Hey guys,
New member here. With quite an interesting Parker story. Originally I’m from Morehead city area 10 min from Parker boat manufacture, and always admired thier 25 pilot house boats. I started commercial fishing 10 years ago, nc, New York, Louisiana, California and eventually to south east Alaska. If anyone knows how difficult it is to be a commercial fisherman and financially secure it’s me. With my first year purse seining salmon in alaska being 2016, record low return and less than 10 cents a lb for humpies I think something died in me and I gave up the commercial lifestyle and traded in my bibs for knee pads and became a charter guide in Ketchikan Alaska the following year. Something about that town dumping off 3-7 cruise ships a day with people and a dream of catching a salmon really was lucrative. After one season running a boat for strike zone Sportfishing I created some good connections and ended up putting a down payment on a 2800 well craft coastal charter boat that was already contracted with the cruise ships. 2018 was my first true success as a fisherman. 2019 even better boat did 120 charters in 5 months burning 5 gallons a trip. I had my eyes open to expand and on the way home from fishing one day I saw an opportunity.
At the yard I store my boat for winter was a 1992 2520 Parker with the pilot house. Reminded me of home. She was sitting on a dilapidated pos roller trailer. She was originally a diesel in board boat with an out drive. Apparently something on the front of the engine went bad and to repair it block had to be pulled but the current owner had no money. Instead he pulled the engine changed the bearing and sold the block and out drive and left town. Leaving the boat to the owner of the yard in exchange for the labor and work he did to fix the engine. John wanted 8k for the hull I went home got 4500 and came back. We shook hands I bought it and let it sit right there. My other charter fishing friend was repowering his boat and he sold me 2 150 Yamaha with 2400 hours a 9.9 Yamaha kicker and the Armstrong bracket for 5 k. If you know anything about the cost of a bracket this was a deal! I left town the next week to come back to nc with big plans of this being the second boat in my fleet. Fully prepared to come back in April and fish while doing this project Covid happened. So instead both my boats sat for 2 years racking up storage fees while I watched my business fail. Apparently Alaska had a little stipulation they never announced that to receive a financial aid grant you would have to register for your guide license in 2020. Considering traveling for anything at that time was borderline impossible the only people to get a slice of that pie were locals. Some captains with the exact business model I have received 70k while I got a stimulus check.
On financial life support I returned to alaska this year. Not only running my personal boat I took the responsibility of managing the strike zone fleet aswell. 2022 was epic. 3 boats well over 300 charters, almost doubled my revenue from 2019. With money in hand and bluefin season in Morehead around the corner I had a real good tax write off sitting on that roller trailer. Strapped the outboards and swim step down in the cockpit and took the Parker to the ferry bound back for its homeland.
13k for ferry and trucking ( put boat trailer on a flat bed)
9500 for boat and motors
She arrived at bock marine mid October.
Wasting no time I went to work. Fiberglassing the stringers up the back of the transom for more integrity for the bracket, Built hatches, mounted platform and hung the 150/s and sent it to my mechanic for inspection. Sitting for 2.5 years was the worst thing that could happen to these high hour wet running engines. The heads completely crystallized and seized, cost of repair north of 5k.
Couldn’t do it salvage the engines for 1300 a piece and bought twin 225 Yamahas for 10k that had 1000 hours. Smoking deal with controls. So now the total is at 30k.
Hours and hours of labor rigging wires mounting electronics running fuel system making this boat blue fin ready I finally was up and going with all my permits and I had one day to fish because the entire quota of 51 tons was caught in 10 days mostly from the northern fleet. Yay!
Anyways went fishing and had to repeatedly dump my racor looking glass catching debris I assumed from the ethanol cutting the old diesel algae. Boat ram good just minor fuel issue.
Well once I finally got all the debris out yesterday I know have the great news that my tank sprung a leak getting beat on the way in. No it was not already there because 110 gallons of fuel sat in the tank for 2 weeks.
I knew this day was coming I just really hoped it would be a year away. I am sick and tired of turning wrenches and need to kill some fish to offset these expenses. I’m going to fish the January opener with external fuel on the deck so I have some time to get my ducks in order.
If your still reading my questions are: has anyone changed a 1992 150 gallon Parker tank? If so please message me with any pointers or issues for ran across.
Are these tanks foamed in?
Who is the best tank manufacturer in eastern nc?
My well craft has a 33 year old poly tank in great condition, why not go poly? Can it handle rough conditions? Any insight on why to or to not use poly.
Thanks for reading I look forward to being an active member of this group.
New member here. With quite an interesting Parker story. Originally I’m from Morehead city area 10 min from Parker boat manufacture, and always admired thier 25 pilot house boats. I started commercial fishing 10 years ago, nc, New York, Louisiana, California and eventually to south east Alaska. If anyone knows how difficult it is to be a commercial fisherman and financially secure it’s me. With my first year purse seining salmon in alaska being 2016, record low return and less than 10 cents a lb for humpies I think something died in me and I gave up the commercial lifestyle and traded in my bibs for knee pads and became a charter guide in Ketchikan Alaska the following year. Something about that town dumping off 3-7 cruise ships a day with people and a dream of catching a salmon really was lucrative. After one season running a boat for strike zone Sportfishing I created some good connections and ended up putting a down payment on a 2800 well craft coastal charter boat that was already contracted with the cruise ships. 2018 was my first true success as a fisherman. 2019 even better boat did 120 charters in 5 months burning 5 gallons a trip. I had my eyes open to expand and on the way home from fishing one day I saw an opportunity.
At the yard I store my boat for winter was a 1992 2520 Parker with the pilot house. Reminded me of home. She was sitting on a dilapidated pos roller trailer. She was originally a diesel in board boat with an out drive. Apparently something on the front of the engine went bad and to repair it block had to be pulled but the current owner had no money. Instead he pulled the engine changed the bearing and sold the block and out drive and left town. Leaving the boat to the owner of the yard in exchange for the labor and work he did to fix the engine. John wanted 8k for the hull I went home got 4500 and came back. We shook hands I bought it and let it sit right there. My other charter fishing friend was repowering his boat and he sold me 2 150 Yamaha with 2400 hours a 9.9 Yamaha kicker and the Armstrong bracket for 5 k. If you know anything about the cost of a bracket this was a deal! I left town the next week to come back to nc with big plans of this being the second boat in my fleet. Fully prepared to come back in April and fish while doing this project Covid happened. So instead both my boats sat for 2 years racking up storage fees while I watched my business fail. Apparently Alaska had a little stipulation they never announced that to receive a financial aid grant you would have to register for your guide license in 2020. Considering traveling for anything at that time was borderline impossible the only people to get a slice of that pie were locals. Some captains with the exact business model I have received 70k while I got a stimulus check.
On financial life support I returned to alaska this year. Not only running my personal boat I took the responsibility of managing the strike zone fleet aswell. 2022 was epic. 3 boats well over 300 charters, almost doubled my revenue from 2019. With money in hand and bluefin season in Morehead around the corner I had a real good tax write off sitting on that roller trailer. Strapped the outboards and swim step down in the cockpit and took the Parker to the ferry bound back for its homeland.
13k for ferry and trucking ( put boat trailer on a flat bed)
9500 for boat and motors
She arrived at bock marine mid October.
Wasting no time I went to work. Fiberglassing the stringers up the back of the transom for more integrity for the bracket, Built hatches, mounted platform and hung the 150/s and sent it to my mechanic for inspection. Sitting for 2.5 years was the worst thing that could happen to these high hour wet running engines. The heads completely crystallized and seized, cost of repair north of 5k.
Couldn’t do it salvage the engines for 1300 a piece and bought twin 225 Yamahas for 10k that had 1000 hours. Smoking deal with controls. So now the total is at 30k.
Hours and hours of labor rigging wires mounting electronics running fuel system making this boat blue fin ready I finally was up and going with all my permits and I had one day to fish because the entire quota of 51 tons was caught in 10 days mostly from the northern fleet. Yay!
Anyways went fishing and had to repeatedly dump my racor looking glass catching debris I assumed from the ethanol cutting the old diesel algae. Boat ram good just minor fuel issue.
Well once I finally got all the debris out yesterday I know have the great news that my tank sprung a leak getting beat on the way in. No it was not already there because 110 gallons of fuel sat in the tank for 2 weeks.
I knew this day was coming I just really hoped it would be a year away. I am sick and tired of turning wrenches and need to kill some fish to offset these expenses. I’m going to fish the January opener with external fuel on the deck so I have some time to get my ducks in order.
If your still reading my questions are: has anyone changed a 1992 150 gallon Parker tank? If so please message me with any pointers or issues for ran across.
Are these tanks foamed in?
Who is the best tank manufacturer in eastern nc?
My well craft has a 33 year old poly tank in great condition, why not go poly? Can it handle rough conditions? Any insight on why to or to not use poly.
Thanks for reading I look forward to being an active member of this group.
