jkbirocz
Well-known member
When I was 12 or 13, my dad bought a used Tracker pro team 175 for us to fish from. We bought it from his buddy that rarely fished, so we got a good deal and traded a honda big red 3-wheeler for a part trade. My dad has always worked nights so in the summers we/I would fish almost everyday from it. He would get home from work and we would head to the lake. He would use the gas motor to go to an area of the lake, then he would fish a little while then break out the bag fold up chair and sleep most of the day, while I motored around with the tm and fished, only to wake him for a fish picture. We had a blast for two or three summers, till my folks got a divorce, after that my dad had little time to fish, and we moved.
Since I was about 16 the boat saw maybe 2 or 3 trips a year, and I mostly just fished from the bank. When I started college my dad asked what I wanted to do with the boat, I told him just to sell it and let someone else enjoy it. There was no sense in just letting it sit. He sold it for a grand. I forget the year, but it was fairly clean; needed some new wood, but had a running 40 horse evinrude and 7.5 mercury kicker....that person got a deal...Oh well.
Well I am finished college and obviously I miss the boat. Every time my dad sees a boat for sale he tells me, and he obviously misses it too. Lately I have been talking to him about converting a boat, and he seems pretty interested. I have plenty of experience with wood and metal working, and a degree in industrial technology....but I know jack **** about boats.
My question is what size boat do I need, mainly in width? I would want to be able to run it in lakes and rivers, and would want to comfortably fish two people for bass, and three for cats. I want to have a nice sized front and back deck to fish standing up. Is a V or a mod-V better for stability for stand up fishing or river running? I don't know about motor size at this point, but I am thinking 20, only because the closest lake is limited to 20hp. My budget is up in the air at this point too, I just want to get a grip on what size of boat we need, and then work on the budget end.
Thanks in advance for any input.
Since I was about 16 the boat saw maybe 2 or 3 trips a year, and I mostly just fished from the bank. When I started college my dad asked what I wanted to do with the boat, I told him just to sell it and let someone else enjoy it. There was no sense in just letting it sit. He sold it for a grand. I forget the year, but it was fairly clean; needed some new wood, but had a running 40 horse evinrude and 7.5 mercury kicker....that person got a deal...Oh well.
Well I am finished college and obviously I miss the boat. Every time my dad sees a boat for sale he tells me, and he obviously misses it too. Lately I have been talking to him about converting a boat, and he seems pretty interested. I have plenty of experience with wood and metal working, and a degree in industrial technology....but I know jack **** about boats.
My question is what size boat do I need, mainly in width? I would want to be able to run it in lakes and rivers, and would want to comfortably fish two people for bass, and three for cats. I want to have a nice sized front and back deck to fish standing up. Is a V or a mod-V better for stability for stand up fishing or river running? I don't know about motor size at this point, but I am thinking 20, only because the closest lake is limited to 20hp. My budget is up in the air at this point too, I just want to get a grip on what size of boat we need, and then work on the budget end.
Thanks in advance for any input.