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I can not get motor started and do not know how to work on motors. My dad painted it with house paint and needs to be sanded off and repainted. Would this boat be worth anything? If so how do I price it? Tires on trailer hold air but so old they will need to be replaced.

This boat has been with me for 40 years. My back can not handle sitting in that boat any longer. Sad to see it go but it sits unused and maybe it is worth something to someone.

I have a 2020 Regal 28 Express. My wife and I like to do (long) weekends on the boat up and down the Potomac river in DC. I have a v12 breaker for my water heater. I am wondering if it would be possible to put that breaker on a digital timer so I could do stuff like, Set it to turn on an hour or two before I wake up and take a shower? I found this timer, but it's not marine grade.

Edit: dang, I messed up. It's on the 120V side. I guess it wouldn't make sense unless I'm running the genny all night, which I wouldn't be. :(

Hello all, we just inherited my father-in-laws fishing boat that he purchased in 2017. Sadly cancer took him before he and I could use it together. Its been sitting for about 3 years on its trailer and has a good maintenance history before then. Largest boat Ive owned is an aluminum rowboat, any immediate pointers?

Hello all. I am trying to wrap my head around the boat market, but there is a lot of it to go around. What I have is a list of ideal qualities that I would like a boat to have or not have. They may be contradictory in some spots, so please don't crucify me if you find something to nitpick in this post. My use cases for a boat are fishing and carrying people from place to place (not at the same time) around the sounds and inland waterways of North Carolina. Here is what I am looking for:

Not too big (but flexible on size)

Cushioned seating for 7 or 8 people when going from place to place

Set up for four people to be able to fish without too much difficulty

As shallow a draft as possible- If I want to go far offshore, I'll hire a charter. It is far more important for me to be able to fish in shallow water.

It doesn't need to be a rocketship by any means, but I'd like enough oomph for it to be able to get out of its own way when loaded with people. I guess I want "enough" power, but have no need for "too much" power.

Quality of components/materials and reliability is important. I know there will always be cleaning and maintenance to be done, but the less time I have to spend on cleaning and maintenance means more time I can spend on the water.

I don't object in principle to buying a used boat, so it doesn't have to be a brand new model. I am more interested in the best value than the lowest price, if you catch my meaning. If you have suggestions for which boat or boats would best fit my needs, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks!

Was recently gifted a Blue Wave 1900 STL from my uncle. Wondering what spot lock trolling motor I should go for. I’ve been looking at the Minn Kota Powerdrive, but according to ChatGPT it’s too small for my boat. 13-1500 would be the ideal price point without the battery, but I’m pretty new to boating and don’t know what the average price is for something with spotlock. I’m not sure if I should go with a 12 or 24v.

I’ll mainly be fishing/spot locking in Galveston bay for reds/speckled if that helps.

Tomorrow I’m taking out a group of people- around 6, which will be the biggest group I’ve taken since I started boating 8 months ago (signed up for a boating club). They’re all older and respectful, so the partying will be kept to a minimum but there will still be drinking. I’m not going to drink any alcohol.

I’ve seen videos of FWC (Florida wildlife) conducting “safety checks” and subsequently arresting the captain. I even watch the video where an individual blew 0.00 and was still arrested. Those field sobriety test are designed to make people fail.

Getting arrested would have serious consequences for me as I hold a safety clearance (pilot).

So how can I avoid getting onboarded by the FWC… following all boating laws, wake zones, and not having empty cans all around the boat? Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Fishrite Rouge Widebody 18.5 or a Forest River 20ft? But are similar ages (2004) with 90hp outboards.

I would fish mostly lakes, trolling with down-riggers. However, I would also like to go in the ocean for salmon and crabbing.

Which boat would best suit my needs?

Can anyone give me further information on the DPC Mateur? From what I've heard, it was a steamboat built in 1944 and decommissioned in 1978. It was one of the last steamboats working on the Mississippi River. I heard someone bought it in 1991 and turned it into a floating restaurant in Illinois. My grandfather remembers working on the Mateur in the 1960s, and I wanted to see what happened to it. Did it get scrapped eventually, or is it still afloat somewhere?

Hey everybody, first of all, if my post is not fitting for this sub please tell me and I will remove it.

My grandparents had to sell their boat a few weeks ago after having it for more than 25 years. I want to build them a small model of it for christmas. (I have access to 3d printers, lasercutting and other DIY tools). However, I don't know what boat they had and I don't want to ask since it is meant to be a surprise. I have appended the two best pictures I have and will list some things I know here:

• Built at least before 2000, but could also be earlier, like mid 80s
• Only has one cabin for two people port side, although it is possible that it had two but one was used/rebuild for other stuff.
• Does not have a steering wheel but a tiller right in the middle (Might also be changed from the original model?).

I hope to be able to model the boat quite well if I find out what model it is and can look up more pictures of it. If you have any other ideas, please let me know!

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Anybody dewinterizing their boats just to enjoy a warmer than normal weekend on the water? My winterizing process includes a full fluids change I wouldn't repeat that to rewinterize just a run of antifreeze through the stern drive?

Wondering what is the recommended 'best practice' for quality trailer wiring:

Option A - local grounds: I know one option is to ground every light locally nearby into the trailer frame and then connect the white (ground) wire from the 4 pin connector into the frame as well. In this case the trailer itself is used to transfer the ground electricity.

Option B - ground circuit: an alternative option I've seen is to run all of the ground wires back and connect directly to the ground wire coming out of the 4-pin connector. In this case there is no current going into the trailer frame, everything is sealed and running through actual wiring back to the vehicle.

Pros and cons of each? What is the 'right' way to do it if you want to do it well?

I can see the following for option B (ground circuit):

• Con: More expensive, seeing as you need to run all the ground wires the distance of the trailer
• Con: Connecting ground wires from 5-8 trailer lights could be annoying. I've seen folks use a trailer junction box to make the install clean and easily serviceable. Not sure if a junction box is a good idea on a boat trailer considering it will likely be filled with salt water regularly!?
• Pro: closed ground circuit means you're not chasing grounding issues across 5-10 different local grounds!
• Other pros/cons?