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What lakes nearby can I use a 20' boat on?

3K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  ScOoTeR 
#1 ·
I'm ->this<- close to buying the boat Ironman has listed, but the only thing making me shy away is lake access.

I'll be using it to go fishing, and not every trip will be to one of the great lakes or to Lake St. Clare. What is local that a 20' boat would fit on, or is it a non- issue?
 
#7 ·
a 20 foot bass boat and the 20 foot boat you are considering are completely different. The boat itself might fair alright on smaller lakes, but launching it can be a real pain in the ass(as much as you like those)

the extra 10-14" of draft might not be a huge deal navigating the lakes unless you fish wide rivers that have sumberged logs, or shallow bass/pike lakes that have submerged stumps etc.

that being said, I am planning on buying an inland bass boat this spring, and will need a fishing partner....
 
#12 ·
I have had my 25' on Cass and maceday lake. I would not go back to Maceday..I was a little too big for that lake.

I know of a 28' go fast on cass lake.

DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT go on Pontiac lake. My family lives on that lake. There are a shit ton of stumps in that lake. I know it well and will not put my boat in it.
 
#18 ·
DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT go on Pontiac lake. My family lives on that lake. There are a shit ton of stumps in that lake. I know it well and will not put my boat in it.
have you ever been on pontiac lake? it's touch to not destroy the haul on a jetski, let alone a fricken boat.
get off my nuts :finger:
 
#26 ·
I'm familiar with that design of Mirrocraft.

It's a pretty good open water great lakes boat - like the more common Starcraft Islander aluminum cabin boats that were/are popular as fishun botes. Pretty dry riding and a lot of room.

It would be workable, but a bit much on a small lake - especially if you're not experienced at boat handling (i.e. hard to run forward and fend off an errant bass boat).

If you want more flexibility it may be the wrong style for you - an open bow runabout would be more flexible.
 
#29 ·
That's good news - and I think I understand what you're saying - all the way up to the point where you mentioned the Bass Boat. :confused: I've had a few other boats in my life: a 1984 17' Larson closed bow runabout and a 1962 30' Owens Flagship (talk about a love/hate relationship).

This boat will most likely spend it's life with us at idle, or just off idle (really, a 165 HP i/o in a 20' boat might be good for 30 mph anyway). But I was hoping it would be good on bigger water - maybe to try walleye fishing on lake st claire, maybe get into downrigging for salmon.

Honestly, for $400, I could buy a lot less of a boat, so I'm stuck on the value (hopefully) this boat could represent. It is deep enough that I don;t have to worry about my dags falling out and big enough that my wife and I can fish out of it at the same time. The current plan is to buy the boat today, get it working for the spring/summer and see if we like it. I think there is a good chance we can resell it for what we have into it if it proves too big. (wish I could've done that with my ex-wife)
 
#30 ·
30' Owens? I had no idea. I had a 64 25' Chris Craft Catalina made of the same infernal material. I understand.

My grandfather worked at Lyman back in the day building wooden Lymans and Matthews', which somehow convinced he wood was a workable idea.

Looks like it could be a great boat for about $2K total, which you could easily get back upon movin' on up. And that style is an excellent low-buck salmon troller.
 
#31 ·
30' Owens? I had no idea. I had a 64 25' Chris Craft Catalina made of the same infernal material. I understand.

My grandfather worked at Lyman back in the day building wooden Lymans and Matthews', which somehow convinced he wood was a workable idea.
LOL, did you have a plaque in your boat that read "If God had intended there to be fiberglass boats, He would have made fiberglass trees."?
:teehee:

My best friend and I used to both work second shift, then split a case of beer over a couple of pizzas (he was night manager at a little caesars). We'd watch movies, look through newspaper classifieds, etc.

One night we were looking through the south bend tribune and found that damn Owens for $4900 (back in 1987) We bought it sitting in the water :teehee: (we didn't know better) and had one of the best summers ever. We were slipped in a crappy little marina off of the st.joe river in st. joe MI - we used to weigh anchor out at silver beach and meet all kinds of girls. Spent the night on the water several times too - great memories.

Then we pulled that piece of shit out of the water in the fall and saw the condition of the hull. It WOULD'VE been repairable had the previous owner (Albert Skibbe, that asshole) wouldn't have used some kind of bulk putty and a drywall knife to cover the hull. It looked like rubber was dripping off of the bottom of the boat - and the parts that were loose pulled right off, but the stuff stuck to the hull just rolled up under any kind of tool we tried to scrape it with. There was no good way to clean and scrape the hull to repair his cover up job, so, we left it dry docked and partied on it (year round) for two years. :d:
 
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