1.Buy what you like and best fits your needs, then go to the next size bigger,(Boat and motor and trollin motor) at some point you will wished you had
2.Get motor,transom,hull,electricial and electronics checked out by Certified Mech.get results documented on paper, test drive
3.Don't ask how it was driven, expect it was driven balls to the wall, most boats are
4.Take trailer out to a trailer place and have them check it out.
5.Make a list of what you want to add to it, then add 2K to the total for mind changes which will happen
6.Buy a name brand like fluke said
7.Finally save about 3k for stuff to go wrong after you buy it, yes it will happen

I captured this post a few years ago on the TFF. Sage advice.


"Remember, no matter what you get it's still a bathtub with a water cooled lawn mower engine on it!!!
And when you ask an open ended question like what Bass Boat would you buy, that just brings out the best in everyone!!!!!! And for the most part, the boat they have right now is the best boat, unless it's broke and they are looking for new one?

You really can't shop for a major purchase like this boat and use this kind of input. You would end up with a dozen boats and wish you had a dozen more. Or you get input like this "I am a proud owner of a basscat!! Go with a basscat." Hummm? I'm just gonna run out and get me one of those babies!!!!

My suggestion for your shopping:
1. Start off with, "All of these boats SUCK!". None of these bozo's build a rig I can jump rock piles, bounce off stumps, take 12 foot swells, and still drink my coffee while I run at 90 MPH. Now lets go from there.
2. Which of these crappy/overpriced rigs fit what I am going to use it for?
Casual fishing?
Tourney fishing?
Penis extension rig? (biggest/fastest, stop here and buy a Bullet or Allison)
Family and other?
3. Needs to handle rough water. OK, your skipping a flat rock over waves. They all suck at that. Some less than others.They all get you wet. (If anyone says they don't, they lie.) Which one appears to have held together after a couple years of pounding? Look at the splash well sides and where the transom meets the sides. Check for cracks on some of the rigs at the boat landings. Most everyone will let you look through the boat and tell you how good it is. (Don't point out the cracks. they don't like that.)
4. Get some rides at the ramp and make sure the wind is howling. Most everyone will give you a ride! Just don't ask to drive.
5. Don't buy a rig just because everyone else has one. This is a cattle trail thing. BASS switches sponsors and you see everyone dumping Rangers for Tritons, etc.... Moooooooo, don't follow the herd!!!!!! It leads to the slaughter house.....
6. Fiberglass or Aluminum construction? I have a 19' Xpress w/200, aluminum hull, and it sucks just as much as the rest of them. It goes plenty fast, gets me wet when it's rough, has plenty of storage (everyone says that?), comes with a lifetime hull warranty.
7. Horsepower? The bigger pig you get, the more HP to push it and stay up with your friends.
8. The trailer brakes are a good idea and it keeps your rig from passing you when you need to clamp down on the binders. The tandem trailer sucks even more. Now you have 5 more tires to take care of and can't move it by hand.
9. Get HYD steering! No cables. That way when it's broke, it's really broke! No if's.
10. Get the jack plate. Even if the "lot leach" at the dealership says you don't need it. He lies. That's his job. Know what you want before you go there.
11. Unless they are Woo Daves, people with sponsorship **** on their shirt got a couple bags of lizards for sewing it on (or maybe nothing?). Remember that when you talk to them. Bag of lizards??/ Opinion on bass boat=???
Be scared, very scared.....

If your going to keep this rig awhile, then look at the warranty.
Enjoy your search.

Pat Goff"

Please don't buy a Fish N Ski.

Do-Take a minute to look at my boat.

Don't-Look any further!

Lot's of good advice on here, especially the compression check. I recommend you first ask the seller what he/she KNOWS is wrong or needs to be fixed on the boat. Every boat usually has something at least minor that needs to be fixed. See how forthcoming they are. If there are no surprises when you inspect it, that's a good indication the seller knows his/her boat and therefore has probably taken decent care of it. If there are lots of surprises or "oops, I forgot about that", you might want to look elsewhere.

John175 pretty much nailed it, if you can buy a used boat without being paranoid after reading all this helpful advice, you will be alright.

I bought a used Champion in 94. It had some hull repairs done that I did not notice when I bought the boat.The repairs done to the hull have never caused me any problem. My advice is to look the hull over for any discoloration and check for previous repairs. I still own it today. It is great in rough water. I would buy a new one if I could afford it. The posts before had good suggestions for the transom and taking it to a fiberglass shop for inspection.

A compression check will not tell you if the engine is OK. An out-board engine is a high compression engine. The only way to check it is by doing a leak-by-test. I bought a used boat several years ago and it ran OK on the water, it was just a little sluggish at take off. I ran it once and it got worse. Took it to South Texas Marine just outside Alice Texas. I did a compression test before I bought it and every cylinder was within "specks". They did a leak-by-test and said the center two cylinders were shot. They pulled the heads right then with me watching and sure enough the center two cylinders were completely gone. SO REMEMBER DO A LEAK-BY-TEST not just a compression test!!!!!!!!!!

I've owned, starting in 1988 - Hydro Sport, Charger, Bullet, Champion, DynaTrak, Astro, Skeeter, Gambler, Skeeter, Skeeter and now 09' Ranger Z520. All but 3 were bought new, my last 2 Skeeters bought off tour guys (one from Cody and one from Alton). My take on them, if you're buying a used boat don't worry so much about the resale because you can buy a used anything for less than you get a used Ranger, so you'll likely pay more now and get more later, or vice versa. Best ride I ever owned was the 21' Champion, hands down. However they are not making those anymore and they do have a history of transom issues, I'd own another one, but only if I let a good glass guy go through it first (and they are somewhat "tippy" when fishing). Most fishable boat my ZX225 or ZX250 Skeeters. Stable, decent rough water boat (especially the big one). boxes laid out well, doesn't catch stumps when fishing. Downside was I never owned a Skeeter that the rub rail didn't stretch and come off and I had to screw with constantly, and in every one of them if I spent a rough 2 or 3 day trip on big water I would find screws, bolts etc, in the floor, bottom of rod box etc. Got made fun of because I always carried an electric screwdriver to put them back in and tighten things back up. Also had carpet issues in some of my Skeeters. Most surprising boat was the Gambler, crazy fast, 84+ mph tournament loaded with live wells full, was very surprised how well it handeled big water and it was an extrememly solidly built, I would say as solidly built as my Z520, which I never would have believed had I not owned one. BIG downside on the Gambler is that the gull wing hull literally pulls stumps to the center of the boat, will drive you absolutely crazy if you fish Palestine, Toledo, etc. Ranger Z520, absolutely no complaints, I came out of the ZX250 Skeeter and told a buddy it felt like I came out of a Lincoln Town car into a German sportscar, just really solid and handles really nicely, don;t get me wrong, if I had to run the length of Rayburn with a 20 mph wind I'd take the big Champion first, then the big Skeeter, then the Z. Careful on some of the older Rangers, lots of them have no bow lift (I'm told about any of them that are not the new Z series), although the are really solid boats most are slower. I'd own again a Skeeter, Ranger, Champion or Gambler (if I fished the right kind of water). If at all possible get something with some warranty left on it, if not compression check as mentioned before is a must. Also check the hours on the motor. The pro's 1 year old boats are great deals and there are lots of them out there and they are REALLY flexible on the pricing (at the least the big boys) because they usually are not out of pocket for them, it's part of their comp.

Wow, hadn't even thought about checking serial numbers vs titles...guess I assumed everybody was honest, great point.

Lots of good info. I'm dusting off all of my old gear and buying a few new rods and reels, while looking at used boats. Right now a great friend of mine has a boat at Lake Fork that he lets me use any time I want. I just hate borrowing anything. There are a few used boats out there that look pretty good rights now. Just wonder what the market will be like in a couple or three months?

And on the subject of serial numbers, be very careful of any outboard that has had the lower unit replaced with a takeoff from a different engine. Had a friend get his boat impounded and he had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it back because the serial number on the lower unit didn't match the one on the powerhead.

Tandem axle trailer. I also prefer hand controlled trolling motor with stomp buttons. Not fighting a foot control.

I also am a fan of Champion boats!!!!! Have a 221 DCX Elite myself.

Do not buy an aluminum hull express.....Rough riding and no resale. I was in a tournament years ago and three boats sunk...All three were....you guessed it aluminum hull Xpress's!

single axle will get you there fish didnt care about how many wheels you pulled the boat with .I based my last boat on tandem trailer let a coupole get deals slip by because of it .Then I bought a 19.3 ranger 2.5 liter with single axle glad I did less tires to buy.if it couldnt handle the boat ranger wouldnt used it