MCF

A lot of inferior product was produced by OMC in the form of Evinrude and Johnson in the late 1990's and early 2000's as it eventually went bankrupt

There is always going to be a trade off between fishing space and living space. One of the boats that I would look at to try to accomplish both is the Sea Ray Sundancer. Built in many lengths in your range and built for many years so there are always some for sale.

I had a StarCraft 17 superfisherman, 1998 with a 75 2 stroke and it was right on the fence in terms of trolling speed, I believe he will end up using bags with the 115hp

You are going to want to do that to prevent water from leaking into the boat and if you have a wood transom to protect from rot.

I presume you have an Islander that is at least a couple years old. If that is the case, I have done two older aluminum boats by just cleaning the bottom and painting with fine results-no peeling paint etc. I still own one of the boats that I did paint way, again no issues. So the answer is yes, you want to make sure you purchase paint that is for aluminum boats as mentioned in the post above. If your boat has one of the anodes on the transom, you want to make sure you do not paint over that anode.

from the west marine site: http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/DIY-Bottom-Painting if the boat has never been painted, you are looking at two coats this year based on my own experience from the past.

Levelwind is referring to an anti-fouling paint.

My experience with either fiberglass or aluminum is the same, in order to avoid fouling you need to paint it, wax slows it down but does not prevent it.

9.9 is plenty of hp, you could go down as far as a 6hp comfortably.

Dunkirk was to be converted to natural gas-there is a lawsuit holding it up brought to court by another supplier. In the meantime the plant is being mothballed, and you know the longer it is off service the less likely it will ever get converted. Huge impact to the tax base.

+3, solution to the problem is replace it.

All of them are heading towards closing, Dunkirk, Tonawanda, and Oswego. Dunkirk Harbor was frozen this year for the first time in 70 years.

Not that much ice anyway this winter, they have started the removal process today 3/8/16.

That hull started being built in the late 1970s-don't know the last year it was made but I have a hard time believing that they weren't all wood stringer boats.

As a fellow WNY'er, if I were looking I would call the dealers around that deal in that type of boat, Anchor Marine, Brobeil, Bow and Stern, Olson Bros, Silver Lake, Navigation Company in PA and now the local Cabelas, especially with boat show season upon us. There was a good one at Silver Lake that is now gone. These are all other suggestions if the Alumacraft on here doesn't interest you.

PM sent to you, the answer to the question is yes.

20 will work fine, if you are buying new and it is available 25 is better-the extra 5 inches keeps it deeper in the water and avoids cavitation in rough water.

Sold 2/2/16 Doel Fin $25.00 plus shipping if necessary. No cracks, nicks in excellent condition with mounting bolts. Located in Dunkirk, NY (For information came off 90 hp Mercury)

The 15 inch would likely work fine, if you are making the investment on a kicker, spend the extra money and get the 20 inch. When it gets wave action, the lower unit is deeper into the water. I have had a couple Starcrafts and now a Sea Nymph so I have had experience.

You pay the money and you take your chance. I have had a table at all of the LOTSA events. LOTSA can't control who has equipment for sale and wants to buy a table. Some of the regulars moved to the main room, some of the regulars who had tables in the past have retired from being captains and some chose not to come. The main room was full and this is a show that is geared to fishing. Was I disappointed this year? Yes I was but again, can't control vendors or customers. And I have been involved in setting up similar events in the past for clubs I belong to. Look forward to next year and will evaluate things then. This event was heavily advertised on Buffalo radio and part of those ads mentioned the LOTSA marketplace. Mark