I was torn between a bay boat and a flats boat. I wanted something that could fish inshore, but also run offshore a few miles when the weather permitted. Also, the towing capacity on my vehicle limited my options. After tons of research, I narrowed down my search to three boats: Lake & Bay 20’ Backwater, Egret 189, and a Young 20. I preferred a new boat, but couldn’t justify the cost of building one. So the fun, but ever-so-frustrating search for a clean, late model boat began. For months I searched the web nearly every day; skimming through Boat Trader, Craigslist, and many other websites. At least one of each boat listed above sold before I could even look at it. Others were overpriced, beat up too badly, or had a ton of hours. Finally, I found THE boat, a 2007 Lake & Bay 20’ Backwater with a Mercury 225hp Pro XS.
While the boat was gently used, it was in need of some major TLC. When I purchased the boat, there were spider cracks/chips in the fiberglass, the rear port livewell had a crack in the fiberglass due to a missed mud line, some old messy wiring, and a trailer that looked like it sat on the bottom of the ocean for a few weeks. The boat had a one year old 101lb Minn Kota trolling motor, a one year old Sony radio, two Wang anchors, and a barely used motor with 207 hours and a beat up prop. I felt that I paid a fair price for the boat, but I knew I would have to spend a considerable amount of money to get it to my “dream boat” status. After months of searching for a boat and finally buying one, I still had a long process ahead.
First of all, I had to decide on aftermarket additions. It didn’t take me long to purchase twin 8’ Power-Poles, a 7” Humminbird 898c with side scan, a new onboard charger, and four new Odyssey batteries. Overkill for some people? Maybe. But heck, this IS my dream boat. Luckily, within the past few years, Young Boats started doing custom boat restorations. I knew their boats were top notch, so I didn’t hesitate one bit on having them do the repairs. I dropped the boat off with a long list of needed repairs, the aftermarket additions, and a fairly short deadline due to an upcoming week-long Pine Island fishing trip. On top of the fiberglass repairs and installing the add-ons, I also asked them to completely rewire the entire boat. The old batteries were off-gassing in the console and causing some corrosion issues with the wires, not to mention that the wiring was messy in the first place.
While the boat was being “pampered” at Young Boats, I turned my attention to the trailer. After more research, I called Dan Gallagher at Rolls Axle Inc. in Plant City and made an appointment to upgrade the trailer. A few hours later and Dan had the trailer looking fantastic with a new aluminum axle, stainless steel hubs, all stainless hardware, new bunks/carpet, and three new aluminum wheels/tires. I dropped the trailer back off at Young Boats, admired the progress that they were making, and proceeded to wait (very anxiously I must say).
Then the call from Robb Young came. Except for a new prop, the boat was finally complete. I met up with Robb, went over all of the repairs, and was completely amazed at the quality of work performed. The boat looks new again! The only thing left was finding a new prop. To complete the boat, I turned to Dale Hadley at Props Plus to find the right prop. After a few conversations back and forth, I bolted on a new Turbo Lightning 24p prop and my dream boat was finally completed!!
I have fished the boat 13 times in 3 weeks and I have been nothing but amazed! The ride, speed, fishability, and layout are perfect! It runs just over 65 loaded (full fuel, two people, gear, cooler, livewell full, etc), cruises nicely between 35-45mph, averages 5.3mpg at 38mph, and 4.4mpg at 45mph. It is officially the dream boat I have been waiting for. I have to publicly say thank you for all parties that helped me get the boat where it is today; Robb Young at Young Boats, Dan Gallagher at Rolls Axle, and Dale Hadley at Props Plus. All three companies are superior in knowledge and customer service! If you are in need of any of these services, do not, I repeat, DO NOT hesitate to contact the companies above. The boat is now officially stored at Pete’s Pier in Crystal River and enjoys long runs to new fishing grounds, sunset cruises around Kings Bay, and the occasional cold beer. I have posted some pictures of the boat below. Thank you for reading and please say hi if you happen to see my putting around.
Josh
Congrats!
