Ultimate Irish Lake Boat

SafeSurfer

What are your views on the ultimate Irish lake boat? I have had Sheelins and Burkes and some others but always liked the Angler's Fancy best. I have seen a really nice Arrow boat that has all the bells and whistles. If money was no object what would you buy for the ultimate Irish lake boat set up? Boat? Engine?

croo

I don't have any boat but I dream about this Arrow one

BoarHunter

Nice !

Flysfisher

croo wrote: »

I don't have any boat but I dream about this Arrow one

You would want to keep a close eye on that. It would be stolen in this lawless country.

demanufactured

The best lake boats imo are the lynch boats...built in Tullamore by niall lynch.
Sturdy hull that can cope with any weather we get here
He builds them very well and they can take up to a 20 HP engine.
He also fits proper fins to the back of the boat to give some lift and to keep the nose lower.

Anglers fancy and sheelins are really only built for 9.9hp max.

goss101

plus 1 on the lynch, i have a burke and a lynch at the moment, while the burke is still a good sturdy boat the lynch is that bit better, nicer to drift in and bit faster too when driving.

as for that arrow boat, i don't think i'd fancy my boat taking on all that water when i'd be drifting, get a nice roller in over the gunnels and ya'd know all about it!!!!

demanufactured

goss101 wrote: »

plus 1 on the lynch, i have a burke and a lynch at the moment, while the burke is still a good sturdy boat the lynch is that bit better, nicer to drift in and bit faster too when driving.

as for that arrow boat, i don't think i'd fancy my boat taking on all that water when i'd be drifting, get a nice roller in over the gunnels and ya'd know all about it!!!!

I'd love a lynch boat.
Was waiting half the year for him to build me one in 2004 and gave up bought a sheeelin type boat built in lanesborough
It's alright but I still see lynchs around and wish I'd gotten one

bayliner

have a lynch and a ganly 17ft, the ganly is grand but the lynch is better for comfort in a big wave, the ganly is great in a drift too, the hull is especially built for it, at least thats what he told me back in 1991 when i bought the hull though its been ages since i used the ganly to be honest,

demanufactured

bayliner wrote: »

have a lynch and a ganly 17ft, the ganly is grand but the lynch is better for comfort in a big wave, the ganly is great in a drift too, the hull is especially built for it, at least thats what he told me back in 1991 when i bought the hull though its been aiges since i used the ganly to be honest,

Are they built out in glasson? ?
I think john Joe Quigley was using the same hull for his boats.
I Had one that was grand on most days but had a few scares on very rough days.

demanufactured

A mention should go to the king fisher boats too.
Havent been out in one but they look the business

bayliner

demanufactured wrote: »

Are they built out in glasson? ?
I think john Joe Quigley was using the same hull for his boats.
I Had one that was grand on most days but had a few scares on very rough days.

yep thats them.. i bought the hull with the keel on it back in 91, put the wood on myself, still have it, the 2 boats are in same shed and lynch is in front so it comes out most times

Mr Bumble

Was wondering about the safety of the Arrow boat with the built in stability tank in a big wave and got the chance to watch one in action last weekend on Currane. Top notch. Spoke to the owner about the chance of being swamped on a wild day and he laughed at me. Reckons it will never happen and would bet his house against any other lake boat for stability. It's also wired for a bilge pump and electric engine and in his case, he has a central pedestal for a seat with no boards which makes for very easy movement around the boat. Must say though, it looks odd without boards.
I've a Davidson Corrib 19 (fibre) which is very nimble but needs a decent bit of ballast for consistent drifting. Have one of the new Yamaha four-strokes, 6hp which is fine for Currane but you'd need bigger on Corrib for the distances involved alone.

tootsy70

any pics of the lynch boats

croo

Mr Bumble wrote: »

Was wondering about the safety of the Arrow boat with the built in stability tank in a big wave and got the chance to watch one in action last weekend on Currane. Top notch. Spoke to the owner about the chance of being swamped on a wild day and he laughed at me. Reckons it will never happen and would bet his house against any other lake boat for stability. It's also wired for a bilge pump and electric engine and in his case, he has a central pedestal for a seat with no boards which makes for very easy movement around the boat. Must say though, it looks odd without boards.
I've a Davidson Corrib 19 (fibre) which is very nimble but needs a decent bit of ballast for consistent drifting. Have one of the new Yamaha four-strokes, 6hp which is fine for Currane but you'd need bigger on Corrib for the distances involved alone.

My dream lives on then... the last week it kept turning into a nightmare

demanufactured

tootsy70 wrote: »

any pics of the lynch boats

Bayliner might be kind enough to take a few of his.

Fisherman

I can't say I've fished from many lake boats, I have fished from a Sheelin and I own a McA Kingfisher and I have looked at a few others during competitions. The Sheelins and the Kingfishers are great drifters, they'll usually drift squarely with the wind without much or any correction from an electric motor. What I don't like are removable boards in the bottom of a boat, it's those that put me off buying a Sheelin and I wouldn't buy any lake boat with boards, it's just a personal thing I suppose. I love the Kingfisher and wouldn't part with it but I would love to have a 15 or a 20 outboard on it (I have an 8 outboard on it at the moment) for getting back to shore a little faster when things take a turn for the worse. So in answer to your question, my ultimate lake boat is a McA Kingfisher with a 15 to 20 horsepower 4-stroke outboard. I'm nearly there.

demanufactured

Fisherman wrote: »

I can't say I've fished from many lake boats, I have fished from a Sheelin and I own a McA Kingfisher and I have looked at a few others during competitions. The Sheelins and the Kingfishers are great drifters, they'll usually drift squarely with the wind without much or any correction from an electric motor. What I don't like are removable boards in the bottom of a boat, it's those that put me off buying a Sheelin and I wouldn't buy any lake boat with boards, it's just a personal thing I suppose. I love the Kingfisher and wouldn't part with it but I would love to have a 15 or a 20 outboard on it (I have an 8 outboard on it at the moment) for getting back to shore a little faster when things take a turn for the worse. So in answer to your question, my ultimate lake boat is a McA Kingfisher with a 15 to 20 horsepower 4-stroke outboard. I'm nearly there.

15hp is the max for the kingfisher

Fisherman

Yes that's true, demanufactured, for a couple of reasons if I'm correct? Reason one is because of weight on the transom, but as we know, quite a few 4-stroke 15 and 20 horsepower engines are the same weight, some I think are the same model with a bigger carb also 2-strokes are lighter in weight than their equivalent size 4-strokes. The other reason as I understand it is because of the displacement hull, after a certain point the 20 hp engine wont push the boat any faster than the 15 hp engine and at that point you're only wasting fuel, however some might argue that keeping a 20 at three quarter throttle is better than keeping a 15 at full throttle all the time.

huntsman77

I think sheelin boat fine looking boat seem well finished don't seem very popular do for some reason

crusier

Just bumping this, thinking of getting a sheelin boat, I have a Burke boat but its about 15 years old any opinions on the following

Sheelin
Burke
Meagher
Mcalinden
Any others

Fishing on Corrib with a 15 hp, thanks in advance, flyfisherman

crusier

Ah well! guess they are all the same, thought there might be a difference, thanks

AnglingMad

crusier wrote: »

Just bumping this, thinking of getting a sheelin boat, I have a Burke boat but its about 15 years old any opinions on the following

Sheelin
Burke
Meagher
Mcalinden
Any others

Fishing on Corrib with a 15 hp, thanks in advance, flyfisherman

In my opinion Sheelin boats are great for the money, they last the test of time and drift very well but as previously mentioned they generally come with boards. Which I have to say I and several friends have lived with absolutely fine for the past 15 years. You can if you wish glass in the boards yourself if that is big hurdle but I actually like the idea of being easily able to get to the bottom of the hull to check its in good shape and as has been the case when a boat is in the water much of the time over 15 years you may need to replace the keel so getting to the bolts is an easy task. If I had to buy again and if money were no object I would choose an Arrow. In my experience the Meagher is not fit for drift fishing I have used them several times and will not use again by choice they are a nice built dry boat but they do not drift true at all so for fly fishing a no,no unless you are prepared to have crates of ballast on board.

steveok1

we have a 19ft sheelin which we bought new in 2012. lovely looking boat! im not a real fan of the timber floor, I rather a flat floor, but saying that its fine! they dirft well. We have an 18hp toihatsu on it, and the boat it really only rated for a 10hp. it mostly fly fishing we do and opted for a bigger engine for moving up the lake. with the bigger engine it does throw a lot of water in over the sides!! and on loch corrib I don't feel safe in it at all! its unstable in a big wave, wanders a lot with little throttle, and you would get drowned with the water it throws up!! its fine on a small lake like ennel or owel, and sheelin. we also sold only yesterday our 19 foot Davidson corrib supreme, flat floor and a peach on corrib no matter how windy it got, and not a drop of water would come in. that was with a 15hp Yamaha. after 7 years it started letting water in between the floor skin. not a big job too fix, fixed it and sold it no problem. as a replacement we are picking up a new 19ft lynch hull tomorrow, and we are getting ganly in athlone to do the timber work, and will have a 20hp Yamaha on it for getting up the corrib river a bit quicker. so will let ye know what that's like when its finished and on the water. but back to the sheelin, nice boat, fine on small lakes, drifts great, wear wet gear if it gets slightly rough because you will get soaked!! but if your goin on a big lake that really can get rough, like the corrib, my honest opinion would be forget about them....

fishingmayo

Arrow Boats (formerly Lough Arrow Boats) has changed its website to

arrowboats.com

TireeTerror

Would you ever see fast fishers in the loughs? Like Warrior or Predator 165s etc? I know they are sea boats,., but just wondered if they are ever used for lakes.

gary29428

Fisherman wrote: »

Yes that's true, demanufactured, for a couple of reasons if I'm correct? Reason one is because of weight on the transom, but as we know, quite a few 4-stroke 15 and 20 horsepower engines are the same weight, some I think are the same model with a bigger carb also 2-strokes are lighter in weight than their equivalent size 4-strokes. The other reason as I understand it is because of the displacement hull, after a certain point the 20 hp engine wont push the boat any faster than the 15 hp engine and at that point you're only wasting fuel, however some might argue that keeping a 20 at three quarter throttle is better than keeping a 15 at full throttle all the time.

Not true, buddy has a kingfisher and she does 30km with the suzuki 20hp and 24km with the yam 15hp.

Bio Mech

TireeTerror wrote: »

Would you ever see fast fishers in the loughs? Like Warrior or Predator 165s etc? I know they are sea boats,., but just wondered if they are ever used for lakes.

I have seen predators out on Lough Ree pike fishing. We used to fish in our Strikeliner out of Ree too. Obviously not really suitable for fly fishing but good for piking.

TireeTerror

Bio Mech wrote: »

I have seen predators out on Lough Ree pike fishing. We used to fish in our Strikeliner out of Ree too. Obviously not really suitable for fly fishing but good for piking.

I'm not a fisherman, but I'm interested in learning a bit more about it. Why would they not be suitable for fly fishing?

I have quite sore wrists due to arthritis, what would be the best type of fishing in those circumstances? I would like to catch fish where I could eat the fish. Preferably white fish.

Mr Bumble

He means fly fishing for trout on a lake, drifting on the wind and fishing the water in front of you. The Strikeliner is not designed to do that well.
Sea fishing would probably suit you best.

Cienciano

TireeTerror wrote: »

Would you ever see fast fishers in the loughs? Like Warrior or Predator 165s etc? I know they are sea boats,., but just wondered if they are ever used for lakes.

You see the odd few on Corrib. Some people use them for trolling. TBH, i do trolling a lot and I hate the irish lake boats!

But if you want white fish, sea fishing is the best option.

Veganspider

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what is the purpose is of the two bungs at each end of the Sheelin boats?

Mr Bumble

I pull bung when i have it out of the water to let rain water out...

Veganspider

Thanks for the reply. I'd have thought that's what they were for too, but the water doesn't drain at all with the bungs out. Could it possibly be to add ballast in the form of water to the boat?

Bogwoppit

Veganspider wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'd have thought that's what they were for too, but the water doesn't drain at all with the bungs out. Could it possibly be to add ballast in the form of water to the boat?

You mean take out the bung when you're on the water?!! Nooooo
Very bad idea!
It's purely a drain for when the boat is out of the water.

Veganspider

Ah no! I didn't mean out on the water!!
I'm still puzzle as to what is their purpose though, as removing them has absolutely no effect on removing water within the boat!

decdon

Has anyone here put finns on the back of a anglers fancy Burke boat to help it to plane through the water while travelling at speed. I have seen them on other boats, which works well on them, but is it worth putting them on a burke 19 ft! !
Thanks
Decdon

twin_beacon

decdon wrote: »

Has anyone here put finns on the back of a anglers fancy Burke boat to help it to plane through the water while travelling at speed. I have seen them on other boats, which works well on them, but is it worth putting them on a burke 19 ft! !
Thanks
Decdon

one of my mates has the fins on his Burke boat, they are a good job

demanufactured

Veganspider wrote: »

Ah no! I didn't mean out on the water!!
I'm still puzzle as to what is their purpose though, as removing them has absolutely no effect on removing water within the boat!

Do you mean there is a bung at the bow and at the stern in the floor?
Probably for adding water to the floor for ballast.

demanufactured

decdon wrote: »

Has anyone here put finns on the back of a anglers fancy Burke boat to help it to plane through the water while travelling at speed. I have seen them on other boats, which works well on them, but is it worth putting them on a burke 19 ft! !
Thanks
Decdon

I wouldn't.
They are not designed for that
It is a displacement hull.

Highway patrolman

Sort for resurrecting an old thread but any one have views on the mayfly pro by osmarine?
Thanks

twin_beacon

Some great knowledge has been shared on this thread. Would be nice to keep the thread alive.

What are people's opinions on D.C. Boats, and McAlinden boats.
The McAlinden boats seem to be getting very popular, I'm seeing a lot of the "King fisher" and "Pike Fisher" at pike competitions in the midlands. The Pike Fisher models look nice (I think its the same hull as the king fisher, just kitted out differently inside), lots of storage, and the bench seats removed. They must have a very strong Transom, I seen on boat with a 25HP outboard. What are these boats like in a good wave?


I have never seen a D.C Boat, but I have heard good things about them. I believe he has the fiberglass molds for the hull that Niall Lynch used for his boats. The Hull on the Lynch boats were fantastic in a good wave, and drifted very straight.

Zzippy

twin_beacon wrote: »

Some great knowledge has been shared on this thread. Would be nice to keep the thread alive.

What are people's opinions on D.C. Boats, and McAlinden boats.
The McAlinden boats seem to be getting very popular, I'm seeing a lot of the "King fisher" and "Pike Fisher" at pike competitions in the midlands. The Pike Fisher models look nice (I think its the same hull as the king fisher, just kitted out differently inside), lots of storage, and the bench seats removed. They must have a very strong Transom, I seen on boat with a 25HP outboard. What are these boats like in a good wave?


I have never seen a D.C Boat, but I have heard good things about them. I believe he has the fiberglass molds for the hull that Niall Lynch used for his boats. The Hull on the Lynch boats were fantastic in a good wave, and drifted very straight.

The only thing I have heard about the DC boats is that they look great but to be wary as they don't come with the CE plate that the likes of Burke do to certify that they have been approved for safety. There should be no reason not to get them so hard to understand why he wouldn't do it. They may be perfectly safe and handle well but ask yourself why they don't come certified.

Bogwoppit

twin_beacon wrote: »

Some great knowledge has been shared on this thread. Would be nice to keep the thread alive.

What are people's opinions on D.C. Boats, and McAlinden boats.
The McAlinden boats seem to be getting very popular, I'm seeing a lot of the "King fisher" and "Pike Fisher" at pike competitions in the midlands. The Pike Fisher models look nice (I think its the same hull as the king fisher, just kitted out differently inside), lots of storage, and the bench seats removed. They must have a very strong Transom, I seen on boat with a 25HP outboard. What are these boats like in a good wave?


I have never seen a D.C Boat, but I have heard good things about them. I believe he has the fiberglass molds for the hull that Niall Lynch used for his boats. The Hull on the Lynch boats were fantastic in a good wave, and drifted very straight.

The kingfisher is an excellent boat when under power in any wave, probably the best and safest lake boat. I wouldn’t take a present of one though as it’s also the worst drifter.

twin_beacon

Interesting, I didn't know the DC boat wasn't certified.

Zzippy

twin_beacon wrote: »

Interesting, I didn't know the DC boat wasn't certified.

It may be now, that's what I was told last year. Definitely something to check before buying.

Lewis_Benson

I've had lake boats for years, but my next boat will be a fast aluminium boat or a larger boat the likes of a warrior 165, 80% of my fishing is lure fishing for pike, so those boats are ideal.

I had an Mcalinden boat fir a good few years, nice boat, but heavy, even with a 15hp honda it was slow.

twin_beacon

demanufactured wrote: »

15hp is the max for the kingfisher

I was at the show in swords at the weekend, Chris McAlinden had a very nice stand, he had one of the "Pike Fisher" boats on display. There was a 20hp 4 stroke Tohatsu on the back of it, however he had some metal reinforcement on the transom that also ran up the gunnels. I guess this allows a larger out board to be fitted. I have seen one of these boats with a 25 Yamaha on the back before. The modern 4 strokes are much smaller, I was amazed at how small the 20 Tohatsu was, its only a small bit bigger and heavier than my 2 stroke 9.9 Evinrude.

Lewis_Benson

twin_beacon wrote: »

Some great knowledge has been shared on this thread. Would be nice to keep the thread alive.

What are people's opinions on D.C. Boats, and McAlinden boats.
The McAlinden boats seem to be getting very popular, I'm seeing a lot of the "King fisher" and "Pike Fisher" at pike competitions in the midlands. The Pike Fisher models look nice (I think its the same hull as the king fisher, just kitted out differently inside), lots of storage, and the bench seats removed. They must have a very strong Transom, I seen on boat with a 25HP outboard. What are these boats like in a good wave?


I have never seen a D.C Boat, but I have heard good things about them. I believe he has the fiberglass molds for the hull that Niall Lynch used for his boats. The Hull on the Lynch boats were fantastic in a good wave, and drifted very straight.

I didnt know that about the moulds he uses ( that they wee the lynch mould), the boats do look the business.

Where would you get those moulds?
Are they a one off use type thing or is it a case if you create your boat using that mould and can make another boat using the same mould again ?

twin_beacon

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

I didnt know that about the moulds he uses ( that they wee the lynch mould), the boats do look the business.

Where would you get those moulds?
Are they a one off use type thing or is it a case if you create your boat using that mould and can make another boat using the same mould again ?

I seen David Connor say a few times on facebook that he uses the Lynch mould, he may have just bought it off Niall, as I don't believe he is making boats any more. The moulds do have a life span, Im not sure how many can be got out of one.

A mate of mine bought a new Mahar lake boat around 2-3 years ago. I think it was the second or third last boat he made before retiring. I believe the guy that runs mayfly marine in Clare has the mould and hopes to start making boats in the future. Those Mahar boats are rock solid too, been out in on on a rough day on Corrib.

Cienciano

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

I've had lake boats for years, but my next boat will be a fast aluminium boat or a larger boat the likes of a warrior 165, 80% of my fishing is lure fishing for pike, so those boats are ideal.

I had an Mcalinden boat fir a good few years, nice boat, but heavy, even with a 15hp honda it was slow.

Are you trolling for pike? A cubby at the front can catch the wind making it hard to steer.

Lewis_Benson

Cienciano wrote: »

Are you trolling for pike? A cubby at the front can catch the wind making it hard to steer.

I do troll yes.
I get what you mean alright regarding the front cuddy.