Boat Advice

[Guest]

Hi All,
I'm on the verge of buying a wee boat and have been offered a decent price. 16ft sea hog with triple hull. 50 horse ex-RNLI engine (I have a small 4 horse backup) . Comes with trailer, fishfinder, VHF, rod holders, bait board. Looks like it'd fish 4 comfortably. I've heard Sea Hogs are a decent boat.
I've never owned a sea going boat before, so can anyone advise as to what to look for before I buy (apart from holes !! ) ? Seller says he'll stand over it for a short time until I do a few trial runs.

All advice appreciated.

[Conor H]

Sorry, thought I'd signed in, that was me !!

[kieran]

Hi Conor

Sounds like a nice deal. You never mentioned the price!!!

Check if the RNLI will do a free safety test on the boat for you.

Main issue is the quality of the grp / gel coat. Look for any repairs. Borrow a skateboard if you have to but get in underneath and look. Look for repairs inside the boat including where the cuddy is attached...

Poor handling can lead to bangs and cracks when a large engine is being dismounted.

Another spot is where the engine brackets are located, around the battery 'hold' etc. Often you can see where water has collected because of the staining - ask yourself: how did it get there.

On the fibreglass, look for spidery cracks (a bit like crackleur on old oil paintings) which comes with age. Look for weeping seams, particularly where something has been jointed onto the boat e.g. keel strip, railings, or where a transponder / transducer has been attached to the boat.

Check the seals on the windows! Check the hinges on the doors if any (sorry not familiar with the sea hog that much).

Check with the manufacturer and see if you can figure out how old it is - if you have a serial number it should be no problem (so long as it is the right serial number!). I think Mike Thrussel has written up a trial on them.

Too heavy a set-up for me (looking for a coastliner), but sounds very nice.

FWIW...

[Conor H]

Nice one, cheers Kieran. Going up for another look on Friday. Will give it a good looking over. No price yet as I haven't finished haggling, but going by the sea hog site, I'm not doing too badly !!

There are 3 of us going in on it (dad and brother) so want something comfy that will take us to Tory with no problems.

Trouble is I'll have to wait until April/May to get it out there, Horn Head and inshore will have to do until then, or a big lake for Pike to get me used to the boat.

[kieran]

Hi Conor

My plan is to stay inshore a lot my first season, as having owed a boat before I can tell you from experience that there is a lot to remember / recall or learn the first time around. Easier to do it in sight of land ! You would be amazed how quickly a squall can develop over water even on fine days and even something like wind and tide running counter to each other can generate some serious conditions...

Tight lines... PM me when you have finished haggling. I am looking at some excellent deals in the UK even allowing for the cost of sterling etc.

Thanks m8

[JimC]

Howya Conor,

Which Seahog is she? Shortie, Commodore, Sealord etc?

Jim.

[Tanglerat]

The engine. The engine. THE ENGINE!!!!!!

Get the engine checked out thoroughly. How many hours on it, serviced regularily, taken care of good?

Most important, I reckon.

[Conor H]

Hi Jim, it's the Trooper ----->> http://www.seahog.co.uk/Trooper.htm

Cheers for the advice Tanglerat and Kieran. First thing I'll be doing on buying is having the engine fully serviced, whether I'm told it's already been done or not. And as for inshore fishing, that's all I'll be doing on it - I'll not be too adventurous in the short term anyway. Hopefully I'll get out round Horn Head , and in round Carlingford Bay. I'll get a few months practice in on the big lakes for pike between now and April/May though , just to get used to it.

There's just the 3 of us in on it so it should be a big enough boat, maybe fit the 4th person occasionally.

Thanks again for the advice.

[bigkev]

Hope you like the boat
Just finished my first season in a 16 foot boat so here are the lessons I learned. (I am obviously no expert)
I'd make a quick comment on the number of people you want to fish from her.

They are a lot smaller on the water than out of it. I fished 2 most of the time with three at a push in a similar sized boat (predator 160)

You quickly learn that being organised, neat and tidy is essential, as its a real pain tripping over each other getting to gear in different parts of the boat.I'd recommend a tackle chest/box for all the boats fishing gear

A boat hook on a pole-You'd be amazed how often this will get used for all sorts of things

That said, its a real buzz fishing from your own boat, and I hope the boat is a good one.No better christmas present

All the best

Kev

[Conor H]

Thanks for that Kev. I'd say most times it'd be 3 Max. I like my comforts when fishing - very rarely take more than 8 on a charter boat licenced for 12.

[JimC]

Conor,
The trooper is a fine boat. As you say, other than the obvious condition of the hull cosmetically theres not much to check on that score. She will have a double hull so make sure shes not got water trapped inside. Look for old damage that goes beneath the gelcoat. I take it the engine is a 2stroke, what make & HP? Best to give it a run in a barrel or better a sea trial. It should sound good after warming up. Make sure that there is a good issue of cooling water. Make sure that once warm it runs with the choke in. Have a look under the cover to see that linkages are ok,signs of previous stripping etc. Make sure gearchange is reasonably smooth with no undue grating. It would be no harm to pop the drain plug of the leg and look at the gearbox oil condition, it will be milky if there is water ingress. The plug is normally magnetic so any filings should colect on the plug. The throttle lever should be smooth in all directions although the friction is normally adjustable, the innards and cables can give grief and sieze. The condition of the prop is important. The fact that the guy is happy to cover you for a while is good, he is probably happy with the boat, if its a private sale mores the better.
On the trailer, jack the axle and check the wheel bearings,there should be no major rock. If you get a sea trial check condition and freeness of rollers when the boats off . Check the winch strap. Ensure that there are rachet straps for bringing her home etc. There are probably more things that don't come to mind straight away so give me a shout if you have any other queries, I don't know it all but may have come accross it before!

Other than that be prepared for non stop little jobs and a degree of expense. Make sure the others are aware of this. It would be no harm while looking at the boat to view it condisering what may need replacing/fixing down the line, windows could be gone "foggy", wiring could be poor, lights may corroded etc. you might not be happy with the electronics suite, good to take all this into account now and give the lads an idea of what they can expect.


Other than that enjoy the experience. How the hell are you going to wrap it! You'll never look back!. After getting used to it you'll never want set foot on a charter! Its a long tow to Cork but I'm sure ye'll have to make the trip....

Later.
Jim.

[RobertMcClean]

Hi Conor,

From our own experience I would advise you firstly to keep getting as much advise as possible and I would watch out for these items also.

Trailer - Bearings are decent type, sealed being the best ones with an external grease nipple, the hitch, winch and jockey wheel are in reasonable order and the frame is not rusting anywhere. Make sure there is a strap going over the back of the boat to keep it secure when travelling. A lot of people over look this but it all adds up if you need to replace parts on it.

Hull - Like Kieran said the Gel coat and spider web cracks, places where the hull may have hit into something and caused damage, which could become worse over time. Make sure you get it water tested or a moister meter placed inside the hull. A lot of times water will form in areas and you will be left baffled how it got there.

Electrics - Make sure they are all in good working order and are attached to a proper fuse panel and everything is wired up correctly, you don't want wires hanging out everywhere and not knowing which does what. There tends to be a lot of DIY on boats and when something fails, especially if on the water it can be a disaster so no harm to familiarize your self with the back of the fuse panel!

Engine - Make sure there is no odd noises or obvious impact marks on it. Ask the owner if the pitch of the prop on it is correct for the boat and engine size. Again a lot of people buy a boat and over look this, you want to be getting maximum performance at an economical rate. So the pitch on a prop will determine your revs and full consumption and in turn your speed. In addition defo check all seals and bolts on the boat for the engine hold.

Fuel Tank - If there is an onboard fuel tank ensure that there is no condensation, you will need a proper boat mechanic to check this, it won't stop you buying the boat but it is something to make sure that is checked, if there is condensation present it can get into the fuel lines and seriously affect the engine especially when starting her up.

All the rest I guess is down to your own common sense.

Best of Luck,

Rob.

[Brian Edwards]

Just remember it is a hole in the ocean you throw money at!! However the feeling just cannot be beat of owning your own boat. I will be around Cranfield at easter time so maybe we could meet up for a jaunt around Carlingford. Ill fire up the Johnny 225 if I get all her mods done over the winter. Oh yes did I say it's also an addicive hobby, fishing, skiing, bannana boats etc. One thing to budget for if not fitted is a VHF radio and licience.

[Conor H]

Thanks lads for all the advice. I went up again this morning , gave the boat a good going over based on your advice and it looks spot on. Engine is spot on too. Going to buy on Monday - can't wait.

One question, I don't like the name of the boat - is it still considered bad luck to change the name of a boat ? I've heard of denaming ceremonies and renaming ceremonies ? What's the craic here ?

I don't want to take any chances here !! Call me superstitious - I blame my da !!

[Brian Edwards]

have a read at boatmad.com this thread here will answer your question
http://www.boatmad.com/forum/showthread ... ght=rename

[Conor H]

Cheers Brian. Like your avatar over there !
I think I'll just put up with the name as it is. Just did a search there on the same boat and came up with one with 40hp engine, 4hp backup, no VHS, GPS or Fishfinder though, for £300 less. Reckon I'll go the extra for the electronics. I already have the backup.

[JimC]

Well done Conor.

As for renaming: They say its ok to rename provided you keep the old name on board. So when you remove the old stickers put one of them in a little bag and hide it in one of the cubbies. We changed the name of one of our boats from Lady Grainne to Granuaile. She was nothing but a lucky boat! I would change it as soon as possible if you don't like the name.

Jim.

[Brian Edwards]

We will do Hoskins Channel for tope in august 2006. you will enjoy!!

[steve t]

congratulations conor, youll have lots of fun with her, the trooper has a massive deck space and being cathedrall hull will be very stable,
cheers steve

[dtsacs]

Conor

We have a Seahog Samurai which is a brother of the Trooper, everything is the same from the Cuddy back to the stern, the only difference is the bow (mine is more like the Warrior). Our engine is also a re-con RNLI outboard and I must say she was well looked after. There's plenty of room for 3 fishing and all the gear that comes with them, the 2 stern seats either side of the outboard are a godsend and they don't eat into deckspace. If you want I can PM you with some photo's of the interior of our boat, you never know something might catch your eye that could be worth doing on your one. If you want photo's sent let's know if you are you using dial-up or broadband and I will change the photo sizes to suit.
Good luck with your purchase and I hope she serves you well.

Damien