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dajonga

Any boat trailer experts here?

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For 10+ years, my FIL wanted to give me a fixer-upper 14' Starcraft boat. For 10+ years, I said no. I do not fish, I have no desire to own a boat and I don't want a fixer upper.

So, he gives it my 16-year-old son last year. The boat appeared in my driveway before I could say "WTF!?!" 

My son has no money, so now I own....... a fixer-upper 14' Starcraft boat. It is a simple V hull, 3 bench fishing boat. It did come what I am told is a nice running 9 HP outboard.

It needed a complete strip down to primer to get the 43 layers of flaking brushed paint off & a repaint.  The benches, floatation and transom need to be replaced. Thanks pop!

And it came with no trailer.

From my interwebbing, it looks like a 15-16' trailer with simple carpet-covered bunks is all I need, perhaps with a centerline roller or 2. Web says I should keep the bow about 30" from car, and the boat should hang over the back of the trailer by a foot or so. Does this sound correct? 

I am trying to find a cheapo trailer on CL or FB and need to know what I should look out for.

Any advice?

And, of course, if you have a trailer that fits this description, lemme know. 

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I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE IN YOUR LIFETIME ...  GET THAT FUG IN BOAT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.

IT'S A GOING TO BE BOTTOMLESS MONEY PIT.  GO TO THE NEAREST MIRROR IN YOUR HOUSE , AND ASK THE GUY IN THE REFLECTION IF HE'S OUT OF HIS MIND.  BUY YOURSELF A NEW RIFLE AND SOME AMMO.    JMHO.  :deadhorse:

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24 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE IN YOUR LIFETIME ...  GET THAT FUG IN BOAT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.

IT'S A GOING TO BE BOTTOMLESS MONEY PIT.  GO TO THE NEAREST MIRROR IN YOUR HOUSE , AND ASK THE GUY IN THE REFLECTION IF HE'S OUT OF HIS MIND.  BUY YOURSELF A NEW RIFLE AND SOME AMMO.    JMHO.  :deadhorse:

This! 

I had a fixer upper 18' bayliner once. I stripped it, sold all the parts, motor and trailer. Then I cut the hull up into pieces, bagged it up and spent the next 6 months throwing a few bags a week into the garbage. I ended up making about a grand! 

 

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29 minutes ago, Zeke said:

How did the boat get to your driveway with no trailer?:p

He brought it over on a utility trailer. I do have a utility trailer, but converting it to boat duty seems like a PITA. I think I would rather have a dedicated boat trailer.

It is a simple aluminum hull jon boat in good shape, all things considered. The kid is now 17. When he leaves home, the boat gets sold if am not in love with it.

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10 minutes ago, dajonga said:

He brought it over on a utility trailer. I do have a utility trailer, but converting it to boat duty seems like a PITA. I think I would rather have a dedicated boat trailer.

It is a simple aluminum hull jon boat in good shape, all things considered. The kid is now 17. When he leaves home, the boat gets sold if am not in love with it.

Let the young man figure it out. It’s his boat.

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38 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE IN YOUR LIFETIME ...  GET THAT FUG IN BOAT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.

IT'S A GOING TO BE BOTTOMLESS MONEY PIT.

The two most happiest days in the life of a boat owner. The day you bring it home and the day you sell it. Usually the day you sell it is the happiest!!

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4 minutes ago, Zeke said:

Scrap it. You have a boating license?

I do. I am into the boat about $100 and 10 hours of labor so far. I am working on it with kid, so that is a plus. The benches are done and ready to be installed.....donated 1" Mahagony from my carpenter brother, covered in spar varnish. Transom is ready to install. Hull and inside are painted. She should be ready to go when the weather warms up, I just need a trailer. I may just throw on the utility this year and see how it goes. Who knows, I may love going out on the bay and just taking a nap on it.

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57 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE IN YOUR LIFETIME ...  GET THAT FUG IN BOAT OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.

IT'S A GOING TO BE BOTTOMLESS MONEY PIT.  GO TO THE NEAREST MIRROR IN YOUR HOUSE , AND ASK THE GUY IN THE REFLECTION IF HE'S OUT OF HIS MIND.  BUY YOURSELF A NEW RIFLE AND SOME AMMO.    JMHO.  :deadhorse:

A boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into. 

Dad always used to tell me, if it floats, or flies, it’s cheaper to rent!

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The bow post you want far enough away so when you jacknife it doesn’t hit the tow vehicle. Only other thing is center mass over axle(s). The cribbing is kinda hull specific. 

Al is best for salt vs steel. 

This is a light weight boat. I wouldn’t over think it too much

if you get a leak use that rubber spray stuff on tv and send pics:D

 

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Went on a golf vacation with the wife to Hilton Head, SC last August.  Golf was awesome, played Harbor Town (killer course).  Met up with a former colleague of my wife who lives on the island with his wife.  They have a boat/dock on their property so we all went out for a cruise after a round of golf and lunch.  Never really had a desire for a boat.  Wife loved it.  Long story, short, we came back up as new boat owners.  Did my NJ boat safety certification online by the beach in SC.  Boat/trailer transported up to us a day after we got back.  

Not exactly the vacation souvenir I was planning on.  

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58 minutes ago, dajonga said:

Who knows, I may love going out on the bay and just taking a nap on it.

Be careful, I had my boat in a slip in the bay. It was bigger and built for rough water. I finally got tired of getting beat up in the roughness of the bay,  just wait on how much fun it is out there on a weekend with all the weekend warriors.

 

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9 minutes ago, Sniper said:

In a marina on the Forked River, we spent a lot of time out in the Barnegat Bay.

Ah, gotcha.  I'm a new boater, so I'm using Raritan Marina in Laurence Harbor. Raritan Bay is the main waterway I'd be cruising around in.  It looks to be pretty protected due to Route 35 being right between the marina and access out to the open bay.  So not much in the way of surf or current that would bash my boat around in unless stormy weather hits.  All good.  Thx.

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4 hours ago, Sniper said:

Be careful, I had my boat in a slip in the bay. It was bigger and built for rough water. I finally got tired of getting beat up in the roughness of the bay,  just wait on how much fun it is out there on a weekend with all the weekend warriors.

 

I have lived within 4 miles of Barnegat Bay since I was 10. Locals do not go on the water on weekends if they can help it.

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I have had boats on bar. bay since 1967. Last boat was a 24' proline CC. Sold it in 2007, have not looked back!!!  Had slips in bayville,Forked river TWP dock for a few years, Waretown for a few years. BB is NUTS. I mostly went outside and that is getting NUTS!

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1 hour ago, dajonga said:

Locals do not go on the water on weekends if they can help it.

 

1 hour ago, 1563621 said:

BB is NUTS.

I agree. When I bought my last boat, I told wifey he had to go out during the week, cause the weekends were crazy. Then, a bunch of times we tried to go out during the week, the weather was crappy or really windy, so it was a no go. You guys know what the bay gets like inside of the lighthouse on a windy day. Not fun, and that's before all the wakes from the boat traffic.

We'd try to fish and drift the oyster creek channel. It was like taking your life in your hands.

Although it was a great boat, not missing the "adventures" in the bay.

Actually, we just bought a new motorhome yesterday, so we're going to find out if the land adventures are more fun than the water ones.

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You are in Ocean County, used trailers are easy to find.  Many people have no titles/registrations for the trailers they are selling. You can get the trailer really cheap if the owner lost the paperwork.  Already having a utility trailer is a big bonus, use the same plate for the two trailers.  When I was in NJ I had 3 boats/trailers and kept 2 of the trailers registered.

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15 hours ago, Sniper said:

 

I agree. When I bought my last boat, I told wifey he had to go out during the week, cause the weekends were crazy. Then, a bunch of times we tried to go out during the week, the weather was crappy or really windy, so it was a no go. You guys know what the bay gets like inside of the lighthouse on a windy day. Not fun, and that's before all the wakes from the boat traffic.

We'd try to fish and drift the oyster creek channel. It was like taking your life in your hands.

Although it was a great boat, not missing the "adventures" in the bay.

Actually, we just bought a new motorhome yesterday, so we're going to find out if the land adventures are more fun than the water ones.

So why is the bay so packed?  Is it because it is one of the only bays vs open water?

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1 hour ago, Maksim said:

So why is the bay so packed?  Is it because it is one of the only bays vs open water?

In this area, it's really wide and deep enough across most of it, so it gets water skiing, sailing, etc. Plus there are tons of lagoon houses that feed into the bay, plus the Forked River. Then you have Tices Shoal, which is a popular hang out next to Island Beach State Park. And lastly, the Barnegat Inlet, where all boats get access to the ocean.

Couple that all together, along with the beer drinking by the weekend warriors, and you'll know why there's so many issues out there.

The few times we went out on the weekends, it was like a parade of boats going out the river, and later on, coming back in. This was at times when you'd see 70% of  the boats on the river still sitting in their slips.

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1 hour ago, SW9racer said:

Did you rent one for a bit, or just dove in and bought it?

We rented one like 10+ years ago when the kids were still home. Then, when we got serious about it this time, we rented one for a quick 4 day trip last Fall as a trial run and zero in on what we wanted. I was going to buy at the end of the year, but figured wait until now, as I knew we wouldn't use it over the Winter. Plus with the RV shows going on now, I knew I could wheel and deal better.

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