Skinny water north of I-75 bridge (Largo, Key Largo: extended stay, new home, prices)

[Bucknut1]

Hello fellow board members Bucknut here. We are only a month away from getting down to our new home in Harbour Heights for our first extended stay till about April with occasion trips back to Chicago for some work. Anyway I am just looking for any knowledge all the fishin guys might share about navigating and fishing north of the I-75 bridge. I don't have a boat yet but will be looking for one soon. I will probably spend most of my fishin time in the Peace and Charlotte Harbor. If anyone has a line on a boat that would work let me know. I have followed all the posts made by many of the familiar names on the board Messing About, Big House, Harbor Hopper and so many others. I hope to meet and greet and do some fishin with you guys very soon. I am an Ohio State football guy, don't hold that against me!

Bucknut

[Harbor Hopper]

Sorry, I don't fish, boat, or otherwise communicate with OSU fans... Go Blue! lol, just kidding (sort of) :-)

[MartyGras]

Here is a link to Fish'n Franks Fishin' Frank's
There are links on the site for ramps, charts, fishing spots etc...A great place for info on all things boating and fishing.

There is a link on the top of the page "Where to go fishing maps" you should find what your looking for there.

Here is a link to the NOAA chart for Charlotte Harbor http://www.charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/11426.pdf

Gary

[Bucknut1]

Harbor Hopper,

I know growing up in Ohio or in that state up north it is hard to play nice sometimes. It's engrained in our brain the dislike for the other state. I grew up hating the Michigan fight song, their helmets and Bo Schembechler. Since I moved to Chicago for work in 1985 I have mellowed a bit, one of my closest friends Jerome is I hard core Michigan man. I told my family back in Dayton about this new friend and there was actually talk of disowning me! I have come to realize now that the Michigan Fight Song is way better than OSU's song. I still don't like your helemt's. I still snap to attention and salute when Woody's name is mention. I have even softened a bit on Bo because after all he is from Barberton,Ohio.
Just like my friend Jerome I hope to be able to put the rather intense rivalry behind us and give it a shot to enjoy the warm sunny weather of Florida together over food and drink some day.

Regards,

Bucknut

[born01930]

I keep my boat at my lot in Harbor Heights...the charts so far I have found to be accurate and the tide table on Fishin Franks is very good. I have a 34 Mainship and haven't touched bottom yet (knocking on wood, tossing salt over shoulder, and crossing fingers).

[Messing About]

Bucknut,
Here is a great fishing boat for our area, similar to mine. Nice motor too.
Used 1992 Mako 171 Flats, Key Largo, Fl - 33037 - BoatTrader.com

[Bucknut1]

Messing About,

I like the looks and the price of the boat. Are the 694 hours on the motor a little high? I see almost everyone has a Yamaha motor or two on their boats so they must be the hot engine to have down there. The more I hear about where I am at about a mile North of the I-75 bridge in Harbour Heights the water gets really skinny in the winter when we are going to be there. Not sure how big a of a boat I should be looking for at this point. We are heading down January 3rd. for the fun to begin!

Bucknut

[don1945]

No question that Yamaha motors are popular, mainly because they last and last and are very trouble free. I've been in the marine industry for 25 years and have asked tons of people how they like their Yamaha and not one has said anything negative. There are other good motors too, Mercury, Suzuki, etc, but Yami's are right up there.

600+ hours isn't horrible, and do look for a 4 stroke motor, not 2 stroke.. In the long run it will be cheaper to operate by a long stretch. You figure, a gallon of premium 2 stroke oil is about $40 and you will be putting one of those on top of every 50 gallons of gas you buy. Works out to almost a buck a gallon more for gas you will be paying, on top of already higher marina gas prices.

Four strokes are also smoother and MUCH quieter, and have better resale value. Also, there is a reason you see so many outboards vs inboard/outboards................salt. Sucking salt through what is basically a car engine is not a good recipe. You still have to flush and use Salt Away to keep an outboard cooling system clear, but not nearly as bad as you would have with an IO.

Don

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by don1945

....
Four strokes are also smoother and MUCH quieter, and have better resale value.....

Don

Someone on my canal has a new Andros with a big, white motor on the back. I don't remember if it's a Yami or Suzuki but the point is that it is incredibly quiet. When he passed the house, if you didn't see the pee stream from the engine you would have sworn he was using his elec. trolling motor.

[az99]

Originally Posted by don1945

No question that Yamaha motors are popular, mainly because they last and last and are very trouble free. I've been in the marine industry for 25 years and have asked tons of people how they like their Yamaha and not one has said anything negative. There are other good motors too, Mercury, Suzuki, etc, but Yami's are right up there.

600+ hours isn't horrible, and do look for a 4 stroke motor, not 2 stroke.. In the long run it will be cheaper to operate by a long stretch. You figure, a gallon of premium 2 stroke oil is about $40 and you will be putting one of those on top of every 50 gallons of gas you buy. Works out to almost a buck a gallon more for gas you will be paying, on top of already higher marina gas prices.

Four strokes are also smoother and MUCH quieter, and have better resale value. Also, there is a reason you see so many outboards vs inboard/outboards................salt. Sucking salt through what is basically a car engine is not a good recipe. You still have to flush and use Salt Away to keep an outboard cooling system clear, but not nearly as bad as you would have with an IO.

Don

You are forgetting a few things about 4 strokes. Oil changes and initial cost. Any cost saving you get by not needing 2 stroke oil is quickly lost with oil changes, especially if done by a dealer. The newer E-Tec Evinrudes use very little oil and are all but smokeless. They are very quiet and they are about 10% lighter than a 4 stroke.

All that said, my 1st choice would be the 4 stroke but if a boat I really liked had the E-Tec I certainly would not eliminate it for that.

The new 2 strokes are not your Grandpa's old smokey,noisy,rough running gas hog.