Bandit9
Member
My Uncle recently passed away and I was given his little 1436 Alweld Jon boat with a 1992 Merc 25hp 2 stroke tiller steer. I spent a lot time on the water as a kid, growing up in South Louisiana, but haven't done much on the water in 25 years. What I would like to to do is use the boat to cruise around the bayous here in South La., lakes up in Arkansas, and do some bass fishing with my 3 yr old boy as he grows up. More cruising than fishing. I like to explore.
My dad and I took the boat for a spin last weekend. It runs great. It's pretty fast actually. Motor is plenty. However the torque pull to the right was so strong that we had to use two hands to keep it going straight. Not very fun. I checked the little fin above the prop and it's already as far as it can go. So first order of business is too figure out how to correct this or if converting it to a steering wheel with a side console is worth it? It was pretty dangerous trying to drive it like this. Especially with my wife and young son in the boat. I would feel much better with a steering wheel. I've been told by someone to just sell this boat and get another one that has everything on it that I want already. That the conversion is pretty expensive in the end and you still have a 36" wide boat. I could live with the tiller steering if it was a little safer to use.
All I know is that this boat was free. So if I sink a $1000 into it, I'm not out a bunch of money and I have a neat little boat. So I'm willing to try and make this boat work, but also don't want to bang my head against the wall if it is not necessary.
I pretty much gutted the boat. Removed all the flooring and pressure washed it. It is ready to be built up.
Also, what is a boat like this worth anyway? It has two benches, the forward one with a live well. It has some dings and scratches, but overall it is a solid boat.
On the same note, how much ballpark would a used 1448 be with a 25hp motor steering wheel/side console? I have no idea.
My dad and I took the boat for a spin last weekend. It runs great. It's pretty fast actually. Motor is plenty. However the torque pull to the right was so strong that we had to use two hands to keep it going straight. Not very fun. I checked the little fin above the prop and it's already as far as it can go. So first order of business is too figure out how to correct this or if converting it to a steering wheel with a side console is worth it? It was pretty dangerous trying to drive it like this. Especially with my wife and young son in the boat. I would feel much better with a steering wheel. I've been told by someone to just sell this boat and get another one that has everything on it that I want already. That the conversion is pretty expensive in the end and you still have a 36" wide boat. I could live with the tiller steering if it was a little safer to use.
All I know is that this boat was free. So if I sink a $1000 into it, I'm not out a bunch of money and I have a neat little boat. So I'm willing to try and make this boat work, but also don't want to bang my head against the wall if it is not necessary.
I pretty much gutted the boat. Removed all the flooring and pressure washed it. It is ready to be built up.
Also, what is a boat like this worth anyway? It has two benches, the forward one with a live well. It has some dings and scratches, but overall it is a solid boat.
On the same note, how much ballpark would a used 1448 be with a 25hp motor steering wheel/side console? I have no idea.