14ft aluminium boat safe to fish coastal saltwater and bays?

[answer3]

Hi guys
I am new to this forum, just registered yesterday, looks like a great community here!
I live in Boston MA and have been fishing in massachusetts and new hampshire for about 2 years now on my 14ft canoe, mainly in ponds. I have had a lot of fun catching bass and pickerel, however, I struggle a lot when the wind start to blow or when I go to big lakes because the canoe is moved around by the wind very easily. Moreover, I tried to go fishing in the ocean with my canoe (nahan bay and marblehead) but I did not feel safe at all and was affraid to capsize several times due to waves made by boats or wind.
So I have been thinking for a few months to upgrade to a small boat that I could use to fish in both freshwater and saltwater (close to the coast not far away). I rented a lund wc 14ft with a 9.9hp outboard in the Thousands Islands (upstate new york) this summer and loved it, so i am trying to find something similar to buy.
Do you guys know if a 14ft aluminium boat like that is safe enough to go in coastal saltwater in places like boston harbour, ipswich bay, merrimack river, quincy bay, plymouth bay, cape cod or even acadia park etc... ? I would not want to go too far from coast, probably half a mile maximum.
If not, what would you guys recommend?

 

[WPS]

Welcome to TinBoats! :mrgreen:

Nice place here with a lot of great info & a nice group of members!

Read through this thread:

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=32534

But he has a 16' Lund Laker... He fishes in New England too.

Here's a quote from his thread:... He also has some nice pictures of the ''big water'' in his thread! :mrgreen: ... I'm sure he will reply to your thread and could answer some questions for you.... But, read through his thread!

How does that laker feel in the ocean? I'm across from you in Falmouth a lot and have taken boats out into Buzzards Bay for years, never a tin though. Does it get pretty rough out there in it? How far out have you gone?

Thanks
SuDZ

Its pretty good out there in the big ocean. The old laker has been in some nasty stuff and got me home safe. Because of the flat transom area it pounds if you try to go fast in bigger chop. Go slow and its fine. You really have to pay attention to the weather, tides and the little voice in your head. I have been around Gay Head to Nomans, through Woods Hole, to Wasque and Waquoit.

I'm working on a S 14' Lund V-Bottom right now and the Lunds are great boats made for rough water.

Stay safe out there!

 

[Captain Ahab]

You should be fine so long as you watch the wind and weather - you cannot go everyday but you will have to pick qa choose.


No the difference a wind direction makes in the areas you fish - here in DE and NJ you can fish a west wind easy but a strong NE and it is awful (most place)

 

[answer3]

Thanks! I will start looking into used ones to buy ;-)

Do you recommend a v hull or a semi v hull? I understand that v hull will handle better in rough water but are less stable, so is semi v hull the ideal combination of stability and rough water safety?

 

[rscottp]

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/4802153073.html

A little bigger than what you are looking for but a great deal down on the cape. Motor alone is worth at least $1500.

 

[WPS]

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/4802153073.html

A little bigger than what you are looking for but a great deal down on the cape. Motor alone is worth at least $1500.

That's a great deal!... Looks like the same motor that you have.

 

[rscottp]

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/4802153073.html

A little bigger than what you are looking for but a great deal down on the cape. Motor alone is worth at least $1500.

That's a great deal!... Looks like the same motor that you have.

Looks newer and in better shape than mine, also looks like a short shaft.

 

[WPS]

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/4802153073.html

A little bigger than what you are looking for but a great deal down on the cape. Motor alone is worth at least $1500.

That's a great deal!... Looks like the same motor that you have.

Looks newer and in better shape than mine, also looks like a short shaft.

The seller said the motor is brand new!... Yeah, this is a great price on the whole package!

I just noticed that the trailer is too short, But it would be a easy fix with some new metal! :mrgreen:

 

[earl60446]

If I was concerned with waves and rough water, I would not want a short shaft. Both of my boats have been long shafts and they provide a much safer feeling when more gunwale / transom is desirable.
Tim

 

[answer3]

It does look like a good deal yes! The issue is that I don't think i can fit a 16ft boat in my garage unfortunately... I measured it and have 20.5 ft maximum and I am affraid that the total length needed by the motor at the back + the boat + the front metal part of the trailer will be more than 20.5 ft...
If you guys have a 16ft boat can you tell me what is the total length of the boat + trailer + motor?

Another concern I have is the radius I have to turn to exit my driveway, I will have to check with a "fake trailer" that i plan to do quickly out of cheap wood and tow it behind my car to see if I can take the trailer out of my driveway and make the 1st turn in the narrow street. I don't want to buy a boat/trailer and realize when I come back home that it is too big... It would be a huge help if one of you could give me the mezsurements of your trailer so I can make a replica out of wood and test it.

 

[rscottp]

If I was concerned with waves and rough water, I would not want a short shaft. Both of my boats have been long shafts and they provide a much safer feeling when more gunwale / transom is desirable.
Tim

Agreed.

 

[rscottp]

They make trailers with the folding hitch so they will fit into a garage. Not sure if that is an easy retrofit. Check out the trailer section.
There are many factors involved in a trailer, lots of 14-16' boats fit on same trailer. Position of axel would prob be biggest factor. When I had to get a new trailer last year I got a slightly larger one so that I could open the stupid back door on my RAV4, I will see if I can get a total length later today.

 

[answer3]

In have a rav4 also so it would be a huge help!

 

[WPS]

They make trailers with the folding hitch so they will fit into a garage. Not sure if that is an easy retrofit. Check out the trailer section.

Yeah, or you can buy the kit to make your trailer tongue fold... I've made a lot of these.

https://www.amazon.com/Fulton-HDPB330101-Fold-Away-Bolt-On-Trailer/dp/B001F0IE7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418845945&sr=8-1&keywords=folding+trailer+tongue

 

[answer3]

oh nice, I did not expect it to be that cheap. that is going to open a lot of possibilities so I may be able to fit a 16ft!

Now I need to build my "fake" wood trailer and see if I can get it out easily of the driveway and take the street turn. If anyone could share his trailer measurements that would help a lot. I think the most important parameters I would need are total length, width at the back of the trailer and distance between the back of the trailer and the wheels axle. I hope this is going to be good!

Also another question I have is whether it is possible to move a 14 or 16ft aluminium boat + trailer + outboard by pushing manually the trailer or is it too heavy and it has to be pushed by car? My garage is a little but uphill so I am wondering if I can move the boat + trailer by hand.

 

[gillhunter]

That depends on what the boat weighs. My last boat, a Polar Kraft was too heavy to push around much, but my current Alumacraft is easy. I have a side load garage now that is very difficult to back into. I move the boat by hand in and out of the garage by hand everytime I use it. (and I'm an old guy :LOL2: )

 

[WPS]

oh nice, I did not expect it to be that cheap. that is going to open a lot of possibilities so I may be able to fit a 16ft!

You just need to make sure to order the right size for the tubing to fit in... Amazon & eTrailer has a lot of different sizes.

I've made a lot of those in my shop, and most are for 3"x3".

Also another question I have is whether it is possible to move a 14 or 16ft aluminium boat + trailer + outboard by pushing manually the trailer or is it too heavy and it has to be pushed by car? My garage is a little but uphill so I am wondering if I can move the boat + trailer by hand.

Yeah, you can move it around by hand, but a little uphill may be harder... They sell a trailer dolly to move trailers around with, but you may not need one.

Here's a link to those on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=trailer+dolly&sprefix=trailer+d%2Caps%2C289

My Lund that I'm working on is a S-14'... I slid my axle back near the rear so I can have some tongue weight... If the axle is moved forward, then it is easier to pick up and move around, but I can still pick the trailer/boat up pretty easy!

On the Lund in the link... It looks like it will be easy to pick up by hand and moved around, because the axle is in the middle of the boat... Plus, the motor on the rear will make it easier too!... Can't see the trailer jack in the picture, but when you get a boat make sure the trailer jack has a wheel.

 

[rscottp]

Rough measure of my rig is 21'6-22' ish. Mine is tough to push around by hand. I doubt you need the trailer mock up, unless you are turning way more than 90 degrees it shouldn't be a huge problem. Once you do it and practice it will be easy. The more forward you move the axle the easier it will be to turn and move by hand.

 

[earl60446]

oh nice, I did not expect it to be that cheap. that is going to open a lot of possibilities so I may be able to fit a 16ft!

Now I need to build my "fake" wood trailer and see if I can get it out easily of the driveway and take the street turn. If anyone could share his trailer measurements that would help a lot. I think the most important parameters I would need are total length, width at the back of the trailer and distance between the back of the trailer and the wheels axle. I hope this is going to be good!

Also another question I have is whether it is possible to move a 14 or 16ft aluminium boat + trailer + outboard by pushing manually the trailer or is it too heavy and it has to be pushed by car? My garage is a little but uphill so I am wondering if I can move the boat + trailer by hand.

My boat is 16ft 3inches but trailer / boat / motor total length is 20.5 feet. No foldable tongue, if I needed it, I would get it. I can push my rig around by myself in my garage, no big deal but uphill would be a different matter. My rig, boat 560, motor 300, trailer 500 plus 300 misc, 1660 pounds, just guessing though. Hey I also got a RAV4, we should start a club or something. :lol:

You must have a hell of a tight street if you are worrying about getting a 16ft boat down it.

Tim

 

[answer3]

what I am worried about is the way the cars are parked in the street and the angle of my driveway. I made a quick layout to show you my concerns. (this is a one way street, going from right to left). I am worried about the car parked at the bottom left so this is why I want to test this before I buy a trailer/boat. Usually when you guys make a 90 degrees turn how much larger radius do you have do compared to when you don't have any trailer?