"Big Lake" boat must-haves?

[SHANK]

The wife and I are starting our search for a used boat for Lake Michigan. We are looking in the 25'-30' range. She wants a boat "you can sleep on" and I want a boat I can add downriggers to and fish with.

With those basic requirements in mind, what features do you guys think I should be looking for? Single engine, twins, trim tabs, invertor, radar...things like that. I've had a few run-abouts but I have no clue about big boats.

[SalmonBum]

If you want to sleep on it, Cuddy with a V-berth, AC (shore)power, battery charger/coverter (not inverter). Ac/Dc Fridge is nice. Dang.... there are soo many choices....... I went thru this 5 yrs ago when I was looking. I wanted a boat that would sleep 4, was trailerable and could Move along at a good clip in Rough Water. I needed a shower with hot water that ran off the motor since I put my boat in early before the marina is open, and I wanted a cabin that wasn't too cramped where I didn't have headroom. The power I ended up with a a Volvo Duo-Prop Single motor, EFI, Closed Cooling. The closed Cooling helped when my boat was in that 1st week of april when it got down to 18°. I was slipped with no worrys. That motor moves my boat at a 33 mph cruise and tops out @ 42mph. I burn 1/3 of the fuel a 28' boat with twin carbed motors does. The duo-prop really pays off in fuel savings.

Sned me PM with your email and I will fill you in with more info.

[SHANK]

Thanks Salmonbum.

Towing/slip lease: I have a 3/4 Chevy 4x4 with a 6.0 liter gasoline engine and towing package. Any worries pulling a boat that size? What's an average slip lease in say Grand Haven, Holland area?

Down riggers: Is there a certain criteria for mounting down riggers as far as the boat goes or can you mount riggers on just about any style?

Thanks again for any input.

[SabikiRig]

Shank,

What is the budget you have in mind for this boat?

[grouly925]

You won't have any problem pulling any boat that is worth trailering with that truck. Thats what I have and I pull 10,000 lbs fairly often and the truck is alright, just costs a lot for gas. Twin engines just make you have to replace two of everything when they go bad. I second the notion of efi, much nicer starting and running on those cold days. Generators are a nice option too if you ever think you are going to stay the night on the water. Like it has been said, the skies the limit.

[SalmonBum]

Thanks Salmonbum.

Towing/slip lease: I have a 3/4 Chevy 4x4 with a 6.0 liter gasoline engine and towing package. Any worries pulling a boat that size? What's an average slip lease in say Grand Haven, Holland area?

Down riggers: Is there a certain criteria for mounting down riggers as far as the boat goes or can you mount riggers on just about any style?

Thanks again for any input.

Yeah, that truck will pull it, but it will cost you some loot in gas. No big deal if you just pull a few times a yr. 6.0 GMC pulls my boat and gets 5.5 mpg. My Dmax in the same truck get 12-13. I only tow two times a yr. Once to get it to the slip, once to get it back.

Grand Haven slips will run you about $1800-2000 I'm Guessing. Ludville is 2k at the city, 2800 for the same slip @ Harbor View next door.


As for mounting riggers, each boat is different. You need to really study your layout and think before you drill. Some boats with twin OB's will cause more of a challage than that of a sq back I/O or IB. Might have to make special mounting fixtures etc..... but , you can get riggers on just about anything if your creative.

[SHANK]

SabikiRig: We haven't nailed that one down yet. Probably not more than 25k or so. But who knows. The wife is hellbent on getting a nice one. I could settle on an older one. Could be as low as 12k. Saw a couple of older Sea Rays in that range.

SalmonBum: Thanks again, useful information.

Is there a power plant to stay away from? How about outdrives? Some of these ads say " New out drives" etc. and those are on 15 year old boats...seems they should last longer than that.

[Jason Adam]

I have a Volvo Duoprop and in my opinion they are the best performing, best built outdrives I have ever expericanced. Their specs across the board blow away anything in the same size/class. Tourque, fuel econory, low speed manuvering, time to plane, are all excellent and far exceed the competition. Mine is parked right next to a Merc BIII(Mercs terrible copy of the VP DP), and the merc looks like it is ready to fall off the boat. Mine looks like it was just put on.

Years of life on an outdrive are directly proportional to mainanence, but many boats have new outdrives, or atleast rebuilt, by the 15 year mark..

[SalmonBum]

Is there a power plant to stay away from? How about outdrives? Some of these ads say " New out drives" etc. and those are on 15 year old boats...seems they should last longer than that.

The reason for new outdrives could be many reasons. Most important, maintenance!!! I know the guy that still has my Old 88’ Trophy with a OMC. That boat has thousands of hrs on it and still has the original outdrive, Why? Maintenance (did I say that again). Myself, as the new owner, did the normal preventative stuff every yr. If you do see a boat that isn’t that old and has new outdrives, there are questions to ask: Who did the maint.? Are there records? Were they replaced due to striking an object? What is new on them? What caused that part to go bad?

If they were not maintained, then there is a good assumption the rest of the boat wasn’t either. If they struck something, what was it and how often was this guy running aground? That will tell you a bit about the owner and how he treats his stuff (like you want it if he didn’t care about it). If the above is not a cause of rebuilds, there may be a structural issue. Example: Week hulls cause excessive flex, in return cause more stress on the I/O = premature failure. I saw another boat that the mounting stringers were uneven (right from the factory), causing the motor to be too high. Motor being too high means the lower was never able to be aligned properly. The owner had the stringers modified, but they did a piss poor job. That lower is descended to be a problem forever on that boat.

Best bet is to get a survey. A good surveyor can catch stuff you can’t see. The boat I described above, I asked the guy if he ever had any issues with the motor/ Lower. He said NO. My surveyor found a motor mount bolt that didn’t look right. Add that to a worn gimbal ring on a boat that was 5 yrs old, something doesn’t sound right. I confronted the owner and he came clean about the mount thing. If he lied about that, what else was he messing with?? I walked away.

[SHANK]

Good stuff guys. I'm printing this thread and saving it...

No time to post more questions now, but I'll think of some today for sure. ;)

Thanks again.

Jason Adams: Do you still want those trout stamps? Tried to PM you the other day but your box was full...