gogittum
Well-known member
I'll be moving to FL by the end of the month and tho' I have a wide range of experience in all types of boats in the Pacific NW and coastal SoCal, my experience in FL area has been 1 trip to Okefenokee in '04, where I rented a 12' jon boat with 6hp outboard and a trip on my 15' Gregor out of Little Manatee/Tampa Bay, also in '04.
From much reading of forums and watching many YouTubes, I think I have a pretty good idea of my needs for 2 boats, but I'd be very interested in other's ideas based on experience in that area.
1st, from watching 5-staryakpak stories of kayaking the northern FL streams and rivers, I'm really nuts about copying some of her trips - many of her trips. Unhappily, I have fairly bad Spinal Stenosis and sitting in a kayak or canoe simply isn't possible for me. I found the little 12' to be workable but even with just 180# me, a soft sided 6 pack cooler and a camera, I found it to be somewhat tippy. Now, 16 years later, I'll have my 44# dog, safety gear, fishing tackle, etc., so seems like a 14' with a decent seat would be more practical. I already own an 8hp Yamaha 4 stroke that "may" be enuf power - hafta see when I get there, but may need more power. Not looking for a speed boat - moderate planing is fine.....maybe 14 - 16 mph or so.....??
Jon boat with flat bottom and square nose seems practical for beaching and going ashore to explore, but maybe a v-hull would be better....??
I'll likely be moving to the Levy County area and will be looking at extensive exploring/fishing on the salt between Yankeetown and Steinhatchee, which I see is mostly rocky shallows with many Oyster bars. Apparently an aluminum boat is preferred for that use because of the ability to handle rough treatment in the rocky areas. I'm partial to the Lund type of aluminum boats because of the higher freeboard of the style, which equals to more secure in the event of getting caught out in rougher water. I already own a 50hp Tohatsu 2 stroke LPDI motor that should be plenty to drive a 16 or 17 ft boat like that quite well......I'd prefer maybe ~25mph in that. More would be better, but not a necessity.
In very good conditions and good forecast, possibly some reasonable off shore fishing a few miles out.....again the high freeboard.
I'm long retired and anything I do will be a very low income process and a new boat won't be possible. A "reasonable" fixer-upper would be OK - I fix most anything I come across and have a lot of experience with boats - but I don't want to be spending my life spending my life on it. I want to go play in my new home.
That all "seems" to be reasonable to me, but those who've been there may be some very good ideas thru experience for me.
From much reading of forums and watching many YouTubes, I think I have a pretty good idea of my needs for 2 boats, but I'd be very interested in other's ideas based on experience in that area.
1st, from watching 5-staryakpak stories of kayaking the northern FL streams and rivers, I'm really nuts about copying some of her trips - many of her trips. Unhappily, I have fairly bad Spinal Stenosis and sitting in a kayak or canoe simply isn't possible for me. I found the little 12' to be workable but even with just 180# me, a soft sided 6 pack cooler and a camera, I found it to be somewhat tippy. Now, 16 years later, I'll have my 44# dog, safety gear, fishing tackle, etc., so seems like a 14' with a decent seat would be more practical. I already own an 8hp Yamaha 4 stroke that "may" be enuf power - hafta see when I get there, but may need more power. Not looking for a speed boat - moderate planing is fine.....maybe 14 - 16 mph or so.....??
Jon boat with flat bottom and square nose seems practical for beaching and going ashore to explore, but maybe a v-hull would be better....??
I'll likely be moving to the Levy County area and will be looking at extensive exploring/fishing on the salt between Yankeetown and Steinhatchee, which I see is mostly rocky shallows with many Oyster bars. Apparently an aluminum boat is preferred for that use because of the ability to handle rough treatment in the rocky areas. I'm partial to the Lund type of aluminum boats because of the higher freeboard of the style, which equals to more secure in the event of getting caught out in rougher water. I already own a 50hp Tohatsu 2 stroke LPDI motor that should be plenty to drive a 16 or 17 ft boat like that quite well......I'd prefer maybe ~25mph in that. More would be better, but not a necessity.
In very good conditions and good forecast, possibly some reasonable off shore fishing a few miles out.....again the high freeboard.
I'm long retired and anything I do will be a very low income process and a new boat won't be possible. A "reasonable" fixer-upper would be OK - I fix most anything I come across and have a lot of experience with boats - but I don't want to be spending my life spending my life on it. I want to go play in my new home.
That all "seems" to be reasonable to me, but those who've been there may be some very good ideas thru experience for me.
