suggestions for family of four bass boat!

[cw95bronc]

I am not intrested in the walk thru winshield fish and ski. wind shield eats up to much room

I liked the ranger 375v style boat except for it is 17' 10", a 393v or champion version could fit the bill due to 19+ ft. Leaning towards ranger due to the excellent test ride my buddy gave me in his 95 482 this week.

I'm looking for a long 18ft or short 20ft. dual console, perfer 1988 to 1997 yrs due to budget of 12000 or less. must fish and ride 4 people

I was wondering why bass boats rated for up to 6 people only have seating for 3 while on plane. can some dual consoles ride a person on the lockable rod lockers that have open space between the lockers? any ideas on this?

thanks for your time.

[AmesHusker]

Unfortunately, your typical bassboat just isn't made for a family of four (even though it's rated for 4 or more people). A fish/ski is really, in my opinion, the best option for comfortable seating for 4. That being said, I don't like F/Ss either, so our family of 4 makes due with the traditional bassboat layout. My wife and I sit in the two main seats, my 8yo son sits in the middle and the 4yo girl either sits on the floor or, most likely, in Mom's lap. It's not ideal, but, to me it's better than the alternative. We just don't go very fast when we're all in the boat together.

[cw95bronc]

Thanks for your input, the ranger and the champion from 88 to 93 were fish and ski they just had the low windshield like a regular bass boat and did not wrap around like the current ones .

May I ask what brand and model you have? and when the family gets older and bigger will you still be able to use this boat? Thanks.

[weedhopper]

I'm not sure there's such thing as a "Family" bass boat.

The term Fish 'n Ski is an oxymoron. They're neither fish nor ski boats.

You're going to make a compromise for the family or the family is going to make a compromise for you.

My suggestion is a bass boat with a "bench" seat.

Good Luck,

G-man

[UL Ragin Cajun]

check out an allison. They'll seat 4 comfortably.

[AmesHusker]

It's an 18'9" Hydra-Sports with single console - more room with the single console. The families not going to get any 'bigger', so that's not really an issue. I/we mainly fish when we take the boat out, with the occasional afternoon of tubing. I see no reason why this boat won't still work as the kids get a little older. It's not the ideal boat for those times when we pull the tube around, but it works well enough for the amount of time we spend tubing. It's your standard bassboat layout. Here's a pic:

[Neilslure]

You might also consider a center console/ bay boat. JeremyL just gave up his Ranger Z20 for a bay boat to suit his family needs.

[Curado]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by weedhopper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The term Fish 'n Ski is an oxymoron. They're neither fish nor ski boats..</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I beg to differ. I have a Viper Coral 202 and think it is outstanding. Very fishable boat. Large casting decks front and rear and can easily seat 6 while on plane. The only think I don't care for is the windshield at times.

It's definitely worth a look if you can find one.

[HammysSkeeter]

Just throwin this out there, but what about one of those deck boats made for fishin and skiing?

[tiny]

I am fishing a 95 Pantera II with a family of 4. The boat is wide, has plenty of room (19.5 ft.) and with the third fishing seat it spaces out so that 4 can fish (one on the bench seat). Plenty of storage and lots of room on the front deck to dodge errant spinnerbaits from my 7 year old . The boat is rated for a 200 and will give you speeds in the low 70s with the proper setup.

[Largemouthlou]

When ya test drive be sure and have the whole famly go!! This will tell ya the tru performance of the rig your looking at!! Louis

[cw95bronc]

OOOO!!!!! Allison!!! enough said, I did like the 4 seater and they are bad A!!, but I and My family would SOIL our britches and the boat before that thing would even get close to stretching its legs on a run so I would not do it justice, good try.

Though I am curious about the bass cat p2 from Tiny. Is there any years should be wary of IE wood transoms like pre 1988 rangers? I have seen a bunch of bass cats in Louisana but not many in north Alabama. I have read their forum on this site in its entierity and there were very few bad reviews, the champions had more which was going to be my second choice.

The 2 seater boats are out, and the deck boat are ok just to big to fit in garage and to rough on the bronc and they might as well be sail boats if trying to fish with no anchor.

Thanks for the replies, I'm still looking and may buy one in the next month or 2. have been looking since Jan and I ruled out aluminum since the Ranger demo.

[larry33kc]

Ally 2003 here also best of everything. The only downfall to on is the front decks are a little smaller than other boats. But th rough water ride is so far ahead of all the rest it isn't even funny. The wife and kids didn't like going when the where getting their kidney's beat up in my Hydro Sports, and Champion 19' dual console which I tought rode good for a bassboat.


I love my Ally.

Oh ya you can prop them to run 85-90 all day long, and have three times better hole shot and still get better gas milage to boot than other boats.


I love my Ally