My son fishes HS bass tournys (hopefully college as well) & father-in-law (FIL) wants to upgrade our 1988 Skeeter. Due to price & what my son likes in certain boats we've possibly settled on the Z18. Son's only concern with that boat is the 150hp Merc it comes with. I would like to bump up to Z19 w/ 200hp but that blows FIL's budget out of the water. And before you ask, he only wants to buy brand new. You & I both know we can get more bang for our buck buying used but it's not my $$$. Main concern is once it's loaded down with 3 men, gear, fuel, waters & ice, full livewell & 5 HUGE fish, will it perform good enough to a tournament fisherman's standards? My son is very competitive when it comes to fishing! I'm sure we will add the jack plate from our old boat and upgrade the prop to help.
Thanks in advance for any pros and cons.

Great choice, MLF pros use the Z18 loaded great boat

Can you upgrade from the 150 or is the Z18 maxed out with it?

Up grade to a 175 max gets you to about 65 close to 70 if fixed right

I have the 150 and it is ok for an old retired guy, but you need the 175hp. Will not be happy with performance after the added weight.

i had a 2011 nitro z6 and it has stringer problems , the botom look like spider webs so be careful.

Tell him call any dealer other than a Nitro dealer and let a professional convince him he can buy a lot more boat, used, for the money! Kind of kidding. Kind of not. Wonderful he wants to help y'all with a boat. I just think you should push that envelope for a used 20 foot boat as hard as you can if y'all are serious tournament guys. Buy a used 20 footer and then put a brand new 250 on it. All the warranty. Bigger boat. Better built boat. If you pick right.

You might not get any better advice than this!

ANY shorter boat is going to beat you up a lot worse than a longer one. From many years ago, I learned the hard way, starting at 16.5 feet and working my way up through every painful step to finally arriving at the 20' and 200hp class. The heavier you load a boat (and you're going to have that boat loaded) the worse the effect will be. When it's too late, you'll discover you're miserable with it, and stuck with it. We're trying to advise you so that you do not end up in that predicament with no easy recourse. To that, I still remember being bashed to oblivion in that smaller boat decades ago!

If FIL is paying for 18ft, why don’t you pay the difference for a 19ft.

A friend bought a loaded out Z18 with a 175 ProXS. That boat is pretty fast with an Ultrex, two people, and a tourney load. Max speed, GPS, is 65 with two people. He said he’s got it up to 67 by himself.

In perspective. My heavily loaded TZX190 (same length as a z18), with a warmed over Hydrotec Yamaha 150 4S, 12” jack plate, 22 pitch prop can only run 65mph with two people. Before the computer swap, Ultrex, extra battery, and Power pole, 21pitch prop, it would run 61 mph with just me and a light load

Those boats can be fast, but you should always get the max HP rated for the hull, or the kids gonna never get to fish fresh water. He’s gonna be late to every hole and fish behind another boat.

Let the FIL pay the full amount of a Z18, towards the z19 and dad finances the difference for 12 months.
I know the Z18 in my previous post was $37,000 with the upgrades added to it at BPS...a Z19 with a 200ProXS is only $3000 more. And for the $3000, you get a better ride, faster top end, more stability, 24v trolling motor, tandem trailer. It’s a LOT MORE boat for a little extra.

I am ALL IN with Steez's way of thinking....even if he is a little green fish fanatic!

new boat is a suckers bet....period.....talk to Rocky at Rockwall marine, or Fun and Sun....bet they have something very nice that let someone else pay the depreciation.

If it wasn't for new boat sales there wouldn't be any used boats available.