdoors programs in Lexington County and we are starting in York County. Normally we take 3-6 kids ages 10-20. I used to take them one at a time and fish the harbor for sharks in my little bass tracker. Now though that is not going to get the job done. My wife is a skier and wants to be able to ski, we want to start working on kids so we want it safe enough for them to walk around so high sides are important, and that also led me to think about a cuddy cabin because we love to camp and do all night fishing trips. Kids get tired so they can go sleep if needed.
Anyone reading this ever want to help us get a few kids a chance to fish a reef or wreck let me know. Most of the kids have never been on a boat, touched salt water, and even if they catch a small shark to them it’s JAWS’s little brother.
This is really a personal quest for your family and such a big financial decision…
Big boat big fuel bill…
Big boat big truck engine to haul…8 or so people or 2 cars…
Big boat big garage…height also
Big boat more people, more life jackets, towel, more liability ins. Loan req ins.
Big boat big Sea Tow bill.
Time kids are interested 6 years tops.
A used boat can be a money pit in the engine.
We have a family member that did the same thing you are thinking…we sold it in 3 years…(he moored it on a tide overnight and this mother hen fired him, our son was onboard at 5yrs and still hates the water) We had 2 families buy their own 18 ft-20ft boats that can go out to the reefs. For safety it is so nice to have 2 boats heading down ICW.
What is the price of fun?
It is a personal decision…I am 47 and quit skiing 5 years ago…
Motors: an expert told me the “average” life span of a salt water outboard is about 10 years, but could be longer or shorter based on care and exposure. I have not had any problems with Yamaha 4 strokes in 10 years. Lower time on the boat is obviously a better value, most motors have an hours meter showing the use. 4 stroke or a new generation 2 stroke is more reliable than carbureted engine. HP of engine: DO NOT buy one that is the minimum size recommended for a boat, it will not tow anything well or plane out quickly when loaded up.
Boat: find the floor plans that give you the best layout, then look for used boats from that company. I would not have a cuddy cabin; unihabitable while underway or in the heat, huge loss of bow seating and fishing area. I would not bring a baby on the water, too dangerous (for baby) in case of an emergency, Most bay boats do not have a large freeboard or seating for 4+ people. A 20+ center console might have the porta potty closet which doubles as a dry storage area. The Sea Hunt Triton 20-23’ models are very capable options for you but look at other manufacturers with similar floor plans. I would rather have a large bimini top than a t-top, more shade, lighter, stowable.
Trailer: galvanized or aluminum.
Previous ownership: I would prefer the original owner to be the current owner.
As for doing offshore fishing with it: you can get plenty of action at the Charleston jetties or the nearshore reefs that will entertain anyone, you don’t need to endure a long rough ride, fuel costs, seasickness. A large 23+ boat for long distance offshore trips will be out of your price range with a reliable low time motor.
Incidentals: annual property taxes on boat AND motor, gas, towing ability of your vehicle, storage costs and location, required periodic servicing of engine, insurance with towing coverage.
Electronics: Minimum of a depthfinder and a VHF radio(handheld or mounted), nice to have a GPS(a must for reef fishing)
Figure out your desires but hunt patiently, a used boat
