First boat

[pitcher23]

I'm brand new to this site and it's loaded with a ton of great information. I'm in the market for my first bass boat and looking to spend about $10K. It seems at this price point I'm looking at getting either a fairly new Tracker style type of boat or an older name brand fiberglass boat. The Trackers are appealing given that it'll be fairly new and still under warranty however the fiberglass boats are bigger, faster and have more storage. The downside to these however is that they may need replacement parts soon and I'm not a mechanic. What route do you think I should go with? Thanks.

[Klinger N Ok]

How big of a boat you lookin for? If you are looking for a boat less than 18 ft long, you ought to be able to find a pretty new boat for that price. Xpress makes some really good looking aluminum boat that really perform well, too. Another good looking, rather inexpensive boat that looks pretty good is the Stratos 176xt 'glass boat. If you can get into a boat that still has a couple years warranty on the motor, DO IT!! I'm sure you'll get a lot of tips on here from others, Good Luck!

[Olddawg]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pitcher23 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm brand new to this site and it's loaded with a ton of great information. I'm in the market for my first bass boat and looking to spend about $10K. It seems at this price point I'm looking at getting either a fairly new Tracker style type of boat or an older name brand fiberglass boat. The Trackers are appealing given that it'll be fairly new and still under warranty however the fiberglass boats are bigger, faster and have more storage. The downside to these however is that they may need replacement parts soon and I'm not a mechanic. What route do you think I should go with? Thanks. </TD></TR></TABLE>


Base your choice on what you want to do with it and where it's going to be used. If you have mostly small lakes with limited HP or large impoundments with unlimited HP. There are a lot of very nice glass boats out there as well as aluminum boats...your choice.

[fieldsj66]

don't worry about the mechanic thing. the regular "boat" things will be the same to take care of on a few years old boat as a new one would. most things pretty easily fixed and last a long time. as far as the motor fixing goes, most people don't work on their motors a lot anyway.

as previously posted you can find good fiberglass rigs in your price range and they are a LOT more comfortable to fish from by far. newer aluminums are nice but priced as high as fiberglass for comparable models.

look over this forums boats for sale, craigslist for your area, etc. and see what's out there in your range before you pull the trigger on a new one. that new boat depreciation will eat your lunch, especially if it turns out not to be the love of your life and you want to sell.....

[teamsos]

Give me a call or e-mail and I'll try to find one to fit your needs.

[Phoenix Ed]

I bought my Nitro NX750 a year ago and got a steal of a deal for $7500. I have seen several both here and on other boards for under the $10k amount.

Before I bought used, I was impressed with the Stratos 176XT, nice package and I hear they have a 186 out now.

Get a feel for what is out there, talk to guys as mentioned on this thread about what you want and are looking for.

I was looking at tin boats and now that I have a glass boat, the ride is great and the room is good.

Good luck on your search.

[mongo]

I started off with a Tracker PT175 with a 25hp and loved the boat. The only thing I wished for was a 40-50hp motor, the 25hp just did not have enough power to get it fully on plane with my big a&& in the drivers seat.

[DJDeron]

As posted above, consider where you will be using it mostly and what kind of fishing you will be doing. Get the type of boat that is the best fit. There are both nice aluminum and glass boats available in your price range. Be sure to consider the operating costs as well. Towing and running a bigger boat/motor combo will often result in more money spent.

One suggestion though....if you are fairly serious about fishing and would like to get a glass boat, get one. I think often guys get a smaller, aluminum boat and think "well I'll grow into a bigger glass boat down the road". They have the boat one season, get hooked on tourney fishing, and are ready to move up. If you get a new boat, you lose a lot of money through depreciation the first year or two. If you decide to upgrade, that's money thrown away. Getting more the boat you ultimately want from the start usually ends up the better deal. Hope this helps.

[pitcher23]

Thanks for all the advice everybody. I just bought a '99 Nitro 700LX with a 75HP Merc for about three grand less than what my budget was. I wasn't looking for big horsepower since I'll mostly be fishing on a private 500 acre lake. Can't wait to get it wet.

[oldbasser1]

Congrats and enjoy

[DerekNC21]

Congrats, Good Luck!