I have a 2000 1650 Lund explorer that is a great boat with out braking the bank. Just make sure you don’t go boat broke. Make sure you have the funds to put it in the lake
Seriously have you thought a used setup, if you want to save money. You could get one fully loaded. Try Craig’s list or the internet. Insure they run the motor in front of you and engage it as well. I personally wouldn’t buy a motor greater than (12 to 15) years old. However some of these used gems like Yamahas 4 strokes hold high value for years. They are practically indestructible if they were maintained properly. Just a thought.
Since you are just starting out here obviously, I would put much consideration into dropping $7k in a boat off the bat. Lets say 2-3yrs, couple dozen skunks on the water, thousands of $$$ elsewhere spent on fishing stuff that maybe the hardcore fishing thing just aint for ya? You still have to make payments on a rig that probably isn’t worth what you paid for it, now that hurts.
Starting off you need nothing more than a 14′ with a 15hp motor. Will get you to where you want locally and then after a few years you can step up if need be. Should hold its value rather well too for a few years. I ran a similar setup for years and nothing more satisfying than at the launch overhearing other anglers talk how rough it was on the water in their $30k boats and scoff at the kid in the lil dink runabout, if they only knew you caught and released a dozen walleyes that morning. 
Buy boat/trailer for $1500 or so, get a decent depthfinder with GPS/DI combo, couple nice rod combos, good amount of tackle and save the rest for jerkey and bait!!
Tug is the drug, but for some it does fade off after a while and just becomes a normal hobby. Hate to see you invest heavily initially and find another passion down the road. 
^^^This hit the nail on the head. Put whatever payments you were planning on making, in the bank until you hit $1500 or find/can afford a nice old 14-16 foot lund with solid motor. Once you do this, put half of that monthly payment in the bank every month toward a future down payment, and the other half to cover gas/bait/equipment. During this learning period you should also get your captains license. This is called planning ahead and test of concept. Once you figure out how to crush a number of lakes throughout the year, you will have a nice fat down payment waiting, and the confidence that you can put people on fish. Then you can buy something random people want to fish out of, and the ability to help them succeed and want to come back. But that’s, like, just my opinion man! Good luck!
There is guys that fish out of 2,000 dollar boat in are bass league and do just fine the kids have a nice graph and some good sticks to boot.
I went from a 2003 triton bass master Classic editon tr196 with a 200 etec bass boat. And I down sized to more of a river boat because I would rather fish the river in late season and duck hunt out of it to. So I went to a 1652 express mod flat bottom with a 40hp Honda 4 stroke. Still fish the bass league and we do just fine.
Totally agree with nhamm. Set your sights on something you can pay cash for and own outright right from day 1. Going into debt on a purchase that’s purely for fun is a great way to end up broke. How do you know when you can afford a boat? When you can pay cash and still have enough money to go fishing.
I’d look for a 16 footer with something like a 20 or 25 HP. Age is much less a factor than condition and condition is EVERYTHING with boats. A 16 footer is plenty big.
Don’t shy away from 2 stroke engines form the 1980s onward. These are tremendously reliable engines that, with proper care, can and will easily last 50 years with only basic maintainace. The added benefit to the low budget boat owner is that these are simple engines that you can work on yourself.
Remember, with a boat you’ll need money left over to license it, insure it, store it, and….
Last but not least, what are you going to tow this boat with?
Grouse
Here is one that is in my neighborhood from a man that I know.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202866842311542&set=pcb.828015990603750&type=1&theater
He may negotiate, but I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHERE HUS BOTTOM LINE IS.
Sorry for the cap locks getting on.
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/boa/4920275993.html
Thinking more like this. Very nice rig, got the bow mount for bassin already.
Boats are very close to houses, hope you have or access, to tools. The responsibility that comes with ownership, requires a working knowledge or a buddy who does of mechanical stuff.
So with the notes you’re taking for fishing, get ready for the same on repairs. Moneys tight when you’re young, and when it comes down to giving a shop $300 to fix your motor, you’d better just buy the part for $100, do the repairs yourself, and save the rest for other important items.
Get to know the local shop. They will be the place to get your parts and can help you out with picking a good used motor, hopefully if they’re friendly. They can tell ya which motors where parts are readily available, and not.
Have no worries about purchasing used motors over 10-15 yrs old. Haven’t owned a motor less than 20 myself, all Johnsons and all bulletproof. Look up compression tests, heard its a good idea, haven’t done it personally, always lucked out.
Great advice here. Stay level headed and don’t let emotion push you into debt. Always put the important things in life first, housing, transportation and savings for emergencies. If you can’t afford to enjoy life you’ll end up hating that boat.
I think a boat is like a car when it comes to buying one. I tell my family this as a buying guide:
1 – Figure out your top dollar ($7500)
2 – Subtract 20% for unforeseen problems (-1500)
3 – Look for something in the 80% range knowing you have the resources to fix whatever it needs. ($6000)
4 – If making payments, take out the loan for the full amount ($7500) and buy the unit, then add whatever you need to make it whole with the balance ($1500).
5 – Then you have exactly what you want and in good condition.
6 – Re-read Rule #2 again.
one thing to consider is that banks use NADA to rate how much a boat is worth. When i went looking for my first boat last summer i came to realize that NADA is at about 50% of what real world value is, therefore it was impossible for me to get a loan from a bank for a 5-10k boat. Everytime i found one for around 7 or 8 thousand i called my bank and they said “yeah sure we’ll loan you 3k for that boat”. I ended up buying a new boat as a result. Moral of the story is, unless you have cash or a very good relationship with your banker, you may not have all that many options. My credit score is over 800 btw and ive banked with this bank for over 15 years so it didnt have anything to do with that. Good Luck with the new boat purchase!
A good starter boat depends on what you plan on using it for? Lakes, Rivers, both? Fishing tournaments or guiding? If you mostly are on the river then you don’t need a glass boat. But if your headed to Leech or Winne an older bigger boat is a must. One of the best hooks I know cut his teeth with a 12 foot flat boat, but he mainly fished smaller bodies of water. Here is what I would look for a old Mirrocraft or Lund 16-18 ft, 50-60 horse, then deck it out with a monster trolling motor and good electronics. It might not be as good as a bass boat in the wind, but it will fish all types of water and weather.
Yeah buzz makes a good point, the type of boat you buy really depends on what type of water you plan on being on regularily and how many people you will be fishing with ext.. I purchased an alumacraft classic 165 which i like cause its small enough for the rivers and big enough to handle most bodies of water on a calm day but if there is any kind of stiff wind i wont be out on mille lacs or LOTW in it. For this boat it fishes 2 people great and 3 ok but anymore than that and it gets crowded. Lund makes the best boats for fishing IMO but you pay a steep price for them.
I wish this thread was out there two years ago when I got my starter boat.
Definitely heed the advice of keeping below your maximum. As soon as I started using mine then money started flowing for more than gas. Thankfully I had a reserve but wish I would have had a little more.
X3 with Buzz on everything he said. I’m rebuying electronics this year to get what I really want. Bought what I could afford after the boat purchase and will be money behind after I upgrade. It is truly amazing how quickly dollars add up with a boat.
My starter is a 1988 14ft Alumacraft with decking and a livewell. Motor was 12 years old but had less than 20 hours. Set it up with new electronics and a near new trolling motor. Some days I wish it was a 16 but I have garage restraints. Works great for rivers and most lakes, just won’t see me on Mille Lacs.
I’ll also agree with the starter boat being a 14-16 footer with a 15-25 hp motor. That’s where I started. Made a few dumb mistakes in that boat that could have been a lot worse in a bigger boat. Especially one owned by a bank! Even these days you can tell the guys who worked their way up the boat sizes. They just make everything look easy. And it should be that way.
One thing you may want to consider. Get that first boat, fix it up. Then run it until you find that super great deal. Over the years, that’s how I upgraded. Boats that pop up for sale due to divorce, death, bankruptcy. Auction deals or pro boats that need to be gone now! You can pick off those deals, run the boat for 2-3 seasons and sell it for what you paid for it – or more!
Or consider a 14-16 foot jon boat. Something you can keep and use for a lifetime of fishing and hunting everything from lakes to skinny rivers. Also real nice to have as a winter beater boat when you pick up that nice boat later on.
-J.
B.O.A.T.= As we all know means Bust Out Another Thousand. IT’s true! lol
I need something that can go on the mississippi river and go to back waters. I found one for 5000 and i can put a payment on it which is real nice 70 hp but can i get buy doing tournaments in a 25 ?
At this point Id start putting away for tourney fees, doubtful you’ll see any returns on them…..
Depends on the type of tournament, for Bass if it is a local tourney- sure 25 horse will work. But for a bigger event your non-boater will whine all morning LOL. Don’t know your age or experience level but if you want to get into tournaments get a small jon and prefish, prefish, prefish. Then enter something like the BFL as a non-boater and go with someone else in their boat for a few years. But any boat used in a tourney will need a livewell, a good dependable trolling motor, good batteries, a decent depth finder, and lights. Someday I will give up running my Ranger and downsize to a Grandpa boat. Two wheel trailer, 16 jon (trying to find a 25 year old Sea Ark to retro-fit). But today is not that day. My experience on the river is that ” by increasing horsepower it also ups the frequency of close encounters with wingdams, logs and rocks”
I would do A lot of the Pool 4 tournaments because its basically my back yard
If you’re going to go as a boater starting out on the Miss. River tournaments,I wouldn’t go with anything smaller than a 150 hp ,you waste to much time traveling around ,on lakes I started with a 25hp on a 14’lund trihull and did real well ,you have to figure out a route and game plan to not waste time ,pre fishing is very important and stick to your game plan .I upgraded to a 60hp on a 16′ Nitro in 1 State tournament pool 8 my son w a 150 were fishing the same area and I had too leave 1/2 hr earlier than him to get back on time.
Stan 
A 150 hp might be tough with a budget under $7500….
Can’t stop following this thread and throwing in another two cents. Money is clearly a significant concern. One of my favorite things about running a small boat with a 25hp is my gas bill at the end of a weekend. It’s peanuts! Day to day running expenses are less and repairs are less.
Small boat = less weight = same performance as a larger boat with a slightly bigger motor. I get 26mph in my little boat, that’s plenty enough for fishing. I just know that long runs of many miles are not in the cards. Fish smarter, plan better, and have a ready made excuse when I can’t catch fish.
Sweat equity is another good way to get more boat for the money. Knew this one needed a new floor. Beware that little things will kill your budget. Say, rivets and a rivet gun. I went a few hundred over on this rebuild:
http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/alumaboats_1292672/
First is the best, paid for boat and fishing with dad. Second is at 95% complete with new floor, new seats(not planned), and Hbird 597. Last pic is right after purchase with an added a minnkota.
20140607_100139.jpg
20140524_183931.jpg
The-back-view-0713.jpg
nice boat patk! thats basically my boat only 30 years older and about 90% less money i imagine.
Sharp looking boat boat Patk!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
