Have motor NEED BOAT

Hello all! New here from AL. I have a almost new Suzuki 20hp EFI motor and a Motor Guide foot controlled TM. I'm looking for a tin boat to put em on. It will be for crappie fishing on lakes. I'll want to deck it from mid seat forward with some storage and battery compartments underneath. I wish my motor was a little bigger, but I hate to take a beating on it because it's literally almost brand new. I'd love to hear some ideas to help me decide on a boat.

Spend some time at the ramps & talk to some old hands about what they like for the style of fishing you are interested in.

I think it is kind of cool that you have the outboard waiting for a boat.

LDUBS said:

Spend some time at the ramps & talk to some old hands about what they like for the style of fishing you are interested in.

I think it is kind of cool that you have the outboard waiting for a boat.

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I actually have everything on an old 50's model 14' SealCraft tri-hull glass boat. It works well for just me, but not too sea worthy with two adults. I can't take any waves from the rear. :lol:

If you want to be able to fish with two people and a cooler, find a boat at least 14 feet. I like semi-vee hulls because we have large lakes with afternoon winds. A 16 foot boat would be better in some ways. If you are not going long distances the top end speed is not important at all.

Just make sure the motor length works with the transom on the new boat.

water bouy said:

Just make sure the motor length works with the transom on the new boat.

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That's another issue I failed to mention in the original post. My Suzuki is a short shaft motor.

One of this site's sponsors AK McCullom??? represents a number of different manufacturers and often lists specials. They buy carloads of hulls from the manufacturers and offer pretty good prices when they do that.

richg99 said:

One of this site's sponsors AK McCullom??? represents a number of different manufacturers and often lists specials. They buy carloads of hulls from the manufacturers and offer pretty good prices when they do that.

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They are a little bit too far from me. The prices on their Alweld boats aren't bad. They seem high on Alumacraft. So far, I have found a new Alumacraft 1542 for $1250 and a new Alumacraft MV1648 for $1850. Not sure how stable the vee hull will be if I decked it. I'd really like to find a 1648 flat jon boat. Looks like I could get a Alweld flat 1648 for about $2600. I know they are pretty good hulls.

Eagle ... I understand.... Your location doesn't show up in your profile.

Around here, (South Texas/Houston) many jon boats similar to what you are looking for are showing up for sale on Craigslist and on the local fishing sites. Some prices are really inexpensive. If you will consider a used boat, there are some bargains out there at this time of the year.

regards, and welcome aboard. richg99