boats - whalers in particular

[motogpfan]

Cruising and fishing, small lakes and rivers. My girl is only 2, so a little young for skiing or tubing.

mitt

get an inboard ski boat, you never know if she'll turn out to be pro skiier. you can do all the other things on it too.

[gage]

My first boat was a 15 foot whaler with a 70hp two stroke evinrude on it.  It did 46 mph but would chime walk in anything but flat calm. 

For your intended purpose of fishing/cruising this boat is going to be a little tight for a family of three and any type of gear.  The freeboard is also non-existent which makes it somewhat difficult to operate in anything but optimal conditions.

It is also going to be very difficult to fish out of something like that unless you strictly want to troll or fish from a seated position as the boat will list badly and be somewhat unsettling.

If I were you I would look for something a little bigger like a 17ft montauk as it will allow you to grow with it a little longer.

There is also no point in buying a "newer" whaler vs. an older one as the design is functionally the same other than the inclusion of fiberglass seats and consoles which in my opinion eliminate any configuration flexibility.

It is still a fun boat for TWO people who just want to go cruising.

[mitt]

One of the constraints I didn't mention (besides cost) is trailering.  I have a 4.0L xterra, that is fairly short, and softly suspended.  I noticed how light the whalers were compared to other comparable sized boats.  I thought with a 15.5' boat, it would trailer easy, store easy, and would not use too much gas getting to where I want to go (about a 4hr drive to get to my folks house).

mitt

[motogpfan]

get a set of airbags under the leaf springs. you can tow way bigger toys with then a 15ft boat.

[Airborne]

I'm the president of a sailing organization and we run a 20 foot whaler outrage as a chase boat. Its a 1986 and since the club is mostly college students it sees alot of abuse. Its built like a brick shithouse.


I wouldnt think twice about doing that in it. She'll hold together.

I just took her 15 miles offshore last month. I don't really ever worry about anything going wrong with the whaler but more so the engine.

The great thing about the whalers and especially the smaller girl you're looking at is that the design is timeless. Like I said the one I run is a 1986 and i recently got the club to drop some money upgrading the electronics and put on a new leaning post and you'd swear she was close to new. Whalers hold their values well because of this should you want to sell it.

They are also easy to clean. I have a gallon jug of simple green marine that i pour on the deck, scrub, powerwash and house it out and it sparkles.