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hazelnut · 01-29-2008, 09:27 AM

APS, Aluminum boat, unsinkable??? Not true.

I have some experience in this area as I have paid the price dearly for making the mistake of not buying a whaler.

A few years back I was pondering the same decision that you are now faced with lakershaker. I have been boating on the lake for most of my life now. I now have a house on Cow Island. My wife and I were in need of a second boat and a 13-16 footer seemed like the way to go. In all my years on the lake I had never sunk a boat so I thought what's the big deal about a whaler? So I went and found a knockoff whaler type boat. HUGE MISTAKE. There is a reason Whalers are more expensive trust me. The "whaler knockoff" found its way to the bottom of the lake on more than one occasion. I'll spare you the details. I ditched it for a 14 foot aluminum. Now aluminum boats are great don't get me wrong. But, unsinkable, NOT. They are a bathtub. If unused for more than a week at a time You need to either A: Pull it up on dry land or B: have a good electric pump installed and pray for the battery to hold and no leaves to clog it up. We chose A: we winched the boat up on land every Sunday before heading home for the week. It worked well for a few years. Finally two years ago I got smart and stopped being a cheapskate and splurged for the Whaler. I found a used 13 footer on Craigslist. It has been a DREAM! The boat can not and will not sink. The reason being is a Whaler unlike most boats is solid foam filled. Technically there is no bilge for water to collect. I call it the life preserver with a motor on it. I feel so much safer with my children in it. I know it can take on the waves and any water just drains right out the self bailers.
The only other route I would consider is the small pontoon boat route as suggested by other posters. You are much less likely to sink a pontoon boat.

01-29-2008, 09:27 AM	#8
hazelnut Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,348 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 508 Thanked 462 Times in 162 Posts	APS, Aluminum boat, unsinkable??? Not true. I have some experience in this area as I have paid the price dearly for making the mistake of not buying a whaler. A few years back I was pondering the same decision that you are now faced with lakershaker. I have been boating on the lake for most of my life now. I now have a house on Cow Island. My wife and I were in need of a second boat and a 13-16 footer seemed like the way to go. In all my years on the lake I had never sunk a boat so I thought what's the big deal about a whaler? So I went and found a knockoff whaler type boat. HUGE MISTAKE. There is a reason Whalers are more expensive trust me. The "whaler knockoff" found its way to the bottom of the lake on more than one occasion. I'll spare you the details. I ditched it for a 14 foot aluminum. Now aluminum boats are great don't get me wrong. But, unsinkable, NOT. They are a bathtub. If unused for more than a week at a time You need to either A: Pull it up on dry land or B: have a good electric pump installed and pray for the battery to hold and no leaves to clog it up. We chose A: we winched the boat up on land every Sunday before heading home for the week. It worked well for a few years. Finally two years ago I got smart and stopped being a cheapskate and splurged for the Whaler. I found a used 13 footer on Craigslist. It has been a DREAM! The boat can not and will not sink. The reason being is a Whaler unlike most boats is solid foam filled. Technically there is no bilge for water to collect. I call it the life preserver with a motor on it. I feel so much safer with my children in it. I know it can take on the waves and any water just drains right out the self bailers. The only other route I would consider is the small pontoon boat route as suggested by other posters. You are much less likely to sink a pontoon boat.