Wife says yes to a new boat!!

[DougSpringBay]

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[turn_in_poachers]

That is a sharp boat Duff. At first, I looked at deep v boats only. Then I started thinking: I fish for bass 99.5% of the time. The only time I fish for another species is ice fishing season. So, yeah, I have my sights on a bass boat. The search continues....

[Valv]

Doug, let's stay on topic please.

[caseymcq]

Quote:

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TIP....

If you got your heart set on a bass boat, go for it. There are a lot of options out there, but don't overlook some multi-fish boats that can be had at a decent price. Here is my bass boat.....

...it's also my walleye, pike, muskie, sunny, and salmon boat.

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Another Navigator fan. It does my heart good to see it. I will still contend for the money they are the best value.

[DougSpringBay]

Valv,

I was on topic. TIP is looking for a boat. Off that topic was your call.

Doug

[Valv]

Then BUY an ad, and send TIP to your boat, can't be any easier.

[Duffman]

caseymcq....

As TIP has his heart set on getting a bass boat, I had mine set on getting a Lund. But when it came time to buy, I changed my tune. I'm all about more bang for your buck, the difference in the Lund vs Alumacraft $boat/motor/trailer packages was enough for me to go with a top end locator and trolling motor if I went with the Navigator. So that's the route I went, no regrets. Also, this might sound silly, but I took into account which boats layout my dog would enjoy more.

TIP......

Good luck with your search, it's a good time of the year to find boat deals. Get the boat you want. Continue your research online, it's a great source of info. Check as many websites as you can, to get as many different opinions as you can. Once again, good luck.

[eyepatrol]

I'm not a bass fisherman by any means (don't let the username fool ya) , but speaking from a recent buyer's perspective, I can attest to the value in doing research on many different types of boats and boat brands. I looked for better than 6 months at boats, doing on-line research, calling and requesting brochures, going to boat shows, asking the fine and knowlegable folks on this site, etc. It can be hard narrowing it down as we had our list narrowed down to 7 different brands with probably 12 different models!

Best advice I can give you is to continue with your research, look around at a number of dealer websites along with used boat websites such as this, and determine what the best boat is for the best value within your price range. (boy that was a mouthful!)

The direction we took was to buy a slightly used boat at a good price. There are LOTS of used boats out there right now, both aluminum and glass, that are priced well. For your first boat, I'd go used, personally speaking. I went brand spankin' new on my very first boat and it was to some degree a mistake.

Good luck with your search and most of all, enjoy the experience!

[LIGHTLINE]

THE CONTROL TOWER GAVE ME APPROVAL FOR A BIG WATER BOAT AFTER 10 YEARS ,I FIGURED IT'S EASIER TO GET FORGIVENESS THEN PERMISION, AFTER THE FACT, SPENT OVER 100 AND WILL BE IN THE HANGER FOR A LONG WHILE . MEAN WHILE ENJOYING MY TRIPS ON THE BIG WATER.IF YOUR GOING TO SINK,SINK HER IN THE DEEP WATER.

[Bad Catcher]

Congats to you TIP. Are you still looking? I was in this same position a little over a year ago. The wife was unstable in the 14' Lund, and the 5.5 Johnson was not strong enough. What I was looking for was a fishing boat and a fun boat. I did the same thing, Dealers and boat shows used ads. The choirs sang when the missus says "Get whatever you want now so the kids and you can have fun, because I don't want to do this again in 10 years." I went with the Crestliner 1850 Sportfish with the 150 4stroke. We have had so much fun tubing, fishing, crusing, sunning, and swimming.

Good luck.

Keep in mind storage, towing, and whom will be using it.

[Burchoid]

I didn't read all the pages yet so maybe this was already brought up, but if you want an aluminum bass boat that isn't junky I would look at Xpressboats (Contact Us Please). They SPECIALIZE in aluminum bass boats. All the other manufacturers make a ton of different types of boats, aluminum bass boats not on the top of their list of things to develope and improve.

[Flaco651]

Take a look at River Pro's Lo pro bass boat. That is a sweet boat!

[gopherfisher_22]

The G3's have came a very long way from 3 years ago. I have personally fished and ridden in a HP180 and it fished just as good as any glass boat i have been in and for a non-boater the back deck was as big if not bigger than most. I would personally look up close to all these boats and look for fit and finish and talk to people that have Aluminum Bass boats.