Does it exist!

[Kdog]

A friend has challenged me to find a better boat than we are currently using. He wants to upgrade from a 16' procraft bass fish/ski boat which for 6 years has performed flawlessly and is nick named "Yard Sale Yacht". Other than an occasional wash and vacuuming a few new batteries, a trim pump, nothing has gone wrong. Oh yeah, new spark plugs last summer, Boat is not winterized, stored covered outside, gets started 1x month unless we go fishing. Hi test gas, oil and stabil every tank.

Looking for 18' Deep V, full windshield, running motor. Everything else electronics and TM are gonna be purchased new. In visiting numerous forums it seems that all boats have problems and quite a few many problems. These range from leaking hulls to missing/incomplete trim, ripped torn seats, rotted floors, corroded wiring, etc. etc, etc.. So my question is, Does a trouble free boat exist? BTW age does not matter we have looked at 1980's thru 2010's and either they were junk starting out they have been neglected or a combination of both. But everything we have looked at has problems severe enough that we walked away.

Input will be appreciated. We have over the last 6 months looked at 40+ boats and find a bunch of problems with every one we look at. So advice on trouble free or nearly so boat!

 

[Radtexan]

Dont have one personally,but have fished several times on Wtex's "Ranger Targa"...He seems real happy with it..Hopefully he will chime in and give ya some specifics...I know it handles our west Texas winds like a champ.

http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3501

 

[papaperch]

If it were me. I would ask myself " what will I be able to do better then what I am doing now in the other boat ."

Sounds to me both of you are fairly satisfied with the " yard sale Yacht ". That is why I still have my 20 year old Lund. The way I fish it does everything I want and is trouble free.

Worst purchase I ever made boat wise was a 16 foot Pontoon boat. Every one told me before I retired that the pontoon boat was perfect for old men. They might be perfect for something but they are not for the way I choose to fish. It was comfortable and I had plenty of room but that was where it ended.

Sometimes newer and shinier looks awful good next to what you got. I suppose the old expression was derived from this. That old expression "all that glitters isn't gold ."

You and partner ought to sit down and discuss if really necessary to get different boat. If it is going to make you better or more efficient fishermen go for it.

 

[AtticaFish]

Yep........

- Fuel economy is great, a 6-pack of Coors (light) and (big) bag of beef jerky powers it for the day, or so
- Can get it in places no other boats go and thumb your nose at those stuck on shore
- No need for a fancy truck to haul it

:beer:

 

[Ron Don]

Definitely depends on how you fish. I was actually thinking about this the other day and came to the conclusion... I'm glad I don't need a new boat! Ha Too many to look at these days!

 

[JSC]

Just remember that "A Boat is a Hole in the Water that You Throw Money & Piddle Into"

Like every thing else .. what works for one does not mean that it will work for some one else.

Good Luck

 

[Kdog]

Think I'm gonna start fishing with dynamite!
* Great fish finder
* relatively inexpensive
* easy to transport
Unfortunately not approved by the local DNR

 

[Kdog]

Yep........

- Fuel economy is great, a 6-pack of Coors (light) and (big) bag of beef jerky powers it for the day, or so
- Can get it in places no other boats go and thumb your nose at those stuck on shore
- No need for a fancy truck to haul it

:beer:

How does it handle the power boaters, skiers across the bow and the monster waves they create. I am partial to the chance of staying warm and dry and from mid november on, the wind and wave action make me a bit uncomfortable without a windshield.

 

[Bucho]

Yep........

- Fuel economy is great, a 6-pack of Coors (light) and (big) bag of beef jerky powers it for the day, or so
- Can get it in places no other boats go and thumb your nose at those stuck on shore
- No need for a fancy truck to haul it

:beer:

:cheers: Nothing gets you to the spot faster than a kayak on the top of your car (90 miles/h no props). Had a motorboat for 7 years, wouldn´t go back If I got one for free!

 

[Ron Don]

Yep........

- Fuel economy is great, a 6-pack of Coors (light) and (big) bag of beef jerky powers it for the day, or so
- Can get it in places no other boats go and thumb your nose at those stuck on shore
- No need for a fancy truck to haul it

:beer:

:cheers: Nothing gets you to the spot faster than a kayak on the top of your car (90 miles/h no props). Had a motorboat for 7 years, wouldn´t go back If I got one for free!

What if the fish are 10 miles up current??

 

[Lost Pole]

Yep........

- Fuel economy is great, a 6-pack of Coors (light) and (big) bag of beef jerky powers it for the day, or so
- Can get it in places no other boats go and thumb your nose at those stuck on shore
- No need for a fancy truck to haul it

:beer:

:cheers: Nothing gets you to the spot faster than a kayak on the top of your car (90 miles/h no props). Had a motorboat for 7 years, wouldn´t go back If I got one for free!

What if the fish are 10 miles up current??

You blaze a trail through the woods ten miles up current. Duh

 

[AtticaFish]

What if the fish are 10 miles up current??

You blaze a trail through the woods ten miles up current. Duh

I was gonna say to launch 12 miles up stream... open a 12oz. container of 'fuel'.... and let the flow do the work. Kayaks are also very stable on the water, many people would be surprised.

 

[Bucho]

Last summer I got a chance at going out with a 18`boat for light wreck fishing. The guys who own it run it as a side-business to make their hobby pull its own weight. They were interested in my lures and took me out non-profit. They have an interesting kind of fishing going on and I wanted to be invited again so I insisted on covering the cost. We blew 100 € worth of gas and the general coverage for harbour fees, maintanance etc. I would estimate 40 € a trip, so I gave him 150 €. He normally charges 240€ -300€ plus.

It was an interesting day on the water, but I usually catch more with the yak. Seriously. Does take more effort planing though, you can´t just put the lever on the table and go 12miles upstream, I give you that. But finding a guy who sells a boat that causes no troubles and runs flawlessly over several years?
You`re in for a challenge indeed!

 

[Ron Don]

Ahhh... See I'm just a rookie!