Hi i am in the proses of selling my Warrior Pro Angler and once sold i am looking to purchase a 19ft lake boat Burke, Sheelin or Meagher to use around the lake district but would like to know if they are suitable for calm inshore sea fishing
Also is a 15hp four stroke plenty for these types of boat
Thanks

A lake boat has a beam of 5+ feet.
A sea boat with displacement hull has a beam of 6+ feet.
A sea boat with a planing hull (and a much bigger engine) has a wider hull still.

So your lake boat will be ok in calm conditions, but in a chop it will roll, and any landlubbers might change facial colour to green or white soon enough.

Due to the narrower beam, motoring the lake boat into a swell will see it rising from a trough late due to reduced volume in the bow compared to a "sea boat" (less buoyancy there to lift the nose). Therefore ability to head into a swell is reduced for fear of swamping if she dives into a trough and digs in.

It is interesting, inshore in calm weather in an enclosed sea, but not on an Atlantic coastline in any weather.

__________________
Norm

Float Tube Fishing 30+ years
Float Tubing Info Resource

i've been out on the wild atlantic on pretty big seas in a 19Ft burke boat, several miles off connemara, west of Ireland and while not as comfortable as a sea boat, i never felt in any real danger. My mate Ronan has kept his burke boat on the sea in Roundstone for 7 years, probably hundreds of trips out and he is still with us... A general rule is if there are white horses stay on land.. a rule we often don;t follow..

My sheelin will be on the sea this summer on the atlantic coastline.. cant wait..\\
cheers
JJ

Thanks what size make/engine are you using been looking at 15hp models in four stroke is this plenty for 19ft lake boat or will a 10hp do the job
thanks

A 15HP engine would be ideal, but a 10 would do the job.. The more horses the safer you are if things get rough.. We have used both a 15HP 2 stroke Johnson and a 9.9HP 2 stroke.

I often use a currach for sea fishing and sometimes use a 6HP 4 stroke engine with it, although the currach is lighter than a lake boat.

cheers
JJ