Boat for my son

Shawn Linn

Shawn Linn

Active member
I am starting to look at a boat for my son who is 16. So I want something very stable and easy to run safely. I am also thinking that i would use it hunting by myself or when I want to get into that secret spot.

What i want is low profile, shallow draft, small outboard to drive.

my problems are:son is 16/teens are knuckleheads
I am not a boat builder and don't have time to start
Budget is an issue until I win the lottery.

Is there anything out there commercially that fits the bill.

The only thing I have seen so far is the duckboss 13.
 
Does he have a canoe or kayak? I'd start there and let him get some sea legs before he's driving something with a motor.

And WELCOME!
 
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Tons of options, But the best would probably be to start with a jon boat. economical, fairly simple to operate and not hard to maintain. Craigslist is full of them everywhere.
 
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14' Jon boat with a 1955 5.5 Johnson outboard. ;) Stable & simple.
Lou


View attachment jonBlind02.jpg
Jon boat above and motor below....with our South Bay Scooter.
I would recommend the jon boat and putting him on a calms, inland lake with a set of oars for a while. Once
that experience sinks in and he knows how to use "secondary means of propulsion"...go for a small motor...
with Dad.
I am a bit "tongue in cheek" with the old motor but what I mean is a simple...small...reliable motor.
View attachment F-SBS-01A.jpg
 
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he has some experience running my duck boss 15, so i am not throwing him in cold, but I understand your point. i hunt mostly coastal areas and The canoe kayak scares me as much as the motor.
 
Another option is some kind of small paddle or oar-power sneak or marsh boat.

A kid I used to mentor--before he became a better duck hunter than me--was given an Alumacraft Ducker when he was 14/15. He's still hunting out of it regularly, and has just had another another hunter give him a 15 foot sculling boat.

Edited to add---just saw your note about coastal, and totally understand your concerns about a canoe or kayak. I'd be equally concerned about a small john boat, except in truly sheltered areas with only moderate tide/current.
 
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I am with Jeff on the canoe or kayak before stepping up to an outboard; however, I would limit his locations, range and time-frame for fall and winter outings. Don't wait till fall either as the late spring and summer are great times to be on the water learning the particulars to a new boat or boating in general. If you are determined to start out with an outboard and slightly larger more stable craft than a canoe/kayak than look in CL for jon boats or duck boats and you will be surprised as to what comes up and in all price ranges. Also it is a good place to look for an outboard but beware as it is also a good place to find somebodies problem motor.

Don't spend a lot of money on boat set up until the two of you develop a style of hunting and then get a boat to match the conditions. Sometimes a boat can be to big for one person to handle putting you at mercy of others.
 
I am not looking for the jon boat option I have hunted out of them in the past and i am not sold on the stability of these boats and in my opinion they are hard to hide.

Jeff, is the a particular sneak box with oars that could be fitted with a motor down the road? what about towing to a spot and then rowing?
 
Craigs list... Old 13' whaler, used duck boat... I'm not a big fan of small flat bottom aluminum boats. Reliable 5/6 hp outboard. Project boat would be good experience and bonding time...
 
As he is 16 I am assuming he is driving a car. If he can drive a car and has some boat experience I would go for a 12-14 Lund or Alumacraft V hull with a 5.5-9 hp motor. Should be able to handle the water you mention easily and the underpowered boat will not temp him to go faster than he should.

For what it's worth

Mark W
 
I am not looking for the jon boat option I have hunted out of them in the past and i am not sold on the stability of these boats and in my opinion they are hard to hide.

Jeff, is the a particular sneak box with oars that could be fitted with a motor down the road? what about towing to a spot and then rowing?

The boat my young friend Sam got is an out-of-production fiberglass sculler called a Seacoast Gunning Skiff (or perhaps a copy or mold off one . . . .). It can be poled, rowed with a pair of standard oars, sculled, or pushed with a 2-3 hp outboard. I agree with some of the comments about underpowering if you go with a motor. I remember myself in boats (and cars) at 16, and being underpowered would have kept me out of trouble. (Shoot, I got myself in enough trouble learning to drive in a Volkswagen Bug.)

I also think a serious head wind or cross tide is a little more noticeable to someone who's got to struggle against it on muscle power than someone who can just throttle up. I think that helps teach boat handling and learning how to assess when you shouldn't be out there. That said, I've certainly seen examples of people in canoes and kayaks doing really dumb stuff and getting in trouble.
Click to expand...
 
I thought about this post a bit and the conclusion I kept coming to is that you should buy him a boat that you would use and be happy with. You will know when you see it.
Chances are that you will spend some time in it, that he learned to hunt with you, that he hunts where you hunt and that he would be happy with a boat you would hunt in. Just keep the hp down so he won't be tempted to do the typical teenage thing and go too fast.
 
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I would go with something wide and stable. One thing about 16 yr olds is they think they're bullet-proof and might try to go to places they shouldn't. I'm a high school science teacher and saw this first hand once. On a stretch of the Arkansas River that can be treacherous in a north wind, I saw a couple of students of mine in a jon boat much like the one pictured in the thread with a 10 hp tiller. That morning the wind blew up out of the north up to around 10-15 mph and started forming 2 1/2-3ft rollers. I had to fight pretty hard with my 16ft grizzlie with a 60 hp. The boys began their return trip by hugging the shore but there comes a point where you have to cross the open water. By some miracle their motor quit running before the crossing otherwise I don't think they would've had a chance. They ended up hiking up a mountain through the woods eventually making it to a house and got help. Their bad luck with the motor probably saved them.
 
Thanks for all the great input, I am definitely leaning toward a wide stable platform, I would prefer that it have a top and cockpit. I really like the idea of low horsepower(even though I do not on my boat) I remember those years and not really having a lot of fear of consequence, and as those 3 guys learned last week in great bay the ocean can be a wicked teacher. I think I am going to be hunting the classified ads this off season, hopefully I can find a nice summer project and do some boat handling lessons in the warmer months. I am also going to have him take a boating class.
 
Shawn, I have Zach Taylor Widgeon, very nice rowing boat, would also tow easily and can take a small outboard if desired (although mine does not have a motor board). A tad heavy for the bed of a pickup truck, especially alone, but very easy on a trailer. They hunt well, very stable, easy to hide. If they have a down side...it's a one person boat, other than that, pretty hard to beat it IMO. Good luck in your search.
 
When I was a DUMB 16 year old that loved to hunt, my dad (who doesn't hunt but did everything in his power to make sure I could if I wanted to) bought my brother and I a boat. It was an 18 foot extra wide jon boat with a 40hp Yamaha. It was a tank, huge open cockpit, super wide and stable and HEAVY. He didn't really understand hunting and honestly I was just trying to figure it out myself. For big rivers it worked well and we actually managed to shoot ducks from it. Looking back it wasn't the best choice. If your son will be using the boat just to get to and from spots on bigger water, a Lund or similar boat would work well. They are safe. If he is going to hunt from the boat, consider a TDB style with a 15hp. Very safe but still huntable. I've owed numerous boats, 5+ jons, 6-8 BBSB's, Roy High boat, custom made boats and on and on. Arthur Armstrong (broadbill or blackjack) may fit the bill. really stable, easy to hide, move well with a 9.9. From a former 16 year old thanks for doing this for your son. It means a lot to us even if we don't say it. Keep it up man.
 
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