Brett's_daddy

What about negatives for a tiller steer?

What are the pros/cons of each type of steering controls? So far I've been laser focused on side console steering as it just appeals to me more but should I take the blinders off and consider a tiller steer?

If a boat is having trouble planing out would something like a hydrofoil help out?

Thanks!!! Makes sense now.

Okay, noob question time...can someone please explain to me about boat planing? I've seen it mentioned several times but am a little fuzzy on what it actually means and what the benefit of it is. Thanks in advance for any info on this subject!!!

The boat is a 1997 Crestliner Fish Hawk 1650. The problem is this boat is a 3+ hour drive away from me so not easy to get back down to plus the guy did say he has other people lined up wanting to look at it (one that wants to trade him an expensive quad and cash). We were an hour late getting there (I did call and let him know we were running late though) but when we got there we went over everything for about an hour then he says he has to leave to help his father move some furniture and it was a 40+ minute drive away so we ran out of time...if he didn't have to help his father out I would have suggested we run the motor some more and do the test again but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I doubt that he still has the boat now but even if he did it's tough as we don't get out of work until 4:30pm and it's over a 3 hour drive away so by the time we got there it would be almost dark :(.

The motor is a 1997. I have searched many a message board and generally I'm getting that the readings should be 120 - 140psi...pretty much double the readings we got yesterday (although 105 - 115 wouldn't be horrible). He won't do a test drive as the boat isn't registered and apparently CT requires you have a valid boating license which he does not have.

Okay so i went boat looking again today to see a really sweet Crestliner Fish Hawk 1650. I really liked the boat and inspected it all over and thought it was worth what the guy is asking for it...until we came to the compression test for the motor. He had the motor running for about 15 minutes in a barrel of water. After he shut it off we looked it over and about 15 minutes later we did a compression test on it. We pulled all of the plugs (which were hot) and I screwed in the compression tester (rented from AutoZone), he then cranked the motor for like 4 revolutions and I got a reading of 70psi on cyclinder #1, I thought that was low so we moved to cylinder #2 and did the same thing and I got maybe a 75psi reading, on to cylinder #3 and got about a 72psi reading. I'm thinking these numbers are really low and should be almost twice what they are. I'm not 100% sure we did the test right...he didn't touch the throttle and I've seen that some people put the throttle wide open when they test...should we have done this? I really like the boat and if this test had shown 110psi in the cylinders I would have come home with it but these test readings gave me pause...I just couldn't bring myself to commit to the sale :(. The owner said the engine was professionally winterized last fall so shouldn't the marina have picked up on a compression problem if one exists? It really sucks, I want this boat but not if the motor has something serious wrong with it...can't afford a new motor! Of course all boat dealers around me are closed tomorrow so i can't pick their brains. What do you guys think...A.) did we do the test correctly (or should we have done it with the throttle open...or should we have done it right after we shut the motor off)and B.) did I do the right thing walking away?

Nope, Lund sold yesterday morning :(.

The search continues :(. Went to look at the Starcraft tonight. The seller was a wicked nice guy and very forthright with everything about the boat. The motor ran strong and the cover was exceptional but...it started going downhill after that. As nice as it looked in the pictures once you saw it in person and got up close it didn't look quite as nice. The pedestal seats wouldn't fit in any of the bases no matter how hard we tried, the vinyl main floor had a couple of spots with wrinkles in it bu these were negotiable...what wasn't in our book was electrolysis. The seller did point this out to us...thought he had mentioned it before but I informed him he did not. He fixed a couple of patches with JB weld but after reading up on electrolysis we found that it could be a potentially serious problem. There were already spots in the transom where it literally has eaten away parts (divots the size of your thumbnail) of the aluminum and you could see more spots on each side of the boat. Maybe it could be fixed but from our quick research it became apparent that this problem was more than we wanted to deal with on our first boat. It's a shame too because if it didn't have this problem we may have purchased it (although the seat thing bothered me...only the drivers seat was usable). The seller was willing to haggle more on the price because of this but we just decided that it was a potentially serious problem that we didn't want becoming OUR potentially serious problem. Oh well, unfortunately the search continues (and yes, the Lund sold this morning)!!!

1500lbs. for a 2011 4-cylinder Ford Escape.

If something needs fixing and we don't have the money the boat will stay where it is covered until we do...simple as that! I've had snowmobiles for most of my life and it's the same with them...something is always needing to be tinkered on and I operated under the same philosophy, if it needed fixing and i didn't have the money the sled sat until I did, did I miss out on some riding time...yup, sure did but such is life, the World keeps on a turnin' and once i did get the money I fixed her up and away I went...same way it'll be with a boat :).

Most of my fishing holes are within 40 miles of where I live. Like I said, the trip home would be by far the longest trip this boat would ever make. This boat will most likely only be used on the weekends with an occasional weeknight foray and most likely we wouldn't be spending all day on the lake, more like 3-4 hours I'm guessing. The Lund may be gone, the guy has someone coming to look at it around 10am this morning so my choice may be literally made for me but the guy with the Starcraft has been super nice and accommodating...the weight thing does scare me a little since this vehicle towing the boat is our only vehicle which we rely upon for everything including getting to and from work to getting to doctor appointments and bringing home the groceries...I just wouldn't want to do something that would jeopardize that as without a vehicle we'd be screwed.

NADA says motor weighs 199lbs., where are you getting 96lbs.? My Gross Vehicle Weight Rating = 4,564lbs.

The way I figure it: Boat = 750lbs. Trailer = 350lbs. ? Motor = 199lbs. Batteries = 50lbs. Trolling motor, seats etc. 100lbs.? Fuel = ??? (probably won't have a full tank but if full it has a 15 gallon internal gas tank which would be about 95lbs. using the 6.3lbs. per gallon math...thank you Google). Total Weight = 1,544lbs. Of course we don't HAVE to fill the gas tank...we could just put in the standard 6 gallons which would reduce the weight by 57lbs. so we'd be under the 1500lb. mark.

The ride home will be the longest drive we will ever make with this boat at 187 miles but that is all interstate(thruway). Mostly it'll be used for local ponds and lakes within a 50 mile radius and none have too steep of a grade (not like your "missle silo").

I've spoken to other Honda CRV owners on a Honda message board and they say that Honda always builds in a margin of error for their tow ratings so 1500lbs. is a conservative estimate but it can easily handle more. They also said if i do find the engine shifting a lot I could always add a transmission cooler and decent models can be had for under $100. It also helps that my CRV is all-wheel drive.

Honestly...yeah, I do. This may be a starter boat or it may be a longer-term boat if we really like it!

What about the size difference between the boats? I'm afraid that as my boy grows (as boys will do...lol) that the 14ft. Lund may get cramped...what do you think?

Just spoke to the seller of the Starcraft and he has title in hand now!

A 2000 Starcraft Starfire 16ft. SC w/2001 Mercury 50hp ELPTO for $4200 http://worcester.craigslist.org/boa/5543183573.html A 2004 Lund Rebel 1440 SS w/2005 Suzuki 40hp Four Stroke EFI $4000 http://hartford.craigslist.org/boa/5552868538.html Both are about nice boats but I do remember people telling me to buy the biggest boat I can afford so I'm leaning towards the Starcraft. Safety is definitely a concern as I will have my wife and 5 year old with me most trips.

Nothing yet! Had the one boat sell in front of me after travelling 3 hours to look at it and than today was travelling another 3 hours to look at another boat and the seller called me when we were about 12 miles from his house and said that another guy had showed up too look at the boat...same as last time...ugh, what luck! We're still looking but have decided to dip into the savings a little to make a better investment so now we're willing to spend up to $4500 for the right boat. We'll see...stay tuned!!!

Why? Okay, I will do as you all say and forget about the Fisher with the Force. I will go check out the Starcraft and if we like it I'll ask him if we can trailer it somewhere for a test drive and for him to bring a bill of sale and we have cash and see what he says. As much as I'd love to buy new there just isn't any way we can afford a $150 - $200 a month payment so used is our only option.

Look, I appreciate all the suggestions but some suggestions are impossible for me to follow...the test drive being #1. How am I to make something possible that isn't? I live in a land locked State with lakes and ponds stretched out few and far between. I can wish and hope for a boat being sold near a lake for a test drive but the chances of that happening are very slim. I'm not going to trailer somebody else's boat 40 miles to the nearest lake for a test drive. Maybe that happens in other States but I haven't heard of it happening too many times where I live...I'm not happy about it but that's just the way it is.

A lot of people say that i should start with a smaller boat since it's my first boat but I am not interested in a Jon boat or any boat that doesn't have an open floor plan as I will have my family with me and don't want my little boy climbing over benches out on the water. This boat may only be 15ft long but it is a wide boat with a 7ft 1in beam while most bass style boats have a 5'11" beam so that should in theory make it more stable which is good. Yup, definitely! I plan on putting it on with my auto and home insurance policy.