Almost sold my boat! That was a close one!

[Innexes]

Iv had this boat for about 4 years. This is my third tin Iv owned and In the past 3 years iv had 2 kids. My poor boat just sat in the backyard neglected and sad. I would catch glimpses of its tattered tarp waving green streamers in the wind while I trolled the yard on my mower basically mocking my boat.
The boat is a 2000 alumacraft 1648 mv Tex ncs with 20’ transom
From what I was told, the original owner sent the boat to a place that does all custom aluminum work that added the side storage boxes and front storage behind the casting deck, floor and side walls( I don’t know how the boat was equipped from original)...all aluminum and welded very well, factory looking beads on what I can see
2001 Yamaha 25 4 stroke
Minn Kota vantage for electric only lakes
Bow mount minn Kota maxxum

About a month ago I see a guy walking around my boat on my yard and he asks if I wanted to sell it...I gave him a very fair price for the whole setup and he countered me with about half, 2200$ was the actual counter offer telling me that’s what it’s worth. There was no way I was giving the boat away. I felt bad that it wasn’t being used but not that bad. That guy got me thinking that I should just sell it and buy a new one down the road. So I listed it for sale at at a “make me sell” price and the calls texts emails start coming in and people are willing to pay full asking and I had a guy offer me 500 over asking...as I cleaned up the boat I realized that love my boat and should just invest some money into it and give it the love that it deserves for me and my boys to enjoy for years to come.

New projects

On board charger noco 3 bank 10 amp (during the boats hibernation a chipmunk got stuck in the plug hole and let 4 inches of water swamp the old charger)

Flooring. Still debating on replace carpet or go with hydro turf or possibly a combo of the 2.

She needs a proper cover ASAP...I don’t know how to measure to get the best fit but I’m looking into it now.


Will post progress as I get her back in shape

 

[LDUBS]

"Almost Sold My Boat. . ."

Reminds me of a CSNY song! Haha

I think you made a great decision. And if you change your mind you can always sell it later down the road.

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

Boat prices are going up really fast, that is why you got good responses to your ad.

Selling then buying a new one could be expensive.

 

[gogittum]

I
The boat is a 2000 alumacraft 1648 mv Tex ncs with 20’ transom
From what I was told, the original owner sent the boat to a place that does all custom aluminum work that added the side storage boxes and front storage behind the casting deck, floor and side walls( I don’t know how the boat was equipped from original)...all aluminum and welded very well, factory looking beads on what I can see
2001 Yamaha 25 4 stroke
Minn Kota vantage for electric only lakes
Bow mount minn Kota maxxum


She needs a proper cover ASAP...I don’t know how to measure to get the best fit but I’m looking into it now.


Will post progress as I get her back in shape

I recently bought an older 1663 Starcraft that is almost ready for the water now and am debating which motor to use. It has a 15 on it now that I think is going to be pretty small. I "think" a 25 would give me enuf power to plane cleanly with me and my 45# dog on board along with minimal fishing gear, etc. I'd like to keep it light and maneuverable. Don't need a lot of speed - 20 mph would be enuf.

I'm very interested in what kind of performance your 25 gives you on your much heavier boat....?? Right now, plan A is for a 25 hp 2 stroke, but the boat is rated for 40 hp. Don't "think" I need that much.

For my little 12 ft MirroCraft, I made a simple A frame for the back and laid a bamboo pole from that to the bow. An 8x12 tarp covers it perfectly and is held down with bungee cords. It handled a 150 mile highway trip with no problems and sheds water and leaves just fine.

The little MirroCraft is for sale now - just not big enuf for a clumsy, un-coordinated old man.

An 8x16 ft tarp is on order for the Starcraft.

 

[Innexes]

Gogittum, the 25 has plenty of power to get my bout up on a clean plane with two adults and weighted down with a weeks worth of camping gear, tents, 3 full coolers(my family used my boat as the gear hauler for a weeks camping trip on an island on lake George)...a 25 would be plenty for you and a dog plus some. My boat is also rated for a 40hp and after I bought the 25 I was concerned about being under powered with such a heavy boat, after having 2 adults in heavy current heading up the Delaware river I was more than happy with the power.

I had tarps to cover the boat for the last 3-4 years and it is just a lot of work getting them strapped down to where I was satisfied every single time I used the boat, I was spoiled with a garage at my apartment the first year I had the boat and boy was that a treat. My house has a smaller garage filled with kids toys now. My plan is to get a cover that fits well enough that I can cover in the summer with the seats keeping the center up to shed rain and making pvc bows for the winter to keep the snow load to shed off. I just don’t know how to measure or find the right cover that will fit without taking the bow mount trolling motor off or the outboard. I wish I could take it somewhere and try on covers

 

[DriftinMT09]

Innexes, I had/have the same problem on my 2021 Alumacraft V16, as it's a 16' 7" hull length, and for the average "fits most" covers, 16' boats are the limit. I ended up buying a cover from our Fleet Farm store that has quite a few options. Classic Accessories Storm Pro is the one I went with. It comes with one of the multi-piece plastic poles that you can height adjust to make more of a tent canopy in the center of the cover, to prevent rain and snow build up. The didn't work for me, and I ended up making a PVC a frame that sat on the benches, but even that would sag at the gunnel rails, and allow water to build up/pool, and stretched the cover.

I ended up using a company local to me, Rochford Supply in Brooklyn Park MN, as they carry fiberglass flat bows, and the mating sockets for them. Much like the Attwood, and other companies, you cut them to desired length, attach the sockets to the gunnel rail, and boom... arched cover support. I have 4 of them on mine, and it's been arched enough to keep heavy snow and rain off the cover. The cover is overkill, as it's meant for a 16' to 18.5' boat, with a beam of up to 98" (mine is only 72").

 

[DriftinMT09]

Here is with the bows installed.

 

[Innexes]

Thanks for the tip driftin...so I was out with the boat in pieces all over my lawn working on getting it together and my neighbor riding by on his motorcycle pulls into my driveway with a new boat cover. He told me he was tired of tripping over it in his shed and if it didn’t fit to throw it out...it fits perfect! Score!!! Made some bows from pvc and bam, one thing checked off my list...

Now I’m attacking the carpets and with my infinite wisdom before I was going to sell it, I used 3m adhesive spray to glue down the loose parts of the old carpet and now I’m paying the price to get that stuff off. Scraper and 80 grit on a palm sander is doing it but slowly. I purchased contact cement to apply the new outdoor carpet I got from Lowe’s and not sure if that is my best option for adhesion..Home Depot had a similar carpet and it looked a little nicer but Lowe’s had the rubber backing so that’s what I chose.