kb here have you guys seen the price of some of the  so called high end boats  $50,00.00---$60,00.00  are we crazy  or what.   well i can see i  will not get a new boat.   so i think i will take a little more care of the old 2002 ranger i have.  where will this price stop  i guess not till we quit buying them   might be a good business to get into restoring older boats    better to spend $5,000.00  than $50,00.00kb

I bought my first NEW boat in 1978.  At the time, a 17 1/2 foot with a 115hp motor was the standard rig for the day.  I bought a 1977 model that was left over from the previous year and got a deal.  I still paid a whopping $5500 for that sucker.  A new '78 model would've been around $600 more.

In 2007, new boats are averaging 7 times that amount or more.  My salary hasn't gone up 7 times in that same time period.

I see a problem.

I love working on older boats and restoring them.  More guys are doing it these days rather than trading in for a new one with the prices what they are.  As nice as the new rigs are, I can't justify the money for them nor the extra $$$ needed to pay for the tow rig and gas to use it.

When I ordered my '07 Ranger, I had Richard the salesman pull out my old invoice from the 2000 Ranger 520 I had bought from him.  The new boat was $20k more!  It's amazing how pricey these boats are, to say the least.

"Old" 2002 Ranger?    That isn't old in my book....

Yeah right! 11K to replace my '84 150 Mercury. So she a little old, and she smokes a little, but she still screams when I'm riding her.

Guess we pay more for the specialization that these boats represent.  I went the other way when i purchased in '04.  Picked up an aluminum 18' Crestliner Canadian w/trailer and 60 hp Yamaha for just under 16,000 out the door.  That's about one third of what the specialized bass boats are running and it has greater versatility with less specialization.  I think you may start seeing more "basic boats" in the future as prices continue to rise and fishermen become more reluctant to fork over 50 large.  Additionally, there may be a lot of used boats coming up soon as people start scrambling to meet their balloon payments on mortgages they can't afford.  (Sorry for the ramble!)

If I saved 32,000 on a boat, how many GYCB senkos would that buy?  

Posted by: Tucson Posted on: Today at 10:57am

If I saved 32,000 on a boat, how many GYCB senkos would that buy?

53,422.37 Senkos to be exact (@ 5.99 per pack (10) from BPS & not counting sales tax).

*Sorry, you asked and I'm really bored at work

Well I think that this goes for most of the gear we use on a regular basis in our sport. You would be pretty hard pressed on getting a decent rod and reel combo for under $200 now. Its kind of upsetting that some younger people trying to check out the sport might pass on it because of how much it costs to get into it. yes Im sure you can get a rod and reel combo for far less than $200 but is there any quality there? I doubt it. It just seems that these manufacturers only see these high tournament payouts and thats what they are designing their boats for but not the Angler who either doesnt plan on entering tournaments or only plans on doing a handful. For instance the Diawa Steez rod and reels +$400 each. Seriously not saying they arent great but seriously....

Even if I won the lottery, I could not buy a 45,000 bass boat....just can't do it. No offense to redline and others, but mine is out of principle alone. :-/

My boat is VERY clean and cost me less than 4k. I could see myself spending around 11k, but not 45k.........ever.

kb here again   man ia'm 72 years old and still fish a lot    get in some of the local tourneys   and see these young guys   (everyone is young to me)   pull up with a new boat and a new truck   + eguipment  and you are talking about $100,00.00   mans that's great if you can afford it do it    but when i was lets 40 years old  i had to work 5 years to make $100,00.00.   blows my mind  ok ia'm just a old fart   kb

kb here again   man ia'm 72 years old and still fish a lot    get in some of the local tourneys   and see these young guys   (everyone is young to me)   pull up with a new boat and a new truck   + eguipment  and you are talking about $100,00.00   mans that's great if you can afford it do it    but when i was lets 40 years old  i had to work 5 years to make $100,00.00.   blows my mind  ok ia'm just a old fart   kb

A lot of these guys with those rigs can only afford it by taking l-o-o-o-ng loans out on the boat and truck.  Like 12 years plus.

Insane.

Sometimes longer than that.  My dad is the the foreign car repair business (yet we drive all chevys )  and he has to deal with people (he is the manager) who are trying to fix their ancient BMW because they have a low credit score, and still, after 15 yrs. they owe more than the car was worth when new.  So they cannot buy another car for years.  Or, they have payments on two or 3 cars, of which they still own 1.  The others have been sold, and yet they are still paying off the loan.  It is crazy, and yet, they spend a whole bunch of money on a car that has more problems than a pinto.  NOTHING is cheap to fix on that crap.

Well we are living in an Instant Gratification society now. It seems nobody saves money for anything anymore but rather take out loans to get what you want right away. I see allot of people, young people especially getting into unbelievable debt. Its a sign of the times I guess. With those new mortgages, I foresee allot more people getting into trouble when their houses become unaffordable.