Looking to buy my first boat! Help a newbie out!!

[Juniah87]

Hello all!

I am searching for a 12-14 foot boat, but I have absolutely no experience, and am looking for some advice.

I am planning on using it in lakes, and need it to be budget friendly! I am hoping to get some good brand names I should be on the look for, and ones I should avoid. I know just by looking at pictures that these "johnboats" are probably something I should avoid, they look like they aren't very stable, can't hold a lot of weight, and probably wouldn't do well with any kind of motor (outboard or electric) Should I be looking for aluminum, or fiberglass? I have a Tahoe with a trailer hitch, so weight isn't really an issue. I am hoping to get one with a 6 or 9 HP outboard. What price range should I expect? I will be looking on craigslist for something used as well, since thet should drop the price dramatically. If there is something that can handle rivers at a decent price, I'm all for it, but I'm expecting something like that to be a bit out of my comfort zone as far as price. I'm hoping to spend around $2000 or so, the less the better, but it needs to be motor driven, not ME driven! I have a 1-man pontoon boat already, but I have physical limitations right now that make it pretty difficult to row. I can do it, but not for long periods. (Not to mention I'm in Kitsap county for a while, and my pontoon is in storage.......... in PULLMAN!)

Thanks a ton in advance for anyone's advice!

[Hunter757]

So you have to decide on size and how many people you plan on taking with you. I have had many boats over the years starting with my first a free to me john boat 12 ft that got me on the water with a electric motor. I had a mirro craft aluminum boat that I absolutely loved and would recommend for anyone. They are a older riveted boat and built very well and can be had for a great price.

Look online and check everyday there are some deals to be had. I saw a very sweet 14' boat with trailer and electric motor and other stuff go for 400 from a estate sale. I passed on it but the next guy took it, lasted 20 min. This boat was worth over 1000 bucks easy. So deal can be had. There are many outboards to be had for a good price just keep your eyes open but get the boat first as you might find someone selling the whole set up.
Any boat you buy try and take it out on the water for a test run, make sure the seams don't leak and motor runs strong. For 2000.00 you should be able to find a very nice used set up.

Good luck and you can always post up some pictures of something you find and ask lots of questions.

[The Quadfather]

Welcome Juniah,
I have a 14' Lund, deep V hull, 25 hp Merc. tiller. Riveted aluminum.
I bought it new. This boat serves me well in all areas, to level that I need it for.
That is to say, boating 5-7 miles down very large lakes like Lake Ozette, on the coast. (Boat camping)
As well as smaller lakes where I need to take off the gas motor.
I also am comfortable within Puget Sound, (within a few miles up/down North-South)- not a boat to take out into the shipping lanes. It would be fine in some rivers as well, although not my way to fish rivers.

My opinions are to put as much of your $$ into a strong dependable newer motor. Realizing of course that might be more $$ than you want to spend...A simple starter boat in this size is easy to find, and relatively simple to assess. But motors in my opinion are the dark mystery horse. I would take it for a compression test, and be very certain of the motors reliability.
(I am speaking as if your boat choice is a simple runabout aluminum with minimal electrical add-ons)

[Juniah87]

Thank you for the speedy replies guys! Hunter757, I am looking for probably a 12 foot length. I want to be able to take a total of 3 people at most, most of the time it will be just me. When you say look online, is craigslist my best bet? Are there other places I can check for used boats? I know Cabelas has a used boats section that you can look, but the Cabelas near me do not seem to have very much in stock.

The Quadfather I absolutely agree with putting my money towards the motor rather than the boat itself! I know they can get pretty spendy, especially if they have low to no hours on them! I'm headed out to Island Lake in Mason county to do some fishing from shore, looking forward to any and all responses when I get home, hopefully with scaly hands!

Thanks again for your fast replies!

~ Juniah

[branweeds]

Juniah,

Isn't that lake closed until April?
I also have a 12' Livingston with a 5.5 Seahorse and a trolling motor. Its a dual hull fiberglass boat I got from my grandpa. I really only take it out when I have a buddy or two to take fishing, because I enjoy the simplicity of a fishing kayak. But the boat does great all over the lakes that I can take it in, I even use it for bass fishing!

Brandon

[jd39]

I have a 12' Livingston with a 9.8hp. It's my first boat and the best money I ever spent. It's tight but can fish up to three, two comfortably and super easy to manage alone. Between licensing/registration, yearly motor service and gas probably costs $300-400 a year to operate which is pretty cheap for the 30-40 days a year I get to use it. Consider maintenance costs too as you think this through.
It is super stable as well and one year it kept a buddy and I from swimming in the middle of Sammamish in the middle of winter. (He lost his balance and hit the freeboard high and hard, in a little 12' alum I think we would have been swimming)
I highly recommend a Livingston!
Sorensens are great boats as well if you can find one, they're a similar design to a Livingston.
Have fun and be safe!

[fisherman92]

I have a 14 ft Lund that stays on Lake Goodwin and I have had it for over 10 years and its awesome. I still need to invest in a trailer and gas motor but it does well with my electric trolling motor, unless its windy.. Also, I have 2 smaller boats that are fiberglass, one being an 8 ft Livingston. It has some small damage to the hull though so when I used to use it id have to bring a small bucket to bail water out haha. Aluminum to be seems like the best choice especially if you beach your boat. Now I have a personal pontoon which is just easy for quick outings. And I have friends with boats for other occasions too haha.

[TrackerPro16]

You need to be a bit more specific with what you are doing with it.
A livingston would be my knee jerk response (I have had 3) but if you are going to ground it a lot or bang it on rocks in shallows it may not be the first choice as it is glass and will not take much of that before you will be repairing the bottom. The weight (200+) is what finally got me to switch to a PortaBote (70 ish) for my small portable. They are both great for their intended purposes. I did a lot of bowfishing in the Livingston standing on the center with a foot on the gunnel though I cannot recommended it for safety purposes. The cat hulls are ultra stable. I put an 18 hp on one of my 10' Livingston's and it would skip across the waves! Fun stuff!
'No' on the Jon boat. They don't have a lot of freeboard. I had one for about a month. When I leaned over the back corner out on a lake and it went under water I realized it was not for me. They work good where there are no rough water.
If you are going to do any saltwater a riveted may not be your best option. They can get corrosion easier than a welded hull and then you have leaks. The wider the better for stability, long is good too but I would go for width over length if that is the choice.
Outboards are another thing. Four strokes are heavier for the same horse power as a two stroke but are easier on the gas and don't (older two strokes) smoke. I have only owned two strokes but have 'used' a four stroke before. More torque, less useful speed range compared to the two stroke, quieter. I am still partial to the two strokes for the lighter weight for the power. There are still a ton of them out there and can be found for good prices but you have to mix fuel (properly) to have them running the best.
Good hunting!

[Juniah87]

Juniah,

Isn't that lake closed until April?
I also have a 12' Livingston with a 5.5 Seahorse and a trolling motor. Its a dual hull fiberglass boat I got from my grandpa. I really only take it out when I have a buddy or two to take fishing, because I enjoy the simplicity of a fishing kayak. But the boat does great all over the lakes that I can take it in, I even use it for bass fishing!

Brandon

Which lake are you referring to? If you meant Kitsap, that is a year-round lake, but I was referring to the county, not the lake, sorry for not specifying!

That sounds like an awesome set-up! If I could comfortably row for more then a few minutes at a time I wouldn't mind dropping a couple hundred bucks on another pontoon boat, but in my current condition that just isn't going to work for me. (I am in kidney failure and currently have a catheter leading into my heart for hemodialysis that cannot get wet under any circumstances due to high risk of infection. Hopefully should be removed in a couple weeks time, and healed up by summer though!) I do love my little pontoon boat though! I haven't bass fished in it yet, but I sure plan on trying! I did a LOT of trolling for rainbows in that little thing! (Was introduced to trolling wooly buggers on a spinning rod a few years back, I haven't seen trout action like that on any other lure, the hatchery fish go nuts over those darn things!)

I have a 12' Livingston with a 9.8hp. It's my first boat and the best money I ever spent. It's tight but can fish up to three, two comfortably and super easy to manage alone. Between licensing/registration, yearly motor service and gas probably costs $300-400 a year to operate which is pretty cheap for the 30-40 days a year I get to use it. Consider maintenance costs too as you think this through.
It is super stable as well and one year it kept a buddy and I from swimming in the middle of Sammamish in the middle of winter. (He lost his balance and hit the freeboard high and hard, in a little 12' alum I think we would have been swimming)
I highly recommend a Livingston!
Sorensens are great boats as well if you can find one, they're a similar design to a Livingston.
Have fun and be safe!

Thank you for sharing your advice with me! I am seeing a lot of recommendations for Livingston boats, I will definitely be keeping my eye out for used Livingston's on the handfull of websites you guys have provided me with.

I have a 14 ft Lund that stays on Lake Goodwin and I have had it for over 10 years and its awesome. I still need to invest in a trailer and gas motor but it does well with my electric trolling motor, unless its windy.. Also, I have 2 smaller boats that are fiberglass, one being an 8 ft Livingston. It has some small damage to the hull though so when I used to use it id have to bring a small bucket to bail water out haha. Aluminum to be seems like the best choice especially if you beach your boat. Now I have a personal pontoon which is just easy for quick outings. And I have friends with boats for other occasions too haha.

I'm seeing a lot of suggestions for Lund too, they seem like a well-known, dependable brand. Thanks for the advice! I've been waiting for someone to respond with a "don't buy a boat, make a friend with a boat instead, it's cheaper!" hahahaha I agree, I think aluminum will be the way to go.

You need to be a bit more specific with what you are doing with it.
A livingston would be my knee jerk response (I have had 3) but if you are going to ground it a lot or bang it on rocks in shallows it may not be the first choice as it is glass and will not take much of that before you will be repairing the bottom. The weight (200+) is what finally got me to switch to a PortaBote (70 ish) for my small portable. They are both great for their intended purposes. I did a lot of bowfishing in the Livingston standing on the center with a foot on the gunnel though I cannot recommended it for safety purposes. The cat hulls are ultra stable. I put an 18 hp on one of my 10' Livingston's and it would skip across the waves! Fun stuff!
'No' on the Jon boat. They don't have a lot of freeboard. I had one for about a month. When I leaned over the back corner out on a lake and it went under water I realized it was not for me. They work good where there are no rough water.
If you are going to do any saltwater a riveted may not be your best option. They can get corrosion easier than a welded hull and then you have leaks. The wider the better for stability, long is good too but I would go for width over length if that is the choice.
Outboards are another thing. Four strokes are heavier for the same horse power as a two stroke but are easier on the gas and don't (older two strokes) smoke. I have only owned two strokes but have 'used' a four stroke before. More torque, less useful speed range compared to the two stroke, quieter. I am still partial to the two strokes for the lighter weight for the power. There are still a ton of them out there and can be found for good prices but you have to mix fuel (properly) to have them running the best.
Good hunting!

Thank you for all the info, I really appreciate it! I am leaning towards an aluminum Livingston. I am a pretty experienced boat driver, so I am not worried too much about hitting things, I used to work for a company that raised steelhead in netpens on the Columbia, and had to drive a couple different 14 to 20 foot boats, both aluminum and fiberglass, for probably about 30 minutes every work day on average, and in some pretty interesting weather conditions at times. Wasn't there during the winter, but we saw some pretty hefty currents, and some decent wave action during the spring. I agree with the outboards. It would be nice to have a 4-stroke because of the mileage and lower exhaust, but given the weight and price I am looking at, I think a 2-stroke would be best. (I don't know if it's just me being weird, but I actually like the smell of 2-stroke exhaust. The weird stuff you learn about people on fishing forums, eh? ) Thansk again for putting so much time into a response to help out a newbie, I really appreciate it!

Almost forgot to answer your inquiries regarding intended use! I don't plan on going into saltwater,I mostly plan on going into lakes (large and small, once I get a boat I'd like to be able to fish the larger lakes I've always avoided because I didn't have enough access to the good fishing spots from shore) and would like to be able to do small to medium sized rivers. I don't plan on doing anything large like the Columbia, and if I do it will be at a slow current section of the river, like Rufus Woods.

[kokapaw]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22588" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I would work with you as I still have this one in storage .

[TrackerPro16]

I was not implying you would run around hitting things. Hope I did not give that impression. I more meant beaching it on rocks where it would sit rocking on them or bumping over the bottom in shallow water. They have a pretty shallow draft though. I had one that had hard protectors on the bottom. That was pretty cool!
The Livingson's are all glass that I am aware of? I don't think they made an aluminum boat. Or anything that was not a cat hull. There are always Whaler's too but they tend to be pretty expensive. Some of the small ones don't seem to have a lot of freeboard. At least not enough for my tastes.

[eat-sleep-fish]

Not sure how far you want to travel but found a pretty good deal in Moses Lake.
b5wdr-6022682557@sale.craigslist.org

[DavidA]

Hey Juniah. Your fishing requirements sound similar to mine maybe 3 years ago. I live in north Kitsap and after fishing from a modified 12' inflatable for years, ended up buying a 12' Hi-Laker with a trailer and older 2 stroke 8 hp Evinrude through Craigslist. I've since upgraded to an older 15 hp Johnson to get up on plane. I don't regret any of it and would highly recommend a Hi-Laker and older 2 stroke motors. Hi-Lakers are older but solid and could get you out shrimping and crabbing, but might be a problem in rivers. I just have no experience there. Best of luck, 'neighbor'.

P.S. The mention of fishing a lake that might be closed, could have been referring Island Lake.

[Juniah87]

Thank you for all the pointers and advice, I really appreciate it! Unfortunately I just finally got hold of the disability claims office and apparently I'm not going to be getting paid by the state for the first 5 months of my kidney failure and hemodialysis, so will not have the money I thought I would (which is weird, because I was deathly ill in those 5 months, but am feeling a million times better now, you think it would be the opposite!). I am getting ready to drive over to Pullman and pick up my pontoon to see if there is a way I can DIY an electric motor mount and battery holder. I may take pictures and post them here later for ideas on how to do so. Worse comes to worse, I can still fish from the thing, it may take me a while to get places, but at least I can get away from the boat launches and public docks finally! Again, thank you all for your input, I learned heaps for when I am ready to purchase a boat, it will come in handy soon!

[TrackerPro16]

There is always a way to mount stuff. Lot's of installation vid's and accessories for the pontoon boats these days. a little outboard motor may work for you too. I have a 1 hp Tanaka air cooled outboard I use with my PortaBote. Super light.

[Juniah87]

There is always a way to mount stuff. Lot's of installation vid's and accessories for the pontoon boats these days. a little outboard motor may work for you too. I have a 1 hp Tanaka air cooled outboard I use with my PortaBote. Super light.

U syre hope so, because I couldn't find my oars in my storage locker! I don't have the foot pump used to inflate the pontoons either, so I bought a battery-operated air pump from walmart that has 3 adapters on it, and figure if I can't find oen that works I'll cut the end off and duct tape it I'm gonna get away from the boat launches at some point this spring if I need to put on some darn floaty wings and swim out there to fish!

I don't even remember the brand or model of my pontoon, once I inflate it I'll know, then I can research if there is any way to build a mount for a motor. I'll have to do that tomorrow, I'm exhausted from driving to Pullman and back, been on the road for about 12 hours. I'm ready for bed

P.S. If anyone has done a DIY motor mount on their personal pontoon, I would LOVE to see pictures.

[Juniah87]

So here is another question: Has anyone ever put a motor on a pontoon that says "Not rated for motors"?

Here is my particular model: https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Accessor ... al_qh_dp_i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is only rated for 350 pounds luckily I only weigh 150, so I don't think that will be a problem, I don't think the assembly, battery, and motor willw eigh more than 200 pounds, but I have a feeling I'll be sitting pretty low in the water. Also, if anyone knows how to get replacemet oars for this, that'd be nice, the only ones I can find cost almost as much as the boat did when I got it!

Also, as a side note, does anyone know if there is a particular oar model that works with these boats? I've lost my oars, and need to replace them, but that is proving very difficult with a discontinued boat.

[The Quadfather]

So here is another question: Has anyone ever put a motor on a pontoon that says "Not rated for motors"?

Here is my particular model: https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Accessor ... al_qh_dp_i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is only rated for 360 pounds luckily I only weigh 150, so I don't think that will be a problem, I don't think the assembly, battery, and motor willw eigh more than 200 pounds, but I have a feeling I'll be sitting pretty low in the water. Also, if anyone knows how to get replacemet oars for this, that'd be nice, the only ones I can find cost almost as much as the boat did when I got it!

Juniah, Check your PM's regarding the motor option. I can tell you from experience, that smaller pontoons, kind of in this realm, can really ride low when carrying a motor and battery. Your buck-fifty weight is a benefit though.
You could do some things with cutting a slab of wood to mount to the rear frame behind the seat, and this would be the beginning of allowing you place a battery, and build an attachment for the motor. There are some complications, as that the motor needs a place of height to attach the top area of the motor to your make-shift mount... then the issue of drag of battery box, in the water.

[Noodle Caboodle]

Search home made motor mounts for pontoons, or something similar and you should get plenty of ideas. Theres is a series of videos where a guy makes a pvc motor mount for his pontoon.
As for oars, if they fit through the oar locks they will work. You can always try calling a company that sells a similar sized pontoon and they will probably sell you some oars.

[Sideburns]

Even a small battery on a platform behind the seal makes an 8 ft pontoon ride low in back! I was able to slide my seat forward on my 9ft fish cat (to compensate). Should be able to figure out a simple motor mount. Easily done with welding and bending tools!

...but I cant stand having to reach around behind my back to steer!
How cool would it be to have some sort of foot control? Ive been trying unsuccessfully to brainstorm some sort of twin motor setup that steers by varying power to the left and right motors...

Another cool idea i saw was to front mount the trolling motor between your legs. Shorten the shaft and turn the handle around. Seems like the motor mount would be easier to fabricate too.