Newbie seeking advise

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Mark W

Active member
Joined
May 24, 2008
Messages
40
Greetings all. I moved over to Chattanooga a few years back from Memphis. Could not be happier over here....great town with great people. And the water close by is fishable as opposed to the big muddy river over there. So a fishing boat must be had. I have some experience with fiberglass boats as I did the ski boat thing when I was younger and to this day regret not getting a fish & ski. Now all I want is a fishing boat and here is where I would ask for some advise. I want a fairly lightweight aluminum boat since much of my fishing will be done alone and since I don't have a big vehicle to pull it. I will have to manually take the boat out of an apartment garage since the parking lot does not have room to back up the car. My minimum length is 16' and with the garage limitation I have 21' 6" to work with on the length (that includes the trailer). I would like to total package under 2000 pounds and would prefer something around 1700. I want to go with a Yamaha or Mercury and have narrowed down the boats to G3, Sea Ark, Polar Kraft, and War Eagle. I'm leaning towards the G3 Eagle 170 w/ a Yamaha 90 two stroke or the model 175 in either the bass boat layout or the PF panfishing model. To stay light I would need to go with the 175 series. I really like the 175PF with a Yamaha 60 four stroke. I saw one at a boat show and spoke with an attendee who had the same boat and he loved it. My interest is bass, crappie, and bream so the multi-species boat layout is appealing. High speed is not a priority. I assume the 72" beam is stable for the kind of water I will fish.

Any and all feedback would be most appreciated concerning this. Especially how hard it is to handle the boat alone.....I am over 50....not weak but not real strong either.

Thank you all.
 
If I were buyin right now, id go w/ the sea ark. I like the options and setup of the sea ark, w/ the G3 in a close 2nd. Yamaha or Honda would be my choice of motors. I dont know if youll find 1 for $1,700 w/o it needing some work. This is just my opinion. I hope you find something. Good luck!
 
Hey Mark, I bought a 2009 Bass Pro Pro V-16 with a Mercury 40HP four stroke and love it. Got it in early March this year. Its 16'4" and has a 54" Beam. fits the garage great. The new Mercury is great on fuel. I wanted something without payments and the cost was not bad, equipped with most everything you need to start. It is light and pulls great. It has plenty of room and takes rough water with ease. There is other great boats out there, but to me its been a great first boat. It runs about 35 to 40 on water with a 40HP and thats fine with me. PM me if you want a good dealer.
 
When I buy something new next year I will be something like you will be buying I have been looking hard so when the time comes I will be ready..Bass Tracker is your best value..and I really like the Crappie 175 just b/c of the setup.. Can bass fish out of it easily but also take the family out for some fun cruising or fishing..If you can go a little more though Id lean towards the G3 i think they are a little better made and a little better layed out..I would also consider Seaark they are nice also just not a local dealer. Triton also makes a real nice aluminum series.. And for the garage issue get something with a swing away tongue. Just go around and check them all out in person and see what fits your needs best.</p>

Good luck nothing more exciting then buying a new boat emoBeer
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Sorry Mark ,
tie1on make a statement! I didn't read enough into your post and I just started going on about boats. Island Cove Marina has a few boats on trade, you might give them a call and see if they have one in your price range. Good folks!
 
Thanks for the replies. One question I forgot to ask was in regards to the traditional marine carpet or the vinyl. Anyone have experience with the vinyl?
 

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