Wak has boat quetion "help"

[wak'm&stak'm]

I have been looking for a commercial boat that was well cared for and not having much luck. This led me down the path of sport boats again.

I am interested in a walk around style. and something around 26ft..(striper, trophy, Grady while. etc)...perhaps a couple of years old. There are a lot in Cailf.

My questions are these.
which is more logical...twin 150s or single 250 ( 4 strokes) what are your thoughts on fuel consumption? Wear and tear ?
Is an I/O get better or worse mileage?, and what about maint.?

The one thing I don't want is to be under powered. I have always owned I/0's, but today I am not sure if this is the best direction.

If you know of a good boat please let me know...Thanks

[4 REEL]

Wak, If I understand you right, with a commercial you will be most likly runnig hydrolic gerdies. That means you with have to tap into one of your powerheads. With an out board it's not imposable but it's much easier and more reliable on a inboard application.
Just food for thought. :smile:

[Hawg Caller]

I've been searching for a good "salty" boat to replace my oldy...seems like if your going 26' or more twins is the way, also seems like either pure outboards or pure inboards. they say the I/O's just are'nt good enough for "big water", although I have I/O now and have not had "much" problem. good fuel econ. easy maint. tough choise. thats my .02 good luck.

[backlash442]

First question is what do you want a commercial boat for? You going to fish commerical or sport? A used commercial will have been used hard. Did you check Bodega Bay or S.F. area for commercial boats? Santa Cruz or Monterey? My friend was looking for a light boat and said there are all kinds of deals out there. Lots of Farallons for sale but older. Probably better built than the ones today too.

IMO I'd go with inboard diesel instead of I/O gas depending on what your budget is but I think you can find used commercial deals out there. The boats you mentioned aren't cheap even if a couple of years old. You should take a hard look at Davis Boats or H&F Boats to see if you can find a used one. Same with Farallon or even Parker.

Believe it or not I've heard a lot of negative things about G.W. in their quality. Not high on the others either. I just think for the money you would spend on those boats there are much better boats out there. Then again what do you plan to do with the boat?

[wak'm&stak'm]

The deal is I live here in Newport and have fished the ocean for about 40 years. I sold the 22ft Striper I had and thought maybe finding a good day boat. I commercialed several times over the years. ( look for tax breaks). If I can't find a good quality dory, or smaller commercial, then I will get another sport boat.

If I get another sport, I want to do the right thing. I have always had I/0's, but I am unsure today what the big difference is today.....with HP to prop, gas mileage, and maint. between outboards and I/O.
Does anyone out there , run twins on 26ft boat?
How about a big single?
Marty?...what are you thoughts, you have plenty of time in with you Sea Sport, ( which is a real nice boat)

[backlash442]

I've heard nothing but good things regarding the 4 stroke outboards from Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. Not necessarily in that order. Mechanic I know absolutely loves the Suzuki and he's a Yamaha dealer. I/0's will be cheaper though.

I'm not fond of outboards for tuna fishing only because they stick out the back of the boat. If you have an offshore bracket then they stick out even further. Just a personal preference and I've read that guys have never lost a fish due to them.

[Mark Mc]

Dan, you haven't really stated what it is you want to do with this boat. Do you want something to do real serious commercial fishing in, that will hold 5 to 10K lbs of fish & ice? That you can run 50 - 100 miles in? Or do you want something for "light" day fishing? How important is speed? Or would you be OK with an 8 knot boat if it could pack the fish? Does it have to be trailerable?

Like 4reel said...if you want hydraulics (which you really must have for even halfway-serious commercial salmon) you really need an inboard. Another thing to consider...if you have a "fast" boat with an I/O, it may not troll slow enough for kings down deep, even with all that gear out. And you sure as heck don't want to screw around with a kicker when you have commercial troll gear out.

And if you want to commercial fish for tuna, you'll want to think about a boat that already has commercial tuna landings, because if there is limited entry in the future the control date has already been set at March 2001.

So I wouldn't rule out an old wood boat that was well built & cared for, that is really set up right. Nothing beats a troll pit so you can be low to the water & gaffing / netting fish with one hand. Your back ain't getting any younger!

Here's an interesting little double ender:



36' DOUBLE ENDER
John Deere engine, life raft, fishing gear. Radar, loran, VHF, GPS, genset, ComNav steering, color video fishfinder, three-spool Kolstrand, EPIRB, elect. clutch hydraulics. Hauled, repainted September 2002. $18,000. (541) 867-4199. P0120.

There are a few interesting small boats listed here http://sbcsfa.com/classifieds.htm
especially the Skipjack. They have California permits, not Oregon. So maybe you could shave 2 - 3 K off the price without the permit.

Where have you looked? Have you been watching these?

http://www.fishermensnews.com/classifieds.html

http://www.pfmag.com/classifieds.asp

http://www.nationalfisherman.com/classifieds/index.asp


http://www.boatsforsalebyowner.net/

And of course Dock Street Brokers, and GSI.

Or just hit the road....Winchester Bay, Coos Bay, Bandon, Brookings, Crescent City, Eureka, Fort Bragg, and Bodega if you get that far.


You know where I am Dan... Call me if you wanna talk.

[ 02-28-2004, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: Mark Mc ]

[wak'm&stak'm]

Thanks Mark....After racing around the ocean it is hard to think about 12 knots. But there is a little something about those older boats, it will not be long and the day of these boats and their history will come to an end. Kinda like loosing part of your childhood.
I was really wanting a commercial. sport combo. a day boat and trailerable.

But I do not want someone elses headaches. I will checkout those links...thanks.

If all else fails I will end up with a get up and haul %$#$ boat. That is why I am curious about the new outboards.....is that the way a person should think these days??????

[backlash442]

Mark you make a good point about going slow enough to troll for salmon. Being down here in So. Cal. it's not high on the target list because it's such a hit or miss fishery. However, I know a couple of guy with diesel I/0's who can't go slow enough to troll. Have to drag a drift sock to slow down.

[Maverick Maxcat]

Hi Wak,

I ran a 24' Searay with a 250 hp Evinrude 2-stoke on a 30" setback bracket for several years. The old searay hulls are very tough and handle rough water extremely well. The boat originally had an I/O---I turned the engine compartment into a giant fish hold, with a flush deck hatch. The outboard is lighter than an I/O, and by moving it back it smooths out the ride, reduces noise, and increases cockpit room. I would seriously consider refurbishing one of these hulls and adding a large single outboard if you end up with a boat in the 24-28' range. It will be a great package and less money then other options.

As far as trolling speed goes, don't worry. I NEVER troll less than 2.5 kn, and up to 5 at times. Try pacing the commercial guys out there----they will usually run away from you!!!

Just my thoughts, for what they're worth...

MM

[Mark Mc]

Maverick...yes it's true that sometimes a big commercial boat will be cruising right along. But that may be when the fish are up high. Or, if the leads are heavy enough, they can still troll somewhat fast even with the gear down deep. But we are talking about 50 to 70 lb leads to do that. When I fished a 45 ft troller, I used 50 lb'ers on the inside (deep) lines. When the fish were on the bottom in 300 ft, I had to troll pretty slow to keep even those down there. The 35 lb float lines would not stay on the bottom though. When I fished my 22 ft dory, the heaviest I fished was 40 lbs. To stay on the bottom in deep water, it was barely a crawl, like 1.5 knots max.

In early / mid summer the fish are often up high in the water column, so it's not an issue. But later in the year when the water warms up, they are often way deep. That was especially the case this last year.

Small boats and 70 lb leads don't mix well. If you don't believe me, well just try it & find out. To fish real deep for kings in a small boat, ya gotta be able to do the hog crawl. Period. IMHO of course.

[Maverick Maxcat]

Mark Mc
We spent a lot of time in 200-250' last year bouncing the bottom. Used 150# spectra on the riggers, 35# spectra on the rods, and 15# balls. The commercial guys use much larger dia. wire, and many leaders on each, which adds up to a lot more drag. It's great to catch them on top when they're there, but we do whatever it takes to hook up. Just my experiences...MM