We bought a 19' alumacraft back in 2020 fully rigged for $42k. We have under 100 hours on it and I could sell it for far more than that. We saw the same boat the sports show last week for $64,900 but had a kicker. Price out a new LUND 219 w/400...You're looking over $130k
Have you seen the prices of new aluminum boats these days?
- Thread starter TomTeriffic
- Start date
You guys are just too damn fancy, a huge majority of my fishing has been done out of one of these. Make no mistake (I currently have an 07 175 bass tracker that was $5,700 when it was 8 years old), there are way nicer rigs but the fish don’t care.
44hunter45
Well-known member
CrankyApe.com is your friend
Hem
Well-known member
Its just a boat to me. My wife calls it a swamp boat.
I could double my money, but then what?
Finance an over priced upgrade?
Gonna keep loving my swamp boat.
I could double my money, but then what?
Finance an over priced upgrade?
Gonna keep loving my swamp boat.
TomTeriffic
Active member
I have owed one boat in my lifetime. A 14.50' Lowe with a 25 horse Johnson twin on a trailer. About $5,300 OTD in 2000. She was tiller control and I hated this thing. Very uncomfortable to sit and drive. No steering wheel. Very cramped on deck with two Labradors and other gear. I sold this thing about a year later for $3K. You can't get any new boat with a steering wheel these days for under $20K. I see no point in paying $10K-$20K for a new rowboat with a little outboard on her. Recreational boating is one of the biggest consumer ripoffs there is these days along with the prices of even the dinkiest of new motorcycles.
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I think you just like to complain but I’ll accept that challenge. There’ll be something else you don’t like (probably the color or carpet options) - 16.5 ft, steering wheel & motor, $15k
https://www.trackerboats.com/bass/bass-tracker-classic-xl.html
I had a jon boat for a loooong time. Fish could care less if you're in a canoe vs a $100k walleye rig. For lots of people, me included, the advancement in technology and seaworthiness of these boats allows me to fish when 90% of others wouldn't...and to do so safely. I fish competitively on big bodies of water, and I can tell you with certainty that my "upgrade" is the single best investment I've made in recent memory. Even so...the glass boats are in a whole different league....BUT...it also comes with a price tag well over $100k. These boats aren't just sparkly to show how much $$$ someone has...but they truly are incredible to ride in when the water gets nasty. Dry, smooth, safe.
Wallydeuce
Well-known member
Check Tom's posts before his last disappearance and now. This is not the same guy.
You are absolutely right, it’s a hell of a lot nicer to jig for crappie off a point in a heavy glass boat that doesn’t get blown all over the place in the breeze. I was taking away from the OP that boats were too expensive to own and could keep someone from getting out
SO7mm
Well-known member
We bought a 18'6" Alumacraft Edge in 2019. I want to say it was $48,000 with a good trolling motor and electronics. It's still an aluminum boat but it's a far cry from the 15' Gregor I grew up running around in. We've had a lot of good family time in that boat, well worth the investment for me.
Keep on
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2021
- Messages
- 2,337
Can't imagine at this point buying a new rig. I catch fish just fine out of my old aluminum boats.
I will need a new outboard at some point, but I expect I should be good on hulls for the rest of my fishing/duck hunting career.
Some guys at work have recently bought new glass center console rigs. They are great to fish out of, but I couldn't see myself making those payments on a toy.
I will need a new outboard at some point, but I expect I should be good on hulls for the rest of my fishing/duck hunting career.
Some guys at work have recently bought new glass center console rigs. They are great to fish out of, but I couldn't see myself making those payments on a toy.
TomTeriffic
Active member
Complaining? No, just lamenting the affordable-fun past. I don't like the name Bass Tracker. There are no delete options. I can't delete electronics, extra chairs, trolling motor and stuff. I would prefer an easy-wash hard deck or vinyl deck covering; not carpet. It's not a bad price though. I do prefer the black option over the red. Crestliner had their Discovery 1650 Multispecies spot on in price, colors and options about 5 to 8 years ago. I would in theory need a Vee hull for rough water at speed. Jon boats are flat bottom for duck ponds. Crestliner also seems to have canned their lower-priced Kodiak model as well. They don't seem to want offer their once-popularly-priced traditional budget models anymore.
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Gellar
Well-known member
That’s a good lookin boat! I saw an ad for an old Lund just like we used to fish out of in northern Minnesota when I was a kid. I seriously thought about buying it. Something about them old boats in good shape does it for me.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
There were plenty of 16' Jon boats for sale over the winter for $1200-2000, with trailer and sometimes an old motor. Maybe it's just this part of the country but I doubt it. If you have to have new you're going to pay for it.
Hem
Well-known member
Lobotomy?
TomTeriffic
Active member
The thing is, flat-bottom (Jon) boats are no good on larger lakes, reservoirs and navigable rivers. Crestliner makes the highly-customizable 17' Vision multispecies model that is just around $21K with 50 horse outboard, side console and trailer. I like the name CRESTLINER and they are welded hulls, not riveted.
It's hard to find these aluminum vee multispecies boats used as well. It's extermely rare to see a later-model Crestliner listed for sale on line. Men buy these and keep them until their death. Children, followed by grandchildren, then inherit them. A Bass Tracker or Ranger is a bass boat, not a multispecies boat.
A Crestliner vee can be used for ducks, geese, fishing, sometimes a ski boat and a runabout. I did not use the Lowe 14 1/2 footer I had years to go fishing much. I felt it too cramped for deck space. It was mainly a summertime play vehicle on the local reservoir to day cruise with the two Labs on board. I would fill the livewell with water on the port side midships for ballast. This was to offset my weight seated starboard aft with my left hand on the outboard handle. I had to attach one of those aftermarket whale-tail planing devices to the outboard to get the thing up on plane as the boat was aft heavy. The two large dogs would not always stay riding up on the bow. I kept the anchor up there for helper ballast. The dogs would sometimes come back to visit daddy seated at the tiller to make the boat really stern heavy. The 25 horse 2-stroke/2-cycle Johnson did not have a whole lot of spunk. It needed that extra aerodynamic device to plane the boat. I would never buy another tiller boat again. Extermely uncomfortable driving position.
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NAHMINT
Well-known member
BARGES from SEATTLE to ALASKA and back.
they carry everything from AR-15'S to ZODIAC's. and everything in between.
again from daughter's place/ CAMPBELL RIVER in background.
they carry everything from AR-15'S to ZODIAC's. and everything in between.
again from daughter's place/ CAMPBELL RIVER in background.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
You must be joking? There are certainly times when I wouldn't take a flat bottom out on choppy water but then there's water conditions I wouldn't take a larger V bottom onto either. I've run flat bottoms on the Mississippi and other large midwest rivers without issue, and on large lakes. You can spend your money however you want but saying a flat bottom is "no good" on certain bodies of water is laughable. Sure, there may be better options but there's nothing wrong with a beat up old Jon boat if you are on a budget.
