Bass Boats

What is everyone's opinion on having an 18 footer vs 19 or even bigger? Pros vs Cons? I would like to eventually buy an 18 footer because they coast less money and would be easier to maneuver on a trailer when not in the water compared to a 19 plus footer. I currently have a 16' 11" aluminum deep v with 115 hp but would like to have something bigger and heavier and faster. I'm just not sure if I'll regret buying a 19 foot plus boat.

If you can afford it and store it, buy the biggest.

This....

Bigger is always better. You won't regret the 19fter

I fish a 19 ft BassCat. Best fishing platform I've been in for that length boat. And I'd like to have a 20 ft. You can get most 19 ft bass boats on a single axle trailer. 20 ft and up will have tandem axles which is harder to maneuver by hand. Most people will say an aluminum boat is lighter and better on gas. That's true if you're talking flat bottom boats. But deep V aluminum boats sometimes weigh more than a comparable fiberglass boat.
If you make the switch, you'll wish you hadn't waited so long to get this type of boat. As stated above, if you can afford it and store, buy the 19 fter.
For the money, the Nitro Z18 or Z19 are hard to beat.

When you are talking about maneuverablility when not in the water, do you mean moving the trailer around on the driveway or in the garage. If so a lot of people do not know how difficult if not totally impossible to move a tandem axle in anything but a straight line. What I mean is that you can't wiggle it around to get it closer to the wall of the garage like you can with a single axle. The line you drop it on is the line it is going to stay on until you hook up again.

Exactly.

Liking my 206 Champion and haven't had any problems fishing for crappie

Best to get advice from someone that has one. Some who comment don`t .

I have an 18'8" VIP Bay Stealth and a 20'2" Skeeter SL210. The Skeeter is the much better platform to fish out of. If you can afford the larger, and have a place to park it, there is only one choice. BIGGER! But the comments about moving them are correct.

No doubt...21’ owner...maneuverability and storage 2 biggest concerns...had my garage built 4’ deeper to accommodate a bigger boat even though I didn’t own one yet...

Good luck and good fishin’...

I have a 618 Phoenix with a 150 Yamaha SHO. For 1 person it fishes great, 2 people is good, 3 people is crowded and I don't care about having 4 people in it again. It had a tandem axle trailer upgrade and I can agree with everyone else....it's hard to move but I feel a lot more secure pulling a tandem.

I fish out of a 21ft Skeeter. I would recommend getting the biggest boat you can afford. You will never regret it!

I beg to differ. These make it very easy. http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12517045/1

Do you fish alone and if not how many do you want to take out? I have a 18' Champion and I fish 90% of the time alone. It works great for me. Handles rough water well and easy to trailer. I would like a 20+ boat but can't justify the expense. Mine fishes 2 adults fine but I'd never put 3 on it because it is a narrow boat. Me and two Grand Kids crappie fishing gets a little crowded because of the dual console. If I was to fish with a partner more often then I'd really want to be in a 20-21 footer for sure, if nothing else, for the storage space.

Look at the Nitro Z18 which is 18' 8" long. I have one and it rides great and is dry (unless you are in four foot rollers like Ray Bob two weeks ago). I have one and there is a ton of storage (I currently carry 20 crappie rods in it and will fit 8' rods) and the front deck is huge. We fished three big guys on it for a tournament and had plenty of room to maneuver on the deck. I loaded mine (175 Pro XS, Tandem trailer, jack plate, Xi5, Gen 3 HDS 12 and custom colors) and kept it just under 40 grand. That 175 pushes it at 65 mph with a tournament load and full of gas (44 gallons) and I can just skip across 2' to 3' chop with no issues. It fits in my standard garage on a 45 degree angle and since it is under 3500GVW, I can tow it with my Jeep Grand Cherokee or wife's Ford Explorer.




Best boat out there when you compare the value/cost.

That front graph will work alot better if you take the cover off it Ron!!!

Nah, I hate seeing fish on a pile and knowing that I can't catch them!!!

good lookin' sled

Thanks Bogey.

When we fishing Lavon?

I have a Z8 Nitro love it .

He’s too worried that the screen will get dirty. I keep telling him we would do better in tournaments if we actually used the graphs.

I am willing. My schedule is kinda hectic as I coach my sons soccer team, but I do want to hop on with ya and rip some lips.