If my end/beginning of the year bonus comes in where I think it will, I have 4 to 5k that I plan on spending some or all of on a boat. Last year I fixed the family boat up a little to get me by. I added a front deck, pedestal seat, some new carpet, used but working foot controlled trolling motor, new eagle fish finder for the front, and a lot of other minor stuff. The boat is a 1975ish 17 ft trophy and while it is very old and somewhat ugly is fishes pretty well. It seems to be a sound old fiberglass boat( doesn't take on water, stable, no cracks, etc..).

Now for the bad. The big motor (65 hp MERC) runs some of the time. I have had it worked on and looked at three times by two marine shops and it is as good as it is going to get I am told. One cylinder's compression is low is the main problem. I am thinking about buying an aluminum boat i(17 or 18 ft tracker type boat) instead of buying a used motor for this one. The boat is actually rated for a 90hp and it seems I can get a decent used one for around $2000.

I am looking for some opinions of what would be better. I am kinda in between. I like the fact that I would have a lot of money left over if I by a used motor but I don't want to keep dealing with problems. My long term plan is to have a fishing boat and a family fish and ski boat. I say this because I am not looking for some high powered fishing boat. That will come in the family rig. Also I would like to fish some bigger water but I am in Arkansas so my bigger water likely isn't all that big. Any help or opinions would be great.

CJ

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking here.

If you're looking at a tracker style aluminum boat with motor for only $2000, I'll bet you'll be jumping from one frying pan into another.  Any boat that old is going to have issues of some kind.  Are you selling your other boat, the older Trophy boat with 65hp motor?

You say you want an aluminum bass boat where the hp isn't a big deal and a family fish and ski type of boat.  I'm confused.

sorry about the confusion. I re-read my post and it is defintiely a bit unclear.

I am considering buying a used good running motor to replace the suspect one on my current boat. Which technically still belongs to my dad and although I think he could care less if I sold it I wouldn't feel right. So the two things I am considering are either buying a used motor for around $2000 or spending the entire 4-5k on a used aluminum rig and giving up on the old Trophy. My main concern is continual problems out of the older boat. I may be wrong but it seems like you can get a good used aluminum boat for 5k. But my current boat seems to be fine other than the motor. I put around 1k in it last year to get it "fishable". I did this after we tested the boat and the motor ran ok and seemed to only need a tune-up. Well it turns out that there is a little more wrong with it than the first marine shop found.

The statement about the fish and ski boat was to make the point that this will strictly be my fishing boat. So bascially I am after a sound fishing rig (looks, speed,etc... don't matter much).  

Hopefully that helps. Thanks for the reply. CJ

The outboard belongs to your dad, right ? the boat belongs to you, right ?

You are saying that you think he doesn 't care less for the outboard, first of all, talk to him if you are not shure if he cares or not, once done that discuss with him all the problems the old outborad has, if it is repairable, how much it 's going to cost to repair and how it is going to be after the repair, if all the time money and effort of the repair is going to be worthwhile or if in the longer run it 's better to get a newer outboard.

If your boat is fine and the only problem is the outboard you need a reliable outboard anyway you look at it.

Raul thanks fo the reply.

Both the boat and motor belong to my dad. But last year when I was talking about buying a boat he suggested that I just use it ans fix it up a bit. It hadn't been used in years (5 or so). So it needed a lot of work. If I were to put a motor on the boat I would get to use it as if it were my own. I carry the insurance etc... He could really care less about teh boat. He has even made teh statement that if I decide to get a new boat I should sell it and get soem of the money back I out into it. Problem is I wouldn't feel right about that. And as I said before it is a decent boat. The only reason I brought up my dad was that cart said something about selling it.

From what I am told the motor needs rebuilt and since it is so old the marine tech suggested buying a good running used one instead. He stated that a rebuild would run as much as much as a good quality used motor. I have no idea which one is better, I am just going off what i was told by the tech.

My main question is to continue the old boat fix up or persue an aluminum boat option.

Buddy, the solution is in your own words: He has even made teh statement that if I decide to get a new boat I should sell it and get soem of the money back I out into it.

Why you should feel guilty ? with those words he has literally given you permission to do with the boat whatever you want with it, he even encorages you to sell it and get some money back of all you have poured into it ( Boat = hole in the water where you sink your money in ).

From what I am told the motor needs rebuilt

Uh oh, specially considering it 's an old outboard, it ain 't a VW you can fix with duck tape. Aside from cosmetics, it may not even be spare parts for the rebuild. For what I can say, the tech is no crook trying to milk you with the cost and labor of rebuilding the old puffer, if he recommends a newer even if used outboard his words are well worth to be taken in consideration.

If the hull is in good shape and the interiors need only a "facelift" ( which can be done in stages ), the only problem is the outboard, get a newer outboard.

I guess it is just some sort of weird independence thing. Using the boat was manily my wife's idea to save money and put a boat purchase off for a few years. Now she see's the amount of $ it iwll take to continue fixing it and is ok with the newer boat idea. Plus I feel like eventhough he said I could sell it, I shouldn't do it. I am probably just being dumb about it but the fact is I think it is a good enough boat. With a newer more dependable motor it would suit my fishing needs fine. But a newer boat would likely more reliable in all aspects not just the motor. That is my main struggle.

I too think the tech is given me good advice. Other than the motor the old boat is fairly decent. I think getting a used motor may be the way to go but I wanted some more feedback on the issue.

Thanks for the input. CJ

I think the question you need to ask is "Is it worth it to YOU to fix the old boat?"  IMO, boats are worse than cars about losing their value, so will you make money from it, or would I think it was worth it?  Probably not, but you'd be the one fishing from it.  Every boat is a trade off.  All of them.  You already stated that it suits your fishing needs.  So is it worth it to get rid of a boat that works for you but is "somewhat ugly" (which you can change) and take a chance on a boat that you like the looks of but you end up finding doesn't suit the way you fish (which you can't change)?  

remember you buy a used boat in a low price range, you might be adding and fixing the same stuff again.

If you buy a "used" motor which might be your best bet if you like the boat.

buying a used motor. make sure its a good used motor have it check out by a shop. If its a fresh rebuild even better. its like getting a new motor. the last thing you want is to spend a good bit of $$ on a used motor and it ends up being junk, then you have to spend more $$ for that rebuild.

I just repowered my boat. It almost 20 years old. Nice boat, suits me fine. I have put a lot into it and selling it would have gotten me not much $$ since the motor was blown up. I had just bought a new trailer for it last year, and the boat is solid. Looked at alot of used motors and found a few that had one or more cylinders that had low compression. Guys would say that the ran good. But low compression mean there is a rebuild in the future. I was lucky found a set of twin motors. One was good and one was blown. Had the good one check and it was fine. they guy was selling both together. so I have an entire parts motor to go with my new "used" motor.

Strip everything usable off the existing boat and stick it on ebay with a $1 starting bid. Someone will buy the thing.

Go out and find an aluminum bass rig for around $4000.  Use your good parts on the new boat.  Any left overs that are sellable go on Ebay.  Use the extra $1000 for any fixups needed on the new boat.  

HPBB thanks for the advice. My plan is to look for an older but freshly rebuilt motor if I go that route. I had a chance last year when I was having the boat worked on to buy a newly rebuilt mid 90s model 90hp MERC with PT&T and all the controls. It was at the marine shop that was working on it and he would have swapped them out labor and all for $1750. I didn't have the $ at the time and told him to do the best he could with the existing one. Now I wish I would have just bit the bullet. I would try that same shop but I have since moved and it is about 250 miles away. I plan on calling some local ones though and seeing what they have. I might pay a little more from a marine shop but they will usually cut you a deal on testing and setting them up.

Cart that is definitely and option. Most everything I have done to the boat is removable. I have read a lot about the differences between aluminum and fiberglass. The boat I have now is a tri-hull and like I said fishes well. Meaning that it is stable and doesn't get blown around a lot while fishing. Do you think I can expect similar performance out of a 17-18ft aluminum rig?

Thanks

CJ