I think I found a really good deal on a Kenner Vision 1800. Any have an opinion on these? Thank you

Visions are well built boats. Not at all shallow runners but they do ride smooth and dry. Good boats for Galveston, disaster at port Mansfield.

Curious why they're a disaster at Mansfield? Due to the skinnier water?

great hulls. i don't think it would be a disaster down south, just be careful where you run. i run my Pathfinder there without too many problems. i use the trolling motor in the 1 1/2' areas. with the hard bottom i need about 2 1/2' to get up, so i keep close to the holes and guts.

It depends upon how old it is and whether or not Tracker employees decided to work sober that week or not...seriously.

When Bill Kenner owned them, they were great for the money. But some of the tracker owned Kenners were terrible. ( and no, they wont fix them)

I have one of the latter models. 2005 180V-90 tunnel. I was lucky ( knew what to look for when buying it used)...and mine just had the hot mixed ( they tried to shorten the cure time) (and too thick) gelcoat on the deck. Lots of crazing, but I'm repairing it, right now, today...as we speak. It's taken 4 weekends and going to be another 2. Had to repair a small piece of decking with new glass.

I knew it when I bought it. But some were not so lucky. There were voids in the glass, too much resin, not enough fabric, resulting in issues, including split hulls. Not cool.

My brother is a good friend of Bill Kenner, so I called the factory early in 2005, as I was looking at another used one back then. Tracker had taken over, but I spoke with a long time employee of the factory and he said as of right then, there had not been any significant changes in the way they built them. ( I was more concerned with the transom than anything) Evidently, the major changes came later that year.

Other than that...it's a great value, especially if you can buy it "right"....and "right" doesnt mean 15K. It means 6-8K.....and ONLY if it has a newer Yammie on it. I currently have about $14K in mine right now, but I've gone through it ALL...including an engine upgrade and a $2K trailer, custom upholstery, all new wiring, switches, cables, new trolliug motor, fishfinder, VHF radio, interlux deck products, seats, everything. I bought it for $3500 last year with a blown Merc....which I didnt want anyway. It's NOT worth 14K . The vision, however costs more, used. But I DID see one on craigslist that called a VX a "Vision" and it's NOT...so beware. ( I'm looking for another one to buy for my son)

If yours has a Galvashield tubuler trailer, they suck.

They rust out. Plan on spending another $2+k on a decent trailer and adjust your price accordingly.

BTW, with the 5 1/2" jackplate and tunnel, I have no issues running fast or getting up in 12-18 inches of water. However, the Vision is heavier and if you place a 300Lb engine on the rear, it's even worse. That's why I opted for a 2 stroke yamaha 90 on mine. It's only 262 Lbs.

Hope this helps.

I had one with no tunnel very hard fish around Port Mansfield and Padre Isand. I did catch a bunch of fish but had too fish in2.5 to 3 ft of water or deeper.

I agree, I use my whaler down there.. it runs about the same... needs 2 1/2 to get up. probably can run on plane in 18". I stay to the 2' and deeper areas running. There is a lot of water that can be covered with a boat like that and then just get out and wade in areas that are too shallow. There will be a learning process and you'll need to know where you can / can't run via google earth.

It's doable.. but no, it's not a ShallowSport etc.

To the un-informed, the difference navigating s tx bays with or without true shallow water abilities is huge. The LLM is 70% less than 2 feet deep, and a lot of that is even less. With a true flats rig, your eyes can tell you where to run or more important, where not to run. If it's dark bottom, you can go, white sand it's a no-go. Can't do that in a non tunnel V hull, you'll be grinding up props and lower units all over the place.

And what gets tricky, it's not really where you can go, it's where you can stop. Nobody likes pushing a barge 300 yards to find thigh deep water to get going in.

Yeah, Pat, we have it a little easier around Hackberry than you guys, down there. We can get away with a little deeper draft. If not, I'd be buying a Majek rig or something similar.

That's really the big question, isn't it. I'm researching my next (and hopefully last) bay boat and shallow versus rough water considerations are driving me ape spit.

Maybe I'll buy one of each.

It all depends on what you want to compromise on. You can have really good one, and crappy other, or somewhere between, but you can't have a good ride and super shallow performance. I choose to not compromise on shallow ability, and will live with not getting out in the big chop, just run around it.

Pat, what kinda boat is that in your picture?

Homemade aluminum scooter w/90 jet. Is it for everyone? Not even. Does it go where I want it to? Absolutely.

Hey that's all that matters.

Thanks for the response!

There is a lot of mis-information spread about what fish do, and since we read some drivel in field and stream, it just must be true. "Fish go deep" when they feel pressure or are somehow disturbed. That's a lie. The only place a 25" trout can go that he can't get eaten is shallow, not deep. He's too big for a pelican to get him and it's too shallow for a porpoise to scarf him down. When there's a lot of boat traffic, they head to the back reaches where the props can't go.