salmonslayer
Junior Member
Never attempt anything you don't want to explain to the EMT
Posts: 105
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Post by salmonslayer on Jul 26, 2011 19:06:12 GMT -5
Lately I've been considering getting a bigger boat. When I bought my boat several years ago my intention was to be able to trailer it to some of the inland lakes & not just fishing lake michigan all the time. Well, in the last 2 years I've done that exactly 1 time. So I've been looking around & found a 24' Bayliner that I like although it needs some work. It's mostly cosmetic as the interior is pretty rough. My question is mostly directed at the guys that went from a smaller trailerable boat to something larger that they would have to keep in the water. Have you ever regretted getting the bigger boat and do you think you use it more since you do keep it in a slip? Any experiances or comments would be appreciated. Attachments:
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Post by littlebluelund on Jul 26, 2011 21:19:21 GMT -5
Dont regret it a single bit. Kinda sucks knowing I cant play with the boat after October 16th and before April 14th but.....
Wouldnt do anything different...
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Post by saugeye on Jul 26, 2011 21:32:20 GMT -5
Love having a bigger boat. Although it is still trailerable. I dont leave mine in a permanent slip, I slip it when I make fishing trips, then back to the campground where I Keep it between trips. If you are looking to seriously buy, a good surveyor is worth there weight in gold. The 1st boat I looked at was rotted from top to bottom. A guy I met at Baileys didnt hire a surveyor, 12K later it was repaired.
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salmonslayer
Junior Member
Never attempt anything you don't want to explain to the EMT
Posts: 105
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Post by salmonslayer on Jul 27, 2011 18:52:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. I don't think I would bother with a surveyor for this boat...if I brought it home & found out it was rotten when I started working on the floor I would probably just part it out & be done. I don't think that's the case since it's always been stored inside. The boat isn't too big to trailer, but since I only have a Jeep Wrangler it's too big for me to pull so I would just have a friend launch it for me in sprine & keep it in the marina for the summer. Now I want to check a few more things on this boat & hopefully make an offer, but I can't get the guy to e-mail me back. I should've gotten his phone number when I went to look at it last weekend.....aaaarrrruuuugggghhh!!! Attachments:
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Post by littlebluelund on Jul 27, 2011 23:30:24 GMT -5
If you got the extra $$$ go for it, even if you make it a project boat, the outside looks worth it.
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Post by drillsgt on Jul 28, 2011 5:32:33 GMT -5
Although my bigger boat is still trailerable at 21' I really don't like having a bigger boat. The extra fuel, trailering & on the water is a big factor. I would be more likely to trailer further more often. It doesn't seem to help that much except when I have more than 4 aboard. I kept my old '72 Cruisers 17 1/2' & plan an overhaul over the winter & return it to the water in spring.
Brian
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ejb
New Member
Posts: 63
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Post by ejb on Jul 28, 2011 7:37:54 GMT -5
Cant see why you would pay slip fees with that small of a boat. I trailer a 22' and often fish by myself. Just buy a older 3/4 ton truck to tow it.
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Post by littlebluelund on Jul 28, 2011 9:11:35 GMT -5
Trailering is a pain in the arse. Enjoy the comfort of slipping. Pull in, tie up, and leave or jump in, untie, and go fish.
I went to a bigger boat this past year and don't trailer my boat. I love the extra space, I have more opprtunties on what I can fish and days I can fish. I enjoy the extra comforts. If fuel costs are a concern what I recommend is putting away money every month over the winter. Once spring hits you will have a little stockpile of cash and the fuel costs won't sting as much.
Life is damn short to worry about penny pinching on the thing you love to do the most. Spend the extra money if you can and enjoy the boat, the fishing when it's good and bad, and remember only you can prevent forest fires.
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Post by mojorisin on Jul 28, 2011 9:21:10 GMT -5
I sure go back and forth on this one.
I will say that I like the luxury of having a boat slipped where I can be in and out in no time. Seeing that I live close, I can just go and putz when I want some "alone" time. The slipped community at Port is fun too. There are people on the docks swilling beverages all the time and everyone is always welcome. My family loves the bigger boat and my son especially loves sleepng on the boat. The bigger boat has allowed me to take out bigger crews which has benefited my charity trips (of which I still have 2 Children's Hospital trips to do so the fishin' better get better).
The cons for this are the costs of indoor storage, the slip, and especially fuel. As of late, I really miss my old trailerable as I would have taken my crew last weekend to a northern port. I miss when I used to start my season in the lower part of the state and follow the fish up to Port. I also used to fish the Milwaukee breakwall very early in the spring for Browns and then did many river runs for staged Kings. I miss that flexibility and more so this year than past years.
I hem and haw on the sale and downsize all the time and then know how it would make my family feel if I got rid of MR. My son asks me every year if he gets the boat when I die. I chuckle but it makes me realize how much he likes the esperience of a bigger boat in a slip.
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fatcat
Junior Member
Posts: 163
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Post by fatcat on Jul 28, 2011 9:30:11 GMT -5
Go for the dock. We have never regretted it. Same deal. We put the boat on the trailer to fish someplace other than Algoma once in the past 5 years, and that was just a day trip to fish walleyes in Green Bay.
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Post by net-working on Jul 28, 2011 9:52:32 GMT -5
to trailer or not is a matter of what your comfortable with. i'm trailering Net-Working still. (27' with 10' beam) and yes a lot of people think i'm nuts, but i'm only 8 miles from the harbor and i'm use to pulling bigger stuff.
the slip i think is on the docket for next year for the same reasons mojo had mentioned plus a few more.
the whole reason for me getting a larger boat was for the entire family to enjoy being out there. the wife so far enjoys the "dock life" when we rent a slip and we are working on the fishing part as well. my daughter likes fishing "sort of" and she love to be my "auto pilot" ;D
as far as NW-jr and myself.............don't care as long as the rig is in the water. i love the fishing out there, but i also enjoy just hanging around at the piers. lots of great people and good times as well.
hope this helps...........
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BFG
Full Member
Posts: 665
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Post by BFG on Jul 28, 2011 10:01:17 GMT -5
I have always thought I would really enjoy "dock life" with a slipped boat. To me, I would think the absence of the hassle factor of launching/retrieving/towing each time would be well worth the added expense of marina fuel and slip fees.
Sad part is, the kids would love it, but my wife would not. Hence, no boat at this time for me in a slip.
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Post by mojorisin on Jul 28, 2011 10:10:15 GMT -5
Hey Jerry, kinda nice to have a place to sleep (versus driving) after sitting on Owen's boat too long at night:). I'm staying on my boat after fishing tomorrow night and I know Wet Net will be there and staying too. I think one of them is bunking with me. There should be a live band in the lot tomorrow with it being the Lion's Club derby. Should be cold beer on tap and food too. Unfortunately, I'll be fishing until dark and that will cut into the live band time for me .
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 10:22:25 GMT -5
The marina life is an experience in itself. Sitting on the boat having a beer with your neighbors is all part of the deal IMO. It's also very nice to stay overnight on the boat, wake up in the morning and head out fishing, no where to drive and no boat to launch beforehand. Plus if you fish the day before you don't have to put all your gear away and then drag it out again the next day, its nice to just leave things set up and ready to roll.
Spending $200+ at the fuel dock every couple days is the only downside to the bigger boat
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Post by net-working on Jul 28, 2011 10:22:30 GMT -5
;Dyes joe, you are absolutely correct!
especially when we have no adult supervision ;D
some of you/those guys are a bad influence ;D (i will not name names)
i don't think i'll get to prefish friday, but i'll be slipped for the whole weekend. (friday and saturday)
i'm stoked again even after last weekends b.s. fishing...............
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