New guy with "new" old boat.

[JacobOutdoors]

Hi there!

So I received this boat from my father in law. He was clearing off "junk" on his property and thought that I would like it as a project, I'm grateful, but not sure this will fit what I've been looking for. So I'm here for help!

Details about the boat, from what I can tell...
The boat appears to be an 11'6" Sea King manufactured by Montgomery Ward
there is no information tag present on the boat so I have no idea what the motor HP rating is or what the max weight capacity is, though I have looked into this information online.
the boat is in moderate condition, I have not year leak tested or done any sort of inspection. Mainly because I'm not yet sure it's worth my time, more on that later

What I am hoping to use the boat for...
I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, and I'm hoping to use this boat in the bays of the Oregon coast for some crabbing and rock fishing
I'm not sure if this is even possible due to the weight limitations of the boat (500lbs from what I've read) and due to the short size of the boat (being just under 12' I've read a lot of comments regarding the boat being "tippy")
If I load the boat with a motor, a few crab pots, my wife, 4 year old, and myself, it seems likely that I will exceed the carrying capacity of the boat or create a lot of potential for safety issues.

***FYI the trailer is not fully assembled, so don't use it for scale reference or be concerned with the boat sitting the way it is***


I am open to any and all feedback, that's why I joined this community! If anyone feels the boat is not worth my time and I should be looking for something bigger to restore, that's okay! I just want to get some reliable information and feedback. I've included some images of the boat for any information or ideas that people would like to contribute.

Thank you in advance!

 

[jasper60103]

Welcome aboard, JacobOutdoors!

There was a guy that used to hang out on the iboats forum.
He's long gone now, but he started a thread called "Pimp my Boat (Little Fishing Boat)".
It was a 12 foot Seaking similar to yours. I think he did a great job of doing some
practical (and inexpensive) mods for a small boat. I posted the link below.
Good luck, and look forward to seeing your progress.

-jasper

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/general-boating-outdoors-activities/boat-topics-and-questions-not-engine-topics/255447-pimp-my-boat-little-fishing-boat

 

[Shaugh]

Jacoboutdoors,
I think you accurately voiced a concern about the size of the boat. That was my first thought as well... especially for ocean work. A 12 foot boat looks pretty big on land.. but out in the ocean it looks more like a life jacket....

Unless you're very familiar with boats, oceans, and the dangers there in I'd suggest selling it for something bigger. A 12 footer like that can make a perfect 1 man small / calm water fishing rig... if that is what you would want to do most I'd say it will be a perfect small project to get into it.

 

[JacobOutdoors]

Jacoboutdoors,
I think you accurately voiced a concern about the size of the boat. That was my first thought as well... especially for ocean work. A 12 foot boat looks pretty big on land.. but out in the ocean it looks more like a life jacket....

Unless you're very familiar with boats, oceans, and the dangers there in I'd suggest selling it for something bigger. A 12 footer like that can make a perfect 1 man small / calm water fishing rig... if that is what you would want to do most I'd say it will be a perfect small project to get into it.

I appreciate the info. To clarify, I don't intend to take this boat into the ocean (across the bar into open water). I would only plan to take it into the bay and motor further up towards the mouth of the river and drop some crab pots. So no open ocean, I would never dream of taking a boat this small into open ocean water. :LOL2:

 

[JacobOutdoors]

Welcome aboard, JacobOutdoors!

There was a guy that used to hang out on the iboats forum.
He's long gone now, but he started a thread called "Pimp my Boat (Little Fishing Boat)".
It was a 12 foot Seaking similar to yours. I think he did a great job of doing some
practical (and inexpensive) mods for a small boat. I posted the link below.
Good luck, and look forward to seeing your progress.

-jasper

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/general-boating-outdoors-activities/boat-topics-and-questions-not-engine-topics/255447-pimp-my-boat-little-fishing-boat

Thanks for the link, Jasper. Unfortunately, it appears that the pics in that thread have expired, So I'm not able to see what mods were made.

It does appear that he references the boat being "great for just me" which would rule out my idea of taking my wife and son crabbing in the bay with me, and confirms my suspicion that the boat is just not big enough to handle what I would ask of it.

I appreciate the input!

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=44152

I had one of these, yours looks newer. Above is the link to the simple refresh I did.
I fished a few small lakes with my daughter and found the boat stable with a 4 HP, my 220 lbs and a 100 lb daughter. The hulls are rated for 7.5 I believe. My boys used it on one of our fishing trips and it handled wind and small waves but they were at or over capacity and it looked sketchy to me. A small boat like this is an excellent back of the truck boat for small water and light loads. Too small for any decking.
If it doesn't suit your needs, I recommend you cut your teeth on it painting and making it pretty, then sell it to help finance what you need
Welcome and good luck!

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

 

[jasper60103]

Welcome aboard, JacobOutdoors!

There was a guy that used to hang out on the iboats forum.
He's long gone now, but he started a thread called "Pimp my Boat (Little Fishing Boat)".
It was a 12 foot Seaking similar to yours. I think he did a great job of doing some
practical (and inexpensive) mods for a small boat. I posted the link below.
Good luck, and look forward to seeing your progress.

-jasper

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/general-boating-outdoors-activities/boat-topics-and-questions-not-engine-topics/255447-pimp-my-boat-little-fishing-boat

Thanks for the link, Jasper. Unfortunately, it appears that the pics in that thread have expired, So I'm not able to see what mods were made.

It does appear that he references the boat being "great for just me" which would rule out my idea of taking my wife and son crabbing in the bay with me, and confirms my suspicion that the boat is just not big enough to handle what I would ask of it.

I appreciate the input!

I recall he mostly fished alone, but his wife would go occasionally. He fished the Mississippi River and lakes around the Minneapolis / St. Paul area.
That little boat and trailer showed up on Craigslist a few years back. Too bad the pictures were lost, but I guess you found your answer.
Jasper

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[gsh341]

I have a 1959 Alumaline 14' boat and it has a max horsepower rating of 8hp and a max capacity before motor of 600 lbs. With my wife, my daughter, myself, a battery, a trolling motor and a cooler to act as a livewell we can only go out on the calmest days because the boat is sitting low enough that the sides are only about 8" above the water.

The nice thing about small boats like that are you can launch them from just about anywhere and don't really need a ramp. Plus, you can get into places that bigger boats would never even try. With just me in there, the bottom of the boat is only 4 or 5 " under the water and the trolling motor doesn't even reach 2' under the surface. Plus my boat has oar locks and two honest to goodness oars. If my trolling motor were to ever completely die (hasn't happened yet even with 6 hours of constant trolling) I can still row myself to shore.

If I were you I'd put a deep cycle battery up front and a trolling motor in the back and find a nice, small lake that has a no wake sign or an electric motor only sign on it and use it there.

This is what I have and I almost never use the 6hp gas motor I got for it.