starting to think about my 2011 boat purchase

[bgreen82]

so the wife has basically given me a budget for the next year and the go ahead that we can upgrade the boat next spring. were going to be looking for a fish and sport type boat since she wants something we can tube etc. out of as well. along with that main points of interest for me are something that works well on rivers and big lake water like mille lacs since my parents go up there a couple times a year. my budget is tentatively around 8,000. what kind of makes, models and years should i be thinking about. i like sporthawks and tyees, but im afraid decent models of those might be outside my budget. thanks for any info.

[riverview]

You would be better off buying this fall. I picked up a 96 lund alaskan with a low hour 2005 75 hp honda for 5000.00 last fall. from my experiance boat prices shoot up in the spring.

[bgreen82]

i'd love to, but we have some debt to get rid of over the next year before we can make the purchase(so the wife says). it might end up being next fall when we buy, but we will see.

[JimBuck]

Thats a tough one. I've been thinking a lot about my next boat and I'm in a similar situation trying to find something that can handle skinny water without getting the carp kicked out of me on big water. I do like the SeaArk's layout and hull design, although they might be difficult to find in Minnesota used. As long as your getting an engine big enough I'm sure most boats could pull tube duty if needed.

If you've got the room, I might suggest having 2 boats, a river boat and a big water boat. Jon boats can be found for pretty cheap and you could then put some money towards a big water boat with more of the creature comforts in mind. Just a thought.

[kdawg]

Well, being that you stated you wanted something that will work well on Big water and rivers, I think that you need to be looking at big water boats as any river that has a deep enough landing, should handle any big water boat but not every boat that can do OK on a river will do well on big water. When you're talking big water, the first thing that I think of is safety. For this you'll need: 1) A big boat. 2) A big motor. I would think that any fish/ski-type boat would serve this purpose, however then you want to ask yourself: Is the boat going to be more fish than ski or vice versa. Also think about what options are most important to you (rod lockers, bait wells, etc.) Most fish and ski-type boats are going to make good family pleasure boats, but not all of them are going to make good fishing boats (a lesson I learned the hard way). Just about every brand of boat maker makes good boats nowadays, but there are big differences in layouts. Being that you have until next spring or even fall, you are in the drivers seat. What I would recommend is taking a ton of time searching all the online sites that have used boats for sale to get a firm grip on what you can expect for 8 grand. Next I would spend as much time asking others (online and in person) with various boats/models their likes and dislikes. Keep in mind, there are lots of folks here and elsewhere who think that their make/model is the best and would never buy anything different, but that doesn't mean that their boat needs/wants/budget are the same as yours. To me, shopping for the boat is almost as much fun as buying it. Being that time's on your side, do your homework and you should be able to find the boat for you. Keep in mind, when you do narrow your search down to the perfect boat, and you finally find one that fits the bill, don't drag your feet - some of these boats sell awfully fast. Good luck.

[solbes]

Good points all around from kdawg.

Big water means at a minimum a 17 foot aluminum with full windshield. 18 foot + would be preferred. If you fished big water exclusively, then you may be in for more of a Lund Fisherman type boat with higher freeboard & transom. If it's only some of the time you will get better fishability out of a Explorer/Naigator type rig with lower freeboard. Just easier to fish over the lower sides.

If you truly do spend alot of time on big water, then fiberglass has lots of additional benefits. The $8k ceiling may be a bit of a problem. Glass boats are quite a bit heavier, which require larger outboards to provide thrust, which of course raises the price. I would certainly include them in your search though, sometimes in the fall you really do find the motivated sellers.

Just taking a guess, but 8k would put you in a mid to late 90's 17/18 foot aluminum major brands, and possibly early to mid 90's 18-19' glass boat? Should be plenty of boats available that meet those criteria. I would really concentrate the search either this fall or the next as you can get a lot more boat for your money.

[solbes]

Weird that you can no longer edit. Oh well.

I just checked one of the other fishing sites and there are quite a few that meet your criteria. Obvioulsy you're not interested now, but there certainly are boats that should do nicely.

1994 Starcraft 19' Superfisherman for $8.5k

1996 Northwoods 170 Pro Tourney $7.2k

1984 Lund Tyee that looked to be recently resotred, $4.2k

[jjz]

If your ok with a tiller the older (90s)ranger tiller fisherman are a great buy and are in that price range. Usually come with a 50 or 60 horse and although a smaller boat handle big water well(for their size) and are still small enough for some rivers. That being said glass boats dont handle river bottoms well though...

[bgreen82]

thanks for the responses guys. it will definitely be a fishing boat 1st and a sport boat second, and will probably only be used on big water a few times per year. solbes, i had actually looked at a pro tourney 170 with a 2001 125 hp merc. on it on another site. if things go well over the next year that is something that could catch my eye.