Budget Boats: Part One

motors or a special cartop carrier or trailer. Cartopping these boats is possible for the strong, or those with carriers. A 15 footer and a ten horse outboard offers maximum safety and reasonable speed at a decent price. However, these boats row like Coleman ice boxes and, for my needs, seem too heavy and awkward. Then too, trailers, if not secured, make theft easy.

Dinghies that float a single fishermen out over the action suit solo anglers like fly fishermen. I used an old El Toro with its centerboard trunk and mast removed for this for years. Dinghy hulls and their yuppie clones, fly-fishing prams, normally row well and only need inexpensive motors too. They suit farm ponds and easy moving water. Platform boats, like the Coleman Crawdad or the mini pontoon one and two man models that you sit on, rather than in, can work on ponds and other very protected waters. I'm 6'3" tall and weight 250 and find the Crawdad a lot more stable than the mini models. Unfortunately, the Crawdad is a load to tote. BUDGET TIP: Check on used boats. If rivets sound a few dings won't hurt aluminum boats. Fiberglass boats that don't weight a ton -- heavy ones have cracks and absorbed water -- offer bargains too. It's also possible to restore old wooden boats if the problem is finish rather than dry rot. In all cases buy in the fall or winter when dealers and private sellers need ready cash.

CANOES AND SCANOES

Many experts consider canoes the world's most perfect boat. Zippy flatwater types with keels suit fishermen willing to learn minimal paddling skills. Keelless canoes with rocker should be left to whitewater experts who sacrifice stability and tracking for maneuverability. Boats with a bit more beam won't tip as easily either. You can install stabilizing outriggers too. Do realize that canoes better separate two casters than most other craft. So they particularly suit fly fishermen. If you paddle protected water, I'd suggest either a 15-foot aluminum -- 17-feet if you want to tote more gear with your buddy, and a square-stern if you power -- or a Coleman Scanoe. Aluminum is both durable and cheap, if noisy and some-times hot. Exotic materials such as Kevlar, or classic, but fragile, materials, like wood and canvas or wood strippers break our $1,000 limit!

Paddling suits canoes. However, double paddles seem easier to learn

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic