paulspaddle
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2009
- Messages
- 753
Hi, Great site, I've just spent most of my morning reading through many threads and have gotten to know some re-accruing themes and persons.
I went to the boat show this weekend and I always end up sitting on a few pontoons thinking....this is lux-0! Then the 'uses' side of me kicks in...I end up doing circles on which boat we should purchase....so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Details/needs/wants:
We have a cabin on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba. (we Canadians are being blamed for the current weather and I swear I have nothing to do with it.....but I'll do my best find out who is though)
-this is a HUGE lake (9th largest fresh water lake in the world)
-we are in a bay that is which is relatively sheltered at the narrowest part of the lake. (1/2 mile across bay and 3 miles across Lake at this point) I can use my small 9' sailboat most days with no problem.
-BUT, this lake can whip up a nasty storm.
-our small bay has a sheltered harbor thus we do not need to trailer the boat often. (seasonally)
Uses
-I grew up skiing behind a 18' starcraft (used to be able to do the slalom course) with a 85 Johnson most weekends. I've slowed down since then and am less interested in go hard all day ski thing. Tubing and waking boarding would be fun.
-I have a 2 year old who at the moment obviously isn't into watersports per say, but no doubt one day down the road will be.
-We like to fish, but are not hard core about it. (mostly it's something to do with friends) I have a 16' aluminum boat with 25 Johnson that suits this well enough.
-Mostly touring, hanging out and day picnicking with friends.
-there is A LOT of beautiful shoreline to be explored and small communities to visit within 5 miles or so that would be fun to make as a afternoon destinations.
Wants and Considerations
-I would like a boat that could go 30 mph with four adults. (no real reason for this number, but seems to be a fair speed to 'get somewhere' if need be... reality is most cruising is less than 20mph)
-I am considerate of mpg. It is easy to simply say, "buy bigger", but I don't believe in pouring gas into a 200hp motor when a 100hp or less would do. That would be fun, but I've got a young family and practicality and efficiency (money) win out.
-our shore in front of our cabin is rocky. We have a dock, but I think an aluminum hull is more suitable. Open to opinions on that.
-I think we are interested in an outboard also. Mostly because of the higher pre/post season maintenance. (remember it's Canada, it gets freakin' cold so you have to make sure that i/o is properly maintained post season)
Budget
-$6000. (but at this time I'm more interested in styles and ideas....budgets change)
-I'm very handy and have lots of resources to work on something older.
Every boat is a compromise of some sort I realize. I like the function of a pontoon, but think it might be too slow in general and too awkward for tubing and wakeboarding. I don't know.
-Deckboat seems to be the next 'good idea', but most older one are tri-hulls and I remember that "slam" of waves of a tri-hull growing up. Maybe these have a better ability to cut through a wave then a early 80's Starcraft trihull?
-Bowrider. I always come back to this. Popular and multi functional. Vee Hull is efficient and you can find a multitude of them. I always thought I should get 18' or less, but maybe I should consider 19' or more? Does this change weight and efficiency that much?
I've written way more than intended.
Hope to hear from you experienced boaters....
Paul
I went to the boat show this weekend and I always end up sitting on a few pontoons thinking....this is lux-0! Then the 'uses' side of me kicks in...I end up doing circles on which boat we should purchase....so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Details/needs/wants:
We have a cabin on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba. (we Canadians are being blamed for the current weather and I swear I have nothing to do with it.....but I'll do my best find out who is though)
-this is a HUGE lake (9th largest fresh water lake in the world)
-we are in a bay that is which is relatively sheltered at the narrowest part of the lake. (1/2 mile across bay and 3 miles across Lake at this point) I can use my small 9' sailboat most days with no problem.
-BUT, this lake can whip up a nasty storm.
-our small bay has a sheltered harbor thus we do not need to trailer the boat often. (seasonally)
Uses
-I grew up skiing behind a 18' starcraft (used to be able to do the slalom course) with a 85 Johnson most weekends. I've slowed down since then and am less interested in go hard all day ski thing. Tubing and waking boarding would be fun.
-I have a 2 year old who at the moment obviously isn't into watersports per say, but no doubt one day down the road will be.
-We like to fish, but are not hard core about it. (mostly it's something to do with friends) I have a 16' aluminum boat with 25 Johnson that suits this well enough.
-Mostly touring, hanging out and day picnicking with friends.
-there is A LOT of beautiful shoreline to be explored and small communities to visit within 5 miles or so that would be fun to make as a afternoon destinations.
Wants and Considerations
-I would like a boat that could go 30 mph with four adults. (no real reason for this number, but seems to be a fair speed to 'get somewhere' if need be... reality is most cruising is less than 20mph)
-I am considerate of mpg. It is easy to simply say, "buy bigger", but I don't believe in pouring gas into a 200hp motor when a 100hp or less would do. That would be fun, but I've got a young family and practicality and efficiency (money) win out.
-our shore in front of our cabin is rocky. We have a dock, but I think an aluminum hull is more suitable. Open to opinions on that.
-I think we are interested in an outboard also. Mostly because of the higher pre/post season maintenance. (remember it's Canada, it gets freakin' cold so you have to make sure that i/o is properly maintained post season)
Budget
-$6000. (but at this time I'm more interested in styles and ideas....budgets change)
-I'm very handy and have lots of resources to work on something older.
Every boat is a compromise of some sort I realize. I like the function of a pontoon, but think it might be too slow in general and too awkward for tubing and wakeboarding. I don't know.
-Deckboat seems to be the next 'good idea', but most older one are tri-hulls and I remember that "slam" of waves of a tri-hull growing up. Maybe these have a better ability to cut through a wave then a early 80's Starcraft trihull?
-Bowrider. I always come back to this. Popular and multi functional. Vee Hull is efficient and you can find a multitude of them. I always thought I should get 18' or less, but maybe I should consider 19' or more? Does this change weight and efficiency that much?
I've written way more than intended.
Hope to hear from you experienced boaters....
Paul
