....why are they so much cheaper than other center consoles? Never went and looked at one but price shopping a little more serious and Cajuns and ProMasters seem to be about half of what a Bluewave, Triton or Skeeter in the same length. Is the quality of boat really that low?

Thanks in advance for any feedback

when something in the market is less than similar products there is always a reason .

They were budget hulls. Especially the Travis boats. No corner was left uncut.

I got me one of those Cajuns. Its an 1989 with a Merc. It is fast enough for me and have rolled over many stumps and such. I even dropped it on the ramp onces! another story. Its all in how they are taken care of. They are working mans boats.

For bay boats having a 2 piece hull adds to the price and like Pat says they cut corners,
but they are boats and they all float

I have a promoter it is a good thought boat i have hit may logs since i have had it not fact just around 4-5mph it is a bit rough riding and heavy other then then if you don't want any bells and whistle or want to spend a load of money they aren't a bad boat are the a blue wave quietly No but they do get the job done. I bought mine at a fair price. My buddy had a Cajan the same year and they look Identical other then the collors. and i have a galvanized trailer with swing away young and he has a cheap looking rusted out trailer. No i don't think my trailer came with the boat at all. I was not trying to send a lot on a boat when i bought mine. i just wanted something that was reliable and had more roome then my 16ft skeeter, I don't have any issues with the quality of the boat being made at all it seems well made just a bit heave in my option but this is my first Center Concel. The thing that sold me on my boat was that it had the Johnson Spl 112 motor. Something my grandfather and my dad alywas had gear luck with . If you look them up you will fined that they are a no filles dependable work horse. a bit hard starting in the cold but other then that I am very happy with my Boat. Every on I take out in it the tend to like it and suppressed they are considered a cheap boat, when i buy something I don't really listing to every one. I like to se for my self. a lot of people will say they were cheap boats and they cut corners. but i have yet to fined any one to tell me what issues those were. I am not saying at all it is a top of the line boat by any means its not but it you are on a budget or have a wife who puts you on a tight budget. and the mother check out it is not a bad boat. I have been in a few of the cajan bass boats and other then the layouts I kind of liked them there rode decent and dry and took a beating they were again a no frills boat but if you want something to get you there and back they are not a bad choice.. the only thing i shish my baot had was better access to the live well pump mine when out and i can't get to it with my bad back to chang it out. the guy who had the boat before me and juststed theater all the way up on the transom so it will run in pretty skinny water. wich i do like. it just suckes when you have a load in the boat you have to play with the trim to get it on a plain. I Just Wish i know some one who cold help me put it back down on the transom I cant to it my self i tried and i spend 4 days laying down. Do the the prop being almost out of the water. it is difficult to to plain with weight. I wish i was healthier I cold do it my self. All In all I like my boat it is not prefect but it is functional, and i am a to do what I wanted to do and was to take Soldiers, and Vet, and there children out for a a day for fishing. I really with i wold have afforded a nicer boat but it was not in the cards. And i make do with what I have. Fkor some reason people tell me they like it. when fishing it in. I really wish someone could tell me what the issue were with the Center cancels so i can watch out for them I know they were not prefect boats and the travis additions the main thing was that the service was not exisistne form what i read. My floor is solid, the Wood in the storage seats rotted on over the live well. but i was able to fined a guy who was really nice to me after he found out i too his father in law out fishing. who was a Viet Name Vet show suffers from effects of miles agent organ poisoning, he re did al the storage seats and live well seats for $100. He use my old stuffing and fabric wich was still good and that helped keep the cost down. But all and all for what it is it is a pretty good little boat. would I buy a better known boat if my wife would've given me the money Yes I would . but this one gets me and

Ok, here's the full story on Cajun, and how to watch a company sink into oblivion.

Cajun started out as a decent bass hull builder, somewhat durable, and had decent support. Then they were bought out by Genmar. Then...Travis got their hooks in them. Travis wanted to out do Tracker marine, and started with the "Travis Edition" boats. Prerigged with Johnsons, and selling them cheap. Cajun still had a decent enough name that they got away with it for a while.

Then Travis started dictating to Genmar what they'd pay for a hull, and to hit those numbers, you had to take out a lot of labor and a lot of materials. But they were getting by, way too much work for the return, but they were open. Then the union came in, and started demanding more wages, time, the things they do. Irwin Jacobs told them no, they struck, and he closed the doors. See ya.

Ok I'm a "working man" what year Cajun boats are better then others? Serious question as i could use the extra cash saved for the kids future...

Anything that says "Travis" is the bottom feeder. Will probably be rigged with a Johnson.

I would listen to what Pat has to say. In my early years I was na�ve about boats and ended up with 2 bad ones. Fortunately back then insurance adjusters were not real sharp on boats. After the second one I talked with boat mechanics and fiberglass guys. I ended up buying a 1986 Ranger that is going to turn 30 this fall.

Geeze, it sure is a scary thought on sinking up to $15,000 or so into a boat only to find out that its a turd or is rotted out. This being the first boat I have EVER had, trying to do as much research and make the best choice but Id like to stay with a company that used all 'glass or very min. wood. Motors are another subject as again, even though I consider myself very mechanically inclined, I know zero about outboards. May just sit on the money for a while and play the waiting game for a Ranger or Skeeter...BlueWave or Mako...something that Ive heard and read little negative feedback from owners on.

Any thoughts on these manufactures? (Pat)

There is generally a reason why boat manufacturers like Ranger, Skeeter, and BassCat have been in business for 40+ years. There is reasons why boat manufacturers like VIP, Cajun, and Tidecraft are out of business. I am not that familiar with the bay boats, but I don't think you can go wrong with a well maintained name brand as long as it checks out with a reputable boat shop. Good luck with your search.

Some things to remember on a bay/flats rig.
If it's five years old or older and it's a rolled edge hull, any brand you look at will have wood decks and floors, that's the way they're made. If everything was sealed when it was installed, you probably won't have any issues, but if some bonehead just ran a bunch of screws in the decks and floors, pay close attention.

The rise and fall of companies isn't just limited to the marine industry. There is a concept that executives and their bean counters just don't seem to be able to grasp. That is, in order to sell a product cheaper than your competitors you have to do one of several things. The cost of labor is pretty much a constant so that leaves the quantity of materials going into a product, the quality of materials going into it, or the amount of time spent manufacturing the product. Reduce any of those items and you have, as Pat stated, cut a corner and now you have a product that is inferior in quality compared to how it used to be made. That's simple Economics and Marketing 101. More than one company has gone teats up because their purchasing agents were told to scour the world for the cheapest components. The sad part is that these execs do not understand that there enough people willing to pay more for a quality product, but at some point greed kicks in and it all goes to Hell in a handbasket.
There will always be people who are going to do everything on the cheap and those people will eventually come to the realization that cheap stuff just ain't that cheap.

One thing that will save your bacon, especially when buying a used boat, is to cough up that couple of hundred bucks and get a survey. They have no dog in the hunt and a reputable one will never represent a boat for anything but what it is. Compare the cost of one to the cost of having to replace a rotten deck or transom.

I'll keep my eye out for Travis anything. I saw a very nice looking Cajun on Craigslist a couple weeks back for 3 grand. I'd have everything checked out b4 spending a dime on it. Thanks for the heads up!