Plastic Bass Buster boats

[Sam]

I agree with the jon boat idea.

I have a raft and I get blown all over the ponds I fish with it.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

Count me in to the plastic boat posse.

8ft. pelican bass raider

I've had mine three years and no problems at all.

100% portable I throw it on top of my blazer(4x4)everything else in the back.I launch anywhere.some pits I fish can be alittle extreme to get into(that's where the 4x4 comes in).Built a console for front of it,to mount depth finder ang gps.Plug console into boat and plug trolling motor into console.Right now its in the basement Getting some mods done(rod holders,new seats reworking console and floor board).Thats right basement,coming in at 4'x8'and 90lbs.Its easy for me to handle alone.I just lean it against the wall out of the way.I fish alone most of the time,and its a great one man craft.My daughter comes with me from time to time its a little cramped,but I scale down what I bring and it works just fine.May not be for everybody but it works for me.

PLEASE POST A PIC OF THAT!!!!!

I have been flirting with the idea of building a small removable console for when I am fishing solo.  I would like to see yours to get some ideas.

[Turtle.]

Hey KU

Right in the middle of tearing it down,and making another,little better adding a light and a few other things.will try and find old pic from last year.Give me a day or so to take some pics of what i am working on and I will be glad to share.I am no carpenter but I love to tinker

[cBooms@SML]

Pelican all the way!!!!

I'm 14 and bought a 10ft bass raider. it is sooooo nice! i made a little dolly out of PVC for it so i can walk it down to the water at Smith mountain lake.

it is madddd stable. its crazy. ive fished from jon boats and my boat. a jon boat was really shakey for me. it was unnerving. i cant tip my boat and im 150. i will stand on the side and it wont go under the water.

its long enough on either side that i put my rods in each side which leaves the floor to what ever else i wanna do to it.

because its so stable, i can jump out and go for a swim and then get back in with no problem! I can lie completely down in the deck.

i made my own little boat box which sits in the front and has built in rod holders and holds all my gear+tackle and its water tight!

a plastic boat is very practical for me. the only thing i dont like about it is that i cant use it enough 

it is rated for a 3.5 hp but im pretty sure it could do a 4hp with no problem.

there are two motor mounts. one in the front and one in the back.

you can put plywood on the floor to make it feel even more stable! it wont be more stable, but it will feel like it is, plus if you are barefoot, it will be more comfortable than standing on the little ridge type floor.

[Fishes in trees]

Prior to getting my current boat (Lowe WF 180) I had one of the Buster Boats .  I had the deluxe one - the Trophy model.  I bought it as a complete kit - with everything, trolling motor, depth finder, rudder, etc.  The only issue I had with that boat was the compared to other pond boats - it was a little heavy and I was limited to smaller conservation lakes that had boat ramps.  Farm ponds were out of the question, i.e. launching the boat was easy enough, but putting it back on the trailer was a pain.  Even on a boat ramp, putting it back on the trailer was a challenge sometimes.

I fished out of this boat, once or twice a week, 9 months of the year for 5 years and I never  tore it up.  I smacked into lots of stumps and such.

It is a little crowded with 2 guys fishing out of it.  The built in cooler could be better.  A couple of times in 90 degree + weather, I had my beer go from cold to cool to room temperature over the course of 8 or 10 hours fishing.  As I got older and I transitioned  more from beer to water that was less of an issue.

I ran 3 batteries (wired parallel) and I upgraded to a 50 lb thrust trolling motor after the 1st year.  I felt like I had unlimited range on the 150 to 300 acre conservation lakes I mostly fished.  While my batteries were definitely worm down by the end of the day, I never ran out of power.  Using one battery would have been a different story.

Overall, I learned alot about fishing out of a boat  that directly transferred to fishing out of my current larger boat.

The bottom line is anything that gets you off the bank and on to the water is good.  Buy what you can afford, then upgrade when you need to or feel like it.

[David Hoover]

Had mine for 20 years-- the only leak is were my buddy use to pull it up to the shore by the seam lip --epoxy fixes it and silicone -can pump it with air pressure--added live well pumps and heaver wire for trolling motor in front-trough inside of boat-all wires for depth finder run through inside-come spawn I'm on top of them, without spookin so keep that deep v- I will keep mine-have a a 14 ft deep v also but I pull them both fishin

[jerzeeD]

I almost bought a plastic boat.. but ended up going with a 12' Lowe semi-V. I have about 2300 hundred into it. (Including a used trailer I picked up for 200 bucks). But it is decked out. Casting decks, swivel pedestal seats, depthfinder, storage hatches in the casting decks for storage, rod racks, 45 lb thrust trolling motor and a mini-downrigger setup. It was more time consuming to customize, but I know It will last forever. That 2300 even included my purchasing a cover for it. Everything but the trailer is new. It rides good, it can take a beating, and I can stand in it without feeling unstable. I would reccomend this route to anyone looking for a small lake all electric rig.