Topics that will be covered:
All-Purpose
Fishing Boats
Built for many activities, such as freshwater and salt-water fishing, these
family fishing boats are capable of pursuing many species, including bass.
They tend to have higher freeboard than bass boats because they spend more
time in rough water.
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Aluminum Fishing
Boats
Small lightweight and, durable trailer boats made of aluminum are most often
used for freshwater fishing. Generally very simple craft, featuring riveted
or welded aluminum hulls and bench seating, they can be operated in fish-friendly
places - shallow water, coves, inlets - not many other boats can reach. Powered
primarily by outboard engines, this type of boat offers both tiller and remote
steering options.
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Bass Boats
Bass boats have low, sleek profiles and are built to fish with two or three
anglers on board. The minimum length of bass boats starts with 16 feet and
can go up to 26 feet.
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Bowriders
These family boats are the most popular in the runabout/spotboat category
and are equipped with extra seats and forward access to the bow, a convenient
spot to relax and sun.
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Center Console
These open fishing boats are built to take rough offshore waters in pursuit
of ocean fish. Rod holders, outriggers and other gear are common fittings
onboard.
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Closed Bow Runabouts
Closed Bow Runabouts are fast and ideal for smaller crews who enjoy the sleek
sports car look. These boats are great for watersports activities.
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Cuddy Cabins
These are great day cruisers and overnighters for small groups and family
boating. Ideal for skiing, tubing and wakeboarding, they are most often powered
with sterndrive engines, but outboard power is becoming popular, too.
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Deck Boats
Deck boats have wide deck to carry 8 to 12 or more passengers (like pontoons)
but look and perform more like runabouts. They are powerful, too, making them
excellent boats for skiing, tubing and wakeboarding.
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Dinghies
These small crafts are usually less than 10 feet in length, easy to carry
on a car top or light enough to carry on board a cruiser. Great for use off
the beach, or around the harbor.
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Electric Boats
Electric boats are becoming more popular for easy cruising on smaller lakes.
While some boats are built primarily for electric power, fishing boats and
pontoon boats are increasingly propelled by electric motors.
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Fish and Ski
This craft allows boaters to enjoy the two most popular on-water activities;
fishing and skiing. This family fishing and recreational boat has enough power
to pull a skier or two, and to get to the fishing spot in short order.
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Flat Boats
These boats are popular in costal areas where sea trout and redfish live.
They can float and run in water less than two feet deep and are ideal for
fishing with two to three people on board.
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Heavy Welded Boats
Emerging as a new and more durable metal boat, it’s a good alternative
for fishing boats, runabouts and even some cruisers. These lighter boats perform
well with smaller engines, saving fuel.
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Houseboats
Houseboats are designed to offer lake house living on the water complete with
spacious floor plans and modern amenities for entertaining, dining and sleeping.
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Inboard Cruisers
Inboard cruisers tend to be 30-feet long or longer and are great for sleeping,
cooking and plumbing facilities. They feature a simpler drive mechanism that
is often considered easier to maintain in salt water.
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Inboard Ski Boats
Inboard ski boats accelerate rapidly to "pop" skiers from the water
and turn very crisply recovering a downed skier easily. These boats are great
for skiing, racing and other watersports activities.
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Inboard Wakeboard Boats
Powered by inboard engine, these boats "throw" a perfect wake for
very serious wake boarders. With the engine set back against the transom,
seating is more comfortable and open like a bowrider.
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Inflatable Boats
Inflatable boats range in size from 8-foot dinghies for tenders to 30-foot
high performance boats. These boats are suitable for saltwater and freshwater
fishing, watersports and more.
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Jet Boats
Like bowriders and deckboats, they offer comfortable seating and sunning areas,
plus a speedy and exciting ride. They are distinguished from runabouts by
their propulsion system, which is enclosed inside the hull.
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Jon Boats
A Jon Boat is a multi-purpose camping, freshwater fishing and hunting craft,
typically aluminum and powered by a small to moderate outboard. They may be
customized with added fishing features like trolling motors and driver consoles.
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Motor Yachts
Motor yachts are ideal for ocean cruising or navigating large rivers or the
Great Lakes, as well as entertaining at the dock. Two engines, usually fueled
with diesel and a generator for electricity make them self-sufficient in terms
of living accommodations.
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Multi-Hull Cruisers
Also known as catamarans, a wide, airy main cabin is the trademark of these
cruisers along with lots of deck space for sunning. They are fuel-efficient
and are excellent for long-range cruising and island hopping.
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Multi-Hull Power Boats
Catamarans are the most popular multi-hull boats and are usually offered as
an alternative to center consoles. Most catamarans are designed for hardcore
angling, but some models offer recreational and cruising amenities.
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Performance Boats
Performance boats are the sleek sports cars of the boating world, offering
high speeds and precise handling to boaters who prefer their thrills full
throttle. Marrying big horsepower with sleek hulls results in boats that are
equally at home slicing through ocean swells or tearing up inland lakes. Cranking
offshore or simply relaxing in a cove, performance boats deliver lots of smiles
per hour.
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Pontoon Boats
Pontoon boats give families with younger boaters a secure place to enjoy the
ride or toddle about when at anchor, thanks to wide decks and "lay pen-like"
side rails and gates. When equipped with larger engines they can be as quick
as runabouts.
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Sailboats
Sailboats differ from other types of boats in that they are propelled partly
or entirely by wind; they use sails to transform the power of the wind into
power that moves the boat through the water. The term sailboat covers a wide
variety of sailing craft, each with its own characteristics and styles. In
general, sailboats are distinguished by size, hull configuration, keel type,
number of sails, use and purpose. To learn more about a specific type of sailboat,
click on a category below.
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Sedan Bridge
Sedan Bridge has all the style of a sportfishing yacht, but exchanges a tuna
lookout tower and fishing amenities for more deck space and swim platform.
They have ample living accommodations including an electrical generator, AC
and plumbing.
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Sportfishing Boats
These boats are great for pursuing large fish. Often equipped with sleeping
berths, a galley for cooking and plumbing for convenience, they have the capacity
to stay on the water for days.
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Stern Drive Cruisers
Great for freshwater fishing, watersports, cruising and much more, these boats
have all the comforts expected from recreational cruising boats including
sleeping, cooking and plumbing equipment.
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Trawlers
Facilities for sleeping, cooking and plumbing provide boating fun for weekends
on the water with family and friends. They can handle big rivers, lakes and
oceans on moderate days.
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Walkaround
These boats may be the ultimate family fishing boats and are most popular
in coastal waters, large bays and the Great Lakes where anglers pursue salmon
or offshore ocean species. They are equipped with rod holders, livewells and
steps to the forward deck to make it easy to follow a big fish around the
boat.
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