Son wants a boat, best 14 fter out there??

[Pistol Pete]

My son wants to buy a 14 foot fishing boat. That way when I'm working he can go. I'm a little leary about him doing this. I have a larger deep v walleye boat, 19 footer with a 100hp tiller. He is rather small but strong. Still the 100 tiller is to much for him if it gets rough. Any suggestions as to what brand and how big of a motor should I put on this 14 foot boat.

[Jaybob]

Well, not all that long ago I was in the same position as your son. Me and my dad ended up getting a 14' Lund w/ a 30hp Evinrude ('89) back in 1994 or so. I used to take that boat out on Minnetonka all the time while my dad was at work and the 30 was easy enough to handle for me back then (when I was 14 and about 130lbs). The tiller was tiring at times, but never too much to handle. Most 14 footers have a max rating of 25 nowdays so I wouldn't worry about that part of the equation.

It was also kind of my project boat. I built a platform and added a bow mount trolling motor a couple years after we bought it. Some of my greatest memories were in that boat. I just sold it a month ago to get my new one... otherwise it would have been perfect for you.

[wingnutken]

Seven years ago I was in your position.My son wanted to buy a boat because he didn't want to be restricted to just fishing on docks. He bought a 14' Sea Nymph. It is narrow in the back and widens out toward the bow. The rear bench is mounted a little too far back for my size but it was ideal for his. A year later he purchased a Johnson 9.9. This boat really goes. He is now 18 and we have used that boat exclusivly for duck hunting for the past 3 years. It slides in and out of the reeds like a dream. When he turned 16 he was more than capable to use my boat for fishing. Ken

[waskawood]

Why not go a little bigger. I just sold a 16 foot Alumacraft lunker with a 25 hp 4-stroke. It is a little safer if the wind would happen to come up. If you are looking to spend as little as possible, it is hard to beat the old Lund's or Alumacraft's with a bench seat.

[deepportage01]

you may have read a story 15 year ago in the chisago press about 2 boy's that over turned a 14ft w a 5hp on green lake well that was me and my freind Joe. the waves were only at the most a foot or two maybe.anyway to the point my grandfather gave me this boat and what a guy for doing this but we were realy close to bighting the big one if we had not been saved by the owener of rocky J's bar we would have died so go as big as you can aford you might save his life some day.all that hapend was a wave came over the back and that was all she wrote.To the owener of rocky J's thank you you are the man!

[Surface Tension]

I saw this thread earlier and and felt the father in me, now after reading the last post I can't hold that back.

Get your son a WIDE 14 or 16'er. Match that up with a 9.9 and he'll be good to go.

You may all ready have this covered but he needs to know that a life jacket will save his life but only if its WORN.

We just had 3 youths drown up here. 5 teenagers in a 12' boat, no life jackets were aboard the boat.

[Big Bobber]

A quality set of splash guards would also be a good investment, and perhaps be a bit of insurance against some inexperience.

[Ray Esboldt]

14' Crestliner Angler Tiller with a 25 hp motor. That boat is such a nice 14 footer, you'll find yourself wanting to use it. It's wide and it's deep. It's a bench seat across the back, open cockpit, and a deck up front. It's very reminicent of the old 14' Lund Anglers.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

A 14 foot, wider lund with a 9.9 hp would be the way to go.

You have to remember that the bigger the motor you put on the boat, the faster it will go! And we all know ( from experience) that kids only have one speed, WIDE OPEN!

I would also made it real clear to him that if I ever catch him operating the boat without a life jacket on, it would be the last time!!

Buy him a good comfortable life vest and he will not object.

Cliff

[Guest]

Quote:

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Get your son a WIDE 14 or 16'er. Match that up with a 9.9 and he'll be good to go.

You may all ready have this covered but he needs to know that a life jacket will save his life but only if its WORN.

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EXACTLY

I cant agree more on the boat.. a wide(usually means deeper) 14'-16' boat would be ideal. You dont need max hp, but enough to plane the light boat in calm water and get from point A to B would also be enough to fight some wind when needed.

THe larger and heavier the boat, the more difficult it becomes to trailer also. There are lots of advantages to a small, light boat. They are usually very seaworthy also.

A wise investment would be a comfortable lifejacket also.. inflatable is not out of the question if thats what it takes that will be worn. You know if that lifejacket is uncomfortable and hot, it will be sitting on the floor the minute he is comfortable with the boat.

[Surface Tension]

Your right on the speed demon thing Cliff, also the 9.9 will troll down. As far as the life jackets go, let your son pick one out.

My son is too young yet to take a boat out without me, I'm thinking when hes ready I'll be spying on him.

[Matt Johnson]

Crestliner makes a few 14 foot options that are very reasonably priced called the Sportsman Series. The Sportsman 14 is actually about 14.5 feet long and over 6 feet wide. A nice little boat in my opinion.

[Bassboy1645]

14 foot deep and wide def!!! i really wish mine was becasue it cant go out on windier days. im 17 yrs old and just got my first boat last summer. A deep and wide in the right hands will take on bigger water if the need arises. and i dont recomend a 9.9 only because wide open may get u off the lake faster if you need to out run a storm or if the conditions get to dangerous to be out. on a 14 footer id recomed an 15-20hp. Mines an 18 and depending on people cargo it goes as fast as 10mph wide open to 30 mph with one person. depends on size/total weight too. coolers and extra gas tanks weigh it down a ton. any boat is nifty to load and unload if u simply drive on and off the trailer but small light ones can be fliped and moved around by hand easier if needed. im ready for an upgrade but its a good starting point. just my 2 cents!