Buying a boat

[kurt2938]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to buy a boat for my family. I have found one that caught my attention, but I'm unsure if it would be adequate for what I need. This would be my first time getting a boat, so I'm unsure about much of it and asking someone that knows is so much better than all the reading and videos on the internet. I've got a fairly large family, 2 younger children and 2 older children and of course mamma n me. The boat I'm looking at is a 16ft open bow vanguard (late 80's to early 90's?) With a 75hp mercury on it. Would a boat like that in good condition be adequate for my family? Would it be strong enough to pull a tube and cruise along the lake or would it struggle to plane on the water? Any help is appreciated, thank you very much.

[thorne]

Personally...I'll say not even close....for 6 people...and especially if you want to tube or ski especially...I would say an 18' with a 115hp is bare minimum...what you are looking at is good for 2 adults and 2 smaller kids to go fishing for a day....but not water sports. You could pull a tube and keep smaller kids happy, but would probably bore older kids...lol

[ricky8fish]

If planning to do this “one time right”. I would look for an outboard and at least 18 feet; If you want to use it on larger lakes and park and swim around it. A top is nice and never fish without it! And if you plan to keep it a long time get one that’s aluminum and 100 hp plus. Fiberglass boats have wood under the floor and in the transom. When it gets soft it will need to be replaced and it’s difficult and expensive. At least the wood in an aluminum boat can be replaced at home . May take 100 hours and set you back $1000.00 , but you will learn a lot. And you will learn that floatation foam in a boat turns into floatation sponge It also needs to be removed. Once you replace the wood and foam, that boat can last you a long time!


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[EZM]

I agree - you will be disappointed with a 16ft heavy glass boat with a 75hp. Your younger two are still growing, so keep that in mind. Tubing is likely not going to work well.

You will need something significantly larger. 18'-20'+ with 150hp or more in my opinion for what you are looking to do. 6 people, tubing, etc... takes lots of room in the boat and lots of power to pull a couple kids out back and 4 in the boat.

[kurt2938]

Alright then, back to the drawing board haha thank you guys for all your information and help. I definitely need to look into something a bit bigger than what I have previously thought would be large enough.

[old dog]

Minimum 18 foot with 150 hp outboard

[Frank_NK28]

I agree - you will be disappointed with a 16ft heavy glass boat with a 75hp. Your younger two are still growing, so keep that in mind. Tubing is likely not going to work well.

You will need something significantly larger. 18'-20'+ with 150hp or more in my opinion for what you are looking to do. 6 people, tubing, etc... takes lots of room in the boat and lots of power to pull a couple kids out back and 4 in the boat.

I'll second this, you're going to need 150hp for 6 people and pulling a tube and 18-20 feet for room enough to be barely comfortable at best. I run an 18 with a 150 and I feel crowded trying to fish three adults unless we are spread out from bow to stern never mind two adults and 4 kids.

[fishinisgood]

We rented a boat. Gave us a good feeling of what we would need and see if everybody was actually really into it. I have 4 kids. We took out an 18ft. with 115hp. Definitely wanted more room and a little more pep.

[Prairiewolf]

Minimum 18 foot with 150 hp outboard

Short and sweet - and correct.

I have a Lund 1775 with a 115 Merc and as everyone has said, with six people involved yes, it got on plane, and it towed ok, but it worked hard to do all of it. The boat size was fine, I could have used more horsepower.

[Poppa]

Short and sweet - and correct.

I have a Lund 1775 with a 115 Merc and as everyone has said, with six people involved yes, it got on plane, and it towed ok, but it worked hard to do all of it. The boat size was fine, I could have used more horsepower.

"Always max out the HP on whatever boat you buy" is good advice for the OP. In order to keep the price down, most dealers will put the minimum HP on a boat. Don't go for it...ALWAYS swap it out for the max HP even if it's a little more money. You'll wildly regret any boat that's under powered.

[Dewey Cox]

I find this thread very interesting, as I know embarrassingly little about boats.
I've got an older 14' open bow fiberglass boat with a 75hp motor.
I spent all summer wrenching on it, as I assumed it should have more "go".
Should I not be expecting much from it?
What kinds of speeds should a person expect from a boat like that? (Ball Park)

[elkhunter11]

I find this thread very interesting, as I know embarrassingly little about boats.
I've got an older 14' open bow fiberglass boat with a 75hp motor.
I spent all summer wrenching on it, as I assumed it should have more "go".
Should I not be expecting much from it?
What kinds of speeds should a person expect from a boat like that? (Ball Park)

Up until 1983 outboards were rated at the crankshaft, now they are rated at the prop shaft, and they can produce up to 10% more than the rating. So an older outboard could be producing 15- 20% less than a newer outboard with the same rating.

[HL_transplant]

I find this thread very interesting, as I know embarrassingly little about boats.
I've got an older 14' open bow fiberglass boat with a 75hp motor.
I spent all summer wrenching on it, as I assumed it should have more "go".
Should I not be expecting much from it?
What kinds of speeds should a person expect from a boat like that? (Ball Park)

More go as in top speed or holeshot?? What prop is on it??

[jungleboy]

I find this thread very interesting, as I know embarrassingly little about boats.
I've got an older 14' open bow fiberglass boat with a 75hp motor.
I spent all summer wrenching on it, as I assumed it should have more "go".
Should I not be expecting much from it?
What kinds of speeds should a person expect from a boat like that? (Ball Park)

V hull or Tri hull? Two completely different animals. A V hull with a 75 will struggle to pull an adult skier out of the water where a Tri hull will do it with ease.

[Lowrance Fishburn]

When buying a boat there are two simple rules: 1) Bigger the better. 2) Don't cheap out on motor size or accessories.

Boats are expensive regardless so might as well spend your hard earned dollar on something fully capable of fishing any lake.

[Poppa]

When buying a boat there are two simple rules: 1) Bigger the better. 2) Don't cheap out on motor size or accessories.

Boats are expensive regardless so might as well spend your hard earned dollar on something fully capable of fishing any lake.
and if you're going to be financing long term (as most do) the accessories or bigger motor cost aren't going to mean that much to your bi-weekly payments. Seconding "don't cheap out on the extras" comment!

[Salavee]

and if you're going to be financing long term (as most do) the accessories or bigger motor cost aren't going to mean that much to your bi-weekly payments. Seconding "don't cheap out on the extras" comment!

If this is you're first boat here are just a couple of things not to overlook. (1)
Do your research and buy top Quality. You can often tell how much material is in the build by the boats net weight. Check a few outat the same size and notice the difference.. also check the thickness of the hull and sides if it's fibreglas .It should be Sturdy. whether handlaid .. (desirable) or chopped.. or the thickness of the material if Aluminum, be it welded or rivited and also the number of rivets (siingle , double )

(2) Get enough power when new. Boat HP ratings are guidelines. Going over the rating by 20-40 hp is quite common and is often desirable , especially a Runabout over 15 ft.. You wouldn't beleive how many people upgrade thier power after the first or second year. Package deals are notorious for this manouver.

Shop around !! Ask Questions and Take your time. Don't buy at the first place you visit. Buying in a hurry usually takes the fun out of boating. Good Luck !

[mooseknuckle]

I find this thread very interesting, as I know embarrassingly little about boats.
I've got an older 14' open bow fiberglass boat with a 75hp motor.
I spent all summer wrenching on it, as I assumed it should have more "go".
Should I not be expecting much from it?
What kinds of speeds should a person expect from a boat like that? (Ball Park)

I had a 15.5 ft fiberglass tri hull with a 75hp chrysler on it. One day me and my friend (400lbs total) hit 32MPH. No wind, calm water, good times. That was a 1976 chrysler 2 stroke, new owner of the boat put a brand new 4 stroke 50hp tohatsu and gets 30-34mph with our fat butts in it. But zero chance your pulling a skier up..... not one at my weight anyways.