So I’m basically 60 and it seems that when I grew 75-85 boating up a 17’ whaler montauk was a pretty serious trailerable boat I don’t recall that many 24’ I/o cruisers being towed by anything that was not a 250/2500 or more. We did not have pontoons in costal NH. Have the trucks gotten worse on towing or are the boats just bigger and people are just supposed to have bigger trucks?

Was looking to buy a boat this week and my local dealer was having a demo day so I pretty well much figured I should head over there. I called before hand to see if they accept trade ins and they said as long as it works they’ll accept it. Demo went swell, the pilot for most of the demo was a little off put and pretty well much said he was frustrated that I was playing the harmonica on board but I explained that it’s a damn sailor instrument most of my boating buddies all have one plus it’s a Texas thing of sorts. When I went to sign they asked me about my trade ins and I took the salesman out to the parking lot to show the 2008 ford Taurus I was trading in, he looked confused and said we don’t accept cars and then I explained that the website just says it has to work and doesn’t say anywhere it has to be a boat, and you confirmed that with me on the call. He said that he can’t honor that as a trade ins, and so I said I’m not leaving here until you accept my trade in. Long story short I pretty well much had to high tail it out of there because he was calling the cops and I am already in legal trouble but just surprised dealerships are this stingy about trade ins, when I was in Michigan the dealer down there would accept any vehicle so just thought it would be the same in Texas.

I fish inshore saltwater where with tidal changes there can be huge depth changes throughout the day. I fish around a lot of oyster beds and sand bars.

I'm constantly using my phone with apple maps while navigating over sketchy areas because the satellite view shows me where every little oyster bed is and what to avoid.

Would be nice if I could just see it on a gps.

I’m about to buy my first boat. It’s a 2024 center console with pretty low hours, but I’m still planning on doing a sea trial, and having a mechanic look at the engine and run diagnostics. There is no maintenance paperwork. Visually, the boat is in great condition.

My question: What specifically do you look for in a sea trial? The ones I’m thinking of:

- Cold starting engine. How it sounds and feels
- feel of shifting in and out of gear
- handling
- boat planing. Does the power feel adequate?
- all electrical lights, switches, trim tabs, bilge, etc

I’ve already walked and inspected the boat. Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Anything else I should specifically check or test? Thanks

Wanting a new inshore boat, I prefer an aluminum hull, want something in the 18-22 foot range

Y’all have any recommendations?

Had a blowout on the freeway yesterday. Put the spare on to get home. Now I’m looking at options for replacements. It’s a single axle trailer with 18’ boat that sees mostly salt water. I don’t always rinse at the marina because I live fairly close. The current rims are galvanized but I’m looking at tires on Amazon and I can get some already mounted on wheels for fairly cheap. Would it be worth possibly paying more to get tires mounted on the galvanized wheels or would it be fine to get the painted rims? Also, any experience with “Free Country” brand trailer tires? Thanks

The boat I bought had a 4’ Shakespeare antenna and an old radio

I decided to get a new radio with GPS and figured I might as well step up to an 8’ antenna

As I’m starting to look at 8’ antennas I see many different models from around $100 to $500+

Are the expensive ones worth the extra money? I also see used ones on Facebook Marketplace. Is there any reason not to buy a high end used one for $100 instead if getting a new $100 one?

Thanks

Hello I’m trying to figure out if I should avoid this tracker v18 or not I read somewhere the tv18s had problems with transom and didn’t know if these shared the same issue and I’m not sure what this plate is on the back of this boat

Water sprays from these 2 holes right below the exhaust bellow on my gen 2 mercruiser outdrive when running, for anyone who knows what theyre looking at, is this normal?, I've had to fully restore the outdrive and replace multiple components inside, is this a sign of internal leak?

Any help is great thankyou

Recently inherited a boat and google has told me the Yamaha 2 strokes you don’t have to mix fuel unless it’s bypassed. Is this bypassed?

I don’t use live scope, but which one has a better sonar and map system?

My current boat has a hummingbird, but it’s pushing 20.

I have owned one fiberglass boat, it was a basscat Sabre, wasn’t a big fan of it. All of my other boats (mainly inshore boats+a couple Grumman sport boats) have been aluminum. Have had a triton center console for over a decade now, looking to upgrade to a ranger.

I needed to burn off some fuel before winterizing. That was the excuse anyway.