Hi all...I might have a chance at buying an 18 ft sea nymph aluminum boat with easy load trailor...it appears to be in good condition...i think its a sled...its real wide and not v shaped and has a square front....it sorta looks like a big pram..any idea what this might be worth? It looks maybe 10 to 20 years old and has no motor...thanks in advance!!! JK

JK-- I don't think you are looking at a sled as Sea Nymph is made in the Midwest. My guess is that it's a large jon boat, which can be used as a sled, but...

The thing to do is check the transom height. If it measures between 15 to 20 inches from the top of the transom to the keel, it wasn't built as a sled. Sled guys can shed some light, but I think the transom for a jet outboard needs to be something like 25 inches. You would have to add a jackplate, have the transom rebuilt and/or maybe add some reinforcement to use a pump.

Value is hard to guess without seeing it up close, but you can get an idea of current prices of new jon boats by looking at the Basstracker site for the Grizzly line of jons or maybe G3. G3 is making jon boats with extended transoms for use with jet outboards, and that site might give you an idea of value of a new boat that is comparable to Sea Nymph.

Good luck,

Keith

JK-- I don't think you are looking at a sled as Sea Nymph is made in the Midwest. My guess is that it's a large jon boat, which can be used as a sled, but...

The thing to do is check the transom height. If it measures between 15 to 20 inches from the top of the transom to the keel, it wasn't built as a sled. Sled guys can shed some light, but I think the transom for a jet outboard needs to be something like 25 inches. You would have to add a jackplate, have the transom rebuilt and/or maybe add some reinforcement to use a pump.

Value is hard to guess without seeing it up close, but you can get an idea of current prices of new jon boats by looking at the Basstracker site for the Grizzly line of jons or maybe G3. G3 is making jon boats with extended transoms for use with jet outboards, and that site might give you an idea of value of a new boat that is comparable to Sea Nymph.

Good luck,

Keith

JK, you can call Auburn Sports and Marine to get an estimate of the boat's worth both wholesale and retail - at least I assume it can be done on a boat that old. I called them when I sold my Starcraft for a blue book price. I can't remember the name of the guy who does it there, but they were real helpful.

I later found a web site by accident, which was right on with their estimate. I can't recall the website, but I was using google to get some boat info and it came up.

Thanks guys!!! Anyone else have any input?

got a 14 ft sea nymph I use for the sound and its pretty good

WOW!!! I'm surprised a 14 footer works well in the sound. My biggest concern was how this boat would handle in a 2 to 4 foot chop due to the fact that the bow is low to the water and does not have a V. I wonder how this boat would hold up with the big rollers at Sekiu?

Let's see if I can do this without repeating myself-- a flat-bottom boat is going to be a rough ride in a chop. a boat with a low bow will probably take the occasional wave. The swells at Sekiu or Neah Bay won't be a problem for the boat because they are gradual, but put some chop on top, or get in a rip, and it's a different story.

If you're considering this boat for the Strait, you probably won't be happy unless it's got plenty of freeboard. If it is a jon boat as I suspect, don't expect to use it in rough water.

Don't be surprised, though, at the ability of small boats to handle conditions in the Sound or even the Strait. I fished the Port Angeles area for a few years out of a 10-foot boat, a Livingston, and had no real concerns. I've seen 12-foot Lunds go out of PA in water that kept many larger boats on shore. Pick the right small boat, and there are a bunch of them, and you can fish a lot of Washington's coast line in the right weather. Pick the wrong boat, no matter how large it is, and you can get in serious trouble even in calm weather.

While your flat-bottom Sea Nymph may be a good option for the rivers and bays, if you plan to use it in less protected waters such as Sekiu or even the northern Sound, you might be better off to keep looking.

Keith

it aint no jon boat or flat bottom boat either, its a v hull with a wide bow, and I built up the transom for a long shaft motor so its more sea worthy, taken it as far as tatoosh island, its more sea worthy than my bass boat.

Rockfish-- I was referring to the boat JK is thinking of buying, not yours.

Keith

Rockfish is the bow of you boat square so to speak or does it come to a point. I just briefly looked at this boat and it was square and almost looked "triple" hullish. one thing that really impressed me was it was hulla wide. No pun intended.