Boats

[grappling_hook]

43k for a lund??? lol wtf....

I thought that, too, and then saw they have boats like this Lund Baron https://www.lundboats.com/families/baron.html that has an MSRP over $78K (with a 250 Mercury). Sure it's a 22' boat, but it's still an open top riveted aluminum boat. Wild pricing. I mean, at that price you could get a closed cabin welded aluminum boat with a Honda or Yamaha on the back (Hewescraft, Duckworth, Kingfisher, etc, maybe even a smaller North River).

 

[Doc Holliday]

If anyone is on Instagram, and into boating,, be sure to follow

thequalifiedcaptain

Pure gold

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As for the boat market and pricing, ever since about 2012, prices have gone up steadily. Every year people say how overpriced boats are, yet they continue to go up. Covid shut down alot of factories last year and there are lingering supply chain issues, which puts even more strain on the supply of new boats, which causes used boat prices to go up as well. I know two different people who ordered boats last summer that were supposed to be delivered in January....they are getting the runaround from dealers and current delivery is now set for June. Also, between now and July is the worst time of year to buy a boat, but the best time to sell.

See if you have a Freedom boat club nearby. I know a couple of people who have memberships, and in addition to being able to use all kinds of practically new boats (center consoles, pontoons, deck boats, bowriders), you also get reciprocal membership at all of their other locations, so good for vacations as well. You pay for gas when u get back but don't have to worry about maintenance, repairs, storage, or trailering.

thehulltruth.com is the place to learn about/discuss boats, just like this the place for western hunting

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I thought that, too, and then saw they have boats like this Lund Baron https://www.lundboats.com/families/baron.html that has an MSRP over $78K (with a 250 Mercury). Sure it's a 22' boat, but it's still an open top riveted aluminum boat. Wild pricing. I mean, at that price you could get a closed cabin welded aluminum boat with a Honda or Yamaha on the back (Hewescraft, Duckworth, Kingfisher, etc, maybe even a smaller North River).

I know a guy who got a tricked out 18” Lund, it’s got a canopy, seats, steering wheel, all sorts of extras. He paid around 40k for it and like you said....it’s still a riveted Lund.

He could have gotten a hewescraft sportsman 200 for that price.

 

[rodney482]

43k for a lund??? lol wtf....

Too much? Too cheap?
1875 Impact sport 150 merc, 9.9 kicker, high end electronics, terrova trolling motor.

msrp was $54,000

 

[rodney482]

I know a guy who got a tricked out 18” Lund, it’s got a canopy, seats, steering wheel, all sorts of extras. He paid around 40k for it and like you said....it’s still a riveted Lund.

He could have gotten a hewescraft sportsman 200 for that price.

Hewescraft went to crap when Hewes no longer owned them. Waterlogged foam is a big issue, CS is garbage.

 

[IdahoElk]

The used boat market is nuts. I sold my 13’ jon boat this weekend for double what I paid for it. In 2 days I think I had 40 to 50 people contact me about it. I’m very happy I sold it, spent more time working on it than fishing in it. Don’t buy used.

What's there to work on a 13' Jon boat?

 

[jlh42581]

Bought a brand new 2015 skeeter, sold it two summers ago, had 60 hours on the motor. I bought it in 16 as a left over. Unless you live right on a lake or have ungodly amounts of time to fish/ski/whatever you will never get the money out of it. My wife and kid had very little interest in it. Now the "family time" is spent on SXS trails, they like that more.

 

[Missahba]

Buy a 10+\- year old Lund or other quality aluminum 16’ tiller 25 to 50 hp with whatever deck setup you prefer. Get a good cover or store inside. Keep up with maintenance and you’ll lose little to nothing on it if and when you sell.

It will tow younger kids tubing or water skiing in a pinch. It gets two or three people on the water besides fishing and hunting. If your wife is really going to go with you, maybe opt for a steering wheel and windshield, but big price jump.

On the occasions you want to take 6+ people out for fun and sun, rent a pontoon.

This is how I would start out. It’s in your budget. Minimizes losses. Gets you in the boat game. After two or three years you will know what you want.

I’ve boated on my family’s and my boats for 50 years. Currently have a 28’ cuddy, 19’ CC and a 15’ flat back canoe. Be aware they are time and money pits Your hunting budget for both will suffer. My opinion. YMMV.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Too much? Too cheap?
1875 Impact sport 150 merc, 9.9 kicker, high end electronics, terrova trolling motor.

msrp was $54,000
View attachment 287378

But it’s still a riveted lund.

 

[zacattack]

What's there to work on a 13' Jon boat?

Mostly working on keeping old ass outboards running.

 

[fatbacks]

Mine is a few years old, but I think base pricing on it was ~$42k.... would hate to know what they cost now. Kingfisher Extreme Shallow.

 

[izzyb55]

My father-in-law had a Wellcraft. Great boat

 

[Moserkr]

Makes me glad Im finishing up my 16’ starcraft ss project. I will have ~$5k into it including tools, and can rebuild it from the ground up if I ever need to again. I could add $15k in a new motor and electronics but why? Still have an old running outboard on it and a spare matching motor for parts. These new boat prices are insane. Ill catch just as many fish and have just as much fun for a fraction of the price. But i get it, some people have money to burn or want to have the latest n greatest. New boats have issues too so theres no escaping the acronym of b.o.a.t....

 

[rodney482]

But it’s still a riveted lund.

And ive seen welds break.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

And ive seen welds break.

Sure, nothing is indestructable.

 

[FLAK]

I have a 15'6" Gheenoe Classic with a 9.8 Tohatsu on the back.

 

[Ocnandmtns]

There’s definitely a Covid premium on boat prices right now. But even before that you wouldn’t be able to justify the price of a boat by the actual sticker price. You have to look at these kind of things by how much enjoyment you get out of them... Just like hunting and the meat we harvest on a fly in hunt. If we calculate the price per pound of meat we get it’s a bad investment too! I don’t wanna look at how much money I’ve spent on my boats over the years but I’ve had a lot of Freaking fun on them. I can’t say that for a lot of other things I’ve paid for.

 

[Antarctica]

Mine is a few years old, but I think base pricing on it was ~$42k.... would hate to know what they cost now. Kingfisher Extreme Shallow.

View attachment 287484

Man I love these shallow water river boats. But I can't for the life of me understand why no-one seems to build one with a hard pilothouse. If I'm out in the summer, I want protection from the sun, and if I'm out in the winter, I want protection from the rain. Ideally big enough to sleep on the floor of.

Idea for me would be something like a hardtop side steer, center walk through seaark with an outboard jet.

With a square nose that I can put some wheel ramps to.

Could start to get heavy, but I bet it could be done.

Great pic BTW...

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Man I love these shallow water river boats. But I can't for the life of me understand why no-one seems to build one with a hard pilothouse. If I'm out in the summer, I want protection from the sun, and if I'm out in the winter, I want protection from the rain. Ideally big enough to sleep on the floor of.

Idea for me would be something like a hardtop side steer, center walk through seaark with an outboard jet.

With a square nose that I can put some wheel ramps to.

Could start to get heavy, but I bet it could be done.

Great pic BTW...

I always thoughtthey didn't build hard top stuff like that as much because of weight. I know when I was buying my jet boat, I wanted the lightest boat I could find because where I hunt and fish I often have to be on step through creeks that are less than 12". I end up shuttling moose out as it is, I'd hate to have a boat that weighed an extra 200-300 lbs. Plus most of the time i'm alone so a smaller boat is easier to get out of the much.

 

[fatbacks]

Man I love these shallow water river boats. But I can't for the life of me understand why no-one seems to build one with a hard pilothouse. If I'm out in the summer, I want protection from the sun, and if I'm out in the winter, I want protection from the rain. Ideally big enough to sleep on the floor of.

Idea for me would be something like a hardtop side steer, center walk through seaark with an outboard jet.

With a square nose that I can put some wheel ramps to.

Could start to get heavy, but I bet it could be done.

Great pic BTW...

There are a lot of guys running the type of boat you're talking about. They are doing extended yukon trips in the fall. Although they're all typically longer (like 24'+) so they can put a pile of gear, tons of fuel and ATVs in the bow. A lot also run a jack plate in the back so they can run a prop down the main river then switch to a jet unit on the smaller rivers.

On smaller boats like mine with a 200 hp inboard jet, it gets a lot more sensitive to weight. Power to weight ratio is super important to keep an eye on with jets. I think a big hard top would cut way down on performace and be a huge issue if you run it up on a sand bar.