Anyone looking to buy their first bass boat should consider
joining a bass club.
After all, what better opportunity does a novice angler have
to take test rides and actually get to fish in a variety of
brands and sizes of bass boats? During my earliest non-boater
days in the Eldon Bass Club, I got the chance to fish in every
major brand of bass boat ranging in sizes from 15 1/2- to 19
feet and through these experiences I formed an idea of what
would be a good starter boat for me.
“If they are fairly new to bass fishing, they are usually
fishing with some of their friends in the club, so they are
getting to know what their needs are as far as length of the
boat and horsepower of the motor,” said Wesley Dawson, owner of
Dawson Marine in Beaumont, Texas. The boat dealer works closely
with bass clubs in his area by sponsoring club events and
allowing club members to hold their meetings at the dealership.
“The first-time buyer is probably more picky and knows more
about what he wants than the guy who has had 15 or 20 boats,”
said Luke Payne, 2005 B.A.S.S. Federation Central Division
champion and owner of Pro Choice Marine in Warsaw, Mo. “There
are a lot of club guys who have ridden in Brand A or Brand B and
have narrowed down their choices to those two because they have
seen that the other boats won’t work for them.”
Even though club tournaments have given them plenty of test
rides, club members still have to mull over some considerations
when buying their first boat. “The biggest consideration is
where they are going to be fishing,” Payne said.
“If prospective buyers will be fishing mostly rivers and
smaller impoundments, a 17 1/2- to 18-foot bass boat with a 90-
to 150-horsepower engine will suit their needs best. A 17-footer
will run waves a couple feet high really easy.”
However, a bass club member who often fishes large
impoundments such as Sam Rayburn or Table Rock should consider
at least a 19 1/2-foot model. These boats usually cost more, so
the buyer also needs to consider any budget constraints.
“A guy is way better off though stepping up to a bigger boat
and under-powering a little bit if he’s on a budget,” said
Payne, who noted a 19 1/2-foot boat powered with a 150 hp engine
can still run in the mid 60-mph range.
If your budget allows, you should avoid buying an
underpowered boat
though.
“Sometimes we have customers that do that and in six or seven
months they come back and are already to trade,” warned Payne.
“We see that a lot. The first-time boater is usually afraid (of
bigger engines) since boats don’t have brakes.”
Another key consideration for the first-time buyer is garage
space. Payne estimates 40 percent of his sales in certain
lengths of boats are determined by the buyer’s garage size.
A vehicle’s towing capacity should also be considered when a
first-time buyer looks for a bass boat. “You definitely don’t
want to be towing a 21-footer with a 225 hp engine with a light
pickup or SUV,” advised Payne. “You don’t want to overload your
tow vehicle. A lot of times you can pull bigger boats but
stopping is the problem.”
Using engine size as a guideline, Payne recommends his
customers can tow any bass boat longer than 18 feet with a V-8
engine, but boats shorter than 18 feet are recommended for
buyers with V-6 or smaller engines in their tow vehicles.
Since first-time buyers usually step up to another boat
later, they often look for a boat with a good resale value.
“It might not be the deciding factor but it is a factor to
most people,” Dawson said.
The Skeeter dealer notices several first-time buyers in bass
clubs in his area start with an 18-foot boat powered by a 150
horsepower motor. “That is usually a big enough boat to get them
started and some people stay with that boat for a long time,”
said Dawson, who recalls his starter boat was a 15-foot Skeeter
with a 70-horsepower motor.
A similar size rig works for beginners in Payne’s area. “A
good starter boat is a 16- or 17-footer with a 90- to 115
horsepower,” said Payne, who’s a Triton/Ranger dealer. “Other
bass club members that have been in other guys’ boats might want
to start with an 18-footer with a 150 hp, single console to give
them more room and a trolling motor with more thrust.”
The All Star Bass Club member reveals he bought a 16-foot 160TF
Bass Tracker with a 90-horsepower Evinrude for a starter, but
three months later purchased a 19-foot Ranger with a 150 Yamaha.
“It was an oversized boat rated for a 200, but it was a good
starter boat,” said Payne, who frequently fishes the big
reservoirs of Truman Lake and the Lake of the Ozarks.
Once first-time buyers figure out the size of the boat they
want, then they must choose whether to buy a new, used,
fiberglass or aluminum model.
Buying New
First-time buyers will pay more when purchasing a new boat
for a starter, but they can avoid a lot of maintenance headaches
and warranty hassles. Buying new gives them nearly a
problem-free boat and full warranty. Dawson noted most boat
companies now offer lifetime warranties to original owners.
Purchasing a new boat also allows beginners to have their
boats rigged with everything they need. First-time buyers rarely
have to customize new rigs since most boat companies offer
package boats with all the bells and whistles.
“All the brands on the market (today) are pretty well loaded
up with a jack plate, disc brakes on the trailer, detachable
tongues, battery chargers and full gauge instrumentation,” Payne
said. The Missouri dealer added the only customizing needed for
most package boats is to add the buyer’s preference in trolling
motors and electronics.
Buying Used
The sticker prices of new boats can be a shocker for a
first-time buyer on a tight budget, so they might consider
getting more bang for their buck by looking at a used model.
“You can get a 20-foot boat with a 200 horsepower or greater
that’s four- or five years old for maybe the same price as a new
18-foot boat,” advises Dawson.
Payne, who sells several used boats at his dealership,
suggests a first-time buyer can save $5,000 to $7,000 if he can
find the right secondhand boat. The dealer recommends the buyer
should seek a rig with a multiple-year warranty on the outboard
motor. “A lot of the motor companies are offering free
warranties, so that is not quite as much of an issue anymore.
You can buy a three- or four-year-old boat that still has a year
or two warranty left on it, which is super,” he said.
Looking at used boats is a buyer-beware situation, though.
The number one danger of buying used is getting a boat with a
troublesome engine. “You always want to make sure you get a
compression check,” Payne warned. “If the motor still has
warranty on it, you still need to take it and have it checked
out because sometimes there are some warranty issues that a
customer might think is covered but it is not.”
A certified mechanic can check for crucial problems, such as
a cracked lower unit or bent pro shaft, which might not be
detected by the buyer. “We encourage everyone to take it to a
dealer and spend $50 or $60 to have the dealership check it out
because that ‘good old boy handshake’ deal a lot of times ends
up getting them in trouble,” Payne said.
The first-time buyer can check for transom cracks and look
underneath the seats and in compartments and livewells for
stress fractures. A used boat with a Hamby Keel protector will
have less scratches on the bottom, but Payne suggests the buyer
should also look for any delaminating of the hull.
Depending on the age of the boat, some of the equipment will
have to be replaced due to wear and tear. “We tell everyone when
they buy a used boat that they should expect in the first year
to spend $300 to $400 on water pumps, batteries, depthfinders or
bilge pumps.” Payne said.
Knowing the previous owner of a used model could insure that a
first-time buyer acquires a dependable starter boat. “A lot of
guys buy boats ‘as is’ off the Internet and we’ve fixed a lot of
their headaches,” said Payne, who sells a lot of used boats on
the World Wide Web as well.
“Sometimes guys get a lot of good deals too, though.”
Buying a used boat from someone you know gives you a good
idea of how well the boat has been operated and maintained. “I
would say that 75 percent of the guys who buy from a
non-relative or stranger have some type of trouble with their
boat that wasn’t revealed during the sale,” he said.
Being in a bass club gives the first-time buyer a definite
advantage when considering used boats. “The club is a great
place to buy a used boat. You fish with a guy this year and in
two years you find out the guy is going to sell the boat. So you
have been in it and you feel comfortable with it. You know how
it ran and think it will make you a good boat,” Payne said.
Fiberglass or Aluminum
Fiberglass bass boats are the standard for tournament fishing,
but some quality aluminum models are available for the
competitive angler.
Both boat dealers are noticing more club anglers are buying
aluminum models for starter tournament boats.
“They’ve come a long way. There are a lot of guys who run
rivers and beat the boat off stumps and they don’t feel
comfortable doing that with fiberglass,” Payne said.
Dawson agrees that aluminum models are more suited for
stump-filled rivers and reservoirs laden with flooded timber.
“You might dent it if you hit some wood, but you know you are
not going to rip or fracture that metal like you might
fiberglass.”
The major drawback to aluminum models is a lighter hull,
which means a rough ride in choppy water.
“Technology just keeps making them better and better. I’ve
told guys we could blind fold them and take them out riding in a
fiberglass boat and an aluminum one and they wouldn’t be able to
tell the difference in the ride on a 1-foot chop,” Payne said.
And though buying a starter boat can be a tough decision,
bass club members should remember that test rides come
tournament time can help make their choices a lot easier.
Another Used Boat Market
Promotional boats from dealers or pro staff members can be a
good buy for a starter tournament rig.
“You can save some money there,” said Luke Payne of Pro Choice
Marine in Warsaw, Mo.
“You normally get full warranty. The pro staff
guys know they are going to sell them every year so they
normally take really good care of them. They know the boat can’t
be banged up or gouged and scratched. I wouldn’t have a problem
at all buying a pro staff team boat,” he said.
Payne believes a first-time buyer can save
$3,000 to $4,000 on a promotional boat, especially when
purchasing a longer boat (19- or 20-footer).
Wesley Dawson suggests a deal on a promotional boat could be
either good or bad.
“Some team boats or promotional boats are
abused and have a lot of hours and running time on them. Other
ones are just as clean as any boat you’ll ever see,” Dawson
said.
“And some promotional boats like a dealer demo
has some hours on it, but has never been registered, so you can
still get the entire factory warranty on it.”
