I would like to move over to the boater side in tourney's.  I fish the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River, Hudson and any other large lakes that might be on the schedule.  What should I look for in the $5000-$10000 range. Should I look for a newer 18'-19' with maybe a 150-200hp or do you think I need a bigger boat on those type of waters? Also, what type of maintenance costs would I be looking at yearly in general.  Can I compete in BFL's and such with a boat in this price range? Thanks in advance for your tips and thoughts!

As far as competing, if you are a good fisherman you will do well no matter what boat you fish from. BUT for $10000.00 you are looking at a boat that is around 8 to 10 years old. That is not bad if it was well maintained. I fish the same waters as you do and sometimes they can get rough. I don't know if you ever been on the Potomac in a 18' boat and rough water, it can be challanging but there are alot of guys who do it.

First, I would check out the rules and regulations on minumum boat requirements for the Tourny's you plan to fish.  Most have minimum size boat allowed for safefy concerns.  Smaller boats will get you in trouble on big water when the wind get up.   Unless you only plan to fish local club tourneys, I would not consider anything smaller than 18.5' and lean heavily toward at least a 19' rated for at least 200 hp.  If your gonna play with the big boys, you needs the big boys toys.  If you want a good fishing platform with storage and room to handle your gear and still have something that will get you from one hole to the next (which can be miles) in reasonable time even a 19' is gonna get small and slow, so you might want to look for a good 20' with a 225.  Which is going to be hard to come by in your price range.

A Stratos 295 with a 200 would make a good rig.

save up a few more years and get you a very good used boat. I kind of wish I would have, I have a tracker tournment v-18 its a 18.2ft with a 90hp and I have fish tournys with that and it dose good and I fish a big rough lake.

If you're going to be fishing on a weekly basis I'm not sure you're going to get a boat big enough to handle some of those bigger waters you're talking about fishing safely without getting a fairly old boat.  A boat that, due to it's age and being used on a weekly basis is going to start breaking down often thus keeping you drydocked when you should be out fishing.  You're going to need to spend closer to $15-20 for at least a 19 footer that's newer if you want to try and avoid maintenance issues.

In that price range look for a well maintained used boat. From now till spring is a good time since a lot of guys who have ordered new boats will be looking to sell their current rigs. My first tourney ready rig was bought used. I kept it for 6 or 7 years and sold it for within $200 or $300 of what I paid for it. I might have spent $300 for a few up grades.

A good clue for a used boat is one that has been garaged. No exposure to the elements for boat or motor.

Clooney try these links

Boat Trader On Line

http://www.boattraderonline.com/newadsearch.html

Boats.com

http://www.boats.com/index.jsp?src=header_home

Boat Crazy

http://www.boatcrazy.com/

Used Boats.com

http://www.usedboats.com/

Ebay under Bass Boats

Great call NBR!.. The garage thing does give a clue on how the previous owner treat his/her boat.  But of course the engine condition is the main element. Thanks everyone for their input.  I know these waters can get rough sometimes and would prefer finding a 19-20 footer with 175-200 + hp. Wish me luck!