What would you buy?

[kdubracing]

What would you buy in this hypothetical situation? You have $10,000 to buy a bass boat. You can get a 2001 fiberglass (Skeeter, Ranger, another good brand, etc.), or you can get a 2015 Tracker aluminum. Assume the mechanical condition of each boat is solid and equal. Both have comparable trolling motors. Electronics are close enough to not be a deciding factor. Maintenance is equal. Trailers are equal. Which would you go for? Basically would you rather have a 20 year old fiberglass or a 5 year old aluminum? And why?

[A-Jay]

What is your specific towing vehicle of choice ?

A-Jay

[slonezp]

How big are the above boats and how big is the water you plan on fishing?

[Dirtyeggroll]

Had the a similar situation last year. Went with the glass boat because I fish mostly reservoirs and wanted a 17-18’ boat that could go 50+.

 

It kind of depends on what kind of water you want to fish. If you fish a lot of rivers/creeks, then aluminum all the way.

 

If you fish mostly reservoirs then a glass boat is IMO a better choice.

 

If you fish BIG water a deep v aluminum boat.
 

For 10k you can get a hell of an older rig if you have the patience to wait for the one you want in the right condition. There some good ones out there.

 

Also, my dad has a Tracker 175 and there were a lot of things I didn’t like about it when I was looking for a boat. The bow sits high out of the water and it gets blown around like a leaf in the wind. It’s way underrated. He has a 60 HP and has a hard time breaking 32 MPH with two passengers and some gear. The bilge is too small as battery compartment, it takes a little engineering to get 3 batteries back there to run a 24v trolling motor AND adding the weight in the back brings the bow up even more.

 

I ended up getting a 96 Ranger R70 (17ft boat) which is smaller than the tracker 175, but IMO my boat fishes much bigger than his tracker. I’m sure that effect is amplified in the R80 and R90 series. I can’t say much about other brands of boats because I don’t have much experience.

[kdubracing]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

What is your specific towing vehicle of choice ?

A-Jay

Tow vehicle would not be an issue.

7 minutes ago, slonezp said:

How big are the above boats and how big is the water you plan on fishing?

Assume like a 20' fiberglass and like an 18' or 19' aluminum. And for fishing on normal lakes. This is purely hypothetical, I don't have 2 boats in mind. I'm just looking for general thoughts and opinions.

[mcipinkie]

I don't see any decision to make unless you fish lots of tournaments on big water.  If you do, you need more than 10K anyway.

 

Buy a 5 year old boat, or a 20 year old boat?

 

I'd buy the 5 year old boat in a heart beat.  A twenty year old boat is just a place to throw money.  I nursed my 2002 Skeeter for too long, so experienced in the cost of keeping an old boat running.

 

Believe with 10K, there are better options than either you listed.

[slonezp]

Normal lakes???

To me normal could be the Great Lakes, the Fox Chain(the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US) or a 100-2000 acre inland lake. 

Buy a boat based on what you fish. Unfortunately, budget tends to almost always be the deciding factor. it should be close to the bottom of the equation. Think safety first. Fishability second, and then prioritize whats left.

 

 

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, kdubracing said:

What would you buy in this hypothetical situation? You have $10,000 to buy a bass boat. You can get a 2001 fiberglass (Skeeter, Ranger, another good brand, etc.), or you can get a 2015 Tracker aluminum. Assume the mechanical condition of each boat is solid and equal. Both have comparable trolling motors. Electronics are close enough to not be a deciding factor. Maintenance is equal. Trailers are equal. Which would you go for? Basically would you rather have a 20 year old fiberglass or a 5 year old aluminum? And why?

 

31 minutes ago, kdubracing said:

Tow vehicle would not be an issue.

Assume like a 20' fiberglass and like an 18' or 19' aluminum. And for fishing on normal lakes. This is purely hypothetical, I don't have 2 boats in mind. I'm just looking for general thoughts and opinions.

The complete randomness and lack of specifics of this purely hypothetical inquiry may not offer the highly experienced & very generous BR Membership an opportunity of provide much that could be construed as useful. 

A perhaps better route would be to educate yourself on what you need for the conditions you're most often faced with on the waters you fish and assess your options.

Or you could throw a dart at some boat pics on the wall and see how that shakes out.

Because IMO - that's what this thread is like.

Is it open water yet ?

A-Jay

[Scott F]

I don't like Trackers so I'd take anything over one.

[kdubracing]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Normal lakes???

To me normal could be the Great Lakes, the Fox Chain(the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US) or a 100-2000 acre inland lake. 

 

I wouldn't consider a Great Lake or the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US a normal lake. That's like considering the Burj Khalifa a normal office building. 

 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

The complete randomness and lack of specifics of this purely hypothetical inquiry may not offer the highly experienced & very generous BR Membership an opportunity of provide much that could be construed as useful. 

A perhaps better route would be to educate yourself on what you need for the conditions you're most often faced with on the waters you fish and assess your options.

Or you could throw a dart at some boat pics on the wall and see how that shakes out.

Because IMO - that's what this thread is like.

Is it open water yet ?

A-Jay

It's not a question of trying to find a specific boat to fish a specific lake. It's a general question about would you prefer an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum boat. I have a boat. I understand the differences in details on boats. It wouldn't be a boat for a specific lake near me. It's about a boat to fish a variety of lakes (not extremes like a Great Lake), a variety of conditions (I understand a deep V would be better in a storm than a flat hull), a variety times of year, etc. In general, what are some opinions, would you rather have an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum hull boat. 

 

For instance, if you could only choose one rod, would it be a MH fast casting rod or a ML fast finesse spinning? I understand those would not be ideal for a frog. 

 

If you don't want to offer an opinion, that's fine. Don't. I'm just curious what opinions on this question are out there.

1 hour ago, Scott F said:

I don't like Trackers so I'd take anything over one.

Is this any aluminum hull or specifically Trackers? Just curious why.

[SuperDuty]

10 minutes ago, kdubracing said:

I wouldn't consider a Great Lake or the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US a normal lake. That's like considering the Burj Khalifa a normal office building. 

 

It's not a question of trying to find a specific boat to fish a specific lake. It's a general question about would you prefer an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum boat. I have a boat. I understand the differences in details on boats. It wouldn't be a boat for a specific lake near me. It's about a boat to fish a variety of lakes (not extremes like a Great Lake), a variety of conditions (I understand a deep V would be better in a storm than a flat hull), a variety times of year, etc. In general, what are some opinions, would you rather have an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum hull boat. 

 

For instance, if you could only choose one rod, would it be a MH fast casting rod or a ML fast finesse spinning? I understand those would not be ideal for a frog. 

 

If you don't want to offer an opinion, that's fine. Don't. I'm just curious what opinions on this question are out there.

Is this any aluminum hull or specifically Trackers? Just curious why.

Depends on what I planned to do with the boat. Too many variables left out to give an answer. 

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy either of them. 

 

9 minutes ago, kdubracing said:

 

 

[slonezp]

25 minutes ago, kdubracing said:

I wouldn't consider a Great Lake or the busiest freshwater waterway per acre in the US a normal lake. That's like considering the Burj Khalifa a normal office building. 

 

It's not a question of trying to find a specific boat to fish a specific lake. It's a general question about would you prefer an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum boat. I have a boat. I understand the differences in details on boats. It wouldn't be a boat for a specific lake near me. It's about a boat to fish a variety of lakes (not extremes like a Great Lake), a variety of conditions (I understand a deep V would be better in a storm than a flat hull), a variety times of year, etc. In general, what are some opinions, would you rather have an older fiberglass boat or a newer aluminum hull boat. 

 

For instance, if you could only choose one rod, would it be a MH fast casting rod or a ML fast finesse spinning? I understand those would not be ideal for a frog. 

 

If you don't want to offer an opinion, that's fine. Don't. I'm just curious what opinions on this question are out there.

Is this any aluminum hull or specifically Trackers? Just curious why.

All aluminum hulls are not the same. All fiberglass hulls are not the same. Myself and @A-Jay own aluminum hulls that could be put up against the best 'glass bass hulls and score as good or better. It's not a question of aluminum vs fiberglass. That argument has gone on forever like Ford vs Chevy. 

I'm sure a 20 year old boat in great shape would be a great option. Unfortunately, 20 year old boats are not always what they seem. 

[Scott F]

37 minutes ago, kdubracing said:

Is this any aluminum hull or specifically Trackers? Just curious why.

I own a two year old aluminum, custom built jon boat, and a 32 year old fiberglass Ranger.  Trackers have always been the least expensive boats you could buy. A few years ago, a good friend of mine was the marine manager at a Gander Mountain that sold Tracker boats. 100% of the boats that were sold by that store were back at the store for warranty issues. Quality control at that time was very bad. I’ve heard things have gotten better in that regard, but they are still cheaply built boats with poor resale value.

[Shimano_1]

I dont agree at all that the resale on trackers is awful.  Actually around here they seem to hold their value better than glass boats. Way too many of em on the water to believe the quality is bad or anything else negative about them.  I dont care for how they sit front high in the water or I'd have looked at them when I bought my aluminum Triton.  If I were in this situation,  having owned both big glass rigs and now an aluminum rig, I'd go aluminum.  The only benefit I see to a big glass rig is if you're fishing big water a lot or fish tournaments regularly. I fish tournaments from mine. It towes much easier, fishes as good, fuel economy is amazing, makes it much eaiser to launch and load when I go alone. All the very reasons I traded a 20ft Triton glass boat for a 19ft Triton aluminum one. As other have said tho its gonna boil down to personal preferences and what you're planning to do with it.

[VolFan]

I would buy the one in better shape, with the better motor.