Great stuff as always when I ask for advice on TFF. Thank you. I will keep reading any new posts.

Nothing like a new boat and if that's what you want AND can easily afford it, there's nothing wrong with buying new. I bought a new 202 Champion in 1997 and kept it 20 years. When I moved into the new house in 2016 I had a smaller garage and it wouldn't fit. $150/month to store it for 8 months. That wasn't going to work. Plus I had gotten my money's worth out of it. It still had original powerhead and lower unit so I never had a major engine cost to repair. But, EVERYTHING else was ready for upgrades. I started researching boats that would fit in my garage. Ended up buying a '14 Legend 191 in 2018. Fit perfect with folding tongue. Rode decent, 63mph top end, but storage was smaller than what I wanted. Sold it and bought a'17 Legend 199 in 2019. Got both used but fairly new Legends at a great discounted price and they both had motor warranty left over on them when I bought AND sold them. Sold 199 three weeks ago and after 2 years of looking finally got a boat that has all of those things you're looking for AND at a huge discount from retail vs new. 2018 Basscat Erya with a 250 PROxs. Fits in one bay of my garage. Goes faster than the other two by far. Great storage. Warranty on both motor and hull. Newer electronics. Retail on this model was around $62k-$65k depending on how it was rigged out. I paid $47,500. If you want new...get it. If you're patient you can find a really good buy on a gently used boat. Someone ALWAYS get their rear end in a sling whether it's boats, cars, houses...whatever. If you're patient, diligent in your search, and at the right place at the right time you can find a real bargain.

I fish out of an 18.5 ft boat with a 150. I was going to buy a 4-7 year old 20-21 ft boat with an Ultrex and Power Poles until I started looking around and saw prices. They are absolutely insane. I'm not going to pay $45-48K for a 2013 or 2014 boat so I guess I'll keep fishing out of mine until someone's wife gets pregnant, he loses his job, or otherwise needs to sell it fast.

Coronavirus and to a larger extent high school fishing have created enough demand to push prices to the downright stupid level.

I just recarpeted my boat and it looks brand new. I'll get an Ultrex and wait for the right opportunity. I fish a club, Fishers of Men, and a couple of Bass Champs events. A couple of years ago on Cedar Creek we had a spot we wanted to fish but decided not to run several miles north across the main lake in 25-30 mph winds. That's the problem with 18 ft boats.

If its a well made boat go for it, always been strange to me the 18 and 19 ft boat market is so niche, in the 80's those were the full sized boats.


I like those boats, they were well made

I bought a new zx190 with a 175 on it back in 2011. Still fishing out of it today with no problems. I fish a lot solo so the room isn't an issue for me. I like that it isn't as heavy as a bigger boat. It's on a single axle trailer. I fish a lot in shallow water and stumps so it's easier to navigate their as well. I can't keep up with guys going 74 mph though. I won't win many races going 55-60 mph but it's fast enough for me.

Because it's less than 20'

I would buy one a year old personally or even a few years old if you got it from a oldie, I have deep pockets and bought mine 1 year old which saved me a solid 12,000 I got it from a pro staff so all warranties transfer over like I was the first owner.

I fished out of an 18' 150 HP bass boat all over the south, east and north and the only time I had a problem was on Champlain in ten foot seas.

Kept it for 17 years and bought a 21' with a 225 15 year old Hawk which got swamped and totaled. Bought another 20 year old 19 1/2' Bumble Bee with a 175.
Great boat but got real squirrely over 55 mph and sold it when yet another 27 year old 20' Ranger fell in my lap at $4K. That will surely be my last bass boat because at this age I really don't feel that safe going out by myself any more. It's not the fishing part but the launching and recovery.

While the first boat was new in 1994 and had a good warranty, the used boats have been pretty good too.

I'm in a Sabre, bought is used 7 years ago. It's a very solid ride at 60 mph, the main thing for me is when the winds are over 20 mph is can get a little dicey driving on the big water and it drives better against the wind than with. It fits in my garage and that was very important to me. All in all , I'm hoping one day to upgrade to bigger boat.

Also, I've ridden in some 20' boats that would beat the living hell out of you.

Personally I would not I'm in the pre-owned 20 ft + group..but if I did I would only consider a single console in a boat shorter than20 ft.

I currently own a Ranger Z518 w/ 150 Merc 4 stroke. It does exactly what I need it to do. IT'S JOB!

Sure I can't fit a family of 4 on the front deck with 8 crappie rods, but that's not it's job.

Sure it doesn't fly on the lake at 70 MPH to race in front of other yahoos, but that's not it's job.

Sure it doesn't ride the absolute best like a cruise ship out for a siesta in Can Cun, but that's not it's job.

It's job is to allow me the freedom to be on the water and enjoy that time away from work.

It's job is to allow me to have fun.

It's job is to get me safely across the lake at a navigable speed.

It's job is to allow me to bring a person or two that enjoys the escape as well.

Don't get me wrong...I would like a larger rig. But at the moment, I'm enjoying my current purchase and plan to do so for some time. If I were to buy today...I would look at used 20'.

Lot of good advice posted here. When I first started bass fishing in the 1970's, all my friends had 16'-17' boats and we caught lots of bass on Toledo Bend and the river. The B.A.S.S. pros were mostly running 17'-18' boats all over the country. I used to own larger boats back when I fished tournaments all over Texas and club events on Rayburn and Toledo. But when I quit fishing tournaments and got older, I started fishing out of 18-18.5 size boats and enjoy them the most. When I retired 7 years ago, I decided to buy a new boat and had to decide what size to buy for my retirement years. My budget was not a factor and did not affect my decision. After my personal experiences with 20' boats vs 18' boats, I decided to purchase an 18.5' boat. I would have been happy with a 17'-18' aluminum bass boat honestly, but decided to stay with glass. Keep in mind, you need to consider not only boat storage but where you will fish mostly. For my situation, an 18.5' boat is perfect and I mostly fish the Sabine river, with a few trips to lakes Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn.

I have a ZX190. I actually scaled back from a Stratos 201Pro when I got this boat. I have been happy with it. It's easy to load and unload by yourself. I no longer have the need for speed and I am perfectly happy just trolling the banks these days. It does handle rough water OK. Obviously not like a 21' will but these days I am more of a fair weather fisherman so it doesn't matter to me that much. My take is if your going to fish big water or like to run the lake with 20mph winds get a big boat. If there are going to be at least 3 people consistently in the boat bass fishing get a big boat. If none of those things apply then 18.5' will do you just fine.

When we bough ours we were looking at Tracker Pro Team 175TXW's and had just about decided to go with one of them since it was about the budget my wife and I set.

Then the Ranger we have popped up and it was about 1.5 years old, looked like it was brand new, and the price was just slightly over the Tracker.

I have upgraded the TM, Electronics, and did added a few other things since but it fits our needs.

18-1/2 foot boats are fine but they usually come on a single axle trailer which means a bumpier ride while trailering and backing down a boat ramp could be more challenging.