Downsizing to 15-footer from Outrage 19

[claytonb78]

Hello everyone. I wanted to ask your thoughts on something which has been on my mind a lot lately. I am the proud owner of a 1996 Outrage 19 with the original Johnson 150. I love this boat and she's super dependable, however she also weights a lot and she's too big to fit into a garage. This makes her a lot of work for me to take out fishing, and I don't fish solo since I like the extra help launching and retrieving her. Out in the water she is wonderful but in the road I find myself constantly worried. I also do miss a sit down style boat.

So lately I've been thinking of looking for a smaller and lighter Whaler. The 13-foot and 15-foot boats both caught my eye, but it's really the 15 I'm leaning towards since she handles chop a bit nicer.

Am I crazy to want to downsize?

Do you think I would be happy with a 13-foot boat compared to a 15-footer?

I use my boat almost exclusively for fishing. I recently moved to Spokane, Washington. My Outrage was great on the ocean, but here I worry she's a bit too much for simple fresh water fishing. I have a feeling I'd be doing a lot more fishing with a smaller and lighter boat.

Comments appreciated.

[ferdinando]

I'm also in the same boat so to speak as you are, looking for an easier-to-maintain boat. My 190 is great, but it's a pain to properly keep up with all by myself. Good luck!

[mkelly]

I'm in the unique position of owning both of these models. Actually my 19 is a 1994 Outrage II model but similar to yours in terms of weight and trailering. When reading your original post, my mind kept getting back to what you use the boat for and where: saltwater or lake.

You answered my question. I'm a huge fan of the 15 model--it is particularly good for lake fishing. I modified my center console model; I installed two bucket seats for added comfort and sitting up a bit higher--better on the back and legs. The 15 is so easy to handle that my aging dad uses it more than his 22 Sportcraft. I'd lean pretty hard towards the 15 if you do not fish in large lakes with high chop or worse. It's a great casting and mooching boat up close to the kelp beds. I can also troll with its Yamaha F60-HP.

[Jefecinco]

Clayton--I recommend you add the smaller (16 feet or less) Dauntless boats to your list of potential smaller boats. Modified V hulls and in-hull fuel tanks in some add a lot of value, at least to me.

[mkelly]

That is a very good point, and the 15' Dauntless I brokered for a buddy is a great boat. I do not believe it has an in-hull fuel tank, but possibly under the center console; better freeboard and stability. One thing I didn't mention about the classic 15 is its tippy-ness.

[ferdinando]

Well guys, as you all know, I have been pondering the down sizing of my boat for a while. I like the 15 as mentioned but my wife does not want to let go of the 19. So my basic problem is clean up, putting the cover on by myself, etc, etc. I don't have a trailering concern as the boat is kept at a marina. So to accommodate my wife's wishes and to save my back we found a guy who will wash the boat and cover it for 30 bucks a pop! I will still flush my engine and just hose down the trailer the rest is up to Angelo.

The first clean up was a hit some minor details that I do and were duly noted by Angelo, so if all goes well I can have my cake and eat it too! Hope this arrangement lasts, I really did not want to spend $27,000 on a 150 and start all over again fitting her out especially when I have my 190 up to date.

Hope to keep boating till I'm 80, if I remember where the boat is!

[Oldslowandugly]

I have had many boats and have been out on many more. All I do is fish. I wanted a Whaler forever and I looked at quite a few. Most were too big and needed a huge motor. Some were too small and not safe enough for inshore coastal fishing. I settled on a 15 footer and I could not be happier. I am 63 years old and I can still clean, paint, outfit, launch, and recover it all by myself. I trailer it with an old station wagon. I get along nicely with a 48hp motor and I average one six gallon tank of gas a month, maybe two if I travel around more. In my marina there are two other Whalers. One is a 13 footer and I feel it would be too small for what I do. The other is a 17 footer and would be fine, with a small increase in gas consumption. For me the 15 footer is perfect.

[Jefecinco]

Because you're only 63 you should be running marathons.

[ferdinando]

Butch, I really wish I was drinking the same water your drinking!!!!

[Oldslowandugly]

Sometimes just getting out of bed feels like a marathon. Claytonb78, are you the same Clayton from the iboats.com forum that sent me the wood diagram for a Whaler 15 footer?