looking at boats, casually.


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boomchakabowwow

Bushmaster
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Jan 7, 2015
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Bay Area, California
I live near the Pacific Ocean. and it's full of delicious things. I fish it with my kayak and I love it. but I do feel my mortality more these days. :D

a small boat would be awesome. here's the deal: my wife green-lit the purchase. we have the cash. her one criteria. try to find USED. the boat I want, that is a tall order.

I want the Stabicraft 1550 Frontier.

its light so I can pull it with my Toyota tacoma with zero issues.. its small, so it should fit in my driveway. two deal breakers for me, are me having to buy a bigger truck and me paying for boat storage. both hard hard NO's in my my mind.
 
That's an awesome boat. I had never heard of that brand before. I'm in a very similar situation, I love my kayaks but have been looking at smaller Aluminum center console boats for my East coast fishing.
 
boomchakabowwow said:
I live near the Pacific Ocean. and it's full of delicious things. I fish it with my kayak and I love it. but I do feel my mortality more these days. :D

a small boat would be awesome. here's the deal: my wife green-lit the purchase. we have the cash. her one criteria. try to find USED. the boat I want, that is a tall order.

I want the Stabicraft 1550 Frontier.

its light so I can pull it with my Toyota tacoma with zero issues.. its small, so it should fit in my driveway. two deal breakers for me, are me having to buy a bigger truck and me paying for boat storage. both hard hard NO's in my my mind.
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Hi, may I offer some advice from experience?
I've seen a lot of Guys over the years wanting to go further, faster and longer..
They get a bigger boat, bigger bills, bigger car..

Then they have to lasso "someone" to help launch/retrieve the boat as it is too big to manhandle solo.

So, they just don't go out or go on crappy day because it was the only time their buddy could get off work etc.

I get the safety issue is top of the list for you.
Just add up the pros and cons.
 
That looks a little bit small for going out in the Pacific. I don’t know much about your area so take that for what it’s worth.

I do like having a smaller boat though. I am usually by myself so smaller is better for me but I am freshwater fishing.
 
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Me and my Brother spent some happy moments on our boat before he passed. They are a bit of work, but are enjoyable as well.

The saddest part, we had our little bass boat about 2 or 3 weeks before he got rid of it and bought this monster pontoon thingy. I did not care for it because of all the work loading and unloading. The little Nitro was easy peasy!
 
Birddogs said:
My dad told me, the two happiest days of a man’s life, first, the day you purchase a boat. Second the day you sell it.

Growing up we had a house boat and ski boats. I loved them, but I didn’t have to pay or maintain them. lol.
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This right here! @Birddogs is correct.
A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into !
 
Like many things, the spending is just getting started when you buy the boat.

Which reminds me, I think I need to go through and check the expiration date on all the required safety stuff. Last thing I need is the water cops ruining my day over a flare that will work just fine but is "expired". I might get another season or so before the trolling motor batteries are completely shot; that'll probably be an upgrade to LiFePO4 instead of the current lead-acid.

Good luck!
 
MrMurphy said:
Pull $15,000 out of the bank.

Light it on fire while hitting yourself in the nuts with a hammer 5x.

You have condensed the basics of boat ownership...

Per my old boss (who had a personal net worth of several million, his own airplane and a few boats..)
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🤣 :D That is so hilarious. And true!
 
Make yourself comfortable with the concept of a "boat buck".

Old school boat bucks were c-notes. With inflation, they're thousand dollar bills now.

Anything the boat needs is going to be at least a boat buck. Even if you think it won't be that expensive, the project will snowball until at least one boat buck has been spent.
 
I bought a fish & ski type bass boat in the mid 90's. About 20 years ago, my 2nd job became weekend's only, plus being self employed full time.
I built a garage, parked the boat...and it's hasn't been out since. But, I still have it, and I retired from the weekend job (4 years ago). Just have to do some work on it and find the time to get out. My wife named the boat the Debtfinder. Yes, nothing is cheap to repair and it will probably cost me a grand to get it ready to fish.
Good luck Boom.
 
Mephitis said:
I bought a fish & ski type bass boat in the mid 90's. About 20 years ago, my 2nd job became weekend's only, plus being self employed full time.
I built a garage, parked the boat...and it's hasn't been out since. But, I still have it, and I retired from the weekend job (4 years ago). Just have to do some work on it and find the time to get out. My wife named the boat the Debtfinder. Yes, nothing is cheap to repair and it will probably cost me a grand to get it ready to fish.
Good luck Boom.
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LOVE the boat name, very appropriate.

At Christmas time, we had the two boats here in Bay of Islands owned by the Chap who has Harbour Freight.
Quite nice looking boats.

One was just a Toy Box and Tender for speed boats and helicopter.
Presuming they were all paid for...
 
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