First Bass Boat Advice

[Chad Corrin]

Hi Everyone,

I'm finally ready to buy my first bass boat and upgrade from my modified Valco i've been fishing for the past few years. I was going to go with a brand new Tracker aluminum, but i've seen some really good prices on used fiberglass boats. My budget is around 16-17k, can anyone give me any advice on these boats. I like the looks of both the basscat and triton here, but i'm not sure on the motor on the triton. The basscat looks nice but ive never fished from one, do they have enough storage and length for fishing with a few friends/? What do you guys think of these boats. Would it be better for me than buying a new Tracker aluminum?? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks Alot!!

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/boa/2881800910.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ant/boa/2874439348.html

[Jig Man]

I regularly fish with a friend who owns a Bass Cat. It is a great boat with a ride almost as good as my Champion. It also has a lot of room in it. There are lots of good used boats around and any major brand should do you a good job on your first boat. It seems you have a pretty good budget so get at least a 19-20' boat for the extra room, storage, ride, and stability.

And yes I recommend a good used glass over a Tracker any day of the week.

[BrianinMD]

Basscats are very nice boats, and there service is excellent even if you buy the boat used privately. If you find one in good shape in your price range it will be a good purchase.

[Nitrofreak]

I like both boats.

The best thing you could do is go see them in person and look the boat's over really good, compare the likes and dislikes, Honda engines have not seen very many issues in my area, the fuel economy is one plus I would think about, the other things to keep in mind also are things like tires, you have to buy 4 on one trailer, but only two on the other, small things to consider I know but still worth thinking about.

Research every inch of each boat find out the negitives and the positives, take each one out and fish with it, let the owner get you familure with each boat, make sure everything works, if you do all of this it will make the decision much easier for you.

Take your time, this is an important step when purchacing your first glasser, if the owner is not willing to work with you, keep looking, just because they look good does not mean they are good.

Find out the towing info on your vehicle too, if you do not already have a good truck for towing, this could be another added expence.

[NBR]

Not being sure what you are going to pull with I'd check it's gvw with the weight of the rig. Does either trailer have brakes? Pulling is not as important as stopping. Re motor the 4 stroke will give more fuel efficiency but for me I'm a two stroke fan. Because they have been around for so many years, are so much lighter and improved so much in both performance and durability over the years.

When I bought my boat I had the option of a two axle trailer with smaller tires or a single action trailer with 15" rims and a surge brake. I am sure glad I went for the surge brakes.