Nitro boats?

Why does everyone hate on the Nitro Bass boats? Do they fall apart quick or what?

I have owned a Nitro since 2005 and it hasn't fallen apart. In fact it has required less maintenance that my aluminium bass boat I sold to buy the Nitro.

I was told 4 years ago when I was looking to buy my first bass boat, that Nitro boats are the Kia's of the bass boat world, so I bought a Skeeter....just saying

I have heard that same reference. I have heard that just aren't good but it's always from people that haven't but owned one. I'm wondering if there are any specifics to why they have a bad reputation

Well since I could not find the popcorn gif I will give you my 2 cents.

I owned 2 Nitros, an NX750 with a 90 and a Z-7 with a 175 for a total of 6 years.

Overall both were good boats. The NX750 was my first glass boat and it was a learning boat. The Z7 was a 2008 that I had for 4 years.

The Z7 had a lot of raw edges on the underside of compartment lips. It was the old hull and rode like a brick! The RPS was a huge improvement. Fit and finish on the Z7 was okay. Seats held up okay although I did have one replaced due to the seams coming apart. Overall they have improved the product, new ones at shows look pretty good. Just my opinion. At the end of the day almost all of the components for both boats were 3rd party and similar to other brands.

Someone will ask why I did not stay in a Nitro, I tried. But when BPS does not take trades it sent me looking. I did not check with a dedicated Tracker dealer, there is one in Houston.

You can beat this mule to death, it has been wore out more than once here and on other boards.

In my opinion, 30 years ago Nitro was a lesser quality boat. But things have improved over the years. During my 40+ years of bass fishing I've been fortunate enough to own several different brands of bass boats. I also spent time in different boats fishing with friends or as a co-angler in tournaments. Bass boats have always been a passion of mine and I am a little particular about certain things on boats. For many years I bought, restored, and sold boats as a sideline. When I was preparing to retire, I told my wife I wanted to purchase a new boat for my retirement years. She asked which one I wanted to buy? I told her that after all the years of fishing tournaments, guiding, taking kids out, just fun fishing, my favorite boat was always Ranger. I had owned several new and used Rangers and just loved the fit and finish. But I'm not going to pay a bunch of extra money for a hull when I don't fish tournaments anymore and just want to fun fish when I can. So the search began with all my past experiences to help me. I decided I wanted an 18-19 boat with a 150 hp engine that would fit in my garage and I could fish the river or Toledo and Rayburn. When all the looking, riding, crawling inside was over, I decided to buy a new Nitro Z7 with 150 Mercury ProXS. That was Spring 2013 and I have been very pleased with everything on the boat and motor. Sorry for the long post but wanted you to know a little of my background before I made the decision. If I was doing it all over, I would still buy the Nitro. Do I think it is the best? No, but I never intended to buy the perceived "best" boat. It does all I require it to do....that's all I want or need.

I think a lot of people look at the base model. And yes, the Nitro is marketed as an inexpensive way to get a boat. Usually the base models are underpowered, basic depth finder, too low of thrust troll motor. A buyer must check all accessories to see what is included and what is an add on. But all that can be fixed either at time of purchase or later.

from my experience its just the basic stuff like seats and carpet that seem to wear out at an abnormally fast rate. The rest of the boat is pretty solid and seems to handle well in rough water. w

I have been running Nitro's since 2011 have yet to have a major problem with one of them Z-9 and now a Z 21. I ran javelin and Chargers prior to that. We tournament fish High school and team events so our boat is on the water in all conditions. I will say I think there is a higher attention to detail on the boats in the new Z series, but overall we love the ride and layout of the Nitro's. I am confident enough in the brand to take two High school anglers (one being my son) out sometimes in less than idea conditions to fish.

wife has had 2 kias that both went over 200k miles with absolutely no probs, she's on her third one now.

I'm sure kias are great cars, but compared to a Lincoln or Cadillac they are somewhat of a lesser car when it comes to quality, the same goes for nitro boats when compared to a Skeeter, Ranger....just my opinion

I had a 1998 nitro 884 savage bought new and kept it till 2012 and then bought a Z-8 nitro. I bought the boats because I like to fish and not impress every one with there 50-6000$ boats. The nitro have held up really well and if you watch or read some of the forums about these guy's boats, there no more wrong with there boats than nitro's in most cases. What I'm saying is people have issues with there boats and yes some issues are taken care of faster than other. I'm not on the water to run a 100 mph. I'm there to fish and when I get to my point and didn't tear nothing up I'm happy. You do your research and go from there on your boat you'd like to have. Used boats aren't really that bad and you could save money going that direction and you can get some great deals. When I bought My 98 I had not boat fished in 29 year's so the learning started all over and had to learn the asking way due to a lot of questions and most boaters doesn't mind talking or giving you advice. Alot of good people out there. Good luck!

Mine has stayed together for over 10 years.

I looking to get a boat in the 2014-16 range and the nitro I can get more boat for the money, but I don't want to have to fix carpet and seats every other year.

I have a 2008 Nitro that is still in great shape, carpet still looks good but seats are starting to crack a little. It's all about how well you take care of them. Mine has been either under a carport with a canvas cover, or in a garage.

The carpet in mine is still in good shape, yes, it has stains but a good washing every other year perks it up and it looks almost as good as new. The seats are in great shape, no cracks or torn seams. The stick on letters came off a couple of years ago but that isn't a big deal to me.
The only thing I have had to fix that wasn't normal maintenance was the steering cable. Evidently it got water in it somehow and corroded. Wasn't a big deal to replace. BTW, cables are available at Amazon so I didn't have to deal with Bass Pro.

After doing my due diligence I bought a '15 Z7 with a four stroke Merc 150. Why? It fit my needs. I'm basically a beginner with a boat although I've been around them all my life just never owned my own. I really thought I needed a Ranger or a Skeeter but couldn't justify the cost. I'm not a tournament fisherman or a pro I'm just a guy who likes to fish. I'm happy with it as it fits my needs. I take good care of my boat and it's stored in the man cave so I expect it to last for years. If you decide what fits your needs and your budget go with it. Don't buy on peer pressure or what makes you look better. If it's a Ranger or Skeeter then by all means have at it. If not, don't. I love my Nitro and it fishes well.

I bought a 1991 model 21 ft. nitro in 1997 for $6800. It had stress cracks in several areas through out it. The 2 that worried me were in the transom comers. I took a 1/2" sheet of aluminum and bolted through the transom and remounted my 200 evinrude. I never had any trouble after that. I did idle over some stumps later and found a couple of cracks where the pad on the bottom meet the lower transom at the strakes. Fixed them and good to go till I sold it years later for $6500. That model boat I found out later was when they were changing up the gel coating mixture. It had issues from drying too brittle. I heard they changed the mix later and fixed the stress crack issues for the most part. I had that boat for 14 years fishing from fork to pk year round in ice, snow,hail 2xs, 110 degrees in summer. It only ran 73 mph but it took some 4 ft waves several times. Word of caution on that year model don't try to make a sharp turn when going 73. I found out how much cushion I could suck up my back side. Like above posts say it is not a Cadillac or Lexus. It will get you through several years of fishing with average maintenance and up keep without paying Cadillac prices though.

Nitro's fish pretty darn well with the trolling motor down, even with 2 big guy's pitchin' and skippin docks on the front deck.

Have a 2010 Z-7 now, 3rd owner, carpet is in great shape still, bought it from my partner and we fished this boat hard. He went to a skeeter so we can have a shot at Skeeter Real Money in tournaments as we won a couple out of the Nitro.

i got what youre saying but the last and only cadillac i owned, most the plastic inside either broke or came off plus had an unreal amount of trouble with the motor and sold the POS before it had 90k miles on it.

I have a 96 Nitro boat and it has served me well. I will not say they are the best boats on the water but they are not the worse either. I'm not a pro angler and I'm not on the water 5 days a week. I got what I could afford to enjoy my hobby.

Have you ever owned a Nitro?

Never owned a nitro, I wasn't knocking nitro boats.....thought really hard about buying one before I made the decision on a Skeeter

There were quality control issues in the past but I think they make a pretty good boat now, drove a triton 21 trx and a nitro z21 last summer, liked the nitro better.

I have been in Nitros for 15 years. Never really had the quality issues. Been in plenty of other boats dont see the big difference. But then again my biggest concern is fishing, not what others think.

I HAVE owned a Nitro so I speak from experience. As stated before, in older models, it's the little things, fit and finish stuff. These days, It seems Nitro has really stepped up the quality and design and I would run one of I was in the market, and take the significant savings and invest it in big graphs and upgrades.

I guess it's changed. In the old days, skeeters were the cheap boats and rangers were the tops. We fished out of an old cane cutter and caught plenty of fish on Rayburn and Nac. Now, I have a Proline 22, a kayak, a salty dog flats boat, a canoe etc. None of it fancy. Catches fish. The one thing I'd do away with in any boat is the carpet.

Exactly, as long as you are happy who cares what others are fishing out of and what they think?

Owned a 901 cdx 2003 other than being a little heavy it was a great boat. Not a more stable fishing platform
J D

I've owned several Nitros. I'm in a Z9 now and I love the ride. It also has a huge front deck and it works for me.

I keep telling myself that I'd like a new/newer boat, but there is nothing wrong with the one that I've got.

My little brother bought a z7 2016 and the gel coat is coming off and the trailer fenders had to be replaced already too

They are IMO a niche boat. A lot of features for not a lot of money compared to top of the liners, like Ranger, Bass Cat, Skeeter, Etc.
Not saying they are bad boats, but if you go over them closely and compare them to the top of the liners, you can see the difference.

Have an. NX 750. With the 115. I like it, no issues with it. Had it since 07.

This is an interesting thread. Since it's got a good direction we will chine in.

Today price any boat you buy and any brand. Figure out your goal and what your intended use is? Once a month or twice a week and those are different. Then figure out how long you will keep it and whether the payments are $X vs $Y. If it's all about a payment then how long you will keep it is a major factor. Dig deeper if you fish tournaments as figure out the level of incentives you might win and what events might you win those in. How long and how many and for most in the Nitro category they tend to keep those models more than 2 years.

Compare the price tags of similar models of different brands and then dig in. Look at the components you can see, then pay particular attention to those you can not. Glass, Gel, transoms and flooring are all items you can not see. Next pay attention to the items external you can see and dig into those. Lids are all lids, though check bracing and liner materials. Then evaluate brands of hardware components, are they private label or branded Perko, Johnson, Attwood and Marine Town. Are they plastic or stainless and how do they compare to a comparative model of another brand. then dig into the vinyls on seats, and don't stop at the vinyls, get into the guts of the seats. From there what brand are the gauges and is the wiring tinned? Switch brands and more can be explored. Now let's look at the carpeting brand and the ounces of weight, then go beyond that and do they brush it or spray to save glue? From there you can go all over the board on what maters. To the novice much of this matter none at all and any brand boat will last him a decade or more.

Then comes the trailer and is it tube or channel? Is the steel USA or import? Is the paint easy to clean, name brand or a utility black with no real durability. Then there are tires, diameter, fenders, light brands, harness that is Wesbar or some private made with pins that fall out. Brand and style of axles? There is a huge list of things that can be considered on the trailer alone.

To the angler that is an enthusiasts and spends lots of time on the water, which Texas has plenty of, it matters a whole lot. None of this is a slam to any product as they all have their purpose inthe market and all brands fit well. It's just that there are differences in $1.50 a yard, $1.00 a pound, .07 a screw or connector, or even $4 a switch... and they all add up!

BCB

Driving a 1994 nitro black max 225hp bought it in 1997 and still running good. Best boat for the money.

I had an old timer tell me one time, he said, remember those fish don't give a damn what that boat looks like. I still have my old boat and it will catch just as many fish as the new ones will...LOL.

I have a 2011 Nitro Z9 and love it. I hope I can say that for many more years.

One of the better threads I have read here.. I own a 97 skeeter Zx185 with Yamaha ProV 150, after 20 years it still runs great, does what I need. But if I get another boat I would not be afraid to get a Nitro after all the comments made here. After all the object is to catch fish and enjoy the outdoors. Good luck to all out there.

Get post BassCat boats. There are many costs that goes into a quality product that are not easily seen.

Anything that Bass Pro owns is going to have less quality in the details. It's what the bean counters do when the company acquires the competition. The last top quality boat Tracker produced was the Avalanche and it was discontinued since the profit margin was too low. Look for Ranger boats to go down in quality as well. Every penny the bean counters save in manufacturing adds to the profit and their bonuses at the end of the year. It's the little things that add up.

Time for this thread to go away!