Background: I�ve done 90% of my bass fishing out of a 95 Ranger R70 sport. 17� with a 115hp Johnson. The other 10% is out of a Nitro Z9 with a 250 mercy pro XS. I�ll be ready to buy used as the market crashes at the end of summer into fall. But before I buy I want to do as much research as possible.

The biggest issue I�ve got is I want this boat to be 85% for bass fishing, during the summer 5-10 wakeboarding Tripps, a few sandbass Trips, scuba diving once or twice the year and potentially one ocean trip. However, if I go the way of a center console how much compromise would I be doing for bass fishability.

Major issue I see with a center console is with no carpet do you still throw all of your rods on the front deck or do you rely on rod storage on the sides of the console rod box etc?

Would an 18.5 center console be much of an upgrade on bigger lakes compared to an 18.5 bass boat or the Ranger I normally fish out of? Texoma got scary/dangerous in the ranger when it was blowing 25+ from the north. The Nitro handled it completely differently and much safer.

Can you comfortably fish three for bass in a smaller center console, may be captaining high school teams this season?

Any other wisdom you can shed.

Well, rod storage on a center console can be had by mounting vertical racks on the sides & front - just be mindful not to leave big treble hooks unsecured while you're underway.

What about when you are fishing and jumping from a spinner bait to a crank bait, do you still throw your rods down on deck or have to use vertical racks as not to destroy expensive rods and reels?

Some center consoles have rod lockers in the front deck area. Might have to shop around some to find that style.

If you pick a boat to do everything you mentioned, it's not going to do any of them well and you are going to be shopping again pretty soon. Pick a boat suitable for how you use it the most, which in your case appears to be bass fishing. If you dunk a bass boat in the salt, it's going to last less longer than you think. Bass boats are not rigged for saltwater and one trip to the salt is all it takes for the cancer to start. FWIW, painted trailers don't do well in salt either.

For a long while I was convinced I needed a fish and ski but doing neither well was motivation to back away.

I understand the decks will be smaller on the center console but coming from the 17� boat I didn�t think it would seem too different.

Does a center console yield any more safety ability than an equally sized and equipped bass boat? What do you do with the 5 rods I often have put while bass fishing with no carpet on the deck?

I cant speak for a 17'CC but I can for a 22'6" bay boat. Yes you can lay rods on the deck while fishing but they may slide if you take off too quickly. Besides the two rod lockers that hold 7 rods each I also have 8 rod holders on the console, 4 on the leaning post, and 4 more in the gunnels. As for room, it has a 102" beam and can easily fish 4 people with plenty of room to move about. For rough water handling, there's not a bass boat out there that can compare. Only downsides to me coming from a 21' bass boat is their not as fast and the taller gunnels catch quite a bit of wind but my X5i deals with that nicely.
Oh and as for the market crashing this summer of fall and picking up one cheap, I wouldn't bank on it. Yes I know every decade or so there's a crash and a correction and not saying we're not due for one but when it happens prices don't drop overnight.

I bought a Ranger Angler 1880 in 2016. I love it. I use it similar to what you described minus the ocean scuba trip. This boat will not work for that. It�s a deeper hull than a bass boat and will handle rough water just fine. I fish Lake Amistad a lot. I have rod holders and I do some trolling for stripers and whites. I have been known to pull a tube or two in the summer. It�s a really good all around boat.

You can always get snap in carpeting for the deck or all away around. Had it on a cabin cruiser. Take out and wash at quarter car wash when dirty.

Buy the boat that fits your largest use, then you can add on some stuff if you want to do other things in it. Don't buy a fish-and-ski, and don't put a boat in salt water unless trailer, boat, and motor are all specifically designed for salt. You can rent a boat or get a charter once a year way cheaper than you can repair all the stuff that will start going wrong in the weeks after your annual ocean trip.

I tend to favor the bass boat over the CC, but that is a very personal choice. There are some towing rigs that make a bass boat totally serviceable to ski and tube from. Basically it is a tripod that goes into the rear seat mount of a bass boat that brings the tow hook up about 3-4' off the deck. It also helps to get a hydrofoil to get up on plane more quickly.

The newer fish and ski designs are too much ski. Back in the 80's Ranger made the 375 and 395 which I think were more fish. CC/Bay Boat is the way to go. When my Ranger blew up for the second time I went with a Champ 2200 Bay. For the fishing that I do it is perfect. Only down side is coming from a boat that would get up on the pad and run in the 60s. My boat really needs a 250 but the 200 is OK. I have been pulling the nephew tubing a few times and it does fine. I was concerned about shallow water fishing in the spring but we went anywhere in Fork that I did in my Ranger. Only problem we had was keeping the green trash fish off our hooks. Trust me the Champ is a Rolls Royce in rough water compared to the 18' bass boat. I have tons of rod storage whether in the locker or in the holders on console and seta back along with rod saver mounted on the side. I could easily mount my ski tow bar that I had on the Ranger but would not use it enough to justify drilling holes.

The Hull ?