Show us your BOAT!!!

I know I know exceeded towing capacity.

I reinvented "sail fishing". I'm sure hundreds of years ago fishermen trolled under sail. It turns out my racing sailboat goes plenty fast to salmon fish while sailing... we usually fish a foot or two off of the bottom using standard salmon trolling gear. Sometimes I'll drop the down rigger down to 300 feet!!!! Originally I used manual downriggers, now I have auto ones connected to my power supply I use to camp with.


Words can not express the feeling I get when the salmon rod slams down after a Chinook salmon strikes.

 

Nice, is that a center board till? What make is that bad boy? Great boat, sounds like you had a really fun day.

 

I’m not embarrassed

Fish Cat 9
Multiple options include:
Oars
Kick fins
Electric trolling motor
1.5 HP Mercury (I call it the sewing machine)

 

Not mine just yet but at this point I have damn near adopted it.
Gator tough 17 with a Yamaha 65 jet.
Thing is way to fun running the river, completely terrifying when your in maybe 8" of water.

 

Nice, I do the same pretty frequently. Inland lake fishing requires a lot slower speed so I tend to go with either just the main or point high and weave in and out of the wind to maintain the right speed.

 

Yup... I'm actually a tad to fast too. Have you noticed you get fish strikes more frequent during the weaving? I swear we get more action when changing speed and direction

 

Definitely. The change in speed and direction makes the lure move differently and entices a strike.

 

So, I’m thinking about a kayak. I have two boys, 5 and 7, both knocking on their next birthdays. Wife is not interested in joining us due to seasickness but the dog might be game.

tandem or triple?
A walking trailer / wheels is important or easy to buy after?
Sit in or on top?
Need rudder, right?

I'm probably at the back spot doing 99% of the paddling.

trailer or no trailer? I could stuff it in the 8’ bed of my ‘02 Tundra, with the tailgate down and at an angle I could probably safely transport a 20’?

never owned a single watercraft other than surfboards.

 

Sounds like a canoe might be a good fit
15’ for now but a 17’ will fit the whole family

seasickness is not a thing with kayaks and canoes in my experience

and get a hitch extender or roof rack lol

 

@daveeasa I took my Staffordshire Bull Terrier on a kayak ride down the Delaware River and he did great. He sat right in front of me like he was a big shot. Our pitbull/hound mix I know would not do well, he don't sit still for long. The dogs temperament is a key factor.

 

1984 Glastron Carlson. Learned how to barefoot on this boat, my kids learned how to ski behind this boat. My Dad purchased it new.

 

I've they are like my boys, they will want to paddle their own kayaks. That's why we have four 10 footers now. Although not bad in a pickup truck bed, roof topping 3 yaks is difficult as the middle one is tough to access for tying down. Ended up with a small trailer which made things so much easier. Don't have to unload when you get home or load up when you want to head out. Just hitch and go.

 

Yeah, this dog likes to swim. He is a mutt so we didn’t expect it but he likes chase sticks in the water. That’s kind of why I’d lean towards a sit on top kayak vs one where you sit inside. Getting him back onboard could be a little bit tricky.

Canoe — f that

It would be for the Willamette River.

Since it would be just me and the boys I’d prefer to not load and unload on a roof, that’s just extra headache. So either trailer or the truck bed which seems ideal. 8’ bed on an angle with tailgate down seems like it’d fit a 15’ craft just fine. But a 20 would be potentially easier on a trailer.

Anyone have advice on doubles vs triples?

My kids are 5 and 7 so not ready for singles yet but maybe down the road I could see that, a double and a super lightweight single. My 5 year old is wimpy, the 7 year old is a "f you" type who likes independence.

I was thinking a trailer could be really nice but storing it is the tricky part. I assume I could hand carry it or have a front wheel on the tongue and walk it down the hill but then I'd have to push it back up the hill to hitch up (our lot is sloped downhill and I already have a parking problem).

I think a small and lightweight sit on top is the right starter? Look for one with a rudder? Anything else?

38 steps to the water at the closest launch point.

 

Can you rent one?

Spend a day or two in a rental, figure out what works best for you.

We a Jackson Kilroy DT tandem (unfortunately discontinued) which is a great boat. 2 boys you should fit fine. But, the boat is heavy - even empty. Takes 2 of us to put on the roof - loading on a trailer is simple easy.

Sounds to me like you will being a small single boat soon - in a year or 2, your older boy will want his own boat. I suggest not getting too big of a boat now, that way in the future you and your younger boy will not be in too much boat. Actually, my Kilroy can be paddled by a single. The boat is only 15' long.

Of course, get a boat that works now, and sell it when you need a different setup. Try renting first - see what works.

 

Here’s mine. Always has been my dream boat.

2014 tracker grizzly 1654t sportsman alweld
2022 Yamaha 40hp 4 stroke

I could start a build thread on all the work I’ve done to it. Use it for fishing and duck hunting (hence the muddy photos)

perfect size boat for towing with the first gen

 

Please do a build thread.

I'm thinking about getting a small aluminum boat - I'd like to hear what you did to this boat.

 

This ^^^
I have three pontoons because of this very reason. At 3-5 my youngest fished from the back of my fishcat on the platform. By 5 he was old enough to use kick fins or the oars that came with his lightweight 8’ inflatable. My older son bought his own outcast at 6/7. That was a great boat for him.

 

Didn’t know this thread existed, ha. I’ll post mine..

 

Same boat but new tow rig this year. A lot more maneuverable at the ramp than my dually, plus it goes better with the boat than my old man brown. Definitely not as good running down the interstate but I'm normally just running the 2 lane country roads about 10 miles to the launch. Got on the water in early April before winter came back for 2 more weeks, anxiously watching water temps to get back out. My rule of thumb is that I need a combined air and water temp of 140 degrees before I put the ski on.

 

Woah! Cool!