I was adamant about getting either an Xpress or a G3. The budget was set at a level that the wife and I agreed upon, so finding one for the price in good shape was a challenge. When one would pop up on Craigslist, it would sell before I could get it. So about a week ago, a G3 1860 popped up when I was searching craigslist. It was way up in Columbia Missouri, which is about a 7 hour drive from Memphis. But the price couldn't be beat. I figured for sure there was a catch since this same model boat I'd seen go for $10k. I called the guy and it was an old guy who used it once a year and figured he'd get rid of it. I left straight from work on a Friday and got to Columbia around 1am. Stayed at a Hampton Inn and met him at 8am the next day. I couldn't believe how awesome this boat was. It could have passed for 1 year old instead of 8. It's a 2006 with a 2006 Yamaha 50hp 2 stroke and it is cherry. The trailer is pristine, and it came with a few extra goodies like fish finder, trolling motor, water/fuel separator filter system, and some faded camo swivel seats.
The owners were also quite possibly the nicest people in the world. We talked for while and the lady made me promise I send her pictures of me using it and especially of my kids in it. So I obliged after getting it home.
It is slightly under powered for it's size, but I figured it would still go high 20's mph, and that's perfectly fine by me. It's also good because the WMA's in Arkansas that aren't limited to 25hp, are limited to 50hp. AsI am planning on using it some for that, it makes the 50 a plus. It should still draft plenty skinny for when I take it to Louisiana sight fishing for Reds and being an 1860, it has a TON of room and storage over the 1650's I was looking at. It'll also "work" for the one or two days a year I MIGHT take it out with friends tubing or whatever, and being a bigger boat, it's very stable, which is a big plus since my wife is nervous on the water to begin with.
Last week I finally took it out for a spin on one the most beautiful lakes in Tennessee (not thick use of sarcasm), McKellar Lake next to downtown Memphis. It's an offshoot of the Mississippi river where barges are parked while staging. It's pretty gross. It's also right next to an oil refinery, so the smell matches everything else. It was also my first experience with jumping silver carp. Thankfully only one ended up in the boat, and it was only 5lbs or so. So the first fish in the boat wasn't actually caught in a traditional way, but it did a good job of sliming it up.
Here's a quick video of them behind my wake in the shallow water. Sorry for the poor video and vertical filming.
To somewhat save the day of the little fishing we did, I managed to actually catch a small bass, which was kind of cool and unexpected.
In any case, it is the closest and easiest access lake to my work where I could open her up and get to know her a bit. I went out with a buddy and it ran fantastic. Note that my friend is a solid 260lbs. I was extremely pleased when I tested it's top speed and it hit 29 mph with the two of us. I'm sure with a bit of trim adjustments and a non-factory prop, I could hit a little over 30, and be able to cruise at around 28 mph.
We left just before sunset, and I couldn't have been more pleased.
The boat did require a pretty serious cleaning after being in that lake, as well as some of the dirt in general that had build up over time. So Saturday I spent a solid couple hours pressure washing a giving it a good scrub down before putting the cover on, and storing it for the next time.
