DaveInGA

So if you're buying a four stroker vs. a two stroke, will the equivalent horsepower rating provide basically the same oomph driving the boat? I want to understand why KL Industries advises buying no more than an 8 HP four stroke while they recommend a 9.9 or 15HP two stroke. What am I missing here? I did notice the 8HP four stroke weight about the same as the 9.9 four stroke.

What are the better two cycle engines these days? Have some of the smaller motors improved in technology? I'm thinking 9.9 HP is plenty of motor and am not sure about buying new vs. used.

I've finally settled on getting a KL Industries Pro 120 as my small lake/pond boat and get a larger boat later for the big lakes here in GA. I'd like to get a motor for it, but am having a hard time making a decision. It apparently will get up and plane with either a 9.9 or 15 horsepower two cycle, so I'm looking at those. But I'm interested in the fuel efficiency and quietness of the four cycles. KL recommends no larger than an 8 HP ina four cycle. Does anyone know if an 8 HP four cycle will bring a boat up on plane the same as a 9.9 HP or 15 HP two cycle? Or better yet, why would a company recommend so much smaller an engine in a four cycle? What are the performance differences in the two engine types? Thanks in advance, Dave

X-trued, I'm in Flowery Branch, GA. That's a good 7 hours from where you are or better. Both my Father and brother retired from the Firestone plant there in Wilson and my brother still lives there, so I've been all over that town. My total budget is $3K, but I'll not be buying till the late summer after we get moved. regards, Dave

I'd like to get the phone number, but I'm not ready to buy quite yet. I'll be buying at the end of the summer, as I'm still looking at boats now. Thank you though. Dave

Sure is, I Live in Wilmington NC. I've been to Wilmington a time or two fishing. I'm originally from Goldsboro. (Grin) Sure wish I could get some down east calabash style seafood or some good Wilber's barbeque. Dave

Dave No problem. I haven't needed to upgrade anything on this boat. I do want to add an extension to the rear deck so the rear passenger has some more standing room, but that's more of a "nice to have" than a need. Take a look at these two links, it's a two part story about a tournament angler who prefers this boat over his big bass boat for catching trophy bass. He's made some mods to the boat which are neat, including the rear deck extension I mentioned. http://www.another sitearmy.com/bfa_news_article.asp?ID=11 http://www.another sitearmy.com/bfa_news_article.asp?ID=28 Thanks for the links. Gives me more of an idea what these boats are capable of. Is that a North Carolina tag on that Chevelle? Dave

Brandon, Thanks for the information. The KL boat was one I was looking at. Do you find you've wanted or needed to upgrade anything about it?

The one I'm looking at is in the link above. It's a 9"6" model. What brand do you have?

I'm not sure if I'll have a place I can store the jon boat and some of the lakes don't have a ramp. Why is welded better and what's a good shape for the jon boat? I see some with flat hulls and some with V fronts that appear to be flat bottomed. What's a good jon boat hull design? Finally, I forgot to mention I have two bad knees due to military service and need to keep my very long legs at a minimum of ninety degrees and preferably more to not experience pain. How high can one raise the height of a boat seat off the standard jon boat seat before it becomes "tippy?"

Riveted or welded?

Howdy all, I live in NE Georgia where there are many lakes over 90 acres that are restricted to trolling motor only boats. I have a Ford F150 short bed truck with a towing package. I will primarily be fishing by myself, but will also occasionally have a fishing buddy with me. I've been looking at boats for a while and am still undecided. I have narrowed down my choices on what I want to get based on what I've looked at. Here are the candidates: I am looking at one of the pontoon style plastic mini bass boats, the Bass Hunter EX: http://www.1stdirectproducts.com/basshunterex.html It's pretty basic, so affordable, but the design appears to allow you to partition the interior and upgrade as you go, making the boats somewhat "expandable" if done intelligently. The weight is reasonable and seems a good buy. The biggest negative seems to be is you'd have to use lightweight materials to make the upgrade doable and the max weight limit is 550 lbs. Does anyone have this boat or a similar boat and can comment on the pluses and minuses of such a boat? I am also looking at two of the Johnson plastic modified V-Hulls, the Water Quest 10.6 and the Water Quest 11.3. Both of these boats appear to offer good features and have a reinforced hull to allow a 15HP motor so you could actually get up on a plane. I like these boats a great deal, but like the plastic pontoon boat above, I'm concerned about their upgradability and long term durability: http://www.llboats.com/Bass10.6.html I am also looking at a standard basic jon boat, either a 10, 12 or 14 footer in a v-type hull that I could buy plain initially, then gradually upgrade to a nicer boat with a trailer over time. Or possibly buy used for cheap. The reason for continued interest in these is the large amount of information available on the internet for upgrading these boats, plus the fishing tournaments where these seem to be the accepted mode of travel. I would convert to a bassboat deck style and an aluminum frame underneath over time if I bought a stripper, but I'm thinking of getting a boat someone's tired of or doesn't have time to fish as a better alternative. I don't have a brand of these I'm looking at yet, but would like to get a couple of brand recommendations and shapes to look at in a 10 to 14 foot boat size, either flat bow or modified V type. The final boat I'm interested in is the SeaEagle Foldcat 375, for reasons of portability, rowability and storage. I'm moving to a duplex apartment while I attend colege and these could be stowed inside safe from theft or tampering. I called their factory and got some interesting facts: 1. You can run up to a 75 lb thrust trolling motor on one. 2. A 30 lb thrust motor gives you 6-7 hours on the water with a decent batttery. 3. The rep I spoke to recommended a 55 lb thrust motor, because it gives you 8-10 hours on the water with this boat. 4. It's possible for the average guy rowing this to travel anywhere from 1-2 miles, assuming it's on a lake. It's "easy to row" he said. This is good for a variety of reasons, including not to have to buy a motor up front. 5. They offer the MB100 electric high pressure inflation pump that clips to a battery for inflation purposes. This looks like a good choice for using the TM battery to inflate. 6. With the 650 pound weight rating, one could add aluminum sheet "decking" coated with Dupli-color truck bed liner or marine carpet and create a decent platform to fish from with storage compartments. This could greatly increase the useability of the boat and these could be made to add on with quick release locking pins after the boat is inflated. Could potentially make for a real nice boat. 7. The seats are standard and can be raised by changing out the pedestal. I'm thinking this could be a good thing. http://www.seaeagle.com/catamaran/375fc.asp Does anybody have this boat and can comment?