New Boat

[fishnkamp]

First you will need to save your money as you have said.

The features question has endless answers, but I have owned 11 fishing boats in 42 years of bass fishing so I will share a little of what I learned doing it..

Here would be my most important features:

A 24 volt trolling motor and 3 high reserve AGM marine deep cycle batteries. You will be fishing some tidal water and will need that as a minimum. I would forgo the fancy painted trailer and go with a galvanized trailer.  It will not look as pretty, but if you intend to fish places like the Delaware river and the Upper Chesapeake bay you will encounter tidal water and that has salt in it.  It will rot out a painted square tube trailer in a few years, and it does it from the inside out. Road Armor coating do not help. Have them install side boards to help in capturing the trailer easier when loading in heavy current. Tidal water is almost always moving and rarely helpful when at the ramp.

Trailer brakes is a luxury and safety item on a light weight boat like this. This is very dependent upon what your tow vehicle is.  My Lowe does not have brakes on its trailer, but it could have. I tow with a big enough truck I did not need them. My 20 foot Pro Craft fiberglass bass sat on a tandem axle trailer and had a 200 Merc on it. It was big and heavy. It had to have brakes on it.

The on board charger is a must for me. I prefer a 3 bank, but I have a 2 bank on this boat, mostly due to space. Ask to have an external A/C plug installed. It makes it so easy to just lift the cap and insert your extension cord.  For the motor, I usually say to go with the biggest possible. The top speed is not the only aspect that the full HP affects. It will make getting on plane quicker, and if you are cruising part throttle you will get better fuel economy since you will be working the engine less to maintain mid range speed. If you decide to go with less HP never go below the 90 on that boat.  Boat Buckles are worth every penny. I would look at some of the newer engine supports that only mount on the motor. Motor totters that connect to the trailer are just old technology and not the best idea. I run a Motor Mate but you would have to see what model fits your engine.

Electronics depends on what you can afford at the time and what brand you prefer.

I can not help with how to earn the money, we all have that problem!

How do I learn to drive my bassboat?  Now that one I can help with easily.  From your posting I figure you should be about 1 to 1 1/2 hours from the Upper Chesapeake Bay-Susquehanna Flats. If sometime this spring or summer you are willing to go fish the Northeast River and Susquehanna Flats I would be happy to meet you there and teach you how to launch, load, drive and fish from my boat. They are very similar boats.

When to buy depends on when you have the money. Show season can provide an opportunity to gat a deal, however I would be looking at the used market too and that requires I pay attention to what some dealers and craigslist has to offer.

[Quarry Man]

On 1/2/2018 at 8:02 AM, fishnkamp said:

First you will need to save your money as you have said.

The features question has endless answers, but I have owned 11 fishing boats in 42 years of bass fishing so I will share a little of what I learned doing it..

Here would be my most important features:

A 24 volt trolling motor and 3 high reserve AGM marine deep cycle batteries. You will be fishing some tidal water and will need that as a minimum. I would forgo the fancy painted trailer and go with a galvanized trailer.  It will not look as pretty, but if you intend to fish places like the Delaware river and the Upper Chesapeake bay you will encounter tidal water and that has salt in it.  It will rot out a painted square tube trailer in a few years, and it does it from the inside out. Road Armor coating do not help. Have them install side boards to help in capturing the trailer easier when loading in heavy current. Tidal water is almost always moving and rarely helpful when at the ramp.

Trailer brakes is a luxury and safety item on a light weight boat like this. This is very dependent upon what your tow vehicle is.  My Lowe does not have brakes on its trailer, but it could have. I tow with a big enough truck I did not need them. My 20 foot Pro Craft fiberglass bass sat on a tandem axle trailer and had a 200 Merc on it. It was big and heavy. It had to have brakes on it.

The on board charger is a must for me. I prefer a 3 bank, but I have a 2 bank on this boat, mostly due to space. Ask to have an external A/C plug installed. It makes it so easy to just lift the cap and insert your extension cord.  For the motor, I usually say to go with the biggest possible. The top speed is not the only aspect that the full HP affects. It will make getting on plane quicker, and if you are cruising part throttle you will get better fuel economy since you will be working the engine less to maintain mid range speed. If you decide to go with less HP never go below the 90 on that boat.  Boat Buckles are worth every penny. I would look at some of the newer engine supports that only mount on the motor. Motor totters that connect to the trailer are just old technology and not the best idea. I run a Motor Mate but you would have to see what model fits your engine.

Electronics depends on what you can afford at the time and what brand you prefer.

I can not help with how to earn the money, we all have that problem!

How do I learn to drive my bassboat?  Now that one I can help with easily.  From your posting I figure you should be about 1 to 1 1/2 hours from the Upper Chesapeake Bay-Susquehanna Flats. If sometime this spring or summer you are willing to go fish the Northeast River and Susquehanna Flats I would be happy to meet you there and teach you how to launch, load, drive and fish from my boat. They are very similar boats.

When to buy depends on when you have the money. Show season can provide an opportunity to gat a deal, however I would be looking at the used market too and that requires I pay attention to what some dealers and craigslist has to offer.

Thanks as always for the help. I would love you take you up on your offer. That would be an amazing learning experience for me! i was thinking of Just getting the basic needs to get me on the water "now" and maybe upgrading "later". Here is what I mean: Boat, best motor, trailer brakes, manual backplate, cover and retractable tie downs. I Want to add a better trolling motor, electronics, and a second console when I have the money. i am constantly scanning craigslist for great deals, so you are right on. What do you think about a manual jack plate? Is it necessary, not really sure what it does, but heard it helps. As far as graphs, I want to have a better one for vertical fishing for trout and walleye, which i do a lot up north. I have no clue if side imaging is worth it. Looking at the hds 7 by lowrance in the bow

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lowrance_HDS-7_Carbon_Fishfinder_Chartplotters/descpage-CAR7X.html

 

looking at the Garmin echo map for gps mainly at the console.

 

I am not sure if you can do this, but adding a second console later? I think it is worth the money because my co angler will be more comfortable and it also looks very nice.

 

thanks again!

[Sam]

Quarry, as you can read, there is a lot involved with the purchase of a used bass boat.

 

You are from the "northeast" which does not give us a specific area and since you need to match your bass boat with your fishing conditions it would be helpful if you would add your physical location and waters you fish the most to your avatar and to this post.

 

May I suggest reading all of the above posts and then realize that the hull should be in good shape so you need to focus on the motor.

 

Safety is also a factor. The longer the boat (say 20 to 21 feet) the safer you will be in heavy water, like the Great Lakes or the New York lakes.

 

Do your homework and understand that now is a good time to consider purchasing a boat. You could wait a month and find even better deals.

 

Good luck and let us know what you purchase.

[Quarry Man]

1 hour ago, Sam said:

Quarry, as you can read, there is a lot involved with the purchase of a used bass boat.

 

You are from the "northeast" which does not give us a specific area and since you need to match your bass boat with your fishing conditions it would be helpful if you would add your physical location and waters you fish the most to your avatar and to this post.

 

May I suggest reading all of the above posts and then realize that the hull should be in good shape so you need to focus on the motor.

 

Safety is also a factor. The longer the boat (say 20 to 21 feet) the safer you will be in heavy water, like the Great Lakes or the New York lakes.

 

Do your homework and understand that now is a good time to consider purchasing a boat. You could wait a month and find even better deals.

 

Good luck and let us know what you purchase.

 

Sam, 

 

You make several very good points! I will do my best to answer them in the following.

 

Buying a Boat

As previously stated, buying a boat is a very complicated process. I consider myself a smart consumer. I will only be buying a boat in full and if it is exactly what i want. I do not want to regret this purchase. If I do not have sufficient funds for the boat I want, I will not be getting one. Thanks to everyone here and their generosity, this process is much easier.

 

Location

I am very fortunate to have several homes. My primary residence is in Chester County, PA. I also have a lake house in the Pocono Mountains of PA. Lastly, my family sort of has a cabin in Eastern Massachusetts that we spend a lot of time in during the summer. I also have many family friends with access to different bodies of water, but Ill go in more depth later.

 

At home, I have a few electric only lakes nearby. I also have the Delaware River nearby. I mostly just pond fish, so I am not really in my boat at home much, though I have fished the Delaware and it is a lot of fun.

 

At my lake house, I am on a 75 acre electric only lake. My boat might be overkill on that, as half the lake is under 6' deep. There are however many smaller and a few larger lakes that would allow for a bigger boat. There are also HP restricted lakes too. I spend most of my time on a boat here. The abundance of decent lakes makes for a lot of fun.

 

In MA, many of the lakes are deep open and very clear. I fish for bass, trout and walleye there. The lakes range from 100 acre "ponds" to 25,000 acre reservoirs. These lakes get rough when it is windy, but I am not there much and won't go out, because my current boat is too small for that.

 

Several of the other lakes I plan to fish are:

 

Lake Hortonia

Lake Bomoseen

Lake George

Lake Champlain

Table Rock Lake?

Smith Mountain

Susquhenna River

Newfound Lake

Lake Erie

Lake Ontario

Onondaga Lake

Finger Lakes

Oneida Lake

 

As you can see, I want to fish a lot of bigger water, and will need a b9gger boat, but most of my time will be small trips to local lakes.

 

Safety

Safety is my utmost concern

 

 

Thanks Again!

 

 

[Logan S]

Couple additional thoughts for you since you've got some good advice already. 

 

On an AL bass boat a jackplate is really not as big of a deal as it would be on a glass rig.  If a boat has it installed already, great, but if not I wouldn't really worry about adding one.  I also wouldn't worry about trailer brakes on this size boat unless you are towing with a small vehicle.  If the boat will be stored outside, a good cover is a must-have.  Small items like retractable tie-downs are standard on many boats now, but they are also pretty inexpensive comparatively so these would be a non-factor to me - can be added later.  

 

For graphs, whatever brand you choose, I would make sure both/all are the same brand for networking purposes.  Being able to share waypoints, maps, transducers, etc between the console and bow is a very nice feature to have.  This also means getting models that have ethernet/network ability since some brands like Lowrance have models that don't have this ability.  You'll want a decent screen size, like a 7-size or bigger, at the console for navigation/mapping.  For sonar tech, that really depends on how much you want to spend and what your goals are.  I personally wouldn't be caught without the full array of SI/DI/2D sonar, but I have some friends that are content with without SI or even DI because they fish differently than I do.

 

Some people like second consoles, some don't.  I hate them personally, they take up more room and don't really offer any meaningful protection (other than maybe a placebo effect) for the co-angler.  It also limits floor space for a co-angler's bag/stuff.  

 

Being safe is all about making smart decisions on bigger water and in rough conditions.  I have several friends with AL boats, including a couple with Rt188's, they all fish the same waters I do and don't have problems...We have big water around here with the Potomac and Chesapeake too.  They just make good decisions on those days when the weather turns.  Those good decisions are really just common sense things like "don't run out to the main river when the wind is kicking" .  

 

Sounds like a 17 or 18 foot AL bassboat is a good choice for you.  I took a similar path in that I started working early (at 15 ) with the goal of buying a boat.  I ended up with a 17' Tracker and it suited me well for many years....As soon as I turned 16 I started fishing tournaments as a boater did so for many years out of that little boat before upgrading to glass.  It was limiting in certain ways, but I believe it made me a better fisherman in the long run.  

[Quarry Man]

Here is the message that I sent to my local ranger dealer. Am i missing anything?

 

In the near future, I would like to purchase an aluminum bass boat. I am considering the Ranger RT188 , but am open to other suggestions. I am only 16, and will be working very hard until I save up the money to buy my first bass boat. I hope to have the money by next fall. I am not certain that this is a realistic goal, but I am prepared to do everything in my power to purchase this boat. I am interested in several upgrades. I also have several questions as well. 

 

First of all, will the Ranger RT188 be a good fit for medium to large lakes and rivers in up to semi-rough weather. I do not plan on fishing Lake Ontario in the middle of a storm, but I do want to open up and start fishing the bigger water bodies nearby. I have been told that I can maximize fuel efficiency by purchasing the biggest engine rated for that boat. The Ranger Rt188 is rated for a 155 horsepower engine and I plan on getting the Mercury® FourStroke 115ELPT Pro XS Command Thrust. My friend has this same setup and loves it. I am also interested in purchasing the boat with the "necessities" and upgrading/purchasing the other stuff later on when money is less tight. I Was thinking of getting upgraded aluminum wheels, trailer brakes, a painted spare, trailer tie downs, a boat cover, and lastly a 70 lb thrust Minn Kota Edge. In the future, I would like to add a front deck step, second console, an extra rod strap, and console/bow electronics. Can I purchase the boat and make the additional upgrades later? I do a lot of vertical fishing in Northern lakes, so having a good fish finder is useful. also, I might need a GPS for larger lakes and making waypoints. What graphs do you recommend for this? Finally, this will be my first boat with an outboard, and I have heard that a jack plate is helpful, nut I am not certain what its use is. Is having a manual jack plate necessary?

 

Thank you for your time, I realize that you are likely very busy. I appreciate your response. I am beyond ecstatic at the chance of purchasing a bass boat in the near future!

12 minutes ago, Logan S said:

Couple additional thoughts for you since you've got some good advice already. 

 

On an AL bass boat a jackplate is really not as big of a deal as it would be on a glass rig.  If a boat has it installed already, great, but if not I wouldn't really worry about adding one.  I also wouldn't worry about trailer brakes on this size boat unless you are towing with a small vehicle.  If the boat will be stored outside, a good cover is a must-have.  Small items like retractable tie-downs are standard on many boats now, but they are also pretty inexpensive comparatively so these would be a non-factor to me - can be added later.  

 

For graphs, whatever brand you choose, I would make sure both/all are the same brand for networking purposes.  Being able to share waypoints, maps, transducers, etc between the console and bow is a very nice feature to have.  This also means getting models that have ethernet/network ability since some brands like Lowrance have models that don't have this ability.  You'll want a decent screen size, like a 7-size or bigger, at the console for navigation/mapping.  For sonar tech, that really depends on how much you want to spend and what your goals are.  I personally wouldn't be caught without the full array of SI/DI/2D sonar, but I have some friends that are content with without SI or even DI because they fish differently than I do.

 

Some people like second consoles, some don't.  I hate them personally, they take up more room and don't really offer any meaningful protection (other than maybe a placebo effect) for the co-angler.  It also limits floor space for a co-angler's bag/stuff.  

 

Being safe is all about making smart decisions on bigger water and in rough conditions.  I have several friends with AL boats, including a couple with Rt188's, they all fish the same waters I do and don't have problems...We have big water around here with the Potomac and Chesapeake too.  They just make good decisions on those days when the weather turns.  Those good decisions are really just common sense things like "don't run out to the main river when the wind is kicking" .  

 

Sounds like a 17 or 18 foot AL bassboat is a good choice for you.  I took a similar path in that I started working early (at 15 ) with the goal of buying a boat.  I ended up with a 17' Tracker and it suited me well for many years....As soon as I turned 16 I started fishing tournaments as a boater did so for many years out of that little boat before upgrading to glass.  It was limiting in certain ways, but I believe it made me a better fisherman in the long run.  

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I could not agree more with what you have said.

[fishnkamp]

I thought that was the area you were located in  and you are in deed about an hour and a half from the town of North East MD. There is a great marina there called Anchor Marine. That river feeds directly into the Susquehanna Flats.

That is where we will meet and you will gain enough experience in one day to help answer many of these questions.

I posted a picture earlier in this thread of my 17 1/2 foot Lowe Stinger 170.  It is very similar to the Ranger 178.  I first set that boat up with a special jack Plate and a 25 HP Merc in order to fish Lake Marburg in Hanover PA. I lived about 30 minutes from it back then. Once we moved to the RT 95 corridor, I exchanged that motor out for its current 75 Merc.

I have a 788 Hummingbird up front and a Lowrance Elite 7 at the console. It currently has a MK Maxumm 70 on the front deck and a bunch of other goodies. I am about to exchange that trolling motor for a Mk Terrova with I pilot. These are high end pieces. For your use a 70 Maxumm or even an Edge would be fine. 

[slonezp]

Kudos to you. At 16, all I was worried about was getting laid. Best time to buy used is in the fall. best time to buy new is in the spring, buying last years leftovers and taking advantage of manufacturer discounts. Promotions on graphs and trolling motors usually happen right around the first of the year as well. As far as the rest of your questions, you hold the answers. 

Second, laying all your cards out on the table with the Ranger dealer may not be the wisest thing to do. I would highly recommend you get an adult who has negotiated deals on cars or boats to go with you during the buying process. There is some skill required to not get screwed. You should rig your boat the way YOU want, and not with what the dealer tells you, you need. They are in business to make a profit and your wants/needs will take a back door to the all mighty dollar. When you are financially ready to pull the trigger, come back here for a refresher.

If you can understand basic electricity, can turn a screwdriver and operate a drill, you can do a basic electronics installation and save hundreds of dollars. Buying "last years" technology rather than this years can save you hundreds of dollars if not more.  

The size and weight of the RT188 doesn't justify the additional expense of the trailer upgrades as long as you have a big enough tow vehicle. If you want fancy wheels, you can buy them aftermarket for about $80 a piece and you can get the ones you want, not the ones that Ranger offers.

If you don't know what a jackplate is, why do you think you need it?......The gains from the added expense will be minimal at best on this hull. Save your money 

[Quarry Man]

13 hours ago, slonezp said:

Kudos to you. At 16, all I was worried about was getting laid. Best time to buy used is in the fall. best time to buy new is in the spring, buying last years leftovers and taking advantage of manufacturer discounts. Promotions on graphs and trolling motors usually happen right around the first of the year as well. As far as the rest of your questions, you hold the answers. 

Second, laying all your cards out on the table with the Ranger dealer may not be the wisest thing to do. I would highly recommend you get an adult who has negotiated deals on cars or boats to go with you during the buying process. There is some skill required to not get screwed. You should rig your boat the way YOU want, and not with what the dealer tells you, you need. They are in business to make a profit and your wants/needs will take a back door to the all mighty dollar. When you are financially ready to pull the trigger, come back here for a refresher.

If you can understand basic electricity, can turn a screwdriver and operate a drill, you can do a basic electronics installation and save hundreds of dollars. Buying "last years" technology rather than this years can save you hundreds of dollars if not more.  

The size and weight of the RT188 doesn't justify the additional expense of the trailer upgrades as long as you have a big enough tow vehicle. If you want fancy wheels, you can buy them aftermarket for about $80 a piece and you can get the ones you want, not the ones that Ranger offers.

If you don't know what a jackplate is, why do you think you need it?......The gains from the added expense will be minimal at best on this hull. Save your money 

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I plan on buying electronics for the best deal i can get, so your advice is very valid. Also, i like the idea of installing the aftermarket stuff myself, as long as i am able to do so effectively. I will be using my dad's new Ford F150 when i can, But usually my Fj Cruiser will be used the most. Is that too small to go without brakes? I planning on driving a lot with it, not just to local waters. Do you think they are necessary?

[CroakHunter]

1 hour ago, Quarry Man said:

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I plan on buying electronics for the best deal i can get, so your advice is very valid. Also, i like the idea of installing the aftermarket stuff myself, as long as i am able to do so effectively. I will be using my dad's new Ford F150 when i can, But usually my Fj Cruiser will be used the most. Is that too small to go without brakes? I planning on driving a lot with it, not just to local waters. Do you think they are necessary?

Your fj would pull and stop that boat/trailer/gear just fine without trailer brakes if you drive with sense and remember you have it back there.  

[Quarry Man]

5 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Your fj would pull and stop that boat/trailer/gear just fine without trailer brakes if you drive with sense and remember you have it back there.  

ok thank you, that was one of the questions i hadn't answered yet. what about covers for driving an using while the boat is in the water ad it rains?

[CroakHunter]

1 minute ago, Quarry Man said:

ok thank you, that was one of the questions i hadn't answered yet. what about covers for driving an using while the boat is in the water ad it rains?

Covers I have 0 information on. But if you are fishing in the rain I would think the boat would have a bilge pump, if not, a small electric pump from harbor freight, wired to alligator clamps hooked to a small 12volt battery works great. Its what we use in my buddies 18 ft jon boat and also use it to fill our portable live well. As far as driving in the rain, we pull the plug as soon as the boat exits the water and leave it out until we take off the straps to launch the boat. Just make sure if you have water in the boat and you take off driving with the plug out thinking you are draining the water, remove all debris that could stop up the drain hole. We flipped my friends boat and trailer going about 20mph around a curve because it was still full of water due to a few zoom lizards plugging the drain hole. But once it flipped over, all the water came out very fast lol.

[slonezp]

14 hours ago, Quarry Man said:

ok thank you, that was one of the questions i hadn't answered yet. what about covers for driving an using while the boat is in the water ad it rains?

Travel covers and mooring covers will be an option from whichever manufacturer you go with.A travel cover is for anytime the boat is on the trailer. A mooring cover is if you store the boat on the water. You can also have custom covers made for about the same price as you will pay for the factory option. Custom cover should last longer.