Brett's_daddy

I'm definitely leaning towards the Lowe myself, I asked the dealer to bring it inside and unwrap it for us so we can check everything out tonight but assuming that it runs well and everything works as it should I'll probably make an offer on it. The wife is into aesthetics and the whole gas can and battery out in the open with no cover thing makes her wrinkle her nose...making an enclosure out of marine plywood and carpet remnants doesn't seem too hard but how would it actually attach to the sides of the boat? I think if I did this she'd go with the Lowe too.

Really the V-hull, heard they ride a lot smoother but is that only on big water? I doubt I'll ever be out on big water and will mostly stick to smaller ponds/lakes. My wife likes the Sylvan because it's 5 years newer and the gas can and batteries are enclosed out of the way by a lockable storage deck-type box in the back but I'm thinking it wouldn't be too tough to build that for the Lowe too with some marine grade plywood and some industrial pieces of carpet...just don't know how it would attach to the boat is all?

Anybody else care to add their opinions?

Okay, I am in the market for a small aluminum bass-type boat between 14 - 16ft. I have found two that I have looked at but since I'm new to boating not sure which one would be better so if you expereinced boat people can give me your .02 I would greatly appreciated it! First is a 1994 Sylvan Sea Monster, 15ft. v-hull, early 80's 35hp Johnson 2-stroke outboard, 1987 trailer (great shape). The boat appears to be in really good shape, a few scratches here and there but nothing major on the outside. Interior looks really nice, decks all seem solid, has 3 pedestal chairs in great shape, live well, rod storage, the thing I find interesting is it has no instrumentation on the console...not even a speedometer...just the steering wheel. It also doesn't have a trolling motor (but it's wired for a bow mount) or a fish finder (but again it's wired for one). The dealer said he would go as low as $2600. Second is a 1989 Lowe 161, 16ft. semi v-hull, 1989 Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 trailer (in good shape, new wheels and tires and new winch), The boat is still wrapped from winter but the dealer opened a slit in the cover on both ends so we could peer inside. Looks to be in great shape on the outside and the inside looks really nice too, all flooring and decking appear in good shape, has live well, rod storage, 3 pedestal seats in great shape, full instrumentation on the console (speedometer and tachometer), 1989 Johnson bow mounted trolling motor, Eagle fish finder. The dealer has it listed at $2800 but I believe I can talk him down to about $2400 or so. So let's assume that both boats run good and everything functions as it should...which would you choose and why? Thanks for any input!!!

I'm looking for a good all-around line...I don't have the reels or spare spools to have a bunch of different lines for every occasion. Can braid be used as an all around bass fishing line? Is there a lb test chart for flouro and the comparable thickness braid line (i.e. - is a 20lb. braid the same thickness as a 8lb flouro)? I was thinking maybe the Power Pro Moss Green would be a good choice but I don't know much about braided lines. I'm thinking of leaning towards the Seaguar Red Label flouro for my trout fishing.

What would you say are the worst?

Here's the other boat I'm looking at, this is the private sale. http://vermont.craigslist.org/boa/5523787944.html

Well, I'm not married to Vanish in flourocarbon, what else would you recommend? I really don't want to spend $20 on 200yds. of line but I've heard the Seaguar Invizx is really good.

It'll be hard to take the Lowe for a test run, it's still wrapped for winter. He made small slits in the wrap on each end so we could look in and see what condition the interior was in. He said if we bought it he'd bring it in and clean it all up, make sure everything still worked properly and give it a spring tune-up. Not sure about the Sea Nymph, went to look for his Craigslist ad and it's gone so maybe he sold it already. The problem with that is it didn't have a trolling motor and I know brand new bow mount motors cost almost $400.

No upgrades in the foreseeable future, whatever I buy will have to last a while as is with minor tweaking (maybe an updated fish finder or trolling motor) but certainly nothing right away! There's a 1993 Sea Nymph 15,5ft. w/20hp OB, looks in really good shape but doesn't have a trolling motor but is wired for one on the bow, would that be a better deal than the Lowe? The thing with the Lowe is it's at a respectable dealers so i know it's been taken care of...hard to say with a private sale sometimes.

I've always used Berkley Vanish flourocarbon but just bought a new reel and am thinking of trying mono this time in a low vis green, heard that mono has less memory than flouro...is this true? Other than memory what are the differences between mono and flouro (especially the low vis green vs. Vanish)?

I found a 1989 Lowe 16ft. Model 161 at one my local boat dealers. It's aluminum with a modified welded v-hull, 1989 2-stroke Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 Johnson trolling motor, Eagle fish finder, 3 pedestal seats, live well and 1989 trailer (with all new wheels and winch). The decks are in great shape. My boat dealer is asking $2800 for it but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $2400 - $2500. I know weight is a concern for me as I would be towing it with a small 4 cyclinder SUV with a 1500lbs. max towing capacity. People have said I should stay under 10% of my maximum towing capacity which would be 1350lbs., this boat according to NADA weighs 435lbs., the motor weighs 164lbs., trailer weighs about 300lbs., the miscellaneous other stuff (gas, trolling motor, batteries, gear etc.) comes to about 1150lbs. which should be an okay towing weight for me. Do you think this boat would be worth it?

The ProMax was a RH reel and too unnatural for me as I have always used LH reels even though I'm a RH person.

Just curious as to why the Abu?

Okay, I am totally new to bait casting, I bought a Lew's Tournament Pro last Fall just before Winter so it didn't get used (it's still in the box in my sock drawer as a matter of fact). I have 2 bait cast rods, one is a 7ft. MH Abu Garcia ProMax (bought the ProMax reel too but sold it) and the other was given to me is a 6'8" Medium (I believe) KVD Tour cranking rod. My question is which would be the better rod for me to learn on? I've toyed with the idea of getting a better all-around rod but convinced myself to wait and try one of these rods I already have first to make sure i even like bait casting. I fish a wide variety of lures, everything from plastics like senkos and craws to top water to crankbaits (have quite a few) to buzz baits to frogs...which rod out of the 2 that I have would be best for this variety of lures? I was going top start practicing my casting but it just started snowing again here in Vermont where I live and it's about 30 degrees out...lol.

I am totally new to boating but what about something with a deep v-hull...wouldn't that be more stable for bigger water? I mean if the OP could only fit a 16ft. into his budget would he be better off getting something like a Tracker Super Guide deep v-hull instead of a traditional bass style boat? I may be totally off on this but I do remember one of the above posters saying not all hulls are created equal and was wondering if this might be what he was alluding too.

Looking all around my area in the Northeast (NY, VT, NH, ME, MA) that's what those boats in good shape in that age range are going for...not just at dealers but private sales as well. These bass style boats seem to hold their value up here for whatever reason.

I found a 1989 Lowe 16ft. Model 161 at one my local boat dealer. It's aluminum with a modified welded v-hull, 1989 2-stroke Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 Johnson trolling motor, Eagle fish finder, 3 pedestal seats, live well and 1989 trailer (with all new wheels and winch). The decks are in great shape. My boat dealer is asking $2800 for it but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $2400 - $2500. I know weight is a concern for me as I would be towing it with a small 4 cyclinder SUV with a 1500lbs. max towing capacity. People have said i should stay under 10% of my maximum towing capacity which would be 1350lbs., this boat according to NADA weighs 435lbs., the motor weighs 164lbs., trailer weighs about 300lbs., the miscellaneous other stuff (gas, trolling motor, batteries, gear etc.) comes to about 1150lbs. which should be an okay towing weight for me. Do you think this boat would be worth it?

I found a 1989 Lowe 16ft. Model 161 at one my local boat dealer. It's aluminum with a modified welded v-hull, 1989 2-stroke Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 Johnson trolling motor, Eagle fish finder, 3 pedestal seats, live well and 1989 trailer (with all new wheels and winch). The decks are in great shape. My boat dealer is asking $2800 for it but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $2400 - $2500. I know weight is a concern for me as I would be towing it with a small 4 cyclinder SUV with a 1500lbs. max towing capacity. People have said i should stay under 10% of my maximum towing capacity which would be 1350lbs., this boat according to NADA weighs 435lbs., the motor weighs 164lbs., trailer weighs about 300lbs., the miscellaneous other stuff (gas, trolling motor, batteries, gear etc.) comes to about 1150lbs. which should be an okay towing weight for me. Do you think this boat would be worth it?

That Grumman I referenced above is a v-hull and looks in nice shape and I believe a Mirrocraft I'm looking at tomorrow is v-hull too. I doubt I'll end up with a flat bottom boat unless an unbelievable deal presents itself.

I am in the same situation, albeit a smaller budget. NADA is the only thing I know of and you're correct, it's hard to select the proper options as some are close but not quite what the boat has that you're looking at. It does seem that almost every seller for any boat I've looked at is asking the list price and not the low book or high book...I mean it's hard, the boats look great and they certainly look worth close to what the sellers are asking but according to NADA they are overpriced but the fact is they ARE selling at or around that price so are NADA's values defunct...are people really paying attention to them any more? They are helpful for checking the size specs of boats and motors but other than that it seems their value charts are way off compared to what everyone is asking for their boats.

How about Mirrocraft, what's the consensus on them?

If I am well under my max towing capacity...lets say around 1,100lbs. for the heck of it...why the need for a transmission cooler? Most of my trips would be under a 1 hour drive.

What about Grumman's? I've found what appears to be a nice one.

How about this... http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5510986441.html