Gonna buy a bass boat and have questions

[Texas Tea]

I am moving my family from Miami Fl to Austin TX and am selling my flats boat and buying a bass boat, I want something pretty fast. But what I really want is a bass boat with four seats as I have two sons. Maybe something in the 20 to 22 foot range and would like to keep the price between $30,000 and $40,000. Used is no problem. Can anybody give me any suggestions on where to start my due diligence? Thanks in advance.
Brett

[renagadebee34]

the biggest thing is are you going to only use it for fishing or use it for weekend tubing and sking. The new nitro boats with the consoles in the middle have four seats and is arguable the best bass boat out right now. Even though its hard for me to say because i am a hard core skeeter fan. But if you have a big family than the nitro is the way to go

[renagadebee34]

by the way welcome to the forum

[lunker-lander]

I, too, would reccommend the Nitro Z-9 CDC (Center console), although, you would be spending a tad more than 30 or 40K. More like 50-60K all said and done, maybe more.

You must also keep in mind what Renegade said. If you want it for play and recreation, I couldn't tell you, but if you want fishing power the Z-9 Series from Nitro, Skeeter, all good choices. If your saying you want to tow around all four members of the family, I'd reccommend at least a 225 horsepower if you want to "go fast" as you claimed. Personally, I'd go with an Evinrude, Honda, or Mercury outboard. All make motors from little kickers to over 225 HP's.

Welcome to the board. Hope 'ya enjoy your stay!

-Lunk-

[renagadebee34]

your going to sped 48 thousand for the new nitro but if you go to a used boat look at the used 911 nitros

[boater]

Allison XB 2003 two bucket seats and a bench across the back

[lunker-lander]

Yeah, you'll be goin' plenty fast in an Allison, Texas!!!

-Lunk-

[flfireman]

Might want to look at a bay boat. Still got a low draft 6-10", usually have front and rear casting decks,livewells, etc. Most have additional seating. The Nitro CDC is a sweet ride, but lowest price Ive seen is $45 and some change.

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

You are heading towards my neck of the woods, so welcome! There are a lot of lakes NW of Austin and I know there are a lot of boats up there as well as dealers so you shouldn't have much trouble finding a boat in that price range. There is one thing to keep in mind: Fishing in Texas means wind, and lots of it, so a boat that handles rough water is something to keep in mind.

Another place to ask is here:

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

Ask that question there and some of the Austin guys will help you out. I'm 75 miles south so one of those guys would be better to ask.

[Nitro911]

As my name might imply, I have a Nitro 911 CDC and I love it. It is drier than most boats (you are farther away from the water) and it handles rough water well, even the big lakes like Choke Canyon and Amistad when the wind gets up.

There is 4-across seating and used boats should be easily priced in your range with a 225 Optimax.

I am down here with Reb in San Antonio, but I used to live in Austin and fished a bunch of those lakes. You will love them. Welcome to the boards and welcome to Texas.

[Nitro911]

2001 911CDC

Found one for sale here in Texas.

[barkelypup]

Hey,
Most of you will probably laugh but I would suggest a deep v type aluminum boat. I fish out of a Monark 195 King and Competed in the Fishers of Men Kentucky North Division and the extra room it has from my old Procraft was awsome. it has 4 pedistal seats and the back fishing deck folds up into a bench when the family wants to boat. And the best part is I got it rigged with a 150 opti and have just a hair over 26 grand in the boat. If I was a single man and did'nt have Wife, Daughter and soon to be no later than Feb 7 Son I would go with the 17 foot version with a 115 opti. I have fished all over KY including KY Lake and Cumberland and the big water and big waves are no problem. I fished KY Lake and the big expensive Bass rigs were getting beat to death on the waves and I just plowed along. Now these ain't no speed demons but they get you where you need to go plenty fast enough. Mine will run a shade under 60 with me, a fishing partner and tourney gear. I did opt for the High 5 prop witch really made a differnce. In my opinion for what its worth there is just so much more you can do in this boat than a bass boat. Now if I was a Kevin VanDam type fisherman a rocket of a boat might be more reasonable but for me the Monark is awsome. You can even take the pedistal seats out of the floor and blow up an air mattress. I do have the full enclosure too. I can turn it into a house boat in about 3 minutes. But thats just my two small copper coins.

Hope this helps,
bP

[Captmikestarrett]

trade heads up for your flats boat..

Capt Mike

[nitroteam]

check out the classified section i have a nitro 901 with 200 optimax for sale 27,000 43.7 hours on the motor and 4 years left on the warranty

lots of options and many upgrades

[Captmikestarrett]

Thinkin he is a one hit wonder..

Capt Mike

[boater]

Is that Nitro a fish and ski?
he said hr wanted seating for the family which leaves out most bass boats fiberglass or aluminium

[1FASTLASER]

Ok folks all the ideas are good ones but I would like to add my opinion now. As far as a person getting into a big boat especially a bass rig of the proportions he has described there are several things that need to be considered. On the top of my list are options, price, AVAILABLE service, and of course construction. ANY 20ft boat or more will handle 4 people with ease except a few out there for instance like a gambler. Yes it will haul 4 but there is no room for 4. But what I was getting at is I personally like to be different and get away from the cookie cutter boats. Now everyone dont get upset with the term cookie cutter. There are several boats out there that are good boats that are mass produced. I have a problem with mass produced boats even though I own 1 right now. On any given day joe blow on the assembly line doesnt feel good so maybe he didnt do this just right or tighten this or get all the air out of the glass while layiong it in. Get the picture? Now on the other hand if you lean more towards the custom boats or the higher end boats companies are much more careful and do a more thourough inspection before it ever leaves the factory. You can spend the same money or close to it and be assured that the boat you just dragged home has been gone over with a fine tooth comb before the first person ever set in it. Here is an example of one of the few true custom boats left out there that I would give my left ### to have.

http://bassboatoutlet.com/cgi-bin/bb...0060724.081703

The boat is priced perfect,has ALL the ammenties you could want, handles big water like a dream,on slick water will give you a FAST ride, performs and turns like it was on rails and doesnt beat the crap outta your kidneys when the wind picks up. This boat will handle 4 people with ease and still outrun most of the pack and I can gurantee you that this boat was built with care and the people that build these type of boats build them like they where gonna buy it themselves.

[boater]

I can ,from personal experience atest to the Quality of a NorrisCraft.I owned one.
I traveled 450 miles from St.Louis to lake Lanier Ga.to get it .On my way home I called Mac Crumley (owner of NorrisCraft) and asked him if I could stop by and let him look at my new purchase,he stayed late on a Fri evening waiting for me.
When I arrived he came outside he looked the boat over.told me the history of MY boat 11 years old,he tries to keep track of every boat he makes I think. He had me back in his shop and he and 2 others jumped in it ,Tightening rivets,replaceing gas cylinder locations replaced a rod locker latch,then taught me by buffing the bow how to get it back to its origineal beauty.
This was a 2.5 hour experience .then he showed me the spirrel note book with the hand written detailes of MY boat the VIN # is the original owners date of birth. and so I ramble ...Sorry
My point is that I agree with lazer the small high performance Co. are family oriented and YOU become part of there Family ,I called Mac on several occasions he alway took time to answer all my questions .
Now to put this mialdly Mac jr.told me when I was looking at mine that he would like to see me get a 20 XLDVEE.which it a deep vee.I got a 1900XLVEE
he was right I wish I had gotten a deep vee the ride in mine was not so good it was a smooth water boat but the co. is GREAT.

[nitroteam]

no the nitro is not a fish and ski but i do take my family out in it wife, 14 and 9 year old boys do go out and actuly do fit very nicely ther is aonly 3 seats but 4 will fit when the center seat is in the down position nitro dose rate this boat for 4 people www.nitroboats.com / 901dc

[Texas Tea]

Thanks guys for all the information. I looked on boat trader online and found this boat with the following description. I'ts in Austin and they want $16,000 for it which is way below my budget. Does not say how many hours are on the engine.

1996 ALLISON BOATS XB2003T, Bass Boat with 1998 Mercury 225 Promax powerhead, CLE lower unit, all seating options including rear bench & seat slide, Allison manual jackplate, 56 LB. OMC Trolling motor, 2 Graphs, New gauges, New carpet, New batteries, built in 3 bank charger, Tandem trailer, Great condition, Lake ready, call Jeff at 337-298-8879 with any questions about this boat.

[barkelypup]

Seems a little high for a 10 year old motor and a 12 year old boat. Just my thoughs though. I don't know. With all the new stuff on it you might ask if it has been sunk or had had some type of accident and the guy is trying to get his money back out of the fix up.

bP

[1FASTLASER]

Ok Texas here's the info from the nada guide lines. The high end on the boat was around 8300 and the high end on the motor was right at 5000. Even with all the new stuff bama is right thats a tad high and the banks use nada religiously to get a base price for loans. But in a nutshell if the boat is what you want go fer it but I definately would make an offer. Most sellers start high so there is some barder room.

[boater]

but it is a ALLISON I will tell you they are fast ,get ready for attention it will sell fast there are lots of guys searching for them there is NO wood in this boat ALUMINIUM decks and composit they are a GREAT boat and Great ride, also wind protection is 2nd to none.
<=<=<=see picture ,stage left.

[boater]

http://www.fastbass.com/forum/viewto...p?f=32&t=15836

[ally260]

TT, What color is tha allison? Sounds like my old boat. Austin is where it went when I sold it. Its white with black and had a Drag motor on it. Tha Allison almost always sells over "book" price. I used tha 2003 as a "family" boat and had no complaints from anyone with tha exception of tha phrase "slow this freakin' thing down" But anything over 50 is way to fast for tha red headed woman thats usually with me.

TW