Time to upgrade from lake boat to sea boat. Advice needed :)

[Ajderev]

Hello All,

I think it is time for me to try to sell my heavy modified 18' Lynch lake boat with 2 strokes 15 Yamaha and go for something better suited for the sea.
It will be a tough sell

I'm thinking of something like Orkney 520 or Strikeliner 16+. The budget I can burn is around 5k. If some accept trade-ins, I can trade my boat plus the 5k.
I will appreciate it if you can give me some recommendations on what I should look for or what should I avoid based on your experience.
I'm looking to keep the boat on my driveway and tow it every time I want to use it. Based on my experience this year, it is two or three times a month on average.
So it needs to be not too heavy and can be lunch without too much effort.

Based on what I have found out till now Orkney 520 or Strikeliner 16+ fit this requirement. Is there any other I should look for?

Are there any other places except Adverts and DoneDeal I need to look for sellers?

[Its Ofishal]

Warrior, Sea hog or Wilson Flyer in my opinion are the better models.You will find pros and cons for each one but I bought a Warrior and cant fault it in any way, the only thing is its probably the dearest of the three. As regards sites I bought my last 3 boats in UK or Northern Ireland so I watched sites over there and brought them back.

[Its Ofishal]

Just another couple of boats came to mind ; Alaska 500 and predator. Alaska is a cheaper model that kind of copies a warrior. Im surprised you dont have many more people with input on this topic but wait and see you should get a few helpful ideas.

[Ajderev]

Thank you for your reply.

What do you think about Sea Hog Hunter?

There is one in DoneDeal which looks appealing to me
https://www.donedeal.ie/boats-for-sale/ ... ampaign=14

[Its Ofishal]

Thats a nice clean looking boat and I was only ever in one once on a very calm day so I cant say what they sit like in a little chop when you are fishing . One thing I did notice at the time was that the gunnels were pretty low and the chap that owned it also said to me that he was getting rails to raise the sides for more comfortable fishing.

[Ajderev]

I'm considering the Seahog Commodore from the DoneDeal advert below.

https://www.donedeal.ie/boats-for-sale/ ... ampaign=14

I went to see it today. It looks good for its age as long as I can tell.
Comes with a good braked roller trailer, and we did a test run for 15 min the engine works well as well.
It was able to do 20 knots with two of us (I would estimate around 220kg). Is this what a 50hp should do on this type of boat.

Is this looks like a good buy?

I need to confirm do I get it or not by Tuesday. I will really appreciate if someone with experience with this boat can comment.

[Its Ofishal]

Looks like a neat boat to me and they do handle well on the sea. I heard they were a little bit slappy in waves but thats only hearsay and noise. I had a loan of one and found it quite a sturdy boat for fishing.

[JimC]

I'm considering the Seahog Commodore from the DoneDeal advert below.

https://www.donedeal.ie/boats-for-sale/ ... ampaign=14

I went to see it today. It looks good for its age as long as I can tell.
Comes with a good braked roller trailer, and we did a test run for 15 min the engine works well as well.
It was able to do 20 knots with two of us (I would estimate around 220kg). Is this what a 50hp should do on this type of boat.

Is this looks like a good buy?

I need to confirm do I get it or not by Tuesday. I will really appreciate if someone with experience with this boat can comment.

The Commodore is a decent enough sea keeper. 20 knots sounds a bit slow, I could be wrong though, probably al lot heavier than other hogs. A mate had one with a 75hp on.. Maybe ask on the Seahog Facebook page for comparable figures.
I would pay close attention to the floor. Make sure it is hard as they tend to rot away under the fibreglass over time. Depending on who made it there may be foam under the floor. Just be sure that there is not a whole pile of water in there. Check the inner bung. It does look a fresh boat from the pictures.

[Ajderev]

Thank you for the reply JimC,

About the floor, if I walk on it(I'm around 22stons or 140kg) it should not bend at all right?
How can I check for water in the boat?
Thank you for your help.

On the braked roller-coster trailer, is there anything I need to be expecting more closely?

Thank you all in helping me to make the right decision.

[JimC]

No the floor should not flex. If you see that it is soft it probably will be a patch where the timber under the floor has begun to rot and therefore lose support. There should be a inner bung usually in a the sump at the rear. But it may not be fitted depending on who made the boat.
https://fb.watch/2ngJ4jKt3T/

[JimC]

As for the trailer: All you can do is check the overall condition of the mudguards etc. You can check the bearings to see if there is any play and that they are running smoothly. . Bearings are a service item after. Similarly the brakes should work and the handbrake should as well. Make sure the gaiter on the hitch is not torn. The weight of the package may mean that you will need a BE licence.

[Ajderev]

If the floor is fine and there is no bung. Is it something I should worry?
I guess I can fit it later and drain it if there is some water?

The trailer has no string for.the breaks so maybe the brake are blocked. Is this expensive to fix?

The boat is 500kg the engine is another 110kg. I do not hallmark braked roller coaster how much it may weight.
I hope it will be around 100.
The allowed without BE is 750kg right?

[JimC]

Yes, 750kg is the limit.
Technically you may not need ba braked trailer as you are under 750kg. You would have to all the brake components to see what you would need to get the brakes working again. It could be expensive.

[keymcg]

Technically you can tow a trailer heavier that 750 KG on a B license, as long as the combined weight of the vehicle and the loaded trailer does not exceed 3,500 KG. The laws around towing in Ireland are unnecessarily confusing.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[Ajderev]

All, thank you for your help.

I really get some good advice here.

I'm going today to see and eventually get the Commodore

[junior conger]

Best of luck with it, enjoy

[Its Ofishal]

Good luck with it and tight lines buddy.

[Ajderev]

I have got the Seahog Commodore. So I joined the small boat owners.

The boat is adequate for its age as long as I can tell. It has a few deeper scratches around an inch of the Gelcoat but nothing major.
The front corners look like they have met unmovable objects the rubber fender is flattened, and one of them has a slight crack.
The biggest concern I think, is the foam under the service holes is wet.
There is a bung as the drilling video of JimC shows with no plug on it. The owner didn't even know it was there.
When you put the boat on the ramp, some water is coming out of it and drain on the bag of the stern plug.
Is there is any way to dry the foal or once it is soaked the only solution is to open the deck get rid of the whet foam and refill it?
The deck has no flex at all so hopefully, no rot anywhere in it.

The engine is F50AET I think it is 2003. It works well. I drove it for 15 mins slow and fast. I trimmed it up and full trouble it hits 6000rpm with 20knots on a lake.
It has hydrofoil fins. Should I keep them or take them down?
The propeller has no marking on it and has circle piece missing on one of the blades the rest of the blades are fine. Should I look to replace it, and if yes what pitch on prop should I look for?

prop.PNG

I was told that full service of the engine was done and new bearings of the trailer and two new 36AMP batteries were changed six months ago.
The sacrificial anodes on the engine looked brand new. The small one still has the sticker with the price on it.


The trailer has virtually no brakes but other than that it looks in good shape.
The rollers are all rolling freely, and al pivot points are also moving freely. No rust on the trailer except the brakes drums and rotted our brake wires
The trailer looks like a heavy-duty Hallmark trailer for huge boats.
Can someone tell me form the info below how heavy the trailer is?

trailer.PNG

And last, is there must do things after you get a new boat, like change the timing belt?

Also If someone can give me a hint how I can check the VHF is it working right not just lights on?

I appreciate the advises I got in here. Thank you all.

[JimC]

I have got the Seahog Commodore. So I joined the small boat owners.

The boat is adequate for its age as long as I can tell. It has a few deeper scratches around an inch of the Gelcoat but nothing major.
The front corners look like they have met unmovable objects the rubber fender is flattened, and one of them has a slight crack.
The biggest concern I think, is the foam under the service holes is wet.
There is a bung as the drilling video of JimC shows with no plug on it. The owner didn't even know it was there.
When you put the boat on the ramp, some water is coming out of it and drain on the bag of the stern plug.
Is there is any way to dry the foal or once it is soaked the only solution is to open the deck get rid of the whet foam and refill it?
The deck has no flex at all so hopefully, no rot anywhere in it. Prop the boat up and see will much of it drain out over time.

The engine is F50AET I think it is 2003. It works well. I drove it for 15 mins slow and fast. I trimmed it up and full trouble it hits 6000rpm with 20knots on a lake.
It has hydrofoil fins. Should I keep them or take them down? I personally think they are not of much use on an engine that has trim and tils anyway. The owner probably fitted them in order to compensate for the underpowered motor
The propeller has no marking on it and has circle piece missing on one of the blades the rest of the blades are fine. Should I look to replace it, and if yes what pitch on prop should I look for? The current pitch should be marked on your prop. You can get the blade repaired. I would replace and get the old one repaired as a spare.

prop.PNG

I was told that full service of the engine was done and new bearings of the trailer and two new 36AMP batteries were changed six months ago.
The sacrificial anodes on the engine looked brand new. The small one still has the sticker with the price on it.


The trailer has virtually no brakes but other than that it looks in good shape.
The rollers are all rolling freely, and al pivot points are also moving freely. No rust on the trailer except the brakes drums and rotted our brake wires
The trailer looks like a heavy-duty Hallmark trailer for huge boats.
Can someone tell me form the info below how heavy the trailer is? That is the plate off the hitch. There should be another plate giving the gross weight etc. If indespension this will say Indespension or Hallmark

trailer.PNG

And last, is there must do things after you get a new boat, like change the timing belt? That would depend on the hours on the engine.

Also If someone can give me a hint how I can check the VHF is it working right not just lights on? You can check using another handheld VHF to see if you are broadcasting. The best way to do it is to use the VHF to contact your local Coastguard Station and request a radio check. They will tell you how you are being received.

I appreciate the advises I got in here. Thank you all.

[Ajderev]

Hi all

I did a few test runs and the boat is very stable. On a front wave is quite similar to drive offroader and you can lose a filling, but it is fine if you slow down a bit.
The engine was cutting out form time to time and the issue was a plastic T connector, connecting the two fuel tans with the water separator had a crack and was letting air in. After replacing the engine did give any more issues.
The other thing I didn't know you can see on the tachometer is the moto hours. The motor is on 250 hours

I also got a new stainless steel prop 12" pitch. Now she max out 25 knots at 5500 pm on wide open throttle. With 3500 rpm the spread is around 16 knots. I guess the size of the prop is right where it should be right?
The engine is idling on 700 rpm. Planning to do a bit of carb maintenance (cleaning, fuel mixture tuning ad carb sync) next to see if I can squeeze some more revs(knots) of her.

I did one-day fishing with around 50 km round trip and I burned around 30 to 35 litres of fuel. Is this good or bad milage?

20210102_131834~2.jpg