small boat for early teens
 

We are looking for a very basic boat, with less than 25 hp motor, for my younger than 16 year old boys to use around the island. Would love something we can just leave at the camp over the winter. I would love recommendations, or if anyone has something to sell?

Thank you!

Hard to go wrong with a 13' Boston Whaler. I was amazed how much it could carry and how well it handled chop when we borrowed one while our main boat was busted.

They might be a little heavy to just haul up on the beach in the winter, but I see lots of people with makeshift tracks with a winch to do this with.

There are always several for sale on craigslist

You can probably use it for several years and sell it for what you paid for it since they're very popular.

Ditto on the 13 foot Whaler. We bought a 13 foot Super Sport in 1986 with a 25 HP Evinrude. Survived being used by 2 of our kids and now the grandkids are using it. Re powered with a 25HP Yamaha 4 stroke 4 years ago. Other than keeping the wood work decent and replacing some wiring and a few bilge pumps, it is still going strong and using its original trailer to boot. Plus at its age, I no longer worry about the inside of the boat getting dirty over the summer. Hose it out a few times and that is it.

A friend mentioned avoiding fiberglass and going with aluminum instead, so as not to have as much maintenance. Thoughts?

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I would agree! A heck of a lot less money, easier to beach or drag on shore for winter and you won't mind as much when they ding it learning how to dock!

Lund and Starcraft come to mind when talking about decent aluminum boats....

Good Luck!!

Dan

Another vote for an aluminum boat. When I bought my island place in late 1998, we purchased a former rental boat from Winnisquam Marine. It was a 14' aluminum with a 9.9 horsepower engine. I repowered it with a 9.9 hp four stroke a few years after, and am still using it to this day.

Winnisquam still shows aluminum boats on the boat rental page of their website, so maybe they still sell the rental fleet at the end of the season.

I do not know much about aluminium boats, but one advantage to the Whaler is that it is literally unsinkable and even when filled with water, it is still relatively stable. I think the hull designs have changed, but the older whalers do not have a true V hull, which makes them very stable when overloaded to one side. That hull design makes for a rough ride at speed through large wakes and waves -- sort of speed limiter of sorts for kids.

I know where there is a sweet 15' Penn Yan 1957 exc cond. on a usable TeeNee Tilt trailer Mid 60's Johnson O/B 25 or 30 HP. I am waiting to have pictures sent and I will forward. This is an awesome fun boat complete with steering wheel instead of tiller type steering. Boat is ready for the water.

Safety first...
 

I learned & solo'ed a 14 ft alum. 9.9 hp tiller on a very protected Cape Cod bay and that was easy. But, I think Winni can be rougher with both wind & wakes actually being more than I remember dealing with on upper Buzzards bay. I also didnt go out in big weather... So, I think a glass, single console boat like the little whalers are safer, especially single handed. My first Winni experience 15+ years ago was up around Ambrose cove in a 16 ft alum, 25 hp tiller and the wakes from plodding cruisers off plane knocked it around quite a bit when I was solo & at the back of the boat on the tiller.

Thank you everyone so far, the advice is great! We plan to have them use it mostly weekdays/mornings when it is quieter. If we go aluminum - flat bottom is better? Any downside?
Would love to get a small whaler, but we haven't seen many advertised.

I would not get a flat bottom "Jon boat", not good whatsoever in any kind of wake or chop and very easy to swamp.. I just went by a nice used Lund in front of Winnisquam Marines storage facility (just West of Winnisquam Marines main building) that looked very nice...

Dan

Start 'em Safe...
 

When I was 16, I had a flat-bottom boat with a whole 7½ mighty Evinrude horsepower. :emb:

While making a gentle curve to a friend's dock, not a ¼-mile from where I presently sit, I hit a cruiser's wake, slid across the bench seat, and hit the tiller with my butt. :eek:

The sudden turn had me launched over the side—and, in the process, not getting the slightest bruise. Reluctant to leave my boat, now doing tight circles, and not wanting to shed my new leather jacket, a Winnipesaukee Laker arrived at the scene, and pulled me out.

So, it's a "no" for a flat-bottom boat, and a long-considered "yes" for the 13' Boston Whaler.

With teens, I'd increase power incrementally, and definitely not begin with 25 horsepower. For decades, the 13' Boston Whalers that have been running around Winter Harbor with 18 horsepower were plenty fast. IMO.

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We face the broads on Welch Island. My daughter's first boat was a 12' MFG multi-hull with 6 hp motor. She was 12 years old and could go out in front of camp and "bash the waves". Not much travel beyond that unless she was following us on the big boat. This was comparable to what other island kids had been doing for decades. At age 14, she moved to a 15' Sunbird with 25 hp and could go as far as the Weirs, even coming back after dark. By 16 she had a 20' Sea Ray I/O which we all used for skiing, tubing, errands, etc. That lasted until she got married and they bought something new.
The tiller steering in the first boat was a great learning experience and I highly recommend it.,
Neighbors kids first boat was an inflatable, tiller steer. Nearly indestructible and certainly not capable of doing damage to anything else. Also a great choice. Whalers are nice, but if you're going to progress through boat types as kids age, maybe more money than you want to do for a starter, and more hp.
Tiller steer, gas tank pressure, choke, pull start, really teach a kid all about how everything works. Push the button and a steering wheel is not a boat learning experience for a 10 year old IMHO. (Newbie Aadults here should spend some time learning tiller steer. We could eliminate dozens of posts about how to handle a boat.)

I'm also a big Lund fan and have had 5-6 over the years. My kids learned to drive boats on the Lund WC series. They are have a split rear bench which makes it easier for them to use the tiller. And they are tougher, wider, and deeper than many similar length boats.

I still keep a Lund WC 12 with an 8hp Honda for fishing small ponds that are too small for my larger fishing boat. It is rated for 25hp but the 8hp actually can plane an adult pretty easily. It has a 3 person limit which is a pro or con, depending how you look at it when talking about a bunch of kids in a boat.

http://www.lundboats.com/boat-models/wc-12/

My kids are now young adults and I'm toying with the idea of replacing the Lund with a pedal powered fishing kayak that I have come to enjoy using.

Whaler = Good Investment...
 

How many do you need? ;)

Agreeing with jazzman and winni83:

The Whaler is a classic—and justifiably so. Buying a Whaler is a better investment than a classic car; for example, I'm looking for a 70s/80s Porsche 911 to part-out. Even average examples are $20,000. :eek2: Equivalent Porsches made in the last 20 years are cheaper! :eek:

Inflation-proof, there's an excellent chance you'll be able to sell your used Whaler later, for more than you paid for it. :look: That's not the same scenario as for an aluminum boat—light and rugged as they are.

(And what I own). :o

If you go for an aluminum boat, the savings can be spent on a 5-HP or 15-HP Lehr outboard. Propane-powered, it burns particulates-free, almost emissions-free, and there are zero issues with ethanol.

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Have you read any reviews on the Lehr outboards. Apparently they have a good idea and lousy quality control

And Now, Tohatsu...
 

I see that Lehr is now making 25-HP models. They're Japanese-made, so I'd question those low-quality ratings.

Tohatsu, also Japanese-made, has joined the propane outboard business:

Lighthouse Marine Service, Moutonborough, carries Tohatsu.

I am seeing the negative reviews at Google; however, one site says that all the ratings at Amazon and elsewhere were good. :confused:

I went to the worst Amazon Lehr review (3-Stars), and found this:
Since I've already spent 1/3 of the new Lehr outboard price repairing my formerly-bulletproof Evinrude outboard at a local (and highly recommended) outboard repair shop, I'll jump into propane (I mean the outboard ;) ) next season.

If asked for my hugely negative review of that "Wal-Mart side" shop, I'll give it, but not mention it by name. I'm done with ethanol problems anyway.

Here's where I first stopped in my Lehr propane outboard inquiry—but careful—this "thoughtco" website can draw you in! :eek:

https://www.thoughtco.com/lehr-propa...review-2915368

:look:

Wanna know what time it is? ;)

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Another gasoline alternative
 

Thanks, ApS. Very cool about Lehr. I had not seen them before.

I use a Torqueedo (electric) on my sailboat. Like propane, electrics are a huge reduction in hassle vs gasoline engines. Batteries are still too expensive to make sense for most power boats, but in a few more years...