Buying a boat help?

[Swampcreek]

I'm looking to get another boat. There is 4 in my family. I wanna get something that will fit 6 people. That can go offshore, and inshore too. Something that drafts shallow. I like to do all kinds of fishing, from rivers in georgia, to the flats, and some grouper/smapper. I prolly won't go too far out in it. 10-15 miles.

Stuck between a CC or a cuddy cabin. My budget is 3-5k

[flatsbroke22]

I think it's going to be pretty tough to find a boat that will do both in your price range that is dependable enough to run 15 miles offshore. Sounds like you need a bay boat in the 20-22 foot range to be able to run shallow and still run offshore on good days. Any one of those in decent shape is going to run around 10k at the least but I could be wrong, good luck in your search.

[silverking]

X2 on a bay boat. Best all-round option for what sounds like most of your fishing. Six people on board is going to be tight unless you're counting kids.

With your budget, a decent bay boat is going to be hard to find. Flatsbroke22 knows 'cause he's been shopping.

As an alternative, you might consider a 17-19 foot older center console, like a Mako, Aquasport, Parker, Cobia or similar make. They come on the market in your price range and can do inshore/nearshore if you watch the weather.

I had a older model Aquasport 17 and I could go anywhere on the flats/creeks with moderate tides and ventured nearshore to fish for cobia/kings, etc. on occasion. You could easily fish the local artificial reefs with a CC on good days.

Check here, Florida Sportsman, The Pensacola Fishing Forum, The Hull Truth and Craigs List (buyer beware). You might also put in a call to a couple coastal dealers like Shields Marina or Jack's to see what they've taken in on trade or to be on the lookout for something for you.

Good luck and be patient. You'll find something eventually.

http://tallahassee.craigslist.org/boa/5582935425.html

[Swampcreek]

Thanks. I can save up a little more, I don't have to go buy one today, tomorrow. All the ones I have seen are around 8-10k. There is a real nice mako in town and it is loaded w electronics too.. 8k

Most of my passengers are gonna be my wife and two kids. But i'd like to take friends out too. My brother has a 16 or 18 boston whaler and it gets tight with a few people. Fishes two people great tho. I'm thinking if I go flats fishing I want two people, three max. Bottom fishing 4 max.

Another question is about t tops and biminis. Do they get in the way? Is it better to have a bimini to take down when ya wanna fish? I like the idea of a t top, but that might limit casting. I want shade either way.

[onefishtwofish]

May want to have a look at a Carolina Skiff DLV model. NOT the semi V-those are wet, very wet. I had one. Safe boat, great in shallow and can take a pretty good pounding, but you will be soaked to the bone. Just another idea to look at for a versatile boat.

Buddy had a 19 foot center console Mako that was a very good platform as a versatile boat. I fished a few times in it for trout and offshore on a nice day once too.

[silverking]

If you can save and put more money into it, you'll generally find newer models, more options and less headaches. Late fall and winter is the best time to buy boats. It's after the main season and sellers are anxious to unload so your dollars go farther.

Sounds like you can hitch rides with your brother. Shields Marina also rents boats at reasonable rates. They have a couple center consoles like I mentioned as well as a few pontoon boats available.

I haven't owned a boat with a bimini for 20 years. That's what they make sunscreen for!

[Swampcreek]

I go every chance I can with my brother. He lives in st mary's so it's a little different. The fishing in the gulf is easier to me. I fish out of econfina, st marks, panama city. I just wanna take the girls to catch some rock bass and trout. Then maybe head over to panama city and go out a few miles to some reef fish.

I'm fishing out of a semi v 15'x5 mon arc stick steer. It fishes around the grass line and creeks great. Just cant get out to where the trout are right now.

[big bend gyrene]

I'm looking to get another boat. There is 4 in my family. I wanna get something that will fit 6 people. That can go offshore, and inshore too. Something that drafts shallow. I like to do all kinds of fishing, from rivers in georgia, to the flats, and some grouper/smapper. I prolly won't go too far out in it. 10-15 miles.

Stuck between a CC or a cuddy cabin. My budget is 3-5k

Thing about boats is that while there are near perfect boats for specific applications, when you start lumping different tasks together you really have to start weighing trade-offs and are best served with ranking the needs in order of importance. How often will you want to take 6 people out? Once or twice a year with all the other trips being with just a single fishing bud or two? How often will you want to go out 10 to 15 miles? While you can do that distance on perfect bluebird windless days with most any boat, you can have a bluebird summer afternoon blow up into REALLY nasty weather sometimes faster than you can sometimes outrun.

Not knowing exactly your order of priorities, I'll contribute this... if you want to mostly target red and trout in 10' waters and under and only OCCASIONALLY take out up to 6 folks or head offshore, than my vote would be the 17' -19' range, including skiff designs. On the other hand, you want to really hit 10 to 15 miles more than just a time or two a year, I STRONGLY encourage you to move the size into the 21'+ range. Again, not that you can't make SOME trips out with the smaller boats, but I would say half the days I go out that far in my 22' panga the waves range from under 1' at the calmest moment to over 2' and approaching 3's at the windiest moments of the trip. And in the 11 years I've owned the panga, I've had two trips go from doable 2's to scary 6' conditions in the bat of an eye with summer squalls hitting out of the west with mere minutes of visual warning.

Fishing buddy Sharkman got a 17' panga after I got my 22' and he found a pretty singificant difference in the days he felt comfortable going offshore versus when aboard my 22'er. We preferred his smaller boat for nearshore fishing though. Again, all about priorities as to the best compromise for your needs versus wants.

[big bend gyrene]

Have to admit, I responded to your initial post without reading your subsequent follow-up. See you addressed numbers a bit more.

As for biminis and T-tops, different folks will have strong feelings about them. I personally LOVE having a T-top on my panga as it gives me substantial space-saving rod-storage, gives me rails to mount cameras for filming bites/fights, helps keep the deck on the narrow Panga design a bit cleaner from clutter, AND gives me and my fishing buddies shade during brutally hot mid-summer all day offshore trips. On the other hand if I were going to fish mostly inshore solo or with one bud only with lots of half-day trips, I would likely prefer a skiff with no bimini or T-top. And that's be especially true if I wanted to use a fly rod much in the shallow-flats. Again, all about deciding if fits needs / wants and weighing costs against amount of benefit.

[Salty Gator]

With your budget and needs, take a look at Kenner boats. Pretty good bang for the buck. A buddy had a 19 and it worked well for them ( family of 4).

[Hit-n-Miss]

. I love my Kenner. Lots of room and storage.


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[doomtrpr_z71]

Where are you located? There is a 20ft aquasport for sell in your price range in moultrie. My current boat has Bimini which my wife preferred until she fished out of a key west 21br and found she liked a ttop better, I prefer a ttop myself.

[Swampcreek]

That's funny cause I am actually going to get that 20' aqua sport this afternoon. It kinda fell in my lap when I glanced at facebook last night.

http://imgur.com/a/0BnHl

I think this boat is exactly what I am looking for.

[doomtrpr_z71]

That's the one