Tell Me about Boats

[Ben Hatcher]

ask my kids or THEIR kids about going boating with grandma & grandpa, and they'll talk your ear off!

This is the stuff they remember.

AMEN!
My fondest memories growing up were spent boating.

My first boat was a small fixer-upper. I spend more than I paid for the boat trying to make a 4 cyl bow-rider into a passable wakeboard boat. Lesson learned: think about what you might want to use the boat for a few years down the road and buy one that meets that purpose. This includes things like trolling motors, live wells, stereo/navigation equip. If you think about it, you're basically buying all of these items used if you buy a used boat with them. Fixer-uppers are fine, but understand that just about every DIY project on a boat costs about twice what a similar car project might be. This is especially true of electrical and engine components. It may help to have a wish list that includes the cost of items you want, including the cost of getting the one you’re looking at into the condition you want. This is how that “great buy” ends up being that hole in the water you throw money into.

The first dent/scratch in a new boat will break your heart. Subsequent dents/scratches, especially if you didn't repair the first one, hurt a lot less. If you want to spend hours cleaning and waxing a boat, buy a shiny one. If you want to use the boat to have fun, buy one that already has dock rash. It takes me about 3 minutes from when the boat leaves the water until it is tied down, cleared of gear, waterline wiped down, and on the road.

Regarding trailer lights: Buy a good set of sealed LED trailer lights with new wires to replace the garbage that it probably came with. Drill a new ground, sand the paint away and seal the new connection with liquid electrical tape or exterior silicone. Don't forget to keep your vehicle port clean, covered, and lubed with dielectric grease.

KY has so many beautiful rivers and lakes, most of which have rocky bottoms and steep banks. If you're going to try to fish shallow water, expect to drop a few hundred in props and prop repair every year. There are plastic props with replaceable fins, but I have no experience regarding their quality.

[Shawn Pixley]

Agreed! My experience with a skiff on Lake Superior was trolling for lake trout about 50-100 feet offshore in good weather off of Grand Marais. Big water salt or fresh has inherent danger.

The ocean always wins! As a boater, the best thing that you can hope for is a tie - you making it safely to shore. A 4-6' sea at 21 seconds - easy ride. A 4-6' sea at a four second period, you'll work to get back to land. It will be a slow, bumpy ride back to avoid broaching. Add two different swells and a gusty wind, you'll feel like you are in a blender.

[Larry Edgerton]

I kept a 28' Trawler in Grand Marias. Wonderful area, I still go there whenever I can. Even in a seaworthy boat such as that I was always on my toes. One day the weather forecast was wrong and I was lucky to make it back to harbor. No more Lake superior for me. The water is so cold if you go in you are done.

I live in an area with lots of people that work on and captain ore freighters. They are all very respectful of that lake. You can hear it in their voice.

It can have waves as big as in the ocean, but the spacing is closer. It sets up a vibration that breaks up big ships, and the way they are going in every direction makes it hard to keep it on the correct heading in smaller craft. That was my biggest problem, my boat would only do 12 knots and the cross waves kept throwing me off course. Luckily my boat was pretty much self bailing or I would never have made it back. When I saw it coming I closed the doors and hatches, turned on the pump, switched to the inside motor intake and headed for harbor.

I have sailed Michigan and Huron, but never had the fear that I always had when on Lake Superior. Bad water.

Larry

[Patrick Grady]

Started to write stuff about boats and shop tools and fast cars and houses and just stopped. Boats occupy a place in our brains where visions (and yes,'dreams') get tickled. Water is powerful and mysterious and invites us to visit. It is a romance and if you feel the pull, then buy or build the boat that attracts you and take it from there. I have a number of boats, bigger and smaller, and still love them all. Earlier today I cut 8 degree scarfs into twelve sections of ash to replace gunwales on my 1991 Mad River Canoe. The deal about boats is when you push off the dock or pull the anchor, then it's 'on'. And that's where we pay to go.

[Ole Anderson]

Just today we gassed up our 19' center console ($225 at $5.25 per gallon, ouch) and headed out into the Gulf for 5 hours, never more than 3 miles off shore. Waves less than 2', clear day, winds 5 knots air and water temp 75 degrees. Water off Anna Maria key is a beautiful blend of blues. Fed the little bait stealers for a few hours, moved 4 miles and tried another spot and caught and released a few small Gag Groupers. Then we anchored 40' off shore on Egmont key at a beautiful white sand beach, waded in and took a stroll looking for shells. Just another day in paradise livin' the dream. Until next week when we head home and tackle the yard work.

[Dave Verstraete]

The bottom of Lake Superior is littered with the boats and bodies of people that thought that way.

Larry

X2 to that. On the Great Lakes with a 16' open bow boat, you should stay very close to the channel or launch ramp that you came out of. Storms come up very quick and will ruin your day.

[Kevin Bourque]

I've owned about 10 or so sailboats at one time or another. The price of the boat is secondary to the cost of the boat slip, registration fees, the trailer that moves it around, off season storage, cleaning, insurance, and other general maintenance. It adds up real fast.

At least I was smart enough not to buy a "reasonably priced" airplane when it was offered to me. Renting is soooo much easier.

[Shawn Pixley]

Yes the reach on Lake Superior is so short that the wave period is very short which makes for challenging water. That water temperature reminds me of fishing in Alaska. Cold, cold, cold...

I haven't been to Grand Marais for 25 years. Maybe I should go back.

[Larry Edgerton]

It hasn't changed.....

Larry

[Myk Rian]

At times I ponder getting a small fishing boat with a small motor. Friends have warned me about boats though saying it means Break Out Another Thousand. How much would a small fishing boat cost? Any advice?

I have a 12' Meyers with a 6hp Johnson on it. An electric motor for moving around a little. I've had it on lakes as big as Black Lake in northern Michigan. 16 sq. miles.
Good for 2 people. I used to have a 14' flat bottom John boat, but the kids used it as a diving platform, and loosened all the rivets in it. Could have wrung some necks.