Boat Purchase

I’m looking to upgrade out of my 14′ skiff this spring. Ideally, my new boat will be either a 17′ or 18′ with at least a 115hp on it so I can comfortably fish GB. I’m looking for suggestions on boats & motors that would be good to look at as well as what to stay away from. My home waters is the Mississippi but with a larger boat I’ll be doing much more traveling to lakes throughout the state for walleye/smallies. Budget is up to $15M. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I just bought a brand new boat for the first time and it was an awesome, stressful, fun experience. Not to mention now I am broke for a while.. But it will all be worth it in the Spring! Good luck with your search. My old boat is still for sale if it is something you would be interested in. 1998 Warrior 2090 with 125hp outboard.

Tom Albrecht wrote:

Budget is up to $15M.

$15 million should be plenty!

If you will start fishing bigger waters, think deep gunnels. When it gets rough, I like a boat that hits me high in the thighs versus one that clips my knees or shins.

Tom enjoy the experience. I buy a lot of boats so I have a lot of opinions.

1) You mention the waters you fish as the Mississippi but you want a boat to do Green Bay. Get your self a boat that fits your style / species first and foremost. If you are a Bass guy get a boat with a big front deck & low sides. Walleye guy get the boat that fits the way you like to fish Walleyes. Most of your fishing won’t change other then yes you can hit some bigger waters. But just because the water is bigger doesn’t mean you need to go crazy getting a huge boat that hampers your ability to fish your local waters. An example is if you buy a boat thats great for you on the waters you normally fish but book a trip to Leech. You get to Leech and the wind is blowing and fishing in your boat will be sketchy at best. Just go to a smaller local lake.Bigger waters like Leech, Mille Lacs, Red are all surrounded by smaller lakes.

2) Everybody says to max the motor. While this is true what they really mean is don’t buy a underpowered boat. Pay close attention to the max HP rating on the coast guard plate and stay as close to that as you can.

3) Don’t end up in the poor house buying a boat. If that payment is going to strain the finances wait another year and save more money. Look at everything before buying. How much more gas will you burn (both boat & truck) how much will your insurance go up. Will you need to pay to have it stored. All the expenses on their own isn’t much but they do add up.

4) If you have any skills buy a basic boat and rig it yourself over time. You pay a lot of money for fully rigged boats with all the goodies on them. Unless you are paying cash you are financing those goodies.

5) I’m of the opinion you go around once in life. If you have everything handled (family, savings, oh poop money) go ahead and buy your dream boat if you can afford it. Many will say thats bad advice. Well, in all the boats i’ve bought NOBODY has ever made a payment for me. So they really don’t get much of a vote as to what I buy. You are paying for your toy so get what you can afford and what you will enjoy. Remember……….if the dream boat costs $70,000 but you can’t afford to go fishing what is that boat really worth?

Thats my 2 cents worth. Enjoy the shopping it’s the most fun you can legally have!

I’m in the market for a new boat myself this spring. Foe me I know the one thing I really want is a 4 stroke motor. I’m thinking something in the 90-115 size. I’m a big fan of the Crestliner Fish Hawk series. I’m leaning towards down sizing from the older 1850 with a 150 Johnson ( Carbed ) to new 1750 with a 115 4 stroke. If interested I’ll most likely have my 2002 for sale this spring.

Dutchboy wrote:

Tom enjoy the experience. I buy a lot of boats so I have a lot of opinions.

1) You mention the waters you fish as the Mississippi but you want a boat to do Green Bay. Get your self a boat that fits your style / species first and foremost. If you are a Bass guy get a boat with a big front deck & low sides. Walleye guy get the boat that fits the way you like to fish Walleyes. Most of your fishing won’t change other then yes you can hit some bigger waters. But just because the water is bigger doesn’t mean you need to go crazy getting a huge boat that hampers your ability to fish your local waters. An example is if you buy a boat thats great for you on the waters you normally fish but book a trip to Leech. You get to Leech and the wind is blowing and fishing in your boat will be sketchy at best. Just go to a smaller local lake.Bigger waters like Leech, Mille Lacs, Red are all surrounded by smaller lakes.

2) Everybody says to max the motor. While this is true what they really mean is don’t buy a underpowered boat. Pay close attention to the max HP rating on the coast guard plate and stay as close to that as you can.

3) Don’t end up in the poor house buying a boat. If that payment is going to strain the finances wait another year and save more money. Look at everything before buying. How much more gas will you burn (both boat & truck) how much will your insurance go up. Will you need to pay to have it stored. All the expenses on their own isn’t much but they do add up.

4) If you have any skills buy a basic boat and rig it yourself over time. You pay a lot of money for fully rigged boats with all the goodies on them. Unless you are paying cash you are financing those goodies.

5) I’m of the opinion you go around once in life. If you have everything handled (family, savings, oh poop money) go ahead and buy your dream boat if you can afford it. Many will say thats bad advice. Well, in all the boats i’ve bought NOBODY has ever made a payment for me. So they really don’t get much of a vote as to what I buy. You are paying for your toy so get what you can afford and what you will enjoy. Remember……….if the dream boat costs $70,000 but you can’t afford to go fishing what is that boat really worth?

Thats my 2 cents worth. Enjoy the shopping it’s the most fun you can legally have!

Good advice on the loaded vs loading myself. That’ll likely save quite a bit in the long run.

fishthumper wrote:

I’m in the market for a new boat myself this spring. Foe me I know the one thing I really want is a 4 stroke motor. I’m thinking something in the 90-115 size. I’m a big fan of the Crestliner Fish Hawk series. I’m leaning towards down sizing from the older 1850 with a 150 Johnson ( Carbed ) to new 1750 with a 115 4 stroke. If interested I’ll most likely have my 2002 for sale this spring.

I may have interest in that. Most likely won’t be until March/April. Just want to start looking ahead of time

Tom,
Back in September, I posted an ad on IDO for a gentleman in the Cities selling a 2006 1785 SC YarCraft. You can scroll back to see the ad, and as of November, he stored it in his garage. I had a 2000 1785 DC with same hull for 12 years, which performed well in big water on Green Bay and Lake MI. Got close to heading over there to take a test spin, but ended up staying with the 2017 Lund Impact I bought after selling the YarCraft. Might be worth a peek; he may be negotiable, which would give you some room to upgrade some things.
Good luck in your search.

Tom Albrecht wrote:

Budget is up to $15M.

$15 Million!

Hey buddy, buddy, ole friend ole pal! Say can you help a fellow American who’s down on his luck?