Favorite 18 ft boat of the 90's

[javjoe]

Javelin 379T with a 150 faststrike. That was a fun boat to drive

[Whiteboat]

Ranger 461VS

[swamprat]

My 1990,HydraSport 18ft.DVTSX Tournament Special W175GT Johnson.Bought brand new and still have it. I have been in MANY boats over the yrs.It has more usable space than most 20s,due the use of a straight transom

[RipNLips]

Bass Cat Eyra
Champion 184

[98skeeter202]

Skeeter Starfire 175

[Kb444fishing]

Cant for get a hydra sports LS 185 with a 175 intruder on it. 3 series rangers were good. Laser ltv was my favorite- wish i had another one

Had a LS 175 with a 175 yes it was overpowered but I sure loved that boat , a LS 185 or a 196 which was WAY ahead of its time would be on my list along with a ranger 461

[Kb444fishing]

Hydra Sport LS 175--150 Evinrude. Probably put over 1000 hrs. on that motor running Ohio River. There wasn't a creek that I couldn't get that boat into and it would float in 6" of soupy mud. Wide front deck by design and very stable.
I would love to have the same hull w/150 merc 4 stroke. Maybe I'll look for one for a project.

I had a sweet one I sold cheap a while back still regret it but I didn't need two boats

[white gambler]

Ranger 354v

[Ranger391]

Ranger 391 with a Merc 200 EFI.....tank is an understatement. Great fishing rig....but yes a back breaker.

[ford4wd08]

Here is another question, who makes an 18 footer today that is comparable to all the boats listed?

I'm not finding many that are 18 foot with a 150 or 175 horse rating that I would consider.

The only one that jumps out at me is the Bass Cat Margay.

[BalsaBee]

184 Champion

[JR19]

Here is another question, who makes an 18 footer today that is comparable to all the boats listed?

I'm not finding many that are 18 foot with a 150 or 175 horse rating that I would consider.

The only one that jumps out at me is the Bass Cat Margay.

The first two that I instantly thought of are Nitro Z18 and Phoenix 618. There are other 18 ft bass boats with a good deck lay out but somehow those two boats seem to have the space of a 20 footer when they are actually in the 18 ft range. To give a prospective of how massive the Nitro Z18 deck is, it is the same size as the Nitro Z19. On the Nitro Z19 the extra length is from the console back so a Nitro Z18 and Z19 has the same front deck. Two more good 18 ft platforms are Ranger Z18 and Bass Cat Sabre. You mentioned the Margay but it is actually 17'7" and the Sabre is 18'1".

[ChampioNman]

Champion 184
Stratos 285
Javelin 389

[ford4wd08]

The first two that I instantly thought of are Nitro Z18 and Phoenix 618. There are other 18 ft bass boats with a good deck lay out but somehow those two boats seem to have the space of a 20 footer when they are actually in the 18 ft range. To give a prospective of how massive the Nitro Z18 deck is, it is the same size as the Nitro Z19. On the Nitro Z19 the extra length is from the console back so a Nitro Z18 and Z19 has the same front deck. Two more good 18 ft platforms are Ranger Z18 and Bass Cat Sabre. You mentioned the Margay but it is actually 17'7" and the Sabre is 18'1".

Thanks for the info.... I'm not shopping by any means, but like to have a plan B if the kids tire of tubing ans etc that we do in the fish and ski, the 17 and 18 ft size boats are all I think I would need and can fit them easily in my boat garage.

[ford4wd08]

The first two that I instantly thought of are Nitro Z18 and Phoenix 618. There are other 18 ft bass boats with a good deck lay out but somehow those two boats seem to have the space of a 20 footer when they are actually in the 18 ft range. To give a prospective of how massive the Nitro Z18 deck is, it is the same size as the Nitro Z19. On the Nitro Z19 the extra length is from the console back so a Nitro Z18 and Z19 has the same front deck. Two more good 18 ft platforms are Ranger Z18 and Bass Cat Sabre. You mentioned the Margay but it is actually 17'7" and the Sabre is 18'1".

This brings up another question as well, is there a specific range a boat must fall into to be consider a length? Like the Margay and the Sabre mentioned above, they are only 6" different in length, but is one a 17 ft and the other a 18 ft?

[fr8dog]

Still have my '90 Champion with a 175 Merc.

[JR19]

This brings up another question as well, is there a specific range a boat must fall into to be consider a length? Like the Margay and the Sabre mentioned above, they are only 6" different in length, but is one a 17 ft and the other a 18 ft?

I have no idea...in you signature its says you have a Renegade 19 FS...the Renegade 19 is 18'9" so I put it in the 18 ft class even though the name says 19 it is less than 19 ft long.

[willwork4fish]

Bass Cat Eyra
Champion 184

Eyra for sure. I had a '96 and it was honestly the best riding 18 footer I've ever been in. It actually was probably better than my current P2.

[alli ss]

Eyra for sure. I had a '96 and it was honestly the best riding 18 footer I've ever been in. It actually was probably better than my current P2.

They were nice for sure. Cant believe they used the same name for a different boat. When i say i used to have an eyra with a 150 people look at me crazy

[06 SB]

Hydra Sport LS 175--150 Evinrude. Probably put over 1000 hrs. on that motor running Ohio River. There wasn't a creek that I couldn't get that boat into and it would float in 6" of soupy mud. Wide front deck by design and very stable.
I would love to have the same hull w/150 merc 4 stroke. Maybe I'll look for one for a project.