Freshwater lake boaters - input wanted

With our recent move to the suburbs of Atlanta, we now live a 10 minute drive from two large lakes. Boating is a very popular activity and it's something I've always wanted to do. Our 3 kids have already been drooling as they watch the boats on the water, and see kids being pulled on inner tubes, etc...

I could use input on boat ownership, since I've never had one. We're looking at a few different kinds of boats. Here are a few examples. Not necessary set on these specific boats, but just refering to boat style.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/boa/4560829071.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/boa/4564486873.html

Our van is rated to tow 3500lbs. But I don't have anywhere at our house to store a boat, so it'd have to stay at a marina or storage facility anyway.

I'm not sure we're going to get a boat this year, as we had some pretty specific financial goals in coming here in GA, but we're considering it. Give me some things to look for when checking out a boat. Pros and cons on the different styles of boats?

18' open bow with a 6cyl inboard will suite your needs for years to come.

The Chris Craft is not for a newbie boat owner. It's a 25 foot hole in the water to throw money into.

I have often wanted a boat, but really have no place to use one. If i was buying, it would be some type of Boston Whaler in the 14-16 foot range. They hold their value better than most boats.

The first thing you have to do is decide what you want to do with the boat. Pull skiers and tubes? Hang out in one spot and swim? Overnight on the boat? Fishing? I'm new to boating, but in looking at those same kinds of boats it strikes me that some are pretty use limited. If I hadn't bought a sail boat I was going to go for something like your first link - a bow rider type pleasure boat. I don't want to ski, but that seemed the best for just sort of knocking around the lake. I looked at pontoons, but they're so strict on BUI now (rightfully so) that I think I'd just get in trouble with one...

Watch out for slip fees if you want to leave it at the marina. They'll cost you WAY more than the boat.

FWIW, Lanier has a strong sailing community if you'd ever thought about going wind powered. It's one of the few places in GA that does.

We have no plans to do anything overnight on the boat or do any kind of fishing. It would just be for going for an afternoon ride on the lake, stopping to let the kids swim, and tow them on their tubes. Hence why we're leaning towards the first boat I linked. I just don't know what to look for in those kinds of boats.

We're really close to lakes Acworth and Allatoona, so we could go to either spot. My wife is looking into the fees for leaving it at a marina and all the other options. I'm not sure how hard it is to put a boat like this into and out of the water. Doesn't seem all that hard, but I haven't done it. My wife did it a lot as a teen, as her father had a boat, but that was years ago.

ultraclyde wrote: The first thing you have to do is decide what you want to do with the boat. Pull skiers and tubes? Hang out in one spot and swim? Overnight on the boat? Fishing?

This, this, one hundred times this.

I grew up on the Chesapeake, so I never needed a sleep-aboard boat. That's your first choice: is it going to be a weekender, or only a dayboat?

Actually, that's your second choice. Your first choice is motor or sail? That of course depends on what you're going to do with it, too. We had both, but I always found that sailing was much more fun than driving the motorboat, except when I actively wanted to take somebody skiing or tubing.

With a motorboat, unless you're towing a skier or traveling from A to B, it's just not that entertaining to go back and forth across the lake after a while. Kind of like driving a car over a road that gets rougher as the traffic gets heavier. With sailing, the journey is the destination, so to speak. The fun is in manipulating the controls to get the most out of the available wind and rigging.

That being said, yes, an 18'-20' bowrider I/O (inboard/outboard) is a good boat for what it does.

May I suggest you borrow one first, or bum a few Saturdays with friends that have a boat? Give it a try, and see if it really is what you think it is. Even in a boat with a bimini top, compare it to a day on the autocross course, except that the parking lot is constantly rocking back and forth. Not many shade trees out in the middle of a lake. It's not for everyone.

Assuming you do get one, I would look into dry-berthing it at the marina. Unless you expect to use it every weekend, and sometimes during the week, it's usually cheaper to have them sling it in the water for you on Friday afternoon and take it out again when you're done for the day or weekend. It's definitely easier on the boat to not sit in the water all the time.

I have gone to renting boats. For 3-$500 a weekend, you get all of the fun and none of the headaches. I have even found some of the high end ski/ wake boats that include gas, all the toys and a boat driver (they don't want you wrecking a 60-80k toy) for $300 a day. They meet you at the slip, you just bring a cooler with lunch.

It works out to be way less hassle and less cost long run. Even if you are going to buy, I recommend renting boats of different types to see what fits your needs best. Nothing worse than dropping a bunch of loot and not having it meet your needs.

If you are going to tow skiers/tubers, GA law now requires you have 2 rear view mirrors on the boat. Some guys told me they're really cracking down on this one - like if you have a tow rope laying in the boat, you better have mirrors. Just FYI.

Putting the boat in the water is easy if you can back a trailer. If you are trailer impaired, not so much. If you are that close and can store the boat at the house I sure would consider towing.

My last thought - for used boats you are buying the motor, and it happens to have a boat attached. The primary thing you are looking for is a motor/outdrive that is in good running shape and will be reliable.

+1 on renting a few times to get a feel before dropping the big $$$

We've thought about renting, but it ain't cheap. We're looking at the lower end of the price scale on boats, so not sure how many times we'd want to rent because we'd wind up spending a big chunk of the purchase cost after just a few rentals.

I'll definitely check out the motor situation. Any other things to look for specifically? I'd assume signs of rot, such as soft spots in the floor.

Start small until you are sure it is what you really want to do. Owning a boat is expensive. Operating a boat , more expensive.

Yes, try renting first. It's worth it.

Also, never buy a brand new boat unless you need to land your helicopter on it. Buy a used one. Boats depreciate faster than condoms.

A pontoon boat has some advantages for a family. It is easy to climb up the big ladder on to a stable deck. It can have a big canvas top for shade and rain protection. There is room for a big cooler or a couple of smaller ones. They are fast enough to tow a tube. There is room for more people when the kids bring a friend. They are pretty easy on gas. Buy a depreciated one and it will never lose value.

Duke wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: The first thing you have to do is decide what you want to do with the boat. Pull skiers and tubes? Hang out in one spot and swim? Overnight on the boat? Fishing?

This, this, one hundred times this. I grew up on the Chesapeake, so I never needed a sleep-aboard boat. That's your first choice: is it going to be a weekender, or only a dayboat? Actually, that's your second choice. Your first choice is motor or sail? That of course depends on what you're going to do with it, too. We had both, but I always found that sailing was much more fun than driving the motorboat, except when I actively wanted to take somebody skiing or tubing.

This is a good decision to consider. I like motor boats OK and they're pleasant enough, but I can live without 'em.

I'll definitely own a sailboat again, though. Sailing is the Miata of the water. You always gotta be driving the thing, managing your momentum, planning ahead. It feels way faster than it is. Going fast means being at least a little bit ballsy and you can spend all your time going flat out if you want. Plus, rather than everything being under the control of one sunburned middle age guy with a beer in one hand, everyone has something to do when you're sailing. You gotta be engaged, even if it's just ducking your head so you don't get knocked unconscious or moving to one side of the boat to serve as as human ballast.

Sailing is awesome.

Since this would be a family outing toy, the sailboat wouldn't work. Don't think the kids would enjoy the slow tow.

There's no question we're buying used. New isn't in the budget. We're looking at boats in the price range of the ones I linked at the top...i.e. sub $3k. Something we can take out for a ride, do a little swimming, tow the kids around, etc... Just something for some family fun.

Just an alternative suggestion.... I've been on a few of the lakes in your area.... on many of them you can rent a 20ft'ish pontoon boat for an 8 hour day for like $150. You show up at the marina, the boat is in the water, you put your ice chest and crap on board and go, and when you come back, cleaning it and maintaining it is someone else's problem. Trust me, this will keep you way ahead of the money and grief curve.

A few ideas. Do you know someone who has a boat in the area? If so, ask them to take your family out and agree to buy the gas. Especially if you haven't spent much time on a boat and don't know if you'll like it. Or rent one once. Either way, consider it insurance against making a bad decision of buying a boat and then quickly finding out you don't like boating.

As others have said - you have to decide what you want to do on it. Some boats do a few things well enough, but not everything. There isn't much cash difference between an older but well maintained boat and a boat that with a close look is really fairly trashed. People ask >$1K for boats all the time that aren't worth taking off of their hands. In your price range, you want to make sure the motor is good. You can't beat the space of a pontoon if you want to take a group out and don't need to go fast (although with the right motor they don't have to be a barge either).

What's your "free" time look like now and how much do you want to apply to boating instead of the stuff you do now? I grew up 10 minutes from a lake and we had a boat suitable for skiing and family boating docked at the marina. Mom and dad got home from work and we had stuff packed and we'd be pulling away from the dock in 20 minutes. But that's what we did on weekends and weekday evenings (more the latter, as it was much less crowded - we stopped going on Saturdays). If we had to trailer the boat, it would have gotten used much much less. It was great through my high school, then my folks stopped using the boat except for rare occasions, and they gave up the marina slip and eventually sold the boat.

Once you start adding size, cabins, etc., you start adding more complex systems that break/need to be maintained and cost $$$$. We didn't need a head on our ski boat - we stopped on shore. No need for a cabin - we camped or went home after a day of boating. Consider what you need in that regard. Look at what most boats look like on the lake you are on - fiberglass or aluminum? I/O or outboard?

I'd stay away from anything with significant soft spots in the floor or any questions as to whether it has rot in the transom - those repairs are costly and/or time consuming or both and not worth it - find a better example.

Just throwing this out there. Kids would have to take turns from shore/pier. You could get one of the big 3 passenger 1300cc wave runners and still tow a tube behind. About 8 years ago some friends and I had 2 guys on the wave runner (1 driving, 1 watching behind) pulling a friend on a tube. Worked like a charm. Plenty of power to get going and fast enough to fling people off the tube.

Riding that Honda wave runner solo on a flat lake the speedo claimed 62. Definitely felt like it!

Lake Acworth is really more of a big pond. Gas motors not allowed.

Aeromoto wrote: Just an alternative suggestion.... I've been on a few of the lakes in your area.... on many of them you can rent a 20ft'ish pontoon boat for an 8 hour day for like $150. You show up at the marina, the boat is in the water, you put your ice chest and crap on board and go, and when you come back, cleaning it and maintaining it is someone else's problem. Trust me, this will keep you way ahead of the money and grief curve.

This sounds like a spectacular idea.

I will sell you my '72 MFG Gypsy with a Johnson 65 outboard for $800 with trailer. (Setting up the classified ad tonight)

Throw in a bit more and you get two sets of waterskis and a tube.

Located in Western MD.

(Note, needs new tires, bearings, and some electrical for the trailer which are not included in that price, but I have a shop of tools to get the job done where the boat is.)

Selling because I havent had the chance to use it in 4 years.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Lake Acworth is really more of a big pond. Gas motors not allowed.

I'm pretty sure we saw some on the lake when we were there over July 4th, but I could be wrong. Even if not, we're less than 15 minutes from Allatoona.

We've considered the waverunner idea, but we want to be able to go out as a family. Pontoon boat is also a possiblity, though not our primary focus.

Klayfish wrote: Since this would be a family outing toy, the sailboat wouldn't work. Don't think the kids would enjoy the slow tow. There's no question we're buying used. New isn't in the budget. We're looking at boats in the price range of the ones I linked at the top...i.e. sub $3k. Something we can take out for a ride, do a little swimming, tow the kids around, etc... Just something for some family fun.

What in the world are you talking about?

Last weekend it was me and three kids on my boat... The twins are 4, oldest is 13.. Before that I was towing a kneeboard around at 12-15 mph... We had a blast as always... Next weekend.. A regatta in Lawton OK...

Here I am at 26 mph

http://youtu.be/a6bg4scCfO0

Cat sailing is the most fun you can have on the water IMO... and can be had in your budget for with FAR fewer problems than you will experience burning gas..

linked in the middle of the AWESOME video for great skiing footage..

http://youtu.be/u_rfKUE675Y?t=12m5s

For the next month, before you go in the house after work, tear up a hundred dollar bill. If you are liking that at the end of the month, you are a boater.

I hear a lot of misconception about power boats. In the last year, I'v spent about $150 on fuel, $40 on a water pump kit, $22 on gear lube and that's it for the boat. This is on a 17' bowrider with a 85hp Yamaha. I did spend a couple of hours going through the trailer last weekend, but that's because I'm towing it to Nashville in three weeks.

In buying a boat I would pay particular attention to the boat first. Engine work is easy. Hull repairs are a royal PITA and can be expensive. Older I/Os are bad about rotting the transom and transom repairs are a nightmare. Any brown goo weeping from around the outdrive is a good indication of a rotting transom. Cary a screwdriver or pliers to knock on the hull. This goes for OB and IB boats. If it sounds like knocking on a oak tree, you are probably good. If it sounds like a hollow door, pass no matter how good the engine is. Also stand on the outdrive or outboard. If it flexes at all at the transom, pass. Go around the entire hull, inside and out, knocking on it. It should all sound fairly solid. If the floor flexes, I would pass. Floor replacement is a PITA and expensive. (BTDT) Stress cracks are fairly common in older boats, especially at the corners. They should be razor thin and only through the gelcoat. You are better off buying a more expensive newer boat than trying to revive a old boat, unless you want a project. Personally I enjoy tinkering with them. I just bought a 1977 Mitchell.

If you want a project, I have the deal for you.

1990 Sea Ray 210 BR, 20' bowrider, MerCruiser 260hp I/O. Honest 50mph boat. On a aluminum trailer that needs work, mostly tires and springs. The floor is soft, the transom good. Engine needs work. The boat flooded on the trailer because my BIL left the plug in and it probably needs an alternator and starter at minimum, water didn't enter the engine. It was a great boat, but I down sized to something cheaper to run and it's been sitting in the shed ever since. It's about 3100 pounds which is at the limit of your van.

I can't find any pictures of it, but it looks just like this, but in red.

I'm fixing to post it on CL for $1000. Make me an offer. Make me a stupid low offer. I just might take it.