should i buy it

Should I buy this boat. $300. 14' Hull ID says its made by Chrysler. I believe its a Commander with the optional side steer. Seats need to be redone, Owner says he has a 25hp johnson for it. Trailer doesn't seem to fit boat........I just love the console......

Leak? Title? Motor run? Dents?

Answer those questions and we can give you more advice

That is a steal at 300 especially if there is an outboard

Captain Ahab said:

That is a steal at 300 especially if there is an outboard

Click to expand...

especially if you are handy with tools.

in my neck of the woods, many would scramble for that boat, even if the price was doubled. $300 won't even buy an old beat up motor here. :x i envy you guys.

Sorry first post was so short. Its my first post......wanted to test thee water. The guy has it for sale facing a vacant street.....you can't see the boat from the main road, beens there for a month, easy. Guy says it doesn't leak, it was holding rain water when I first saw it. Says motor doesn't go in reverse. No biggie, I have a 1977 Johnson 25 hp tiller Im not using. He said he'd take 500.00; for boat, motor, trolling motor, and trailer. He also said he'd sell me the boat for 200 and throw in the trailer. Has titles for boat and trailer. I just don't know how much work has to go into the boat, if. Its worth it.

i think that boat has some serious potential

No dents........never restored an aluminum boat before. Bought a 14' 1970 MFG Challenger last year that is still sitting in my backyard. $260 for the boat, 25hp tiller and trailer. Turned out the boat is shot......transom and floor need to be replaced, never worked with glass before, but I still got a motor and a trailer. I figured aluminum may be easier to work with..........just scared to drag something else home...lol.

The 3 swivel seats are perfect, the bench wood under the sheet metal tops is rotten, but the seats gotta be worth at least 100. Transom, looks OK.

For $300 you really can't go wrong. As you mentioned, the trailer will need some attention. What are the measurements, bottom and beem width? I'd chose to work on a tin boat before fiberglass, nothing to worry about.

boehunter said:

No dents........never restored an aluminum boat before. Bought a 14' 1970 MFG Challenger last year that is still sitting in my backyard. $260 for the boat, 25hp tiller and trailer. Turned out the boat is shot......transom and floor need to be replaced, never worked with glass before, but I still got a motor and a trailer. I figured aluminum may be easier to work with..........just scared to drag something else home...lol.

Click to expand...

I can certainly understand your reservations, been there myself.
If you're looking for a water ready boat, then pass.
If you want a project, then this may be a good deal.
Especially, if you have a nice long winter ahead and indoor place to work, LOL.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

I can certainly understand your reservations, been there myself.
If you're looking for a water ready boat, then pass.
If you want a project, then this may be a good deal.
Especially, if you have a nice long winter ahead and indoor place to work, LOL.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

Click to expand...

+1 Looks to have a lot of potential and a good deal.

I love projects but don't have anymore space for another. =P~

What I really wanna know is can my two young boys and I fish out of a boat this size without hooking each other. Or should I be looking for something bigger. Like a 16ft jon boat.

Depends heavily on the layout. I grew up fishing out of a boat that was similar construction to that. It was 15.5ft. It was a good deal bigger though.

My father, brother and I fished out of that boat thousands of times, but it was set up perfectly to fish three people. With each of us have a "station". It was a tiller boat, and so my father took the back, and had a depthfinder, and trolling motor back there, me in the middle, older brother up front.

We even Musky fished out of it for years.


Personally I think that boat is too small for fishing three, unless you are fishing for bluegill and crappie and nothing else.


As for an aluminum project, YES they are 1billion times easier to work on and with than a glass boat project. Trust me I've done both.

That looks like a heck of a deal! For 500.00 you have everything to get you started! nice find and keep us updated!!

As far as the size, bigger would be better IMO. I have a 13'6" Gregor and it is maxed out for two of us with the gear and all. I've seen three to four people on similar 14 footers and it seems that no one can actually move once in place on the boat.

If you have the resources, storage, etc. I would opt for a larger boat. In my situation, it's the storage space that limits my selection.

Good luck.

Thanks a bunch for the input. My boys are 7 and 9 and bound to hook eachother. Wish I could afford a big jon boat. As much as I like that old console, id probably take it out for more room and put a tiller on it.

Thanks nomowork.......I could put the whole Carolina skiff factory at my place, space is all I have......its the money Im lacking.....lol

I think you'll be fine with it. With two kids you want to be within reach of each of them anyways. I'd set one fishing station up front and another in the back, get rid of the left swivel seat on the middle bench and make sure you can swivel the drivers seat. Anchor at an angle to the current console side upstream and let them both sinker or bobber fish off the downstream side. You can sit in the middle, straddle the bench, handle the fish, bait, hooks, and snags using the bench as a work station. Tackle can be under the steering console or on the back side and out of the way.

For the fishing stations, low decks with removable pin pedestal risers and decent seats to avoid wiggle butts. Carpet the floor and make sure it's 'hot wheels' proof (won't snag or fall in holes), then once they get tired of fishing they have a place to play. One up front, one out back and they won't be pestering each other too much and once they get settled you might be able to wet a line as well.

This design worked well for me.

Jamie