Sparkle boat

[dakotaeye29]

And the suburban pulling it.

Also, Dakotaeye, come on man.

Sorry man, that's one I would look at for me but not at the moment.

 

[gone_fishing]

budget allows me something a little newer than that one, id like to stay under 50. I was kinda thinking of staying in that 18.5-19ft range

Skeeter WX1910 is what I would be looking at if I was in your shoes.

 

[H82bogey]

The Yamaha is a great engine. Very easy to take of. Have had them on my old boat and current boat and never had an issue.

 

[martinslanding]

Skeeter, yar-Craft, Nitro, ranger, warrior…they’re all nice boats it really comes down to layout and package price … you definitely do not want to be under powered .. it also doesn’t hurt to get some electronics thrown in if you are buying used .. boats and motors price doesn’t vary much the negotiability is in all the bells and whistles …trailer, cover, trolling motor , graphs … I would sit in as many as possible until you find a layout that you like then start shopping

 

[revolutionz]

budget allows me something a little newer than that one, id like to stay under 50. I was kinda thinking of staying in that 18.5-19ft range

For this price range, I'd say the Nitro ZV18 is hard to beat. Buddy has one, that's a hell of a nice boat, and about as big as you can get in that range at 18' 11". If I don't go for a skeeter mx2040, the ZV18 is next on my list for next year.

 

[RNinND]

the ZV 18 looks nice except for the rear livewell access, I think it would be a pain to get your fish out of it?

 

[SDMF]

the ZV 18 looks nice except for the rear livewell access, I think it would be a pain to get your fish out of it?

My previous Crestliner FishHawk had similar live well access and it's not a big deal. I rarely carried the minnow bucket, just early season river jigging and a guy can easily use the minnow-tamer instead.

$50K gives you lots of options. Floorplan, floorplan, floorplan!! Figure out how many people are going to fish with you most days, how do you like to fish? Where do you like to fish from? Bow, helm, or stern? You need to find your own personal balance between deck space, cockpit space, and storage.

Ride in (or at least sit in) as many as you can. $50K is a LOT of $$ to spend and find out you really wanted something different.

 

[Allen]

For something in the $50k range, I would want a bit of warranty on the motor to come with it. And that means I'd be buying something fairly new that started with a 5-yr warranty on the new motor at a minimum. I had the crap scared out of me with my Toon when after having made exactly ONE payment I thought I was on the hook for a new powerhead. FWIW, a new powerhead for a 150 4-S Merc is $9k. Tough pill to swallow if, for whatever reason, the motor is on its last legs.

Note...I would also prefer Yamaha over Mercury given the same hull and price point. Actually, I'd even pay a little extra for a Yamaha, but that's just me.

If I had my druthers, I'd trade in my Lund Fisherman for a newer 208 Lund Tyee GL.

What can I say, I love Lunds (even if they're pre-rigged for Mercs).

 

[Migrator Man]

budget allows me something a little newer than that one, id like to stay under 50. I was kinda thinking of staying in that 18.5-19ft range

There is a new 1910 Skeeter with a 200 Yamaha in Bismarck for under 47k. River cities

That's a pretty decent deal on a boat!

 

[Petras]

http://www.stratosboats.com/model.cfm?name=326XF

Don't overlook stratos. For 51k you can get the 326 with a 250 on it...

If u don't want a 20.5' boat and want to save a bit, you can get the 385xf with an f200xb Yamaha 4 stroke for about 42k. this is with just a basic shitty graph but at least it'd leave u a little room in the budget for electronics.

I have a 2014 385 xf that I bought brand new as a 2 year hold over. I only paid $33,500 for mine. Would I rather have a 20'+ yes. But for the time being that 385xf fit the budget and it does pretty dang well on sak even in 20+ mph winds.

One thing I will say is this, if you get an 18'+ glass boat and plan to fish in the wind at all, get a 101# or higher trolling motor. Running an 80# troller at 7+ drains batteries fast...

 

[martinslanding]

if Ranger is the Cadillac of glass boats the Stratos would be the Dodge...

 

[Hookin8easy]

if Ranger is the Cadillac of glass boats the Stratos would be the Dodge...

i was always under the impression that ranger is a just a rich mans stratos;:;popcorn

 

[Allen]

There is a new 1910 Skeeter with a 200 Yamaha in Bismarck for under 47k. River cities

That's a pretty decent deal on a boat!

Yeah, but there was a fella recently on here who was very unhappy with Skeeter's handling (or lack thereof) stress cracks in the gel coat. To paraphrase, it was a judgment call on if it was structural, the owner and the repair shop said it was to the tune of $6k, Skeeter said the cracks were cosmetic and then said they'd only cover structural cracks.

I'd be very wary of Skeeter on this topic alone and would delve a lot farther into this aspect of their warranty before buying their product.

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Perhaps chatting with an independent hull repair shop would give a person some useful info on what manufacturers have a more understanding definition of cosmetic vs aesthetic cracks.

 

[Migrator Man]

I would base my decision on one story. I have not heard of many skeeter lemons.

 

[Allen]

I would base my decision on one story. I have not heard of many skeeter lemons.

I hear ya and tend to agree that Skeeter has a reputation as a decent boat, but at this level of commitment, I'd want to make sure I did lots of homework before writing the check.

 

[Petras]

if Ranger is the Cadillac of glass boats the Stratos would be the Dodge...

Odd... I've always been a chevy guy but I sure do love my stratos... maybe I need to buy a dodge?

Is a ranger gonna ride better than a stratos? sure... but your also gonna pay 75% more for a ranger than you will a stratos, and since his budget was around $50k, if he wants to have warranty and all that, a stratos is a pretty good choice...

I guess I just can't justify paying more for a boat than I did for my house... pretty simple choice for me really... buy a stratos outright, or make payments for 10-30 years on an overpriced ranger? that's a no brainer to me... And I love my stratos. The next one I buy, a long ways down the road, will be the 20' tho.

 

[shorthairsrus]

Allen what was the final outcome on the motor? My take is the same as yours. Spend on as new as possible if your going to keep the boat as the motor is generally the piece of the boat package that will cause u issues.

 

[sierra1995]

I am definitely not an expert on glass boats, nor do i have much experience with them. I was told by a guy who runs tacker/nitro boats exclusively for the last 20+ years to never get a tracker Targa, when they were glass. There were a lot of issues with stringers and hulls of that particular model.

My last boat I had was a 97 Yarcraft 1785 millacs, and it was great, however this was before fiberglass boat companies started coating the underside of the flooring with glass, leaving un-treated ply wood exposed on the bottom. When livewells overflow, water gets into the bottom of the boat, humid environments, next thing you know the floor was rotted out. Beings your budget is 50k, you won't have this issue, but if you are buying used, make sure to check the underside of the floor. Yarcraft didn't start coating the underside until 2004.

I've fished out of the stratos 386, Ranger Reata 1860, both with 150's, and they both seem to fish really well, and a good family boat. I've fished out or ranger 620's and they are great tourney boats. So its really preference. I converted back to a tiller, so I am running a lund pro angler 16, with hopes of finding a newer used 18' warrior/ranger/lund pro guide in the future.

I'll also put a plug in for Yamaha or Suzuki motors over Mercury. not saying merc is bad, but i'd rather have the yamaha or suzuki 4 strokes.

 

[Allen]

Allen what was the final outcome on the motor? My take is the same as yours. Spend on as new as possible if your going to keep the boat as the motor is generally the piece of the boat package that will cause u issues.

Mercury stood behind the motor and ponied up the full cost. I ended up paying for a new timing belt and water pump. Those were considered extras. I had no issue with that! And, River City Sports here in Bismarck made it as painless as possible. Pretty happy all the way around. Only thing is, I now have a new powerhead on a motor with less than 300 total hours and I don't trust it because I had no forewarning before it left me drift into shore that ONE time. 11 years and maybe 1800 hours on my Yamaha and it's never once failed to start or get me home.

 

[SLE]

Odd... I've always been a chevy guy but I sure do love my stratos... maybe I need to buy a dodge?

Is a ranger gonna ride better than a stratos? sure... but your also gonna pay 75% more for a ranger than you will a stratos, and since his budget was around $50k, if he wants to have warranty and all that, a stratos is a pretty good choice...

I guess I just can't justify paying more for a boat than I did for my house... pretty simple choice for me really... buy a stratos outright, or make payments for 10-30 years on an overpriced ranger? that's a no brainer to me... And I love my stratos. The next one I buy, a long ways down the road, will be the 20' tho.

This is just plainly misleading; 75% more for a reata than a stratos, I don't think so. Paying cash for one and financing the other for 10-30 years, your not looking at apples to apples and no where did I see anything on resale. I'm not a ranger guy at all, don't and haven't owned one (I like my yar-crafts!) I have no problem of someone defending their purchase but lets not let your brand loyalty of what you own cloud your perceptions.

Just for conversation sake, I just search bisman & walleye central. I found a 14' 386xf for $33k, a 16' 386 xf for 36k, a 12' 386 for $31.5k, and a 15' for $43k. so lets just say you can find a nice lightly used late model with warranty and ready to fish for $35k ish which appears to be a pretty decent deal.

When I searched for an 1850 Ranger Reata, I found a 16' for $42k, a 15' for $45k, and a 13' for $35.5k. lets say you can get into a comparable reata to the 386 for $40k ish which I think if it's apples to apples it would even be closer but I error on your side for a moment.

I see a + or - $5k difference or about 14% more for the Ranger, certainly a long ways from 75% more. So for a person looking to buy, your telling me that they'd be able to pay cash for the $35k stratos but the extra 5k for the ranger would make them finance it for 10-30 years? Obviously they'd be able to put $35k down on the ranger so they'd only be financing 5k, so at most your talking a year or two for financing. The flip side is you'll probably recoup atleast half of that on resale down the road. So in all reality, the real difference in costs between the two isn't but a couple grand or more than about 5% of the purchase price. for that I'll pick the one with a better reputation, better fit and finish, and better ride every time. That resale gap may actually grow larger as the boats age.

I don't mind some friendly boat banter but lets keep it real........

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As far as finding a sparkly boat, I'd first narrow it down to the size and layout that your after, it'll help narrow down which boats you'll be searching for. If you want a 21 footer, after figuring out which boats layouts best suit your use, then age, engine hours, condition and warranty will become the factors. Back the size down to an 18-19 ft rig, the rest of those go up. It's a balance based on your budget. For $50k though, any of the big players in the 18-19 ft realm should be in play either very lightly used, hold over models, or basically new depending on brand, options, motor size, tandem or single axle trailer and so forth. at that dollar, I'd be more concerned with getting the boat that you want and will like versus not if it comes down to a few grand.