Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

[mbgaski]

Hey guys. Just coming here for some opinions. For the past 4-5 years my brother and I have been fishing out of his War Eagle jon boat (prior to that we were fishing mostly with our dad in his boat, but he mostly fishes for panfish and we've been going out for mostly bass lately). It gets the job done, but at this point the bench seats, keeping our fish in a cooler, and the picky engine's propensity to leave us trolling back home have caught up with me.

With that in mind, I'm looking at buying a bass boat. I'm still paying off student loans from school so money is somewhat tight (not TOO tight, but I'd like to keep this limited for my first boat purchase). My dad fishes out of a 16' Crestliner aluminum bass boat that I've borrowed several times and have never felt limited.

So, what I've been looking at is the Bass Tracker Pro 16, the Triton Storm 16, and the Lowe Skorpion. All seem to be at the same starting price point ($7995) and all seem somewhat similar in configuration.

http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3242
http://www.tritonboats.com/boat_detail_new.asp?bid=371
http://www.loweboats.com/showroom/mod-v/skorpion-bass/

If there are any other good options to look at I'd be interested in hearing those as well. All those boats, perhaps unfortunately, come with only 20HP engines in their default config. That seemed a bit low to me, and everyone else I speak to says that it's WAY underpowered for a boat of that size. Speaking with several other anglers and some family members the consensus seems to be that you need "At least a 40" for that boat.

You guys have opinions there? Are the 20HP's on these boats really that underpowered? The Tracker isn't even available with anything higher than a 30 as an upgrade. The Triton you can upgrade as high as a 50, which I'd be tempted to do, but the nearest Triton dealer has been lax on responding to my emails and given that they're a 2 hour drive away, I'm not keen on driving up there just to speak to someone. They do have their inventory online though and they don't show any Storm's in stock. Not sure how willing to order one they'd be.

Any other ideas? Right now the Triton with the 50HP engine upgrade is looking the most promising (jumps to about $10,600 with that config), but I don't want to buy without evaluating all my options, and as I said the Triton dealer has bit just a tad slow to respond.

Thanks!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

If you look at those types of boats in the secondary market you'll see they're almost all powered by a 40 horse outboard or larger. There's a reason for that and it sounds like you already know what it is. Can you get around with a 20? Sure. But, by the time you add decking, seats, gear, coolers and you your progress will be slow. Unless I missed it you don't mention what your price limit is, but based on the brand new rigs you've given as examples I'll assume you're willing to pay $7k to $8k. If that's the case I highly recommend looking for a five to ten year old Xpress or SeaArk, or maybe something like an Alumacraft if you have no preference between welded or riveted hull. If properly taken care of, well made metal boats are good for a long time. You don't say where you're from, but around here there are lots of great metal bass boats in the 16' to 18' range with anywhere from a 40 to 90 horse that are nice rigs and ready to go. I've seen them used successfully on everything from trout tailwaters to 60,000 acre Corps impoundments. This is the direction I would take. Welcome to iboats.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

Maybe look for a good used rig and save a lot of money. The aluminum boats don't age much at all, my 1999 Express 1870 is really about like new, only thing that might age is the motors. It all depends on the type of water you're going to be on to determine the hull design, the rougher the water and the faster you want to go, then go for more V deadrise. My Express is a modified V with 6 degree deadrise and it's fine for smooth water but is hard riding on most chops, swells, wakes, etc. Just research it good before you buy!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

These are all "price-point" boats and are a good way to get first timers into the market. Unfortunately, first timers and very often second timers make the mistake of underpowering their rigs and here are examples of that. The maximum HP capacity on boat of this calibre is 50. The rule of thumb for acceptable performance is that the engine should be no less than 70% of the maximum rated HP. So 70% of 50 is 35 HP. That would be the absolute minimum in my view. A 40 would make the engine selection at the bottom of the engine displacement class for 40-50-60 hp engines so that would be a very good combination. As for features, trolling motor, locator, aerated live wells, are necessary for a fishing machine and the rest is simply candy.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

Here?s a thought:

1. Buy the boat that kind of meets the needs and be broke?

Or?

2. Build the boat that completely meets your needs and have money left over.

I say go for option two. It sounds like by now, you?ve fished in enough boats to know what layout, HP, and accessories you?re after. An aluminum hull is a very easy boat to work on. That being said, you could buy a used boat at a very low cost and modify/customize it to fit your exact needs. Although they are all nice, I guarantee all three of the boats you pointed out have pros and cons for you. If you started with a simple aluminum hull, you could build it exactly to your specs.

 

[mbgaski]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Spend most of the afternoon looking around at used boat classifieds. Found one guy with a 19' Duracraft that has a blown engine. Normally I wouldn't even consider that but he's only asking $1000 for the boat and trailer (and he says he has a valid title in hand). I'm seriously considering grabbing this one have having a new (or slightly used) motor put on it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

Welcome to iboats!

Have you looked at the iboats classifiedS?

Here are a few good hints...... look at a place where fresh water is dominant and small lakes abound Buy used hands down! Hulls are cheap.....motors cost the bucks.

Be willing to travel to find a bargain. If you go to a dealer the magic words are leftover's DO NOT skip on size or power or you will outgrow it FAST!

Good luck!

My signature may be a hint but ton's of us are all restoring Starcrafts

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Looking at Aluminum Bass Boats

If you have 7k to spend, what I'd do is buy a used 16-18' aluminum hull.

I'm also biased towards the many Starcraft tinnies available at a good price.

Make sure the boat doesn't leak.

That will run about 1-2k depending on whether or not the trailer is good...then spend 1-5k on a nice 50-90hp outboard and a bow-mount trolling motor.

Then you will have enough power to get off the water if bad weather rolls in and won't feel like you got ripped off.

I bought a 16' Starcraft open bow with a 80hp Merc and trailer for 1k in November and I have been enjoying the rig after a half-restoration over the winter.

If you don't want to deal with swapping motors and whatnot then go ahead and pay the cost for a new boat. There are so many on the market used that it doesn't make sense to me. Save that money for rods, reels, and tackle

All I'm saying is that it can be done cheaply...good luck on the hunt and don't rush into anything...waiting for a good deal is well worth it!

A 40 would make the engine selection at the bottom of the engine displacement class for 40-50-60 hp engines so that would be a very good combination.

Wouldn't you rather be at the top of the engine displacement class for a more favorable power/weight ratio? What am I missing?