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Just curious. How many Boston Whaler owners are selling their bigger boats and moving down to 13 and 15 footers, for one reason or another. Nothing to be ashamed of, I think its a smart move.B)
rich

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I moved from the 22 Outrage to the 17 this past winter for a number of reasons. The 22 was a great do not get me wrong and yes I put a lot in to it however, I came to a realization that I could not justify the boat. At the time I had a loan out on it which did not bowed well but, beyond that, I had to keep a full size truck around to tow it which cost anywhere from 40 - 100 dollars just to get the boat to water that was usable water. Which was 45 minutes to prep the boat and 1 hour of hauling and another 30 minutes at the ramp. That was just one way. Then I had to fill t up during the week as well. Not only was there the fuel for the truck but the extra insurance and up keep costs. Also, the 22 loved the fuel when running. It was an easy $100 per day for it as well. I kept the boat in the driveway to help on storage costs which was a pain. The boat would not fit into the garage so it sat in front of the garage rendering the back 1/2 of the driveway and the whole garage useless. Not to mention the there was only 6 inches on either side of the trailer between my house and the neighbors fence when backing the boat it. Sure it made me a good driver but it was also a pain. Then there was the up keep of the Boat. I took me a day and a half (12 hours) to detail the boat to my standards which left little time on the weekend for anything else. With a new born this year I knew all of this was not going to be a reality. So, I was either going to have to moth ball the boat for some years and keep making payments or find it a new home that was willing to pay for it. I had put a lot into making it new again.

So once the boat sold I had some equity from the sale and was able to buy a 17 outright in cash and have money left over to pay off other things. It also meant I could get back into a smaller vehicle that was better on fuel. That worked out well because 10 days after I bought the 17 the transmission in the truck gave up the ghost. The 17 is so easy to haul, launch, and operate. I can actually move it myself without a vehicle into my garage and close the door. I can clean and detail the entire boat in 4 hours. I can use it on the smaller inland lakes after work and still hit the big water on the weekend when I need to. All in all I have to say I am happy with the decision I made. Will I get a bigger whaler later? Yup. By then I will hand the 17 down to my son. Next up will be a 25 Revenge walk through or a 27 Walk around or Offshore. Hopefully by then I will professionally be where I need to be to do that.

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Didn't sell a big BW, but sold a 41 Viking Sport Fish and now have a 15 Sport! Couldn't be happier! B)
I can be at home and on the spur of the moment decide I want to go out in the boat. takes me 5 minutes to hook up the trailer......5 mins to get to the boat ramp and another 5 mins to park the truck and take off and bare in mind all by myself if I want..... When I had the Viking, it would take that long just to check all of the fluids in the engines, not to mention It was a real chore and almost inmpossible to do it alone.

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I went from a 40' trawler to a 17' Montauk. I miss the weekends at anchor but I don't miss all the work and expense.

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I went from a 29' Formula express cruiser to a 1963 Nauset.

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I didn't have to downsize, I moved up to a '13 from a row boat..... and couldn't be happier.

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Yes, I feel smaller is the way to go. I have my 13 footer, a will have it forever. I also have an 18 ft. Cobia Bass boat , an`83 that I restored a couple of years ago. It powered by a Suzuki 150 Super Six and its really fast and a blast to drive. I had planned on selling my home and moving to Sebring where there is a lake on every corner. Well, that didn`t happen, and like Jeff I live a good hour from any sizable lake, and its just too much of a hassle to use the boat. I also keep a Lincoln Town car just for towing the Bass boat. I drive a Corolla too, and that will tow my Whaler and race boat. the Cobia and the Lincoln will be for sale soon, and I am prepared to get beat up on the Cobia, but it.was fun restoring it. Sometimes the more stuff you have the more complicated life is.

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My 25' looks big on a trailer, but it really shrinks when you pass the end of the jetties into the Gulf.

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I got my 15' almost 20 years ago when I bought my house, I had a few thousand left over and figured "Well, I'll never see a vacation again", so I bought a used 1976 15' sport, everyone made fun of my boat being "Too small", none of them even own boat's any more "Who's the KING now" ?
mw

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[quote]TexasOutrage wrote:
My 25' looks big on a trailer, but it really shrinks when you pass the end of the jetties into the Gulf.[/quote

my 22 looked even smaller when i went past the jetties and out into the Gulf last week!! :o

Duf

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I wonder how the '13 would have handled the Gulf seas you wrote about in another post Duf?

Probably would not have been too pretty. Haha.

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A 22 with twins is (was) my dream Whaler, but long-term finances were a factor, both in fuel and upkeep. I also wanted something that could fit in my garage - for free storage, - for ease of doing projects at home vs going to the storage lot. She tows like a dream, though I have to keep a Suburban for hauling a family of 6. I have yet to get all 6 in the boat, but that's not going to be common.

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I've been thinking about it. I have a 22' Outrage with twin 120's, but fuel is not the major factor. Where I live on the Gulf we are blessed with well disperced county boat ramps from Tampa south to Sarasota so I can put in pretty close to where I want t go (got one 1/2 mi. from the house). I still hurts to fill up but I don't do 30 mile runs out and back. My main reason is the opposite of Jeff's, sort of. Two kids out of the house, a wife and another kid at home who will go out(sometimes) if nothing else is on their agenda. Don't get me wrong they enjoy going out it's just not a priority. So that leaves me, by myself most of the time to rig, put in, pull out, de-rig, clean and put the boat away. I'm beginning to long for something smaller and easier to take care of. Maybe an 18' or 17' Outrage. My son has a Tashmoo and I like it's layout as well as the Bass Boat and Newport/Newtauk (really like the side decks), but they are a little small for my tastes and I like internal tanks. We'll see.

Jeff

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CES, TexasWhaler lives near me and he is well aware of how rough it can get here and was in a matter of hours. If you want to go offshore in Corpus Christi, and in the general area you better have a fairly serious boat when the wind is coming out of the SE 20 - 25. As he said, went to the jetties and turned around, i should have been as smart, but wanted to have my family the experience of being in the Gulf and seeing how it can be. It all worked out well, but it taught me that satisfiying my family should not be the driver when all my alarms are going off saying, its too rough, even for a quick in and out. I will NEVER do that again, and consider myself lucky, that we came through unscathed.
So, lesson learned and as far as being in a 13 and attempting the same......well, i don't think so. A 13 would have never broken through the curl and would have been thrown on her back. As it was i was damn lucky with my 22.

Duf

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I didn't downsize, but once I finish the 13 I will use it for around the creek, when I don't want to take the 18 out. I was thinking of selling the 18 and going bigger, but my partner doesn't want to go on the boat much and the 18 is as big as I can handle alone.