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baitcast
Super Nomad
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Location: kingman AZ.
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Fury Chysler not what you would call top name brands honest about about no
leaks,only weighed 118# I could handle it myself just throw it up on the shell and away we went.
In BOLA and Gonzaga I didn,t have to steer it sucker knew its way around on its own.
As I got older weight became an issure than came two 12',s but never missed a beat
Rob
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woody with a view
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
Those were the pre-Gregor days (for me), but sure were exciting. A Johnson 10 horse really pushed that boat along with only me in it. I often went
down to Animas from BOLA, and 30 miles or so north of BOLA and around all the islands except La Guarda-------what a great boat.
Barry |
with a 10?
new respect........
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
Those were the pre-Gregor days (for me), but sure were exciting. A Johnson 10 horse really pushed that boat along with only me in it. I often went
down to Animas from BOLA, and 30 miles or so north of BOLA and around all the islands except La Guarda-------what a great boat.
Barry |
with a 10?
new respect........ |
At the risk of your diminished respect, I always had a buddy along in his Avon inflatable with a 40 horse Mercury--------we always travelled tandom.
I like adventure, but I am not nuts. (or at least I wasn't then). There was an occasional problem, tho-----when the wind came up and caught us far
from homecamp, I had to really fly in order to not be swamped by the waves-----the Avon, on the other hand had to slow down in order for it not to
flip over backwards when running against the wind--------we often got separated by miles, but always managed to get together eventually before getting
back to camp.
Barry
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Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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I like this thread about boats..one of my favorites things in life..being 'out there somewhere' in a boat.
But Boy-o-boy! Advising anybody on types of boat hulls is like giving advice on brunettes v.s. blondes...or sex v.s. pizza.....or pintos or
yellowtail....it's all good! Just do it!
I 'll give you my experience. No recommendations. You make up your own mind when you're ready to buy something.
I'm sitting here in the RV in Seattle having a little vino and have nothing better to do..so..here's my tales about tin boats:
I've owned a few aluminun boats...both riveted and welded. I built my first duck boat out of 2 metal car hoods welded together...my first welds. Age
12. It floated, but was about as seaworthy as a brick. Drove my Dad nuts.
Riveted - LUND ALUMINUM 16FT
Lunds are the boat of choice for almost all Far North fly-in fishing lodges. They are delivered by float plane. The boat is tied to the
undercarraige of the plane..and then dropped onto the water close to the lodge from the air. Now THAT'S a true test of a well-built
aliminum boat! The method of delivery is always an attention getter if clients are around the lodge.
I bought this aluminum boat NEW in 1964 for $265. Wow..how times have changed, eh?
I put a new 1964 Johnson 20hp tiller on the transom and used the heck outta both of them for many years.. and who knows how many hundreds/thousands of
hours. I've fished a lot all my life, commercial and sport..and still do. I would guess about 7000 hours on the boat and 2500 hrs on that 20hp.
I left it unchanged as an open tiller boat for about 9 years. Used it all over Far North Canada bush country and hundreds of lakes, rivers, and
sloughs (duck hunting the sloughs). Over the years, I bounced that Lund thousands of miles over the worst possible trails and logging trails. That
boat went from Alaska to Baja Sur and everywhere in between. I went thru rougher water on Lake Winnepeg, MB and Reindeer Lake, SK than any waves
I've seen in 38 years on the mostly calm Sea of Cortez. We're talking monster storms on these northern lakes..waves to 20 feet are common..in short
sets...will kill you quick if you take your eyes off the next one coming at you. Throttle up..throttle down..until you get to safety. One of the
biggest waves ever reported on Lake Superior was a rogue 40-footer than sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald.
( I sold the 20hp and bought a new 60 hp Johnson tiller for the Lund around 1973 for one of my trips to Baja.)
Decided to change from a tiller to a steering wheel (big mistake) and installed a center steering console on the open Lund. Then added carpeted
hatches and 3 bass chairs on pedestals that I bought in Shreveport, LA. after seeing my first bass boat on Toledo Bend, LA.
Now I had a genuine bass boat, by golly. Electric troller on the bow..Wow, I'm in high cotton now.
Lund 16ft riveted aluminum open fisherman.
In Baja I used that old Lund 16 riveted for about 10 more myears. Up and down the entire peninsula..over every rough trail there was..and yes, the
rivets would leak from time to time. I repaired them..an easy fix. Trailering is the bane of riveted boats. Rough roads took thier toll on that
boat, but it fished and fished.
y
Once the rivets got so loose, that I took the Lund to the Lund factory at New York Mills, MN to get the bottom re-done by the pros. The engineers put
my customized 16ft open boat (that now resembled a bass boat from Louisiana) in thier test tank. One engineer said, "What have you done to one of our
boats? Doesn't look too seaworthy." I said, "Well, I just got done with 6 months worth of sea fishing offshore Baja, Mexico. It handled it well
enough for me." They repaired my Lund..and the next year came out with thier 'Pike Fisherman' model..a dead ringer for my custom job. 
Who knows..maybe it was an original idea of thiers..but I kinda doubt it!
I finally sold it one rummy night around a campfire to one of my Coyote Bay neighbors..for $1300. That was in 1979. I had paid $265 originally for
the boat..and $500 for the Johnson 50hp. Not a bad deal for either of us. My neighbor used the boat for many years thereafter. Still called it
Happy Hooker.
Anyhoooo....Would I get another flat-bottomed, riveted Lund 16ft and roller trailer for the SOC? NOT ON YOUR LIFE.
My butt still hurts from all those years of crashing thru waves from Coyote Bay to Tortuga and San Marcos. 100 mile-round trips damn near every day!
But I loved it at the time..and so did my labrador.
No siree..not even the welded Alumnacraft 19 I had for about 4 years. It's fiberglass for me from here on out for the Cortez.
But, for a cartopper boat, any good aluminum boat will work for me, too.
As for what YOU should buy. My lips are sealed...except for another glass of this fine Red Truck vino.
Tight Lines!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Outstanding story and pics, Pompano--------------your a man after my own heart!!!! and have totally outdone me in your adventures.
Viva Baja!!!! Viva boats!!! 
Barry
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Skipjack Joe
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baitcast
Fury Chysler not what you would call top name brands honest about about no
leaks,only weighed 118# I could handle it myself just throw it up on the shell and away we went.
Rob |
Weight is a big consideration for us as well, Rob. The good thing has been that as the kids get older they can help with the lifting. The next boat
will weigh 210lbs.
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acadist
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So I am getting the general idea, but what about another question......what about trihulls in the SOC? I know that you want that deep v in rough
water, but is the SOC generally smooth enough? I always liked the look of the bigger Lund bass boats too but trihulls can be picked up pretty cheap.
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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BajaBruno
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| Quote: | Originally posted by fishabductor
I agree with pescador.
I have a 15'6" westcoaster bayrunner..and I love it. |
If I didn't make that clear, I generally defer to Pescador as well. He and Bill Erhardt have done more fishing in Baja than a lot of guides.
As for your Westcoaster Bayrunner, I recently saw an 18 foot version on sale on Bloodydecks for $1,500. Kind of neglected, but a solid boat; so,
deals are out there if you are looking in the right place.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/14-Aluminum-Boat-/12060237096...
the original auction item ended
no bids at $800
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
Pesky----------aren't VALCO's riveted, and not welded?
Barry |
No, I have had a Valco that was a welded boat with a pretty sharp V. They also made riveted boats. Valco originally made the Bayrunner, I believe
[Edited on 8-1-2010 by Pescador]
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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| Quote: | Originally posted by acadist
So I am getting the general idea, but what about another question......what about trihulls in the SOC? I know that you want that deep v in rough
water, but is the SOC generally smooth enough? I always liked the look of the bigger Lund bass boats too but trihulls can be picked up pretty cheap.
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In 1980 I brought a new 19ft. Silverline tri-hull to Coyote and used it there for 2 years. An inboard-outboard, it had a 350 short block Chev engine.
Designed as a bass boat with pedestal chairs fore and aft and a side console.
It was terrific on flat water...did 52mph on a good day. Was not too great cutting through the waves, but then I never went out much when it was too
rough.
I never let it sit at anchor for too many days, and would wash thoroughly in fresh water after most days out at sea.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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dtutko1
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Remember there is no coast guard in Baja. do your homework on the best ocean going boat and motor you can afford. pompano, pescador, skipjack and
others are giving good advice based on experience.
Dorado Don
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Baja California Sur
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I knew when we started this discussion that there would be people who came from the North Pole in a riveted Sears Aluminum boat and drug it behind the
Jeep Wagoneer over the Baja Peninsula and launched it by dropping it from the cliffs at Santa Rosalia. I started coming to Mexico back in the mid to
late 50's and at San Carlos in Sonora there was a trailer park, called Shangri-La, where the snowbirds stayed that had a sand beach and up to more
than 100 cartop boats. The guys that worked the beach had volleyballs in sacks that they used for beach rollers and they knew pretty much which guys
went out early and which ones could safely be put in the back rows. So, being the student of fishing, I listened to those old guys who had 1,000's of
years of experience collectively. So, when I started coming to Baja years later, I already had a pretty good idea of what worked and what did not
work. I also had the good fortune to fish with the cartop bunch at Los Muertos (before they shut that place down) and San Lucas Cove which was the
Baja place to be for cartop boats. Ken Reeder and his friend developed a wheel system for launching cartops over the beach that has been copied and
sort of duplicated. So anyway, the consensus with all that experience is that the boat of choice was the Gregor 14 Deep V and powered with a Honda 4
stroke in either 15 or 20. Even with that they did need to have some welding done to keep them going after years of use.
So, yes if the price is good, an old riveted boat can certainly be made to work but Acadist asked a good question and it deserved a good answer
which he certainly managed to get. Shoot, if you have to, an innertube and an oar will work.
I now own an aluminum boat made in Australia which has 1/4 in plate on the hull and is beefed up like no other boat I have ever seen before or
since, and I like the economy of this boat and it has worked well for me in the last few years.
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acadist
Super Nomad
Posts: 1125
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Location: Spanaway,WA
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My main motivation for looking at boats now is dreaming, with that being said I am in a good position that if the right boat comes along within my
price range (cheap) I can buy it or wait patiently as I save for really what I want (18-25 cuddy cabin with an outboard). Living in CO there are
plenty of mountain lakes to use a small tin or trihull on, just if I get a small boat to hold me over, I want it to be able to go with it 1-2 times a
year to Baja.
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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I,m not from the north pole but I,ve had some old boats just like Pomp,check
out this 30' EGG Harbor,twin flat head sixs,it had everything some worked and some didn,t,did leaked some but the pumps worked,took a while to get
places but I was never in a hurry anyway.
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Ken Bondy
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This has been an interesting discussion, lots of boat knowledge and experience here. I would like to hear from you about the pros and cons of tin
boats vs. inflatables. In the early 80s when we decided we were going to keep equipment, including boats, tanks, compressor, etc. at Punta San
Francisquito, we debated between aluminum boats and inflatables and chose inflatables. Part of that decision was influenced by the fact that we were
flying in, not driving, and we could easily haul the inflatable down in the airplane, and a tin boat would require a dedicated driving trip. In any
event the two Metzelers we kept at PSFO served us very well for fishing, diving and occasionally waterskiing behind the big one, (the Elefant) with a
Johnson 25hp. We also kept a smaller one (the Aztec) with a Johnson 7.5hp. We would occasionally go out in an aluminum boat and I always thought
they were squirrely, always felt more comfortable in the inflatables. Here's the Elefant:
[Edited on 8-1-2010 by Ken Bondy]
carpe diem!
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Cypress
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A welded aluminum boat is hard to beat.
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Skipjack Joe
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Hauling the Elephant up that beach must have been tiring, Ken.
You must have been very familiar with this scene:
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Ken Bondy
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Very familiar with that scene Igor, one of the most beautiful on earth. Yes it was a change of life getting the Elefant up on the beach. If there
was lots of help we could do it pretty quickly but if I was alone I had to do it with a pulley system attached to a palapa post. Six inches at a
time, ugh. But it sure made the first draw on that Pacifico taste good!!
carpe diem!
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Bondy
But it sure made the first draw on that Pacifico taste good!! |
No question about that! The minute our boat was secured we headed straight for their kitchen. Beer in hand, the next hour was spent on that 'porch'
overlooking the Cortez trying to cool down in the light breeze that came from offshore. (The basketball hoops are still there).
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