After a fair bit of complaining my wife has finally agreed to give her blessing on me buying a new (or used) boat. I mostly like to fish in the sound though I will occassionaly chase trout or perch in freshwater should things in the sound be slow or I'm taking the kids out. I've decided that I want to go welded aluminum with an outboard and have been looking at all the boats you might expect including Alumaweld, Hewescraft, Duckworth, Smokercraft, North River, etc.

Like most people these days I don't have tons of money to spend and am therefore looking at boats in the 17' - 18' range. Here's my question...

Would a 17' or 18' boat be large enough for two guys to safely make a run say from somewhere like Mukilteo to Point no Point in reasonable (not perfect but not stormy) conditions? Or would I really need to step up to a 20' or large to make runs like that?

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

I think absolutely yes, the key is your "reasonable" qualification, of course. No boat would be a substitute for good judgement.

I run my 16' Arima out from Edmonds to PnP and beyond without any trouble, and I don't consider myself a big risk taker on the water. The key is getting the RIGHT boat...

As a fishing (trolling/mooching/jigging) boat, I don't think you can beat an Arima in the price range. Very stable/safe, very dry in the chop. Not the smoothest ride, but the stability (e.g, walk two guys to the stern corner and see how you feel) more than makes up for that. The gunnels are also nice and tall, so bringing the kids along is safer than many boat makes. Plus being 16 or 17' makes them very easy to tow with a normal car (e.g. SUV) as opposed to a heavy duty truck.

I've seen plenty of good craigslist deals on Arimas of late, some nice ones in the $8K range. Keep your eyes peeled.

If not Arima, maybe a C-Dory? Tiderunner?

There is a 17.5 fishrite aluminum for sale in the classifieds on this board. 11,500.00 . It is in great shape and has been meticulously cared for. I have fished from it several times. Good Boat for the money and perfect for Sound, Lakes, and or the Coloumbia.-TBJ

You'll be fine in a 17-18 ft boat. I have a 17ft with a 6 degree bottom. I contemplated getting a bigger boat but on top of more $$$, the side height and other measurements on my boat were virtually the same on boats in the 19-20ft range I was looking at so it didn't make sense. Just make sure you're checking the marine forecasts. When it's too crappy for the salt and you still want to go out, hit freshwater instead.

As mentioned, you have to watch the weather no matter what length you get.

My personal feeling is that 18' is a minimum for the saltwater trips. The wind wave frequency in the Straits can make for wet ride with boats in the 16'-17' range. An 18' (or longer) seems to ride a lot drier and will be more stable as a fishing platform.

Like was mentioned,with the right boat,17' is fine for the Sound.

I ran from Everett to PnP more than once in my 17' Alumaweld Super Vee.

I've even ran from Kingston to PnP in my 15' Smokercraft.

I'd say a 20' foot...just for the extra space & stability. On a 16 footer you wont comfortably have room for more than one other person.
I have an 18' foot, and in 3'-4' foot wind waves I get very wet (center console) and pushed around quite a bit.
I agree with Bushbear's post. Up in the marine area you mentioned it can go from 'reasonable' to FUBAR instantly.

Make sure it's a V-Hull not a Tri-hull or flat bottom, etc.

Look at it this way: Look for a solid Salt Water boat just small enough you can put it out on a lake, rather than a lake boat just big enough to go out on the salt.

Hey Aaron,

Your last boat would have been fine for those trips on most days. I used to take my 16' open Gregor out past PNP to Bush or Double Bluff from Mukilteo and Shilshole all the time. Unless it really gets snotty you would be fine in a 16 foot boat.

From what I know about you, you take trips to Eastern Washington lakes a couple times a year and want to fish the salt locally more than out at Seiku. I would look at a used but not abused 16-19 foot fiberglass boat like the Arima or in the same class as the Arima. Best bang for your buck in the 8k to 15k price range.


Go Flick Skippy in the back of the ear for me..

My cousin goes out in his 14ft off Pnp, does fine...16' or up is perfect size for the sound...I agree used Arima is a best bet for quality and money for all purpose Sound fishing...

Thanks for the quick replies guys. It sounds like general consensus is that I would be OK with a 17' or 18' boat assuming sound judgement and that I should consider FG with Arima being one of the top contenders. When I get done here I will go dig around craigslist to see what I can find.

A couple of specific responses...
TBJ - Yeah, that fishrite looks nice. I sent the owner e-mail last night via craigslist but haven't heard back yet. Hopefully I can get in touch with him and go take a look in person.

Sky - The little 12' Smokercraft Alaskan and I had some good salt adventures together. I never took it as far as PNP but as you said, I probably would have made it on a nice day. You nailed it when you described where I would likely be fishing mostly - local salt, seiku once or twice a year, same for Eastern Washington lakes. As for Skipper, I will definately give him a good flick in the ear for you.

Later guys,

Aaron

In terms of FG, what would you guys think of something like this Whaler?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/816903159.html

Looks more like a ski boat to me than a fishing boat but maybe it could be outfitted right?

All the Arima's I've been seeing on craigslist have a cuddy. I always envisioned an open bow in whatever boat I end up with but maybe the cuddy would be fine?

Aaron

The cuddy on the Arimas serves two important purproses....

1. Lockable storage. Think downriggers, fenders, spare parts, anchor, etc, etc, etc.

2. Keeps any wave breaking over your bow outside of the "people" part of the boat. Seems like a big safety winner for me, especially in smaller boats.

I think the open bow could be better if you do lots of mooching or casting/flyfishing.

I spent a weekend up at Nootka Sound with a guy that had a 17 or 18 foot North River, with a 90 HP suzuki engine. I was actually impressed with that boat a lot. He followed us out, got in early and it was just a little champ of a boat. Like stated above, keep safety in mind and any of the above mentioned brands will serve your purpose.

that little north river really flew too. very impressed.

Irish - Good points on the cuddy. Hadn't thought about those benefits.

Fish - From what I've seen, the North Rivers (particularly the Seahawk) look really nice but they seem to be a bit higher priced than most of the boats I'm looking at.

After a bit of digging on craig's list, geez there are a lot of boats out there. Really tough with all the choices. Here's the short list...

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhff7jnt_20cmtctxs8

Aaron -
You did not say what you are going to use to tow the boat . Something to consider is whether you will net to upgrade your vehicle to comfortably tow a "glass" boat.

Also for your freshwater use what sort of launches do you normally use? Might dictate the size/wieght of your rig.

As always getting a boat is full of compromises.

I fish regularly with a buddy that has a 17 foot arima - a great boat that handles water well and would fit the bill for your salt water fishing. I have a 16 foot Alaskan Lund that I really like - works fine for the Sound/Willapa bay as well as the San Juans and Straits on good days. But not the boat for bigger water - for example bouy 10. But it works great for putting in on lakes - If I can get the tires into 6 inches of water and I can easily launch and load by myself. Have no problems putting it on the beach; don't need a dock, etc.

With the Arima a full sized truck is needed as a tow rig while I get by with a smaller vehicle (a ranger). My lund's 4 cycle is half the size of the one on the Arima. I also put a salt water model 80 # thrust bow mounted electric on the lund which is great for holding position for jigging, sliding along rips while throwing bugs for coho,etc while it freshwater it works well for bass and perch fishing and is the really sweet for the kokanee fishing I do (the remote auto-pilot is really handy).

As I said buying a boat is all about compromises. The ideal boat is really 3 boats. Suggest you make a list of what you would like, your must haves, etc and try to balance that with your budget (should be some deals with the current economy). If you are looking new at times there are some good package deals at the winter outdoor/boat shows. The more homework you do the more likely you will be happy with your choice.

Good luck
Curt

Smala - Good point about the tow vehicle. I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 Diesel that should handle the things I'm looking at.

Wonder if the wife would go for three boats. Seriously though, you're right about the compromises. Making the list of requirements is a good idea. I'll do that.

Aaron

AH-imo I would spend as much or more time considering the power. Newer 4 stroke is the only way to go but if you have to go 2 stroke I would stay away from the Merc's and focus on Yamaha...good luck, boat hunting is fun but so is boat selling...cheers

Oh, thought about one more detail worth considering -- especially if you're looking at the Whaler -- weather. Specifically rain and/or cold.

The center console/open bow boats are absoultely amazing on nice days, there's no question. But on a rainy/cold day, the closed bow + canvas on a cuddy is a big advantage when you're moving around, or even just trolling.

Ditto what Summerun said about motors -- IMHO a Yamaha or Honda 4-stroke is what you want. For both the main and kicker. This gets you out of mix-in oil, better fuel economy and a completely unified fuel system (e.g. a single big tank).

The points here about compromise are of course correct -- good luck in your search!

Tell us how much you are thinking of spending.

I have a whaler and love it and my 4 stroke. I've been considering a dodger/canvas etc. Thing is the wife and kids want to get out more often than i expect so I wish I would have gone with a 18-20' for the room.

The 17 is easy to launch and control by myself, cheap on gas, easy to tow, and fits in the garage with the door closed!

Summer and Irish - Good points on the benefit of 4-stroke and open vs. covered. On the latter, I think I like the idea of having a soft top that will keep us out of the weather on nasty days but could be removed on nice days.

Float - I'm trying to stay under $15,000. I hear lots of good things about the Whaler quality and ride.