i found two boats i am interested in, i am going to look at one at lunch and i looked at one this morning.

the one i looked at this morning is a 1986 17' bass tracker with an 86 mercury 75hp. it needs a new interior because everything is gutted except the front deck. he is asking $800, i figured i could buy it put a few hunderd in it for carpet, seats (whih i have) and plywood and make a few hundred off of it if i decide i dont like it. he has used a black plaster looking material along both sides of the keel so it makes me worry about leaks.. see the pics below.









here are pics of the nitro, the gel coat is really bad but other than that and the rusty trailer it looks good... He came down to $1200 on the price...

Yes. Providing the engine is serviceable.

If it runs good and has good titles it is a good deal.

i just checked the ownership information via the tx number, the hull number and the motor number, everything checks out good..

the other boat is a 93 nitro wit ha 115 rude for $1500, if it is ready to fish i will probably go that route but we will see in a few minutes..

Just make sure any boat has titles on the hull and motor.

I would go with the Nitro if you are planning on fishing in any type of rough weather.
That Bass Tracker is DANGEROUS in rough water. I use to own one and swamped it several times. It is no fun swimming a boat to shore in Feb.

what will your "fishing budget" allow? meaning how much down the road will you have for gas up keep ect. I have a 16 ft tracker type boat that I can go 2 or 3 trips on the same 6 gal of gas. my brother has a glass boat and he has to put gas in every time he goes out, also the tracker cost less to pull. I am in the process of upgrading my boat and I have 400 in the upgrade so far, I think if you put a few hundred in the tracker you can be water ready in a weekend worth of work

If the Nitro is not rotten. Motor runs smooth. Go for the Nitro. Down the line, it will have a better resale value, than the tin can. Would be wise money spent on the Nitro.

i just talked to the nitro guy again, i will not be able to take the boat on a test drive because of where he lives, plus the registration is expired. it did start right up and ran fine for several minutes but i would really like to try it out to make sure the the lower unit works...

I have decided against the bass tracker because of all of the patching that was done on the hull, looks like he was trying to find a leak and never did...

No test drive, no sale.

I 2nd that


DO NOT buy any boat without a test drive/ride. PERIOD. You might as well just throw your $$ out the window.

Yep, its a no go on either boat... I sure wanted to go fishing tomorrow..

back on the hunt....

ohh yeah, thanks to everyone for the recommendations and suggestions..

..GREAT ADVISE