Opinion on boat I might buy

[jessper]

I am going to go look at a 1996 alumacraft bass boat next tuesday. It is a 1996 Alumacraft - MV super hawk with a hawl rite trailer and a 1989 48hp. Johnson outboard. It does not comes with a trolling motor or a fish finder. They are asking 2000 for it. It is at a dealership and they will allow me to take it for a test drive and have documentation of compression and lower end tests. Will I notice much difference in space between this and a 17' boat? Is that motor a good motor? Any disadvantages to this boat compares to a basstracker, or lowe?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Unless I am mistaken Basstracker and Lowe are made at the same factory by the same people and the Alumacraft is a better boat.

BassTracker and Lowe are Brunswick companies and they have been known to cut some corners to save money.

Doesn't sound like a bad price, 2 grand for a boat motor and trailer isn't bad at all especially if it has already been gone through by the dealer.

You don't say what you are comparing it to, I assume it is smaller than 17', I think the width of the boat is the bigger factor, wider is better and more stable.

89 is a good year for Johnson as long as it checks out, if your test run goes well sounds like you found a boat.

Good luck.

 

[jessper]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

I am glad to hear that. I have talked to two people about 17' bass tracker boats, but they both sold before I could go look at them. The alumacraft is has a 61' beam and is 15' long. Is that pretty normal? I will be pulling it with a subaru outback so maybe this boat being a bit shorter would be better. It just seems odd to find a newer boat at a dealer for the same price range I am finding older bass tracker boats.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Alumacraft is an excellent boat as is the motor (provided of course it has not been abused). It is not oil injected (if it were it would have been a 50 HP) and it may or may not have power tilt and trim. Alumacraft is NOT one of the 34 brands of boats manufactured under the Brunswick banner.

 

[jessper]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Here is the link to the pictures of the boat.
http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/793923689.html
It looks to be in good shape. Can you tell from the pic whether it has power tilt/trim?

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Just my opinion,
I think that looks like a nice rig for 2000. And myself, I like the fact that it is premix and the simpler design on the motor--less stuff to go wrong. It looks like it's in pretty darned good shape and the trailer looks nice, too. That 48hp should have power to push lots of goodies, too. I agree with the previous person who thinks it's an even better deal if the dealer has checked it out thoroughly, lower unit in particular. Post some more pics if you get it....
BTW, it doesn't look to me like it has power tilt/trim. I'm 99% sure.
Liked it,
JBJ

 

[jessper]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

I ended up buying it. The boat was dinged up pretty bad from gigging, but he dropped the price $450 dollars from 2k, so I think that makes up for the looks. The boat is actually only rated for a 40, so it is a little overpowered but it does fly. It ended up having power tilt/trim on it also which helped my decision towards buying it.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

For that price, looks like you got a great deal and will be enjoying some fishing real soon.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Unless I am mistaken Basstracker and Lowe are made at the same factory by the same people and the Alumacraft is a better boat.

BassTracker and Lowe are Brunswick companies and they have been known to cut some corners to save money.

You are mistaken.

BassTracker is the name sake for Tracker Marine...ie Bass Pro Shops. Tracker marine is in no way conected to Brunswick.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Opinion on boat I might buy

Unless I am mistaken Basstracker and Lowe are made at the same factory by the same people and the Alumacraft is a better boat. BassTracker and Lowe are Brunswick companies and they have been known to cut some corners to save money. SNIP Good luck.

Bass Tracker and Lowe are made in different plants. Granted they are across I-44 from each other in Lebanon, MO, but different plants. Bass Pro makes the Bass Trackers and has several plants making different hull types and trailers across central Missouri.