STOP!
Lets dissect this idea you have here.
You asked “Is this a pretty good package for a starter boat?”
Well, I will tell you this, in most cases you will get what you pay for.
I encourage you to take a serious look at the entire range of 14 ft aluminum boats out there.
What you will find is that there is a huge difference in the construction and quality of the boats available to you. These alumacrafts are the poorest quality boats I have ever seen.
As someone who worked at sportsmans and had the opportunity to sell these boats I can honestly tell you I never sold one. Actually I did the same thing for those folks that I am going to do for you.
First off, we had several of those boats come in with holes in them. Yep, holes. Places in the aluminum where it got real thin and pin holes or seams were present. In fact we had one on display and when you waked past it you could see light coming through the bottom of the boat.
But lets look in depth at the things you will want to look at when you compare boats.
First look at the hp rating on the transom. on the 14 ft flat bottoms they max out at 15 hp. On the v hulls I think they max at 20. This is an indication of how well the transom is biult and how well it is supported by the rest of the boat. A weaker less solid transom limits your hp. You can get 14 ft aluminum boats that are rated at 40 hp. There is a big difference in the boats rated at 40 to the ones rated at 15 max.
Next look at the way the boat is held together. What keeps the sides from collapsing in? On some boats its only the bench style seats that support the walls, on others its a set of supports running across the bottom on the boat. How beefy and solidly attached are these supports?
Whats the thickness of the aluminum? Some boats are made of .060 thick aluminum, most .080 thick, and some even up to .125 thick.
Look at the prices between welded construction ans riveted models.
Look at the passener and weight capacities. They are not all the same.
Look at the floatation. If you do get in some trouble, you will want to recover your boat versus buy a new one.
I just hate to see a guy get taken with low quality gear when he would be better off in the long run spending a bit more ande getting something safer that will last longer and perform better.
I wish sportsmans would stop carrying those boats. It will bite them in the long run if they carry poor quality gear and push it.
They like them because they are cheap and sell easy to a crowd that wants to save money, but those people really are ticked off when their brand new boat leaks like the titanic or the rivets pop out or they shimmy and shake with every crash of a wave.
Now on the issue of this motor, there is so much wrong with that thing I dont even know where to start.
First of all, its not even close to being a traditonal outboard. This is the first thing you need to understand about this engine.
Most of your small outboards are water cooled, they pump water out of the lake and run it through the engine to cool the block.
These briggs motors are air cooled. They have no water pump on them. This means the actual engine will get hotter. Dont put your hand on it or run a line across it or it will melt the line. You dont have to worry about these things with traditional outboards.
Be aware that as a four stroke engine, they dont turn the same rpms as a two stroke outboard, plus since they are basically a lawnmower engine, you have to understand that thier construction and performance is quite different from even four stroke outboards.
You will not achieve the same speeds or efficiency with this motor.
That motor was designed to be a shallow water marsh motor. Just look at the prop design on it. The narrow tripple blade design is not an efficient water mover, compare it to any traditional three blade outboard prop and you will clearly see the intended use is much different. it probably trolls nicely but wont be worth much at getting you off the lake when you want to be.
I could go on with the construction of that thing but you get the point.
Bottomline, there is a reason that boat only costs $3,000 for the entire package. Its hardly worth that much.
Yeah but it only a starter boat?
Your resale and enjoyment will be much benefitted by buying a quality unit that will still be in prime condition and function like new when you look to upgrade.
Like I say, if I was the salesman you talked to, I wouldnt have sold you that boat even if you wanted to buy it.
I am not a very good salesman, but I am a honest guy who doesnt want to see you get ripped off buying junk.
If I had to make a recomendation I would recomend looking at all welded boats with .125 thick aluminum and solid transoms rated at a minimum of 25 hp, 30 or 40 if you like.
These boats will be much stronger, safer, and will be a much better use of your hard earned cash.
There are a ton of them out there by a number of manufacturers, just a couple off the top of my head would be crestliner and war eagle. I would even look at the triton aluminums.
Power it with a 15 hp yamaha two stroke outboard and you will have a quick and solid boat and motor that will lost you for years and years and will retain its value very well.
It may cost you more than the alumacraft and briggs but it will last three or four times as long.
Thats just my overzealous opinion. No doubt there will be those who totally disagree with me. But thats the way life is, some guys like the cheapest stuff they can find, and dont care about quality, some guys like fancy name brands to support thier image, some guys want to be informed and smart about their purchases.
You just have to decide wich you are.
