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So here's the deal:
I REALLY want a boat to get out on the lake and get after bass. [bobhappy]
- however -
I weigh 400 lbs. I'm slowly losing it but that's just a fact for the time being. [bob  ]
- so -
Is it even going to be possible for me to enter / drive a boat and not sink it or capsize it from weight imbalance? What about moving around the boat or trolling?
Fun Fact: According to USCG weight capacity standards, I classify as 2.667 persons. [bobsurprised]
I've been on PLENTY of boats before (cruise ships, water ferries, glass bottom boat tours, pirate schooners, aircraft carriers, etc.), but never anything smaller than the Key West Crazy Boat (which holds 18 passengers - 16 riders and 2 operators)
[fishon]
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Depends on the boat. You would be fine on an larger craft. Smaller craft and alone, you would feel it shift to your side. All boats have a weight rating - you would just be displacing more weight than average in one area so it would be leaning to that side. I've got an 18' deep-V glass boat and I can tell when there is more weight to one side or the other but not of any real significance.
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If you got a nice boat with a deep-V hull, you'd be fine.
I wouldn't go with anything shorter than maybe 17 or 18 feet. A nice deep-v like a tracker would probably suit you well. And a motor at least 50 HP, preferably closer to a 90HP.
You'll feel the weight shift, but you wont be capsizing the thing.
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Thank you both for the response. With all that in mind, this is the boat I was looking at getting... a 19' open bow rider. How do you think this will work?
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/boa/4849843275.html
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Looks like a nice boat but I would not buy it without taking it out for a ride first. Depending on how long it has been sitting, there could be issues with the engine or outdrive. One of the most important issues for me when I bought my boat was the width of the beam. The wider the boat the more stable it is, IMO I would not get a boat with less than a 92" beam. You can get by with a smaller boat, beam wise but you will notice a bigger difference when moving around, side to side, in the boat than is narrow.
WH2
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check out the pic below of 5 people in a 10' tin boat..well over 400 lbs
some motivation..[  ]
http://youtu.be/qYln4W3gheA
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Quote:http://youtu.be/qYln4W3gheA
That was funny.... Ok, so I'd be pretty safe on a 19' boat :-) Also, as far as boat research goes:
I called my buddies at the local NDOW office and had them run the hull registration number. They told me the boat had valid registration that only expired in January. The guy selling it told me he had it out fishing as recently as last December. I located his facebook page using his phone number and his posts seem to confirm this.
FWIW - the inside of the boat is THRASHED. The seats looks like Wolverine went apeshit on them. On plus side is the boat comes with a fish finder and the trailer.
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The open Bow definitely a plus for you as for being able to get around the boat.You might need a custom bigdaddy captain's chair though [cool]
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If you want stable, look for a tri-hull boat, they pop up all the time on craigslist. I used to have a 16' 72 Seaswirl trihull and it was very stable, good on Mead...... Except for when the wind/waves were up, then the tri-hull would beat the carp out of passangers. That's the reason I got rid of it and into a deep V, hated the rough ride in 3'+ waves.
I would be leery of the mechanical aspects of an I/O due to all the maintenance items, IE; bellows. If that boat needs a lot of mechanical work, it could rack up a big repair bill. Even though I have an I/O boat, I would suggest looking for an outboard boat.
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Thank you all for your valuable input. You've all made my boat search experience much less stressful and I can't thank you enough. I was worried that if I didn't get an absolutely massive boat I was going to flip it like a brick in a salad bowl. I'll update you if I find something in my price range. [fishon]
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Here's a tri hull with an outboard like Dan mentioned. Similar price.
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/boa/4851432052.html
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I actually contacted him first. He's a nice guy. The issue is the boat has none of the steering hardware installed and there's no way to try the boat before I buy it. If you look at the pictures you can see the steering wheel and gauges have been totally removed.
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ok, so I called him back because the boat looks like it's in remarkably great condition and the engine looks great too, but with no way to test it I overlooked this boat. He said he has all the gauges, cables, other interior parts, etc. in a box and he just hasn't had time to install it all.
So, I called Aqua Marine boats on Lake Mead and he's going to meet me there tomorrow with the boat so they can do an inspection on it and if it passes and they tell me everything I need to get it on the water is in the box, I'll buy it.
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Looks like a half decent boat. If it checks out mechanically, structurally, has all the parts,,,, and isn't going to cost more than its worth to put back together, I'd go for it.
FYI, old fiberglass boats like that are known for rot, rotten wood. I'd have the mechanic check it close for deck soft spots or a weak transom.
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B.O.A.T.
Bust out another thousand...
The one little downside to ownership [cool]
Though I have been luck and in 3+ years of ownership zero dollars have left my wallet other than normal maintenance, etc.
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Cool, let us know what you find out. Newly listed boats come up every day so be patient and keep looking and you'll eventually find something that meets your specs and budget. BOAT does stand for break out another thousand, so remember that it's always going to cost more than you thought it would. Try to budget for that.
You could go with a simpler boat which would have less upkeep costs and repairs are usually cheaper. This might not have as much power as you would like but it's a good example. This would be a fine first boat for someone on a budget.
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/boa/4860234624.html
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