aluminum or fiberglass ?

[larht]

Hello,I'm also a newbie to this forum.I cant believe how much info is available here !!!

I am very interested in buying a used bass boat and Iwould like to get some feedback on what type to buy,alum or glass.I will mostly be fishing lakes and rivers in the pennsylvania and maryland area.I have a small 16 ft alum fisher with a very old 25hp evinrude now but it's narrow and I want something around 17 or 18 feet,but much wider,with a 90 or 100 hp.

What name brand boats are considered good quality?Whatever I buy is going to have to last me for a long time.

I thank you very much in advance for your help.

[Madhouse27]

There's a ton of great boats out there in both fiberglass and aluminum. I guess to start the decision making process I would determine your budget. Next I would assess your tow vehicle to determine if it is capable of towing a heavier fiberglass boat. I'd keep current gas prices in mind as I was thinking about towing and also what size outboard you are going to be running. I'd think about where you are going to be storing the boat. Are you thinking about a pre owned boat or buying a new one. Aluminum bass boats have come a long way in recent history. In many ways they have closed some of the gaps in looks and layout between themselves and their fiberglass counterparts. One area that I feel will always separate the two is in the actual ride of the boat. Based on my own answers to some of the questions I've listed I ended up with a used aluminum bass boat. For now the boat has to live it's life outside. I wouldn't be too thrilled with a $35,000 investment sitting out in the elements. I have a mid sized suv for towing, and wanted to pay cash for the boat. I fish mostly small to mid sized lakes and some rivers as well. The aluminum thing worked for me at this point in my life. When the day comes for the big fiberglass pro rig, this one will be kept for rivers and smaller waters. FIrst up, how much we spending here?

[Peter E.]

Hey man welcome to the Forum and you came to the right place the folks on this forum are always willing to give advice and to talk great fishing. As far as rather you need a fiberglass or aluminum boat then that depends on your fishing aplication. Check out Alumacraft or Lowe for aluminum and I would suggest Stratus or Ranger for fiberglass. The Alumacrafts seem to be a good boat by all reports and a Ranger is the most tricked out IMO. Like I said just browes the websites and tale the time to go to the next local boat show and really browse the boats, get on them and get a feel for them. A boat is like a woman choose well and carefully because the can get under your skin.

Peter

[larht]

Thanks for the replies,

I have a place to store a boat and I also have a dodge pickup that I'm sure will pull either aluminum or fiberglass.

I found a tracker 2003 with a 90hp merc that I really liked ,but the salesoerson was just too pushy and I walked away I just can't handle high pressure salespeople!

I have around 10 thousand to spend,and I'm having trouble finding something in that price range either to old or underpowered. I welcome any advice on where to look for a boat. I live in pa but I'm very close to the maryland line(hagerstown md) .

Thanks again for the help.

[jlcjrbal]

HAve you been to the Bass Pro Shop in Arundle Mills??? They have some nice Bass Tracker boats from about 11 to 16 thousand.. I was very impressed with the way they looked and after I get my Kitchen done I am going to work on it.. Joseph

[larht]

Yes,I was at the bass pro shop a couple of weeks ago and they didn't have any used boats in my price range.My hopes are to find a used boat in very good condition I think I can get more for my money that way.The sales person that I talked to said that the first year depreciation is very high on any boat. I also was told that the tracker boats were not as good a quality as I thought they were! The more I look and listen the more confused I get!!!

[VekolBass]

I think it requires patience to find a used boat. Being in a hurry often means getting scr**ed. You might want to try doing a Google Search for Used Boats. I did that before I wrote this just to make sure I wasn't directing you down a dry hole. I ran a search for a boat that somewhat matched your criteria on one of the sites, but unfortunately only got one hit for a 95 Nitro in Virginia. You might want to try it for other states as well. You also might want to check out previous threads on this site regarding do's and don'ts for used boat buying. Good Luck.

[larht]

Thanks for the suggestion,I know that I need to be patient and I will be. I suspect that I will find "MY BOAT"sitting in someones yard with a for sale sign on it,or posted in a local tackle shop or hear from a fishing buddy of a boat for sale but I'm up for any help that I can get.

Thanks Again,

Larry

[hootersdoug]

A great place to look for a used boat is your local bass clubs or tournament trails.  Three years ago I bought my 95 Skeeter/150 Merc for $10K through the pro who took me out in the first Pro-Am I fished in.  A lot of these people know the boats and the people who owned them, so even if the boat has had 3 owners, they know who the owners were and how it was maintained.  I haven't had to fix anything on my Skeeter since I bought it, just updated one of the depthfinders.  It has been out for probably and average of 30 times a year.  I am going to treat it to a preventative maint. trip to the marina next week, but it has been a peach.  I keep seeing the guy I bought it from out on one of the lakes we fish, he had upgraded to a larger more powerful boat.  

[langs15]

How come they don't have bass clubs in NJ?.... :-/

[bipr8]

There are a TON of bass clubs in NJ.  I "think" there is a "bass clubs" link on this site.  Where in NJ are you?  Do you have a boat?

[Skwerl]

If you have rocky structure in your lakes/ rivers, you'd probably be better off with aluminum. Here in Florida we have about 7 rocks in the whole state so most boats are fiberglass. When I was in Minnesota there wasn't a fiberglass boat to be seen anywhere. The big name brand up there is 'Lund'.

To shop boats, go where people go to sell boats. That's Boat Trader. You can pick up the weekly magazine at your corner convenience store or you can use their online site. Do your homework and look at lots of boats. The more you compare, the better you will know when the 'deal' comes along. You will also be able to get a feel for what features you want. I looked for 3 months before buying my current boat.

[Madhouse27]

Boat Trader is good advice. There are actually some other great sites as well. Type in used bass boat and see where it leads you. Another good place to learn and shop is right on ebay. Every night when I got home I would type in "bass boat" on ebay and then just click on newly listed. Not only was it fun checking out all the boats, I was also developing a pretty good feel for what various makes, models and years were bringing on the secondary market. You've determined your price, now it's time to narrow your search down further. Material, length, horsepower, boat brand(s), outboard brand(s). Because I was looking at aluminums I narrowed it to G3 (Skeeter), Polarkraft, Lund, Lowe, Fisher, Tracker. I wanted a Yamaha outboard so that narrowed the field even further unless I found a fluke where someone had put one on a Tracker or something. For ten grand you should be able to get a cool pre-owned fiberglass boat with a 150 on it. For ten grand you should be able to get an unbelievable aluminum pre owned boat and have some money left over for Loomis rods and Lucky Craft baits. Decide what you want, and then be patient about finding it for the price you want to pay.

[larht]

Thanks again for the help guys,

I havent tried the e-bay suggestion yet but I'll see what I can find.I'm not all that experienced on the computer and I seem to get lost when I try to find something specific on e-bay but I,ll give it a go.

thanks,

Larry

[cart7t]

Just for a point of referance.

An entry level 18ft. fiberglass bassboat from most manufacturers will run you around $22-24k brand new with a non EFI 150hp engine.

In an aluminum you're probably looking at around $15k.

For $10,000 cash you should be able to easily find an 18ft used fiberglass boat from the mid 90's with a 150hp engine or you could get an even newer used aluminum for that kind of money.  

Because of your location, you're going to have fewer bass boats to choose from unless you expand your horizons and use the internet to find a boat and be willing to travel to get what you want.  When using the net,  make sure the boat owner has taken many, many pictures of the boat from numerous angles. If the boat has any cosmetic defects he should be willing to take closeups of said defects. He should also have compression numbers available on the engine and be willing to allow you to test run the boat when you come look at it.  I've bought a couple boats long distance and was pleased with both of them.  The key is knowing what you want and finding it and then,  not being afraid to drive several hundred miles with cash in hand to buy the boat that day.  If you're not comfortable with that you're probably better off trying to find a boat locally.  

As for Ebay?  I'm a regular Ebay seller and buyer but I'm a little leary of buying something as substantial as a boat.  I've heard good stories and also BAD. 

[cb417]

I purchased my basstracker 175 last year and am very happy with the purchase so far.  No problems out of the boat and with a 50 hp engine  it gets me to where I am going in a feasible amount of time.  The main reason I chose to buy my boat new was the upgraded no wood transom.  This means you wont have to ever worry about your transom rotting out and the hull also has a limited lifetime warranty on it. The one and only problem I encountered was a leak in an oil line and tracker was more than happy to help me replace the part in a timely manner and free of charge.  This also seams to be the consenus of  the others I know who have recently purchased tracker boats.  You seem very concerned about the HP of the engine your buying.  How far do you plan on running for most fishing spots?  The difference between a 50hp and 90 hp engine isn't as great as you might think.  My 50 hp pushes at about 35 mph  while a 90hp optimax according to the tracker website tops out at 44 mph.  So for trips under a few miles you would probably be bette saving the $ for other fishing items...  As far as getting a boat used my adivce would be know who your dealing with see if any outstadning warrnaties exist and if they have service records on the boat and why the are selling it.  A good example is  this guy http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-Pro-Team-175-Tracker-Bass-Bass-Boat-W-Warranty_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ63724QQihZ011QQitemZ320000696593QQrdZ1 not sure if its in your price range becuase the reserve has not been met.  Hope some one has got soemthing out of this rant besides the fact I talk too much!!

[IneedAnewScreenName9886691]

I-Boats and E-bay are a great way to get a barometer of what is available and for how much.  I am always looking on e-bay.  

For the computer challanged try this.  go to ebay home page/click on ebay motors/scroll down on the left menu bar to fishing boats/then scroll down on the left menu again and click bass boats/ then in the "sort by" drop down menu you can arrange them how you want i.e. ending soonest, closet to you, etc.  

I hope this helps.  I have purchased two used boats in the last 12 months.  I love both of them!  Unfortunatly I have to sell one of them.  I am working on getting pics etc. today.  I think mine is beneath you.  But when I have been looking I would have loved to have your budget!  

Patience is the key.  I would keep looking for the older boat that hasn't been used too much.  

Happy Hunting!

[larht]

Thanks again guys for all the info,

You may be right about my looking for a larger hp engine than needed!I've seen several boats that I thought would work for me ,but I thought they were underpowered. It's my understanding that an underpowered engine has to work too hard, and that shortens the life of an engine.Several boats I've looked at were rated fo a 90+hp engine but had 40 or 50hp engines It has always been my opinion to buy more than needed than to buy less.I also have a couple of grandkids that in a couple of years  may want to try tubing or skiing so may need the hp to do that.

I really don't know if a 17 or 18ft aluminum boat with a

50 hp motor would have the power to do this.

I do not have a problem with traveling a few hundred miles to get what I want and I am searchin the internet. I was on e-bay and I saw a couple of boats tha looked to be twenty thousand dollar boats for five or six thousand dollars but if it looks to good to be true then that scares me.

thanks again guys,

Larry