New guy here. I've owned two bass boats over the years, back in the mid '80s to early '90s. Since selling the last one and raising a family, what little fishing I've done has been out of a kayak. I'm now ready to get another bass boat.

As with anything, "good used" is usually a better deal than "new". However, there is always a risk with anything used. I'd like to get some opinions/experiences of pros/cons from those of you who feel qualified to comment.

Also, I've been out of the game for so long that the electronics are a bit overwhelming. I would not want to always be kicking myself for not getting "X" and don't mind spending the money to get something good, but I don't have $10,000 just for electronics. Thoughts please.

If there are other threads addressing these topics, please direct me there. I couldn't find anything.
Thanks

Welcome. Here a few things to watch out for if you look down a few threads you will see SHO problems. I would not buy anything with that engine especially when trade in the question asked first is what powerhead are you on. HPDI 1 is a no go with me the series 2 OK I guess. These are Yamaha engines the older Pro V and OX66 engines are stout and reliable the others above not so much. I'm not a fan of engine manufactures that use consumers as R&D test dummies yeah sure they honor their warrenties that said it's your boat that sits while they fix things.

Pretty much all hull manufactures since 2000 are all composite no wood rot to worry about. Take your choice Skeeter,Ranger,Basscat,Phoenix,Legend,Triton,Nitro, there are more. All you have to do is ask you will get a response from an owner. Personally I run an older Skeeter with an XR-6 150 merc been bullet proof for me.

Used can be a good deal that said new can be real expensive. Electronics me I am happy with a flasher and color graph I can read both blindfolded now the side scan stuff can save fuel by covering 100 feet each side in one pass. You will have to learn to interpet the images as they are different.

Thanks militarybrat. That's some good info, which brings to mind another question. With the big shift to 4 strokes in all kinds of motors, what is the trend in outboards? Pros/cons?

There are times when you can get a steal buying used or you can get a screwin'. Ask yourself what your boat is going to be used for the most, how much you're willing to spend and then start narrowing your search. IE, do you plan on using it for just fishing, fishing and tubing, 50/50 or 70/30 etc....

There are good used boat deals out there but unless you actually buy a boat from someone you know, how do you really know how it was treated?

Do you want a particular brand or are you open to all brands? Glass or aluminum? Glass is far prettier to most people but aluminum is cheaper and still looks nice. The new breed of all welded aluminim boats are a different breed from what you saw in the 80's. They are all welded with little to no wood and some ride as good as some glass boats.

I went through this same question 3 months ago and ended up buying new. The boat I bought wasn't even the one I was origonally looking at.

I bought a Tracker pro 195 with a 150 Merc 4 stroke on it and love it. No oil injection to refill, quiet and miserly on gas.

I origonally was going to buy the Tracker pro 175 with a 75 4 stroke but decided I needed more to pull a tuber. I am glad I went with the bigger boat and am not at all unhappy with going with Tracker 195.

Some will tell you that the Trackers don't resale for as much and that is true but when the origonal price is up to $10,000 less that another very similar boat I wouldn't expect it to resale for as much.

One other thing, a boat is a lot like an animal, it has to be fed. If you buy a boat with a 90 hp motor, food is cheap, if you buy one with a 250, food costs more......

Buy what you want, there are many quality boats available from Ranger, Nitro, Skeeter, Tracker, etc.... Just make sure you buy what you really want, not what someone else thinks you need.

My first thought here is your budget. If money is no object then no doubt buy new however for most of that is not the case. Let's say you have a $15k budget you are not going to get much boat for your dollar buying new but you can find some good solid boats out there used for that. Decide what options or details you want and that will help determine your budget. If you go used and find a boat you are seriously interested in take it to a mechanic of your choice, not the sellers buddy, and pay the $100 to have it checked out. That 100 bucks could save you from a very costly mistake.

Thanks for the replies.

Found a '99 Cobra 190 w/ 200hp Merc., that was in outstanding condition. It was a no brainer for $8k. Owner had no idea how many hours were on it. Took it in to the shop, and was shocked when they told me it only had 105 hrs. The gentleman kept it in the garage when not out on the lake. If you go used, take your time and look for the ones that have truly been treated right. I have seen some nice examples recently on the forum. Good luck!

Btw....welcome to the forum. You will find some useful info here and some good folks that are generally eager to answer questions.

Thanks. Yeah, I can tell there is a good amount of activity on here and there doesn't appear to be a lot of BS.

I had a Tracker 175 as well and sold it after 10 problem free years and bought the 190. If you buy used you want to find someone like me. I take care of my toys and that 175 looked and ran like new when I sold it. I am very happy with my 190 for many reasons, great on gas, getting into trees and stumps and not to worry about scratches, light and easy to pull, handles rough water very well. Budget wise and previous experience is why I bought another one. Just don't care for the Tracker service department, I do my own maintenance. I've seen some good looking boats on here that might be right up your ally, check them out.

Thanks FishKen. I've looked hard at aluminum boats and have wondered about how they do on big lakes when it gets rough. Those are some good pros that you mentioned.

if i was doing it again(getting a new to me boat) i'd buy a reputable hull like a Mako,Kenner,Boston Whaler,Grady White, something worth fixing up, and put a new motor on it. some of the older hulls are just about bullet proof and better than a lot of the cookie cutter models out there on the used market. JMO. i just repowered my 02-2200 Pathfinder with a f200 Yamaha. i feel like my hull is tried and proven and the new motor has a 6 yr warranty.

When I hear those names, I think of CC bay boats. Have you tried bass fishing out of one. I'd like to know how one of those would do bass fishing, especially in some flooded timber or shallow water.

There are inshore CC that will fish as well in my opinion better than a bass boat. Had the awsome experience of fishing out of a 23 Parker with a 10 or 11 inch draft he77 my 18 ft Skeeter ZX180 takes 12. Lots of room shade from T-Top.

2 or 4 stroke good question the Parker above had a yamaha 300 4 stroke on it NOT THE SHO the guide swears by them won't own anything else. Hard to debate when he spends 280 days a year on the water with out problems. He also informed me that the Merc Verado has problems with the supercharger.
Full disclosure I'm a 2 stroke guy Merc is my choice. If I ever go to a 4 stroke it will be the best made which is Honda hands down. The only thing with Honda is available service far and few between. Also I'm not one of those guys that needs the quickest or fastest outboard I just need reliable power cause I never caught a single fish running 60 mph or faster. I don't need to measure anything because I know I'm the biggest.