Looking for new boats

My wife and I fish exclusively on Lake Guntersville. We currently have a Tracker 175 with a Mer 60 on it.
Good boat, does its job well. We don't plan to fish tournaments or anything too extreme. We have a wakeboard boat for any fun stuff.
We are looking to upgrade to an 18.5 fiberglass boat. Please give me your thoughts.
We are looking to upgrade for the following reasons:
More deck space, tracker has minimal space.
More stability. Guntersville isn't rough water, but we want something more stable in boat wakes, with a lower center of gravity etc.
Better in wind that will stay put better.
Better at speed. We have a boathouse so we don't travel a long way to fish, but when we want to, we want something bigger.

Currently in the running (all boats have Merc 150 4 stroke and would be equipped with an Ultrex Minn Kota):

Ranger Z185 I asked Cabela's to price it with a 9" fish finder on the front. This boat seems to have the best fit and finish of the 3. I have concerns about buying from Cabela's. So far the couldn't give me a firm delivery date or final price so the concern seems to be real.

Triton TRW 189 Good local dealer, this boat would be equipped the same as the Ranger except it comes with hot foot. Price would be about $2,500 less. I like the dealer. Honestly, the Ranger seems tighter and less creaky when I walk through it.

Phoenix 618 Another local dealer. Boat would probably be the most expensive of the 3 but not by much. I haven't had gotten a final quote with the Ultrex yet. Seems like a good boat. It is smaller than the other 2 though.

Not sure which way to go or if any other boats should be considered.
I appreciate your thoughts.

My wife and I were looking at Tracker 175TXW's as well and had decided that was probably what we were going to get.

That was our thought process because going up to the 195TXW or the RT188 Rangers were another 10K and was out of our desired price range.

That was until the just over 1 year old RT188 showed up for sale! :bows:

It was just 1K more (plus TT&L) than what we were going to spend on the much smaller 175TXW and with almost twice the ponies on the back! :beers:

Are the Mercury 150's the Pro XS versions? I would want those on any boat I got.

All of the choices you have mentioned would serve you well and it would be which one you like the best and which dealer you trust the most.

Have you read through the forums for each of the manufacturers to see what others have said they like/dislike about theirs?

Best wishes on the decision and I'll check back to see which way you decide. :newyear:

Know your dealer for service-all boats are plus and minus-soon as you buy one you know you need a bigger one-fact of life.

Any BCB dealers in your area?

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Originally Posted by fastman151

Any BCB dealers in your area?

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I am working toward getting a year old boat from a private seller. It is good to know that list is out there.

I would look at buying from a dealer, not BPS or Cabela's. I was looking at BPS and every time i went, I had to talk to a different person because the other wsn't there anymore. At least see what the turnover is at that store.