Looking for boat plans for my next build

[Cbuf]

I loved the experience of building my LM 18, so much so that I'm looking to build another boat. Kids are now both in college, so I have a ton more free time. I also just finished rehabbing a house and turned it into an Airbnb.

I'm looking to build a boat to musky fish and walleye fish out of. The lakes I fish are bigger bodies of water. Lake of the Woods, Eagle lake, Green Bay on Lake Michigan. The boat needs to handle 1-2-3 foots which is common on these lakes. When the wind on Lake michigan changes has 5-6' are common and I need to be able to make it back to the dock.

18-20 feet long.
Front trolling motor
the boat has to be able to hit about 50 mph, so it can have a cruise at about 35-40.
I haven't fully decided if I want a merc big tiller (hydraulic power steering) or wheel.
The boat will have tons of electronics. Depending on the weight, it might need a 36v tolling motor, so 5 batteries in total.
It is not uncommon to run about 90 miles in a day so for gas I'm thinking about 40-50 gallons
Interior layout I will focus on later, but thinking the interior will look like a lund pro guide 2010. https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/atta ... pg.305898/
or the 2075 https://itboat.com/models/9833-lund-2075-pro-guide
Which hull would be best? I like the OB19, MG20, and may a scaled down AB23. I'm open to input and suggestions. Does anybody have info on the GP21. I can't see where anybody built one.

Thanks Cbuf

[rick berrey]

I think the 50 mph and 40 to 50 gal fuel may limit you on your options . The C19 , CX19 and C21 will give you your fuel requirement but miss on speed by a little , with 37 max and 30 cruise you are not off by much , about 30 minuets on a 90 mile run between max 50 mph and 37 mph . I doubt you will ever run max speed that often , or for long runs , so the cruise spreed will be close to what your looking for on the C19 or 21. I would think you could do what ever deck layout you want with more payload than you need .

[fallguy1000]

I've fished a few of those bodies of water abd often wondered the best boat for low or lake michigan.

LoW can be downright dangerous. I've fished it quite a bit in a 16' and same with Superior and Michigan. The main feature missing was a place to go to the bathroom, or get out of the cold.

Riding 30 miles at 40mph is grueling if you cannot get out of the weather, so all the nice boats on low have softtops as a minimum. My eyes cannot take the strain either. A windshield is not enough for any September lows dipping down.

The size of the boat is always a battle between boat control, ease of landing.

If it were me, I'd make the boat big enough to hunker down and sleep in, but I've been in some shit weather and had to hike back to camp after getting my boat to safety. Fishing from a 21 footer, the fish will boat spook sooner the kicker will be a 25hp to barely get on plane. Up to you, but 19-21, C class is what I always figured as ideal. But I'd go steering and a windshield for a top that'll enclose. Maybe in front of the windshield; you can make a ducker crapper?

[BarraMan]

Obviously I know nothing about the area you plan to fish, but you mentioned the MG20 - and I do have some experience with that hull!

My boat is based on a 10% up-scaled MG20 - taking a 20' boat to a 22' boat. The topside is similar to your examples but I built mine with a side console. It has a 112lb (36v) Minn Kota up front and 6 x 12v batteries - crank, 2 x house (in parallel) and 3 x 12v = 36 for the trolling motor. I have 80 US gal of gas in two tanks and the boat is powered by a 250 hp Yamaha Vmax SHO outboard. Although its propped for power more than speed, it will top out at around 60 mph when light and easily do 50 mph loaded for a days fishing with 4 x blokes on board. Its very happy at 35 mph, although I usually cruise at around 30 mph for best economy, where the SHO is burning around 10 US gals/hr. You could come back on o/b power but it takes a bit of grunt to push a 22' medium V hull (18 degree dead-rise at the transom) at the sort of speeds mentioned above.

I generally fish in protected waters but occasionally venture outside to travel to other estuaries.

My hull will eat 3' waves at 30 mph but 6' waves would be a challenge. I would have to slow right down to about 15 mph and then drive very carefully. I have done so on a number of occasions, not by choice, but I have also almost swamped the boat on one occasion which was potentially very serious. My hull is technically unsinkable and should remain upright if completely swamped but I have no desire to test that. I did not build it with a self-draining cockpit but rather opted for the cockpit to drain into the bilge where 2 x high capacity bilge pumps send it overboard. On the occasion that I almost swamped it an additional manual bilge pump thankfully saved the day. The open cockpit makes my boat vulnerable to swamping in rough seas if it falls into a trough and/or spears into an oncoming wave! A wave breaker across the front of the cockpit would reduce the likelihood of that.

I am NOT advocating that you should build an MG20 hull - just giving you my experience with one since you mentioned it. With the caveats mentioned above, for the type of fishing I do, it is a great hull - very stable to drive and with sports car like handling.

[fallguy1000]

Obviously I know nothing about the area you plan to fish, but you mentioned the MG20 - and I do have some experience with that hull!

My boat is based on a 10% up-scaled MG20 - taking a 20' boat to a 22' boat. The topside is similar to your examples but I built mine with a side console. It has a 112lb (36v) Minn Kota up front and 6 x 12v batteries - crank, 2 x house (in parallel) and 3 x 12v = 36 for the trolling motor. I have 80 US gal of gas in two tanks and the boat is powered by a 250 hp Yamaha Vmax SHO outboard. Although its propped for power more than speed, it will top out at around 60 mph when light and easily do 50 mph loaded for a days fishing with 4 x blokes on board. Its very happy at 35 mph, although I usually cruise at around 30 mph for best economy, where the SHO is burning around 10 US gals/hr. You could come back on o/b power but it takes a bit of grunt to push a 22' medium V hull (18 degree dead-rise at the transom) at the sort of speeds mentioned above.

I generally fish in protected waters but occasionally venture outside to travel to other estuaries.

My hull will eat 3' waves at 30 mph but 6' waves would be a challenge. I would have to slow right down to about 15 mph and then drive very carefully. I have done so on a number of occasions, not by choice, but I have also almost swamped the boat on one occasion which was potentially very serious. My hull is technically unsinkable and should remain upright if completely swamped but I have no desire to test that. I did not build it with a self-draining cockpit but rather opted for the cockpit to drain into the bilge where 2 x high capacity bilge pumps send it overboard. On the occasion that I almost swamped it an additional manual bilge pump thankfully saved the day. The open cockpit makes my boat vulnerable to swamping in rough seas if it falls into a trough and/or spears into an oncoming wave! A wave breaker across the front of the cockpit would reduce the likelihood of that.

I am NOT advocating that you should build an MG20 hull - just giving you my experience with one since you mentioned it. With the caveats mentioned above, for the type of fishing I do, it is a great hull - very stable to drive and with sports car like handling.

Lee ~ do you ever run in 4 degrees Celsius temps?

Just curious, not trying to indict you, but wondering if the MG can be made with a softtop is all.

[Cbuf]

I really love the fishability of a tiller, but I do love being nice and warm behind a windshield. Most of my buddies fish dual console boats with full canvas. You sacrifice fishing space, but worth it when we troll for fish in November before ice up. The boat brand we have found over the years that hold up to the abuse are the kingfishers. If I build a wheel boat I want a layout like this with a nice big windshield that opens to the front casting deck. These boats are a bit wider than the mg20. Barra Man what is the side height of yours? I think I read you raised the height, if you did what was in the plan and then what did you make it? also What is your draft?

https://kingfisherboats.com/boats/multi ... row-sport/

Raise front deck for casting, raised read deck for casting, and I would probably make a side casting platform on the passenger side so three people can cast from an elevated position.

I was going to post a pic of us this last trip, but AI don't see where I can attach a pic

[BarraMan]

Lee ~ do you ever run in 4 degrees Celsius temps?

The only place I ever see 4 degrees C is in a refrigerator!
On the other hand, add a zero to the 4 and I see it regularly, ie 40 degrees C!

Just curious, not trying to indict you, but wondering if the MG can be made with a softtop is all.

Not sure what you mean by a 'soft top', but I have a soft bimini on the boat. I had thoughts of putting a hard T-top on it and clears to give some protection from rain/spray but have never gotten around to it.

I do love being nice and warm behind a windshield

My console has a windscreen, which is nice when running in rain or when taking spray into the cockpit. We occasionally camp in the boat so I didn't make it with a second console in order to maximise the available cockpit floor space. However, I did make provision for a second removable console - but have yet to build the console. My Brother complains whenever he get wet sitting on the pax side of the boat.

what is the side height of yours? I think I read you raised the height, if you did what was in the plan and then what did you make it?

The sides are 33" high! Why? Because we fish in crocodile country! Its also nice to have some height above the water for the sort of fishing we do.

What is your draft?

18" fully loaded with 80 US gal of gas, ice, and 4 blokes etc - with the jack plate right down! I often run in 40" or less of water but I get nervous approaching 20" and drop off the plane (I have run aground more than I care to remember but can usually get myself off again!

The HUGE advantage of building your own boat is that, within reason, you can make the topside anyway you like - to suit your particular needs. The MG20 plans are a runabout, which I built into a bass boat style topside with casting decks fore and aft - to suit our fishing needs. We regularly fish 4 up, casting lures into snags and drains.

[Fuzz]

If you are going to get caught in 5-6 foot waves do as Lee says and put a wave breaker on it or a full cabin. Forget the bow fishing platform. The last thing you want is an open bow if it gets lumpy. I do a fair bit of fishing in cool weather, does freezing spray count, and an enclosed cabin with good heat is a wonderful thing if you want to enjoy the trip. My 22 foot boat has about 14 degrees in the hull. It will run 40 tops and happy cruise at 30. I would guess over half the time I am running more like 15-20. Any more than that and you lose the filling in your teeth. I really like the AB23 but it might be too big for what you want.

[fallguy1000]

Did Mertens ever say any of his boats were suited for high hp tillers?

Might need some auto-tabs.

Maybe TomW might know.

[Cbuf]

Well for summer fishing we are casting. It must have a front deck. In the winter we put on a front cover so if you take spay it shed off the front vs. coming into the boat. That is why we use the auto deploy minnkota ulterras to auto deploy the trolling motor.

Any idea of the gunnel height between the OB 19 vs c19 vs the MG20? The c19 looks high. while it adds to stability, it also catches the wind when working the trolling motor on various spots. What types of reinforcements could be made to the OB19 to make it go 50 MPH and cruise at 30? If I hang heavier HP on the back I can off set it by having all the batteries in the front and the gas tank mid ship.

thanks