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I am looking to purchase a small boat that my kids can use that I will keep in the water behind my Bertram and that I can trailer down to the Keys for weekend trips. I'm looking for very simple, with an outboard engine that will require little maintenance and up keep......I got that block checked off already with my Bertram. I'm thinking of maybe a Whaler, Mako, Key West, Cape Horn etc. Does anyone have any recommendations or know of any manufacturers to stay away from. Thinking used in the 10 grand range.

You can find a really nice 18 Parker in that price range -- I like them a lot.

The Whaler is a safe boat, but it will pound a bit.

The Mako 18 is not a small boat. The Mako 17 is a small boat, and a great boat if it has been cared for. If you're thinking about buying one and it's on a trailer, take it to a cat scale and weigh it. If you can work out a target weight and you aren't 1000 over that on the scale, buy it. If it's heavy, it's wet.

For half that budget I'd certainly buy an inflatable.
No need for a trailer, kids can take it, inflate it, use it and have fun, then at the end of the season they will rinse it and put it in storage.
A 15 hp o/b is good for a 3,80 m one. The boat weighs 40-50 kg.
Safe, practical, cheap to buy, cheap to run, what else?
No fishing though, no hooks, spear guns or the like.

I had a 19' Aquasport on Sugarloaf Key for a few years back in the '70s. Had a lot of fun with it. Ran shallow over the flats. A little underpowered with only a 90HP but it was very economical.

The kids snorkeling around my Bombard 380 Aerotec with inflatable bottom, no ply no alu, nothing. Weighs 37 kgs. Deep vee also! (Picture 3-4 y.o. in a cove of Sifnos island)
You can't imagine how happy this little boat made me.

For kids, get a Whaler. I had my kids in an 11' whaler when they were little, and then a Montauk. Montauks are great, and yes, they pound. I just sold mine last fall. Outrage or Montauk. Simple and unsinkable. Parkers are nice, but be careful of rot. Makos are nice, but when I was looking, just about every older Mako I saw had a rotten transom (same with Seacraft).

17 or 19 whaler Montauk

I had a 13' Whaler and then graduated to a 17 Mako with a 75 Johnson on it. My third and fourth boats respectively. I went all over the lower Chesapeake Bay in that 17 Mako and even went most of the way over a brand new 20' Whaler back in 1988 that was owned by a friend's family!

He was out in the middle of the Rappahannock River near the bridge at about 1AM with no lights on making whoopy with his girlfriend. The river is 2 miles wide at that point and he was almost under the center span of the bridge. I was travelling down river with 5 friends in the boat. The large whitecaps were rolling down river and as I came over the top of one he was in the trough below! My bow eye cut through the side of the Whaler on the port side where the fill cap for the fuel tank is located, abeam the console. The bow eye cleaved through plastic rubrail and teak covering board like a knife. Fortunately I was going slow enough that I was able to pull the throttle into reverse and the motor never hit the Whaler. My Mako slid off the center console and over the bow of the Whaler, leaving a liberal amount of my bottom paint smeared all over his console and both gunnels all the way off the bow! My friend and his girl were actually lying together in the bow of the Whaler and I went over top of them, but never touched them. Their only injury was where her tooth cut his lip! This was shortly after the movie "The World According To Garp" came out so you can imagine the ribbing he took about that!

The Whaler would have been totaled if it weren't a new boat. I caved in the port side and the port liner to the point that the tank filler hose was lying on the deck! All of the rails on both the console and bow were wiped off, as was the windshield. The teak covering board was smashed. Needless to say both boats were partially swamped. My 17 with the cut down transom was pooped by a large whitecap and we were calf deep in water. I imagined a large hole in the bow and after my friend started up his motor and called that they were OK I tilted the motor up as far as I could and motored for shore. After beaching my boat it turned out that the only damage to the Mako was a gelcoat scratch!! I got to stay up all night visiting with the Marine Police and making sure that both boats were secured. No one got a ticket (those were the good old days)! I then went to work at the local marina for the rest of the day. He was in shock and went home. Needless to say his Dad was not happy with him!!

The conclusion of this trip down memory lane is that both are good boats. Had the situation been reversed though I don't know how the Mako would have faired. It would have at least swamped if the bilge were breached.

Both are good boats if used for their intended purposes and neither is waterlogged. The Mako is fairly flat bottomed as it is intended as a flats boat. I had trim tabs on it so that I could angle the bow to get the best ride. The Whaler just rides like a Whaler, but kids don't care if they take a beating! They think its fun. From a safety standpoint the Whaler probably wins, but I wouldn't turn down a good (dry) Mako if it came along.

Needless to say I learned a lot about boating from that experience! i thank God that everyone was OK.

20 seacraft, old one no foam.

I just moved up last summer from a 15 whaler to a 19 mako. For kid use I'd definitely go with the 15-17 whaler. My mako would be too much boat for a kid. Can't speak to a 17 mako.

Whaler 15 super sport 70hp


Mako 191 150hp

How old are the kids?

Thanks everyone for the info, keep it coming. My kids are 16 and 20.

Sounds like the kids are old enough to run any of the boats suggested. Center consoles like the Mako, Aquasport or Whaler are the way to go. Self bailing and basically maintenance free. Not a lot to go wrong, although I did see one Whaler flip over in the wind as a couple of kids were wake jumping. Luckily they were not hurt. After fishing them out of the water, all they could say was "My father is going to kill me!"

Try looking at the 18' McKee Craft CC. Mine rides great with 150 hp. but less power would be okay as well.

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/boa/4469758910.html
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/boa/4448190805.html
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/boa/4465412095.html

And she's for sale

Older Whaler Montauks are not self bailing.

Craig. ....
Look locally, the gov authorities auction commercial grade whalers once they come out of warrantee.
I have a retired Florida FWC whaler in NY.
Nothing in smaller boats is safer or holds value like a whaler.
Mr Hunt was a genius !!

18 outrage is a great boat. .... See whalers post ...... And if he doesnt have a trailer, i am willing to loan mine, as long as it gets back here to NY. It brought my 21 commercial north and doesnt go in the water.

Trailer included and I don't mind a road trip now and then...

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. I went to two local boat places right by my house today and stumbled into the exact boat I was hoping to find and it only has 200 hours on it. It is an unsinkable 2003 17' Cape Horn with a Mercury 150 HP Optimax. Probably not my engine of choice, but low hours and extremely clean. This boat has never even had bottom paint on it. It is a huge 17 foot boat with a very deep cockpit, lots of freeboard and fully integrated cockpit liner. I offered 10k and the owner accepted my offer subject to a sea trial. I couldn't be happier with my choice and the condition of this boat.
The trailer is also in excellent condition and included.

Looks nice!