Grassroots boats

Flightservice...what's a VP75? I did a google image search and came up with everything from tunnel hulls to runabouts.

What do I want? I want a runabout to get out on the water and have fun. "The Water" here means the Missouri River. Only a few brave souls go out on the Big Muddy around here...so there isn't much traffic. We just have to look out for the junk in the water.

I'd like to do a boat the way this crow does challenge-type cars. Get it together and going for fun without spending a ton. I realize boat stuff is more expensive. I realize AAA won't come tow me home. I realize that if I die without having messed about in (power) boats...I'll consider myself a failure.

I would be interested in several different types. A fiberglass i/o that needs some love. An outboard aluminum runabout (had one...sold it) would be ok. I don't fish, so I'm just looking for something to go cruising occasionally (probably <10 times per year). Around here, boats aren't real popular...boats that need work are really unpopular and can be had pretty cheap (see ads in my previous post).

Like I mentioned...step one will be a 6hp johnson outboard on the back of a BASIC john boat or such. But I know where it will lead. It'll lead to wanting something a little bigger (though still trailerable behind a half-ton truck and not ridiculous on gas) and, more importantly, faster.

Clem

Jet boat... Jet boat.. jet boat...

What you need is a boat with a rollbar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1msWyzC9yQk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0TpEiTxTF4

WHITEWATER...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i2Q0ZzwgxU

Short for V production 75 HP, although the hot ticket is a 70 (75 would barely pull a skier out of the water, no torque)

Here is a link to the announcement of it being a national class.

In reply to MitchellC:

I carried a 14' Grumman canoe on my Mazda3. It looked funny and I wouldn't want to drive a really long distance that way.

The 12' Native Ultimate I have now fits better, is easier to load and is more stable in the water. They are a bit spendy for a plastic boat, though.

My Grassroots boat is a 14' Aluminum V-hull Monark, built in 1974. I painted it blaze red so all of the jerks on the big lake can see me. I got the outboard, an old Mercury 15 HP running last year; I'm hoping that this year it will run well. I've got about $1500 into it, including the trailer, repairs, gas, 12 volt battery for the trolling motor, title (trailer and boat) and registration (trailer and boat).

FlightService wrote: Short for V production 75 HP, although the hot ticket is a 70 (75 would barely pull a skier out of the water, no torque) Here is a link to the announcement of it being a national class.

Thanks! That does look pretty cool. I haven't seen anything like that local to me (land lubbers!) but I'll keep an eye out. I bet I could have fun in one of those with only 50 hp!

Brett_Murphy wrote: My Grassroots boat is a 14' Aluminum V-hull Monark, built in 1974. I painted it blaze red so all of the jerks on the big lake can see me. I got the outboard, an old Mercury 15 HP running last year; I'm hoping that this year it will run well. I've got about $1500 into it, including the trailer, repairs, gas, 12 volt battery for the trolling motor, title (trailer and boat) and registration (trailer and boat).

I'm working on finding a little boat for my little outboard. The hard part is finding one around here with a title. Nobody gets titles for them because they just use them on private ponds and the like. What a pain. I've got my choice right now of a $75 boat, a $100 boat, or a $125 boat...none of which has a title!

Clem

A title shouldn't be that hard... The guy that bought my boat lived in MO.. and I never had or needed a title for it here on the KS side...

I don't know what the process is, but it can't be that big of a deal.

ronholm wrote: A title shouldn't be that hard... The guy that bought my boat lived in MO.. and I never had or needed a title for it here on the KS side... I don't know what the process is, but it can't be that big of a deal.

Famous last words.

I called the DOR (Dept. of Revenue) yesterday. They told me I'd have to have a lawyer file a form that may result in a court order which would require the state to issue a title. Anything with a lawyer is "a big deal" or at the very least...a big pricetag. That is...it's a big pricetag in relation to the nominally $100-priced boats I'm looking at.

On the other hand...I'm curious how much trouble I'd get into by putting around in an unregistered boat with a registered outboard...hmmm.

Clem

A "descriptive bill of sale" should be good enough.

http://dor.mo.gov/motorv/watercraft/

Worst case

Buy the boat with a title.. or from a KS resident.

The most important question has not been asked or answered! Is it:

Grassroots Motorboats

or

Grassroots Boattersports

In reply to ClemSparks:

Clem, I bought my boat without a title from a guy who used it on a private lake. Given the age of the craft and the lack of title, I got notarized descriptive bill of sale. I was able to get an original title issued in my name without any real hassle. This was in North Carolina, though.

Brett

I have a 24 ft 1977 SeaRay with a single 350 V8 currently sitting in my brother's barn. I took it out of the water about six years ago. It's nice with lots of teak but needs an over haul. Someday I'll fix it up and put it back in the water.

Boat ownership is more expensive than the car hobby. There is the docking costs right off the top. Maybe the best way to describe it is like standing in a cold shower ripping up $100. bills.

My Dad and I built a pretty nice boat from junk about 15 years ago. It was a 66 Sears Gamefisher and came with a fairly new Tohatsu motor. A set of plugs brought the engine to life and i never took the cover off again in the next 5 years. I patched some holes in the hull, put in a set of seats pulled from a marina's dumpster, made a wiring harmess and a good radio and fishfinder. It went in to the waters around Long Island with us or my dad's friends almost any day there wasn't ice for about 5 years without a hickup, and and my friend still uses it 4-5 days a week.

mtn wrote: IMO, I think that the best way to get thrills on water are with Jet Skis or Wave Runners. So much fun, and probably a lot cheaper than a boat.

People really have fun annoying the hell out of people trying to ski/wakeboard? Because that's all I've ever seen a PWC do.

Clem,

Have you ever considered just building one? It's a lot more doable than you likely realize.

If you step away from the thinking of inboard V8's and such, you can go like stink with an 8' boat and a lawnmower engine, or other such silly things.

For example: http://www.vintageprojects.com/boat-building-plans.html or http://svensons.com/boat/

ronholm wrote: A "descriptive bill of sale" should be good enough. http://dor.mo.gov/motorv/watercraft/ Worst case Buy the boat with a title.. or from a KS resident.

Thanks...I'll have to check into that descriptive bill of sale thing (call the DOR and see what's up) but I imagine it might be a false hope. That last link in my post above is a KS boat (without a title)...hmmm.

Clem

foxtrapper wrote: Clem, Have you ever considered just building one?

Yes...yes, I have.

I even thought a lot about lawnmower/tiller engines as well.

Clem

foxtrapper wrote: Clem, Have you ever considered just building one? It's a lot more doable than you likely realize. If you step away from the thinking of inboard V8's and such, you can go like stink with an 8' boat and a lawnmower engine, or other such silly things. For example: http://www.vintageprojects.com/boat-building-plans.html or http://svensons.com/boat/

My dad built this boat in the early 1960s from the plans in Popular Mechanics. http://www.svensons.com/boat/?p=RunaboutsOutboard/pm38 He left off the dorky windshield as shown in the magazine photos, and it was a pretty attractive boat. It was fast, too, even with the 30hp Johnson motor he had.

When it comes to boating, unfortunately, we are unable to do anything "grassroots"

Old pontoon boat. I met some fellows at the marina on Skidaway Island GA that had come from Baltimore following the Inter Coastal Waterway. They had a bear bones 22' pontoon that had enough space to erect a tent for sleeping, a couple of bicycles and a gas grill. They appeared to be having a great trip. I have found several 20'+ ponttons in my area that will sell for $400-$700 without an outboard. The only thing that they lack is furniture. Lawn chairs and coolers will fix that.

^^^
I envision a modern intepretation of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn but this time in a metal raft heading down a man-made river.

Of course you could go really old school riverboating as these good ol' boys do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RaFApVP0zU

pilotbraden wrote: Of course you could go really old school riverboating as these good ol' boys do http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RaFApVP0zU

Those guys are frign hilarious...

Good video. I should make something like that my next vacation and leave this Android/Blackberry world behind for a week.