jhop111
0
They're a few acronyms for boat that seem to be pretty accurate. Back in August I traded in two boats, a bass tracker and a 20ft old school north river that I had spent some time all over the state in every type of situation imaginable. over the last year or two I realized I only used to bass tracker on my yearly expedition to brownlee in search of catfish and crappie. The north river was my most used boat, it had a 200 mercury and and 9.9 bigfoot kicker. It would run on a damp rock, although not on purpose. My only drawback on the sled was it was narrow and didn't have much free board. After taking a few gallons of water over the sides trolling for kokes I decided it was time for an upgrade. I learned the hard way I needed
A boat with high sides
A wider boat
A longer boat (2 foot itis)
Ability to stay dry and out of the elements year round
A jet pump
A kicker
No carpet
So I started looking at gently used boats over the summer. Turns out if you look hard enough you will find what your looking for. I found a willie raptor down in coos bay. Shes a 24ft long by 84 inch fishing machine. It has a 250 optimax inboard jet and I put a new yamaha 9.9 high thrust kicker with warm water sink.
I added 9 scotty rod holders, a bait staton on the dog house, a garmin 741 up front and a humminbird 788 on the back. I kept the layout open and opted for 2 movable seats on bases. Its wired for my cannon electrics as well. The boat came with a low profile sturdy as all heck springer top. I kept the top and had another taller canvas made so that anyone under 6-4 can stand up in. The boat was pretty stripped down so I also added a columbia river anchor up front. I opted for 3 batteries, 2 for the kicker and electronics and downrigger and 1 for the main, all are on a blue sea switch with low voltage alarm. I also had to find a few parts to make the washdown pump operational again. All in told the deal kept the boat for close to 5 weeks from the day I signed papers to when my list of goodies and service list was finished.
All in all it was a longer than normal process, they're still items and accessories to be added as needed. But I had the entire unit fully serviced and replaced common items like plugs, oils, bearings and brakes. So I was not in a hurry, especially with the dry weather. Anyway it was a much better deal than a new boat, which I think run around the "OMG" price range. She's not new, has a couple scratches and dings, but she's mine and caught fish 30 seconds into my first trip with it. I think I'll keep it, just need to name it. any ideas?
A boat with high sides
A wider boat
A longer boat (2 foot itis)
Ability to stay dry and out of the elements year round
A jet pump
A kicker
No carpet
So I started looking at gently used boats over the summer. Turns out if you look hard enough you will find what your looking for. I found a willie raptor down in coos bay. Shes a 24ft long by 84 inch fishing machine. It has a 250 optimax inboard jet and I put a new yamaha 9.9 high thrust kicker with warm water sink.
I added 9 scotty rod holders, a bait staton on the dog house, a garmin 741 up front and a humminbird 788 on the back. I kept the layout open and opted for 2 movable seats on bases. Its wired for my cannon electrics as well. The boat came with a low profile sturdy as all heck springer top. I kept the top and had another taller canvas made so that anyone under 6-4 can stand up in. The boat was pretty stripped down so I also added a columbia river anchor up front. I opted for 3 batteries, 2 for the kicker and electronics and downrigger and 1 for the main, all are on a blue sea switch with low voltage alarm. I also had to find a few parts to make the washdown pump operational again. All in told the deal kept the boat for close to 5 weeks from the day I signed papers to when my list of goodies and service list was finished.
All in all it was a longer than normal process, they're still items and accessories to be added as needed. But I had the entire unit fully serviced and replaced common items like plugs, oils, bearings and brakes. So I was not in a hurry, especially with the dry weather. Anyway it was a much better deal than a new boat, which I think run around the "OMG" price range. She's not new, has a couple scratches and dings, but she's mine and caught fish 30 seconds into my first trip with it. I think I'll keep it, just need to name it. any ideas?
