I live on Lake Erie and want to buy a fishing boat approx. 12-14 feet. Gas or electric motor? What do I look for as far as rust?
What are the best bets for spending about a grand or so? Be grateful you
What Are Some Basic Questions When Purchasing A Fishing Boat?
January 30th, 2010 
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Look for a 14 footer with a deep V-hull. On Lake Erie you do not want a flat bottom jon boat since the weather and waves can get pretty rough.
For a boat that size you would probably be lucky with a 15-25hp motor. You could get away with a 9.9, but your speed would suffer.
There should be no rust on the boat at all. Aluminum does not rust, and a rusty boat is sure to have problems in the very near future.
Make sure that the boat is seaworthy before purchasing. Look for loose rivets, holes, dings, dents, or additional signs of potential abuse or regular wear and tear.
For 1 grand you are not going to get the titanic, or a luxurious boat of any kind, but you can get a decent, safe, and seaworthy small boat in that fee range and should not settle for a terrible boat.
14 ft alum with a 9.9 johnson gas motor is fine v hull works best
6 gal tank and you will be fine on the lake
plus you don’t have to go far to get the perch
get a trolling motor and you can hit the no gas lakes also
plus with that size you are not limited as to where you can go
you will see alot of 14ft out on lake erie
place the boat in the fill up and check for leaks if you can’t place it in fill up find out why but find some way to check for leaks and hear the motor run
Aluminum boat would be excellent. As for the the power I would go with the gas powered. I used the electric for several years & went to a 9.9 outboard. No more array charging, array going dead, not having the extra power when needed to get out where your going. Also when looking at outboards there is a shortshaft & a longshaft. I went with the longshaft as it stays in the fill up better on choppy days. Now go out there & fill up on those perch. ED
We bought a 1969 Aircraft that boat is pure aluminum with no rust. That only cost $600 w/o a motor, but we place on a 1959 10 HP Johnson that runs fantastic.
What ever you do DON’T buy a Briggs and Straiten engine (atleast not the 5hp gas one), that’s what we got first before we place on the 1959 Johnson the Briggs was loud and unreliable. Some times with turning it off it would not turn on and we would have to row back and you certainly don’t want to be doing that on Lake Erie.
You are buying an aluminum, there better not be any rust.
Lake Erie, the larger the better.
Gas engine, probably a 20 or 25 hp on a 14 fter. make sure that is within the USCG plate. You can throw an electric troller on if you like.
In that size range an aluminum boat with no larger than a 9.9hp and no smaller than a 4hp is light enough to throw in and out of the back of a pickup and not sacrifice any speed.
Get your fishing answers here http://www.sinkingbobber.com/
All I know is that two most pleased days in a boat owners life are The day you bought it and the day you sold it
My first question would be, “Does it leak”?