Boat Question?

[teamdaiwa5]

What am I better off doing? Buying an older bass boat, like a 1994 nitro or triton, or getting a 2000 Bass Tracker? This is for fishing tournaments next spring/summer as well as pleasure fishing. The thing about the bass tracker is that I might want something bigger than a 40 horse on it, but for my first real boat I'm just at a crossroad. Any help is appreciated.

[Nitroman77]

Id go older in nice condition with a bigger motor then the tracker.. I bought an older..my first skeeter (85) and its in great condition and I love the lil boat and I cant wait to upgrade later down the road, but the nice thing Is I paid cash so no worries about paying it off. Its got a Merc 50, but with the mods we've done to the motor its at about 62hp and the boat goes about 37-40mph. My local shop loves to tinker with boats and this winter ill be taking it to them again.

[tj1004]

I would also go with an older Fiberglass boat. You could get an 18-20 footer for a good price and I think you'd like it alot better than a Tracker....Also, Tritons didn't come along until 1998 I believe

[ChuckE]

teamdaiwa,
Since you indicate that you are familiar with boats already, I also suggest getting the bigger one, like the Nitro or Triton. It will provide more storage and area to fish from, move faster when needed, and offers some of the nicer features that you won't get with the other one. It will be a boat you can grow into -- not one that you want to upgrade or can't wait until you can replace it. (You probably won't want to replace it as quickly.)

Now, if you've never had or used a boat before, I'd probably lean the other way. The learning curve on a smaller boat isn't as steep as a bigger one.

Chuck

[teamdaiwa5]

TJ...I meant if I can afford a Triton...I have found a few boats around the 1994-1996 age in my price range. My pick is also a fiberglass boat...I'm leaning towards an 18 footer...but a would a 16 foot or 17 foot still suit my needs? Will it still handle well enough in a rough water situation like up on Champlain or even Lake George?

[Nitroman77]

I would get the biggest boat you can afford and depending on big of water you fish as mentioned id go 18 or above. Mines 16+ feet, but I fish alot of 80-100 acre TM only lakes along with the big lakes in MO and ILL and I dont mind a rough ride here and there, but my boat handles it well enough for me now. Go with a bigger boat if you can.

[Stringjam]

For those kinds of lakes - definitely the biggest boat you can.......but remember, there is a lot of maintenance and expense with these rigs, so factor that into the $$$ equation. If you blow a V6, it is going to cost a lot more to rebuild than if you blow a V4, etc..etc....

I know how to rebuild myself, but it has still cost me well over $1K both times I've blown a motor and had to rebuild (with me doing EVERYTHING).

[teamdaiwa5]

One thing I'm going to have is an evinrude or a johnson. I don't like mercs for that very reason. I was given two mercs and both crapped out...the evinrude that's on there now is from 1980 and has never had one problem. Same with the Johnson that I have at the house. Not one problem with either, and both of these motors are over 25 years old.

[Charlie Tuna]

About 4 years ago, I was trying to make the same decision. I chose to go with a 1993 Astro. It was / is in great condition & I have never thought I made the wrong decision. For what you're going to pay for a new tracker, you can have a really nice used fiberglass that will be more stable, fishable & faster.

CT

[vArm]

I got my fist boat this year A Bass Tracker. And decided to save some $ by getting the smallest motor they had 25hp. I regret that decision every time I us the boat. I can't imagine I'd be much happier with only 15 more hp.

[backcast]

vArm- no matter what you do, you'll learn the motor is never big enough to not wish you had more.

[vArm]

Would u call that my Boat Monkey?

[NJ Jigman]

stop hatin on the merc's. i have a 99 tr 18 w/ a 150 efi and it runs as good as it did 12 years ago. i also have 2 friends one w. a 75 and one w/ a 90 merc all mid to late 90's both still running never blown up if you fish mainly tm only lakes but fish bigger lakes a few times a year go with a 17-19 ft tracker. i have a 99 tr 18 w/ a 150 efi and fish tm lakes 1/2 the time and bigger lakes 1/2 the time. when i m on the big lakes its nice to have a wider beam and a fast motor but when im on the small lakes, the thing weighs a ton to move around w/ only the tm. its a hard decision you have to make the choice depending on where you fish most often. good luck hard decision