Renting a boat....need ideas.

[Nica]

All,

Looking to take the fam out to a lake for a few days in August. Looking for a boat that I can rent. Any ideas as to where I could find one?

Appreciate your help

Nica
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[BADFISH]

i just learned that you can rent boats of all kinds at Jordanelle, ski, fish, even wave runners and the like......good looking lunds on the website, no price though. [url "http://www.Jordanelle.com"]www.Jordanelle.com[/url] gets you to the site you can at least see whats available and get a number you can call to see what prices are.
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[fshslyer36]

Heber Valley motor sports my neighbors dad owns it and i know they rent boats they are real resonable with prices id try there then you can go to any lake you want
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[Nica]

Thanks badfish.
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[Nica]

thanks man...I'll look them up. Renting boats is sure expensive, only ones I can find are in the range of $300/day, which is too rich for my blood.

thanks again
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[addicted2fishin]

[reply]
thanks man...I'll look them up. Renting boats is sure expensive, only ones I can find are in the range of $300/day, which is too rich for my blood.

thanks again [/reply]
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[Kent]

If you think occasionally renting a boat is expensive you ought to try owning one full-time![unsure] IMHO over 1/2 of the people who own boats would be dollars ahead if they just rented one when they wanted to go boating.
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[addicted2fishin]

I would have to disagree. It was partly due to the high rental costs that I decided to buy a used boat instead. I looked for one in very good mechanical condition, and with a sound hull / floor. I ended up buying an old tri-hull for $2k. I used that boat on many trips without any problems. Maintenance was minimal on the outboard 135 hp engine, and it more than paid for itself over rental costs over the 3 years I had it. I ended up selling the boat last year for about $1800 to upgrade to a bigger I/O boat and it is suiting me well now.
As long as you aren't out looking for the latest $45k boat, and look for one that is sound structurally and mechanically, you can save a lot of money over rentals. Just take care of the boat and it will take care of you.

.........or it could just be that my luck with boats far exceeds my luck fishing. ? .
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[Kent]

I guess that I have been unlucky, and yes as much as I fish it would be prohibitive to rent a boat each time I go out; however, many folks I know own boats and use them less than 3 or 4 times a year, and some haven't used their boat at all this year.
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[addicted2fishin]

Unfortunately, I would have to rank among those that haven't used the boat at all this year. The past 2 years have been incredibly busy and a new baby at the end of July took me away from fishing. However, for the price of my boat ($4k) it wouldn't take many rental trips to pay for it. Then you still get something back when you sell it. However, I'm finally going to get mine out on Friday. Just hoping for some good reports on how / where to fish the berry to get me back into the swing of things. (I'm the one that started the post about fishing the berry this week.)

Buying a boat is definitely a decision that shouldn't be jumped into. You should consider the pros / cons very carefully, and look a potential purchase over EXTREMELY carefully. Look into the history of the boat, get a good feel for the owner and the use the boat has had, look for signs of abuse or potential problems. If you are careful, you can get away with a decent boat for not a lot of $$. However, avoid any boat where they say "It just needs a minor repair, should only cost you $100". I would also avoid any boat where the seller really doesn't know much about the boat or history.
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[Nica]

So....what signs should I look for when buying a boat? I am very mechanically minded, so I think I may be able to spot inboard engine issues, but don't know much about boats themselves or outboards. Considering that this would be mainly a family boat (7 of us) and fishing would be a secondary use, what should I look for? Inboard or outboard, open bow or cuddy, length, etc, etc. Also, other than obvious damage, what should I look at on the hull to determine if it's in good shape?

thank you all
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[addicted2fishin]

I would look very closely for signs of repair to the hull. Some will scratch up the hull a little and repaint it, which is no big deal, but others will damage it and need patches, repairs, etc. If a boat says 'recently repainted' I would want to know why, and look it over VERY carefully.
As for the mechanical, the first check is obvious, look for water in the oils / fluids. Make sure the impellar is working correctly. Ask the seller about it. Look for grease buildup on the engine block. You really shouldn't get any with a boat. The other thing to check is the hydraulics, whether it is inboard or outboard. If it is a larger motor, you are going to want to be absolutely sure the hydraulics work. You can get into a lot of expense there.
Another thing to look at is the interior. Seats and that are fairly easy to replace, but soft floorboards aren't quite so easy. Walk around inside and feel for soft spots that might indicate that you are going to have to replace all of the flooring. That can be difficult and expensive.
As for the type, style, etc. It really depends. tri-hull boats are more stable with people moving around on the boat, but don't cut through big waves. They ride the wave up and down, so they will slam into the next wave and could splash over the bow in bigger storms.
I wouldn't get a closed bow with 7 people. Most closed bow, whether 16 or 20 feet long, will only seat 6. A cuddy could solve that problem, but they often only seat about 5 plus those down in the cuddy. Could be a problem if nobody wants to be down there. Open bows will seat more, but there is less protection from weather. Just weigh those options and decide what's important for you.
Since fishing is secondary use, and you have 7 people, I would look for inboard. They are usually larger engines and can handle the play time more. However, your season is a bit shorter as you have to do more to winterize and maintain. Mine runs off a 305 V8 engine with a 4bbl carb on top.

Good luck in the search!!!!
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