Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

I don't think that the hull is going to be a real issue in 16"-26" inches of water, at least in your price range. A good used aluminum boat as was posted by roscoe (above) will be fine. Most older outboards have a manual bar that can set the trim. If you've got powered trim you can have the prop just below the surface of the water, nowhere near 16" and still move around.

In my lake, things can get real shallow near the boat landing during droughts. There are times where I've used the trolling motor but often just trim up the motor until I get further out into deeper water.

 

[danpcrisp]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Problem is that's my nature (to get wrapped around the axle about things). Since this is all new to me, I appreciate the advice and the sanity check!

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

I had a 19' Dixie open bow with a 150 outboard that would run in 2' of water. 18" would be pushing it, but maybe. I agree on an outboard with a troller motor to get you to slightly deeper water. I have wakeboarded and knee boarded behind a pontoon with an 85. While it will physically pull you, there is no wake and you will quickly become bored. Or of course a jet boat. You could take them down the highway in a hard rain justabout.

I don't know why you say an outboard isn't so good for towing. I've had a blast behind several outboard boats tubing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding! There is a little less wake because it is lighter, but ballast bags can fix that. And in general they are faster and a little better on fuel.

 

[danpcrisp]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that I thought outboards weren't good for towing. Just seems like most dual purpose boats that can tow are I/O. What I'm hearing is that I guess I'm fine with an outboard as long as I can trim it up to get through the skinny water. I seriously doubt I would bottom out as the canal gets several inches deeper about 200 yards from my dock. With so many options out there for engine, hull, etc., it's almost overwhelming (at least for me). Pair that with the wide disparity in used boat costs - again within my limited budget of about $2500 and it's even more complicated. For boats in that range I've seen open bow I/O, tri-hull, ski boats, runabouts (if I'm using that term correctly), etc. I get somewhat conflicting information here (on whether I could run the Beachcraft, for instance), so I'm kind of still wondering what (and I know everyone has a differing opinion) I should look for.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

I'm tellin ya... 2 feet plus and you don't need to worry.... what YOU need to do is if at all possible get some experience.... find a friend or neighbor who can take you out and let you experience boating and the location first hand.... you're gonna feel really dumb when you labor for weeks or months passing up all sorts of nicer boats to and finally buy just the right boat for shallow water and then someone comes up the same waterway in something like my boat and beaches it right next to yours.
as I said above ANY I/O or outboard at @ 19' or less will be fine.... power trim ideally should be considered a must... with these boats, you can run them with the keel being the lowest part of the boat and most will be about 12" (remember my 10,000 lb 28'er is 18")

you don't have to have flat or aluminum or trihull or extra light..... just don't get a true inboard or V drive and go have a ball on the water.

 

[danpcrisp]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Thanks smoke for the advice. I do have some real world experience, but I know I need more, especially in this narrow canal, which is only about 15-20' wide. I think I'm going to stick with looking for an o/b to be safe and stop fretting about it so much. If only I weren't so anal...

 

[Salmonseeker1982]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

My 18 aluminum deep V floats nice in 12in of water, but the outboard would churn the bottom if not trimmed way up. Which brings up the issue of engine overheating from lack of water and sucking muddy water through the intake. When I get in skinny water I usually kill the motor and drop down the minnkota. You would want 24volt 80lb thrust trolling motor to push your boat up a 1 mile canal. Hard to find a setup with enough power to pull people and a good trolling motor for under 5k. Also I see your in Oregon, I don't know how water levels are at your lake but they might be drastically lower come july and august. Def. try and see what other guys are running up the canal and see if water level drops in summer. Good Luck
...Luke...

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

There is no perfect boat. That's your answer. The great news is that in your budget range you can buy a boat, try it for a season, and then sell it for relatively the same price (and possibly upgrade) the next year. As long as your first boat floats then you're in luck! My best advice would be to scout out the types of boats that your neighbors have on the channel. That should be a good starting point.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

churning mud really doesn't hurt a good outboard. First, if you're moving, the churned water is behind you and the boat is sucking up clear water. But if your sitting in muck, and the telltale starts running black water, you are still ok, as long as you get out to clear water without shutting it down. True, the silt wears out your impeller, but shallow water boaters replace them often anyway. And if you are scouring the water jacket, aren't you scouring the built up salt?

 

[danpcrisp]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Well months later I'm finally responding. Turns out the best advice was to see what my neighbors were running. In the shallowest part of the canal (where I'm at), everyone runs I/O. Once the water gets a bit deeper towards the lake, I started seeing Inboards and figured it had to be deep enough there to navigate successfully with prop deeper.

So I ended up getting a Reinell RM18. The draft is probably about 16-18" (18 being the depth of the canal by my dock), because I can bottom it out at the dock, but once I (after I get passengers temporarily towards the bow) get in the middle of the canal, I don't have a problem. Since our lake is regulated by an inlet river, the height doesn't vary much, though before they open the head-gate in the summer, it does drop a few inches. I've toyed with the idea of getting a Minnkota to navigate the canal so I don't have to mess with the trim so much, but I haven't yet as I've gotten used to where to raise/lower (after some minor thumping warnings from the skeg) along the canal. Been a good initial year of boating and after the first several times navigating the narrow canal, it's definitely more enjoyable (read less stressful) now. Thanks for all the input/advice. Here's a pic of my new ride.

 

[danpcrisp]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Well months later I'm finally responding. Turns out the best advice was to see what my neighbors were running. In the shallowest part of the canal (where I'm at), everyone runs I/O. Once the water gets a bit deeper towards the lake, I started seeing Inboards and figured it had to be deep enough there to navigate successfully with prop deeper.

So I ended up getting a Reinell 192RM cuddy. The draft is probably about 16-18" (18 being the depth of the canal by my dock), because I can bottom it out at the dock, but once I (after I get passengers temporarily towards the bow) get in the middle of the canal, I don't have a problem. Since our lake is regulated by an inlet river, the height doesn't vary much, though before they open the head-gate in the summer, it does drop a few inches. I've toyed with the idea of getting a Minnkota to navigate the canal so I don't have to mess with the trim so much, but I haven't yet as I've gotten used to where to raise/lower (after some minor thumping warnings from the skeg) along the canal. Been a good initial year of boating and after the first several times navigating the narrow canal, it's definitely more enjoyable (read less stressful) now. Thanks for all the input/advice. Here's a pic of my new ride (with a trolling motor that didn't come with it).
View attachment 213982

 

[64osby]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

What was the budget? Looks like you spent that and a few more.

The Reinell looks great. Have Fun.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Good Job hope you have a great time !!!

 

[colbyt]

Re: Boat suggestions living on skinny water lake canal

Unless you are the last house on the canal, take a break and watch to see what drives by. Meet your neighbors and ask what they do and how they do it. The results will turn out a lot better than going off half cocked.


Missed your I bought it post. Do let us know how it turns out.

 

[danpcrisp]

Yeah, being new and excited, I forgot to post a "I bought it" kind of post last year. It was a deal I couldn't pass up - basically a friend sold me the boat way under market value, so even though I wanted an open bow, I've come to appreciate the boat for what it is. Maybe in the future I'll sell it and get an open bow, but we're only in our second season of using it, so who knows, maybe we'll come to appreciate the cuddy for more than just storage. Of course I think there's only 2 cuddy boats on the whole lake and I look a little funny when the $50k Mastercrafts pass by or park near me, but I can live with it.

 

[danpcrisp]

Yeah, being new and excited, I forgot to post a "I bought it" kind of post last year. It was a deal I couldn't pass up - basically a friend sold me the boat way under market value, so even though I wanted an open bow, I've come to appreciate the boat for what it is. Maybe in the future I'll sell it and get an open bow, but we're only in our second season of using it, so who knows, maybe we'll come to appreciate the cuddy for more than just storage. Of course I think there's only 2 cuddy boats on the whole lake and I look a little funny when the $50k Mastercrafts pass by or park near me, but I can live with it.

 

[ssobol]

Who cares what the other boats are or with looking "a little funny". If the boat serves your needs you shouldn't be concerned with what other's think.

 

[Bubbasboat]

Personally I think it's a nice looking boat! Who cares what others think!!