hey hows it going, i am in college and i tournament fish a lot and i am the co angler with my buddy who has a nice skeeter, i want to get a boat for myself yet, it has to be something where i can take up payments on it, or its cheap, do ya know of any means of which i can track down a nice boat for a good price for a college kid

If you can find a good Gambler, go for it. There awesome for two people fishing up front because of the huge front deck. Don't know how mant recommendations you'll get for Gambler, because not very many people have them, but they're awesome fishing machines. BTW, I'm a college student as well, so i know that you can get one. find the right bank with a good interest rate will help too.

have a reputable marine mechanic check it out for you before you sign the dotted line... thats the most important!

i tried to buy a nitro one time and i had the money for it and i have outstanding credit but the bank wouldnt approve me because i was in college and i had a student loan, which i thought was a bunch of horsesh*t

I found my first few boats through other club members and such. I was able to get started by buying their trade in when they were purchasing that new rig for themselves. I was actually able to buy one of them at the price the dealer was going to give for trade in value, was probably 2 grand below what they were going to turn around and offer it retail. Big plus was that I knew the boat already, saw it out on the lake on club tournament days, I knew it wasn't just being dumped on me by some stranger that wouldn't have to look me in the face after dealing me a lemon.
Thats my .02

I found my boat on boattrader.com, looked for about six months checking weekly. Ended up finding one from their site at Sandy Creek Marina in Breckenridge, Tx. You can go to sandycreekmarina.com and look at their used boats too. If you call them, talk to Alan. They are family owned business and they are right there on Hubbard creek so you can try'em before you buy'em. They also will help with financing and they use Abliene Credit Union so you get a better rate than a bank. I bought a 2000 model Nitro from them and they had me approved thru the Abliene CU at 7% on a used boat!! Good Luck!!!!

I have one for sale and it's a Nitro...

Unfortunately in your situation it will be hard to get a load at decent interest rates. There are companies out there that are more than willing to lend you the money unfortunately they are the devil. So be patient and make sure you do not step into some high interest loan, or you will need to win tourneys on a consistent basis just to pay the interest.

Get an old Cobra, they made a super strong hull and if taken care of will last forever.

Have it checked by a mechanic you trust...no matter how good the boat is, if you have serious motor issues it could than any boat repair job will!

What price range are you looking for??? I've got an '86 Stratos I'm thinking about selling, but I haven't officially posted it for sale yet. It has an Evinrude 150 that is a rebuild and I have 10 hours of break in time on it. I've had several small issues with it running good, but got it back from a boat shop and it's running very well now. It's been garage kept and the paint is in great shape, but the carpet is faded, but not torn. Has new Motorguide 72 lb. thrust foot controlled trolling motor (24 volt). Eagle depth finder. Mounted temp. gauge near trolling motor. New gas tank. 3 fairly new batteries. 19' with a ski package. Handles rough water well. 2 working livewells. 1 new butt seat with telescoping post, 2 sit down seats with original Stratos upholstery in great shape. 3 different props (1 stainless steel). 2 new trailer tires and spare is in good condition. It also has a custom fit boat cover (thick material) and reinforced stitched trouble areas (like the console, trolling motor, and seats)...and an engine cover. I recently put LED taillights on it also with new wiring at the tongue.

I bought an xpress while I was in school. You won't have to worry about fiberglass work, the smaller motor gets better mileage at $3/gallon, and since it is a larger aluminum boat, it takes water much better than many. Check around and you can find some at a steal.

I agree as most college students dont have a garage look for a used xpress and you wont have to worry about bad gel coat, weak fiberglass or rotten transoms

Budget ?