Which boat in your opinion would you say is better.

[Rainyjaws]

This is your normal Chevy vs Dodge vs Ford. I'm looking for someone who owned multiple different bass boats and will say what they liked and what they didn't like about it. Not looking for the "yep i owned 5 tritons and loved them all".  

[WRB]

What boats are looking to compare...price range?

Tom

[Rainyjaws]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Not looking for new but used between 2000 - 2010. Brands I’m thinking about are Triton, Ranger, Nitro, Skeeter, Stratos and if I can find one.. a Champion.

[Craig P]

I have two lakes that I often fish and they are in completely different directions of my house and I noticed something. The one lake, there is a Tracker / Ranger Dealer close by and it seems almost every boat is a Tracker and a few Rangers. The other lake, there is a Crestliner Dealer nearby, you guessed it, there are mostly Crestliner boats on that lake.

 

My point, dealers matter and a good boat might not be as good without a good servicing dealer so keep that in mind if purchasing. 

[Jig Man]

I’ve owned Nitro, Champion, and Ranger.  They all floated and fished fine.  I have no experience with other brands.  My choice of those three in an older boat would be a Champion 196 or 206 elite.

[gim]

I have fished out of Crestliner, Ranger, and Lund many times.  The Crestliner and Lund were deep v boats and my current Ranger is an aluminum bass boat.  They were all fine watercraft and performed as they should.

 

What I don't like is when boats are still using wood as a manufacturing component.  Wood rots.  There are much better options out there to build a boat with nowadays.  I don't know exactly which companies are still using wood but if you intend to keep the boat for a long period of time, that would affect my decision.

 

As @Craig P mentioned, the physical location of the dealer/service would play a role too.  Convenience and customer service are important to me when purchasing a big investment like a car or a boat.

[GaryH]

☝️☝️☝️☝️ This is great advice… I’ve fished out of Skeeters, Rangers, Tritons, Nitro’s as was mentioned having a dealer a reasonable distance is important. 
My personal preference is Skeeters and Rangers. But thats not a knock on the others. Good luck on your search.

[J Francho]

I've fished out of a ton of different boats fishing in random draw team tournaments.  Most boats from well known builders were decent enough.  When it came time buy my own boat I ended up buying an Xpress aluminum and a Bullet for fiberglass.  My next boat won't even be a bass boat because I don't fish tournaments and the configuration doesn't work for my purposes.  I'm looking at bay boats from Scout, Boston Whaler, Pathfinder, and Cravalle.  if you're buying used, do as much due diligence as you can on it.  Assume whatever anyone that has any vested interest in the sale of the boat is not telling you the full story.  I paid cash for both my boats used, and had significant seat time in both before buying.

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

What I don't like is when boats are still using wood as a manufacturing component.  Wood rots.  There are much better options out there to build a boat with nowadays.  I don't know exactly which companies are still using wood but if you intend to keep the boat for a long period of time, that would affect my decision.

Lol, it depends on the builder.  My Bullet had balsa wood stringers and transom and there were no issues whatsoever in the 30 year old hull.  That might not ring true for another builder.  It really depends on how the boat was stored.

[newbiedmv]

I've fished out of three types. A 13' old Wards aluminum row boat modified,  a 12' narrow Jon boat, and my current 17' crestliner bass/crappie. 

I really didn't like the Jon boats stability,  the row boat was indestructible but sailed around. The crestliner is OK just very heavy and harder to turn in area.

[DaubsNU1]

39 minutes ago, J Francho said:

...If you're buying used, do as much due diligence as you can on it.  Assume whatever anyone that has any vested interest in the sale of the boat is not telling you the full story.  I paid cash for both my boats used, and had significant seat time in both before buying.

 

Lol, it depends on the builder.  My Bullet had balsa wood stringers and transom and there were no issues whatsoever in the 30 year old hull.  That might not ring true for another builder.  It really depends on how the boat was stored.

 

Great advice from @J Francho!

 

I've only owned one boat...but have purchased and sold many vehicles. You are never getting the full story, period! I will always remember my Dad's advice..."when you are buying used, you are always buying someone else's headache."

 

On wood, it often depends on manufacturing date and products used. When I pulled the transom wood off my 1960 Rich Line, it was surprisingly well preserved. The chemicals used in the 60's were pretty stout...they could get away with it back then. My Dad's house has the original Pella wood framed windows...they are rock solid. Whatever chemicals they used back then worked well. The Pella windows in my house built in 2005 were rotting in side of 5 years : (

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Great advice from @J Francho!

 

I've only owned one boat...but have purchased and sold many vehicles. You are never getting the full story, period! I will always remember my Dad's advice..."when you are buying used, you are always buying someone else's headache."

 

On wood, it often depends on manufacturing date and products used. When I pulled the transom wood off my 1960 Rich Line, it was surprisingly well preserved. The chemicals used in the 60's were pretty stout...they could get away with it back then. My Dad's house has the original Pella wood framed windows...they are rock solid. Whatever chemicals they used back then worked well. The Pella windows in my house built in 2005 were rotting in side of 5 years : (

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

Wood is an excellent building material, we came across the Atlantic floating on it 

[WRB]

My 1st thought the op is from Canada and a aluminum bass boat would considered. I see the op list St Clair, big lake and a glass boat and a few aluminum boats that can handle the conditions. The thing a glass boat can’t do well is be beached on rocky shore  or be launched easily on dirt ramps.

What dealer service offers a used boat is limited to the engine, boats and trailers rarely require dealer service.

The outboard engine is as or more important then selecting a boat model.

Having owned several glass bass boats, all with merc engines, lots of repair technicians for them where I live.

What I look for in a glass bass boat is dry ride, rod storage for 15 combos to 8’ long rods. Tackle storage for all my stuff. Battery compartment for up to 4 Marine batteries. Large enough front deck to be stable under rough water conditions and rear deck easy to get on and off of. 

I also want a single axis trailer so that limits boats to 19’.

If at all possible look for boats with 1 owner that has been garaged.

I would add Pro Craft and Bass Cat to your list and delete Nitro and Stratos.

Also consider traveling as far as the west coast to buy the boat and have it shipped.

Anglers Marine in Anaheim California for example has every brand you are looking for. Give owner Rick Grover a call.

Tom

[Krux5506]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

What I don't like is when boats are still using wood as a manufacturing component.  Wood rots.  There are much better options out there to build a boat with nowadays.  I don't know exactly which companies are still using wood but if you intend to keep the boat for a long period of time, that would affect my decision.

 

 

This is fair advice that I probably wouldn't think twice about if my 2010 Lund didn't need a new floor. Lifetime warranty on their floors but only if you're the original owner. So, yes, something to consider for sure! 

[Deephaven]

That is quite the stretch of years...including ones with model changes.  All of what you listed have good build quality, but the year you buy will determine the interior layout, electronics, motors and such.  All that is key.  I bought a layout that happened to be a Ranger and I am super happy with it, but was not opposed to other brands.

[volzfan59]

Speaking only about fiberglass boats, I've had several tin rigs, I've owned Nitro, Stratus and ChampioN. I driven various friends Skeeter, Bullet, Norris Craft Ranger and Bass Cat numerous times. They all floated, everything worked, etc. My absolute favorite, my ChampioN and my buddies Bass Cat. The Bullet and Norris Craft would doggone fly down the lake but, to me, rode pretty rough.