Going into 2026, I have a four-boat fleet:

A 13' Old Town Predator fishing kayak, which I'm leaving at my pal's pond. It's stable, but too heavy for me to carry. When the water warms up, I hope to be able to stand on it to fish at times. I bought a multi-rod holder, a paddle holder, and a trolling rod holder, which I'll mount this spring.

An Old Town 13' NEXT hybrid canoe, which I'll keep at my pond. It's the solo boat for my pond.

An Old Town tandem canoe. I don't remember its name. It's the boat I use when I take friends fishing at my pond.

A Bell 15' 6" Rockstar Kevlar solo canoe, which I'll use at bogs. It only weighs 31 pounds and the only way you can get a boat that long down to that weight is to make it slender, which makes it very tippy. It's also fast, being slender and light.

My three Old Town boats are Royalex, which is so tough that when I hit a rock, I stop to make sure the rock is okay.

So, I'm all set and can't see myself buying another boat, not until I build at my pond and upgrade the dock and switch to a motorboat, likely with an electric outboard.

You’re all set! Very cool

The Swampy Armada! Sounds like you got all the bases covered.

WHAT? You are not a bass angler if you ain't got a metalflake snob rocket! Bright orange like a tangerine with a trolling motor! With an outboard bigger than an Amana refrigerator!

One of those super robot controlled trolling motors hangin' off the front!

No, Swampy. You need #5. Then you'll be a "real" bass'n gal!

🤣🤣🤣

Funny how they multiply, got to have 1 of each style.

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

WHAT? You are not a bass angler if you ain't got a metalflake snob rocket! Bright orange like a tangerine with a trolling motor! With an outboard bigger than an Amana refrigerator!

One of those super robot controlled trolling motors hangin' off the front!

No, Swampy. You need #5. Then you'll be a "real" bass'n gal!

🤣🤣🤣

Ha! There actually is a boat launching ramp at my pond. It is steep and rutted and the water at the bottom is too shallow to float a bass boat. However, I could slide the bass boat down the ramp (and push it with a front end loader when it got stuck on the way down), where it would run aground in the shallow water. Then I could fish from it. It would be my sparkle dock!

I'd be afraid to run a bass boat in the two ponds and two bogs I fish. The two bogs would be safer, but you couldn't go anywhere because the prop would keep fouling with weeds. The two ponds would sink a bass boat. Some of their rocks look like the plates on the back of a Stegosaurus. They're black and pitted and look volcanic. They probably are igneous since 30% of Maine's rocks are volcanic.

All that's left is to go fishing. 🤩

14 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Ha! There actually is a boat launching ramp at my pond. It is steep and rutted and the water at the bottom is too shallow to float a bass boat. However, I could slide the bass boat down the ramp (and push it with a front end loader when it got stuck on the way down), where it would run aground in the shallow water. Then I could fish from it. It would be my sparkle dock!

I'd be afraid to run a bass boat in the two ponds and two bogs I fish. The two bogs would be safer, but you couldn't go anywhere because the prop would keep fouling with weeds. The two ponds would sink a bass boat. Some of their rocks look like the plates on the back of a Stegosaurus. They're black and pitted and look volcanic. They probably are igneous since 30% of Maine's rocks are volcanic.

Your ponds and bogs sound like fish habitat, not boat habitat, and that's a good thing!

5 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

Your ponds and bogs sound like fish habitat, not boat habitat, and that's a good thing!

Yep. There are plenty of big lakes in Maine for big boats. I don't need a fish finder to find structure. I can see it. Our big drought this past summer let me see even more of it.

37 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Yep. There are plenty of big lakes in Maine for big boats. I don't need a fish finder to find structure. I can see it. Our big drought this past summer let me see even more of it.

How low are they?

Lakes I fish are 4 feet low.

12 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

How low are they?

Lakes I fish are 4 feet low.

That's so low, Al. I bet the water I fish is down two to three feet.

I personally have 3 boats that I use.

1. 2006 Stratos 486SF(My retirement present from the wife)

2. Native Titan Propel 13.5 kayak for lakes and kayak tourneys.

3. Jackson Kayak Bite angler Gen 1 for rivers(That's the wife on her Ascend 10T we're on the French Broad kayaking through Asheville.)

You have a beautiful fleet, @IYAOYAS. What a retirement gift!

My fleet is covered in snow. My Ranger’s covered and plugged in and the plastic Navy is tipped on their sides in the back yard.

☹️

29 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

My fleet is covered in snow. My Ranger’s covered and plugged in and the plastic Navy is tipped on their sides in the back yard.

☹️

Free the fleet! Free the fleet! Just get some buddies to help launch your Ranger. Like this:

44 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Just get some buddies to help launch your Ranger.

I was on the Cape a couple weeks ago with @Saltysmalljaws. We had to go to his house and get shovels to break the ice to launch. I hope for open water in early March.

FWIW, my Predator was $600, my NEXT hybrid was $500, my Old Town tandem canoe was also $500, and my Bell Rockstar was $1800. The Rockstar was the only boat I bought new and I bought it when Bell Canoes was going out of business.

So, my total fleet cost was $3400, the cost of a new Ranger or thereabouts.

Nice. I'm a jon boat collector,apparently. I own a 1230(my first boat), 1236, 1436, 1440, and a 1448. So we're in similar boats, just a different style.

@GreenPig: My first two boats were jonboats: Sears 14-footers. Such stability!