Is this style boat any good?

[BlueGhost93]

Hey guys. Right now I have a 13' small V hull aluminum boat ive been bay fishing in. I have the opportunity to buy a boat similar to this on in the picture in this link http://www.woodenboat.com/sites/default/files/plans_kits/logo/499.jpg ...

Would this boat be any good for bay and kelp bed fishing here in San Diego? like a 16' boat with a 30 hp outboard. What is something like that worth?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Is this style boat any good?

I don't know San Diego specifically but it looks like the kind of design used in the inlets, bays and beaches on the East Coast where you have to deal with swells and chop, need stability as well as a bow that can address big stuff and shed the water. A relatively high transom is good to have, too.

But I'd want to hear from someone who knows your waters.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Thanks for the reply. Yea the guy who owns it says he has taken it on a 8 mile trip down the beach and has gone as much as 5 miles out but didn't recommend doing that again in a 16' boat. Im just concerned with it being a flat bottom. Im looking for a boat I can take at least to the kelp beds in the $3-3500 range and this one fits the budget. He says since it is a flat bottom it will hit harder when it gets choppy so he tries not to stay out past noon when it really gets swelly here. But idk... It has a nice bow shape and all, I just want to make sure it isn't going to flip or something stupid.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

AFAIK boats don't do stupid things, people do.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Well a major part of how it does is based on your skills more than the hull shape or conditions.

A flat bottom can be a great advantage, even essential, in many waters. All features of boat design are trade-offs.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Huh true... I was hoping someone had some experience with something similar and could give their opinion.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

I was told its made of marine grade ply wood with 6 or 8oz fiberglass and west systems epoxy. That good?

Also like I said trying to figure out value on a boat like this.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Kinda surprised no one else has ever seen one like this before.lol Just in epoxy alone there is a few grand

 

[saumon]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

I was told its made of marine grade ply wood with 6 or 8oz fiberglass and west systems epoxy. That good?

Also like I said trying to figure out value on a boat like this.

Is it homemade? If so, not sure I would trust going out in it unless it was made by a very skilled craftsman of great reputation...

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Is it homemade? If so, not sure I would trust going out in it unless it was made by a very skilled craftsman of great reputation...

The guy who built it is a carpenter and apparently has built three of these boats and some wood kayaks for fun in his yard. It was made in 1991 and his best friend bought it from him and is only selling it because h e had surgery on his hip and is now in debt for not working for 6 months cuz he also takes care f his brother who has some mental health issues :/ Very nice guys and he showed me a spot on a deck lid that had some dry rot and its cuz it was never painted so when water got on the edge of it all it could do was absorb it. I checked the boat front to rear and the fiberglass and epoxy resin work is surprisingly very well done... The skids on the bottom have worn off the resin to the wood now so if I get it ill re resin the skids and its ready to hit the bay. I gave the guy a refundable deposit to hold it for a week for me while I wait to get a paycheck and ill be set.

He has taken it on a 8 mile trip down the coast into mexico and 5 miles off the mexico beach and recently caught a 150lb black sea bass in it. I saw all the pics. I just need something to get me to the kelp beds and back. 3-4 miles round trip at most

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Is it homemade? If so, not sure I would trust going out in it unless it was made by a very skilled craftsman of great reputation...

But I agree with you, before I buy it im taking a friend who is the manager at a boat place with me to look at it.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

It's essentially a stitch and glue dory, if I'm not mistaken (though a true dory is lapstrake - or a "clinker"). Used to be plans for 'em all over. If it's built properly (pretty easy as I understand) it should be a decent boat.

Dorys were essentially the design of the rowing boats used during the sail age. The shape is supposed to cut through rougher water, though it causes them to be a little "tippy." That said, they are supposed to haul quite a load for their size.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

It's essentially a stitch and glue dory, if I'm not mistaken (though a true dory is lapstrake - or a "clinker"). Used to be plans for 'em all over. If it's built properly (pretty easy as I understand) it should be a decent boat.

Dorys were essentially the design of the rowing boats used during the sail age. The shape is supposed to cut through rougher water, though it causes them to be a little "tippy." That said, they are supposed to haul quite a load for their size.

It seems like a really solid boat for cheap. College student cant afford $20k plus boats haha. We resort to anything that floats

I think this is the style and plans Headwater 16 and 18 plans - Boat Plans by Tracy O'Brien.com

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Looks very similar to the Carolina Dory Skiff, by Bolger, I think. I was thinking of building one about 30 years ago. One of the photos that came with the plans was of one built by a guy in Vista. I called him up and asked him about how seaworthy it was. He took it back and forth to Catalina multiple times. Question answered.

BTW, if you go to the Shelter Island launch ramp on calm days you'll see guys who have been out to the Pt. Loma kelp beds in 14 ft. Jon boats.

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Looks very similar to the Carolina Dory Skiff, by Bolger, I think. I was thinking of building one about 30 years ago. One of the photos that came with the plans was of one built by a guy in Vista. I called him up and asked him about how seaworthy it was. He took it back and forth to Catalina multiple times. Question answered.

Wow! How big was the boat?

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

If you read about the dory / clinker rowboats ... they had their ups and downs (in terms of how good the hull type was). However, what is said everywhere about them is that their shortfalls were made up by the skills of the guys who used 'em (rowing and sail power).

My point - a highly experienced boatsman could potentially canoe across the Atlantic where an over confident nincompoop could flip a floating dock on a glass smooth pond. Experience is a friend you need when you decide where you're going to take your boat. Inexperience is what news stories are made of. Your skills are probably more important than the boat.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

If you read about the dory / clinker rowboats ... they had their ups and downs (in terms of how good the hull type was). However, what is said everywhere about them is that their shortfalls were made up by the skills of the guys who used 'em (rowing and sail power).

My point - a highly experienced boatsman could potentially canoe across the Atlantic where an over confident nincompoop could flip a floating dock on a glass smooth pond. Experience is a friend you need when you decide where you're going to take your boat. Inexperience is what news stories are made of. Your skills are probably more important than the boat.

What he said times two!

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

I agree with you on that one. I've been fishing and boating since forever it feels like. Started in a float tube in the bay, then up graded to a sit on top kayak, then my current v hull sea nymph 13' and now looking for a center console. O think I was not curious as to the negatives of a flat bottom skiff dory type boat as well.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

Wow! How big was the boat?

As I recall, the Carolina Dory Skiff is 15'-6" long, with a beam of about 5'-6".

 

[BlueGhost93]

Re: Is this style boat any good?

And he took that to the islands.... wow haha I'm impressed