!!!!!Please Help!!!!!

jbing81

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
421
Hey guys! I find my self in a predicament here... Last weekend I had the pleasure of fishing aboard a 22' Islander. Needless to say I fell in love! For the past week all I've been doing is searching CL and eBay looking at all that are available. So with that said, I pose 3 questions to all my dear friends ;). Do I A: look into a 19' ; B: look into a 22', or C: forget all this madness and keep the SS, which is basically brand new and fight the urge for a bigger boat. Keep in mind that as of now I do not pay a storage fee but will have to if I decide on either Islander... I need some direction!!!
 

JD in Milwaukee

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
260
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

Go with the 22'. I just finished my 22' Islander center console. We just came back from 4 days on the water. It works really, really well. One of the guys with me has an 18' sylvan. There really is no comparison. I didn't want the cuddy, I wanted the wide open space a center console provides. This hull is wide and very deep. It handles all water conditions very well. I have a bow mount trolling motor and we jigged for walleyes and hit the skinny water for bass as well. I moved to the 22' from a 16' crestliner tinny. I couldn't be more pleased.
 

dozerII

Admiral
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
6,527
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

Go Big Bing nothing beats 2,4 or 6 foot itis. I have had two of them and am in love with the SS201, although it is not even close to done I can sit in this big beast and, well you know!!
Glen
 

InMotion

Commander
Joined
Nov 3, 2011
Messages
2,080
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

Keep the SS. Get the Islander. Then decide.

Call it "a hobby"... Call it "an MLC". Call it "madness". In any case, your right!
 

jasoutside

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
13,269
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

Oh wow! That boat is beautiful! A few short of the biggen though eh...
 

jbing81

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
421
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

Its only a 19' , however the way I see it is it still has a lot more usable room then the SS and it will be a little easier to store as well. Is like a 22', but I honestly think it may be too much boat for what I need. Plus this one is in fantastic shape! I love the resto projects, but I also love using the boats as well... I think I may give this guy a call after the holiday weekend and see if its still available. I posted my SS on CL last night for 5500 and had 16 emails when I woke up this morning!
 

airshot

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
5,438
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

You will be surprised how little room you really have in that 19' compared to your SS. I do not mean to rain on your parade, however I have been there. No one likes to ride in the cabin, so you can sit 4 comfortably, however you mentioned fishing, two comfortably there as the I/O takes some space. With my 22' I can fish 4 adults comfortably and 6 adults for perch fishing. The cuddy is great for storing stuff like jackets etc that you do not want to get wet, but anchors and such are a pain getting in/out of cabin. Believe me the 22 is much larger and will almost perform as well with the 3.0. Mine is an older (1983) 140 hp, and she will do 34 mph (GPS) with three adults and fishing gear. That 19' looks great, but a 22 is so much bigger, you will enjoy it more. Take it from one that has been there.
Airshot
 

airshot

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
5,438
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

One thing I forgot to add, do yourself a really big favor and go with 'Mercruiser" power rather than OMC. OMC was great in their day but are no longer made and parts can be difficult to get your hands on. Merc parts are availiable most everywhere. OMC is nicknamed the white leg of death due to the fact if a serious breakdown occurs you may not be able to get parts for it. There are many excellent running OMC drives out there, but if a problem occurs where will you be?

Airshot
 

Bwana Don

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
1,951
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

That 19' Islander would be good for St. Clair. I was fishing out at Metro Beach last night with Zach, I saw a couple of 18-1/2 foot Starcraft boats and they looked small! Of course it's a really big lake and all the boats coming and going were 20-30' cabin cruisers.

Your in a predicament all right. 22 footers are nice!
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

I've spent quite a bit of time on a 19' Islander. Fishes two people max. Not a lot of room at all. I'd say go for the 22' or keep what you have.

I also know that for me personally, having a boat that didn't fit in my garage would really change up the whole boating dynamic and I don't think I'm ready for that YET.
 

chuckndiscs

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
383
Re: !!!!!Please Help!!!!!

I've spent quite a bit of time on a 19' Islander. Fishes two people max. Not a lot of room at all. I'd say go for the 22' or keep what you have.

I also know that for me personally, having a boat that didn't fit in my garage would really change up the whole boating dynamic and I don't think I'm ready for that YET.

Who needs a garage when you have a 22' or more? You just put all the things you use to clean and repair the boat IN the boat, no? :)

AS was said previously, you would be surprised how much room your REALLY have in your SS + Egg beater. I am moving to take out my back to back seats and put in floor sunk removable pedestal seats that I can pull when I am serious fishing. You cant do that with a doghouse (you can build a casting deck I suppose). GO BIG MAN! and then sell the garage!
 
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