Hey guys & gals... 1st, this is a really cool forum... lots of great stuff!

Started my search for a boat a while back. Used to fish a ton... kids getting into it a little bit but I'm ready to start getting out a little again. I won't fish a ton at this point but who knows down the road. My initial search was for a $2k-$5k Bass Tracker 175, Lowe Stinger, or similar boat (also ran across a Alumacraft Maverick MC that looks like a good boat but not seen in person.

Which leads me here.... guy answered a local "wanted" ad I have... older guys buddy told him about my ad and he can't fish anymore due to health. So here's what he has... 89' Lund Pike 16D on a trailer... has steering, livewell under seat, decent storage, typical red aluminum Lund in average shape, probably 8-10 year old bow mount Minn kota trollering motor, older depth finder, but the gem is a like new 2008 2 Stroke 50hp Mercury with Tilt/Trim running the boat. I would probably add a higher front and rear deck to fish from and leave the center low??? It won't fish as deep of water but... priced decent. Priced at $3500... he doesn't have it listed and recently is deciding to sell. Said $3200 will buy... I'm betting $3k will easily pick it up. I'm thinking even if I decided to go with something different down the road, I could pull the motor and put on another boat... thoughts?? Thanks in advance!

All the bets!

Steve

Anyone? Thanks!

The money is in the motor. If the motor checks out ok it's worth the money. See if you can take it to a mechanic and have a compression test. A new 50hp is 5k. You'll have to make a judgement call on the hull, the trolling motor etc. You may need to put more money into the boat. Keep that in mind.

The money is in the motor. If the motor checks out ok it's worth the money. See if you can take it to a mechanic and have a compression test. A new 50hp is 5k. You'll have to make a judgement call on the hull, the trolling motor etc. You may need to put more money into the boat. Keep that in mind.

Thanks Slonezp... There are a few things I would want to do to the boat... I would add a front and rear deck, and replace the flooring which isn't horrible but would do it while doing other things. I don't want to dump a bunch of money in a boat but I want a boat that worth what I have into it when I'm finished... Boat can be had for $3k today.

I have a few other contenders I'm thinking about as well...

04' Crestliner CX1754 w/60hp Merc 4 stroke... $6500 seems steep but books out... has new 70# troller and looks really clean.

99' Alumacraft Maverick M 17' w/40hp Mer 2 stroke... I think the power here is a little weak... new finder, new troller and appears clean.

06' Tracker w/50hp... waiting on pricing, may make a run out of town for this one tomorrow depending on price... asking $6500

Make sure you check out the wiring also in a boat of that age, I got a boat that was 15 years old and ended up doing alot of rewiring. Wiring is not that expensive or that hard however, especially if your doing deck work anyway.

If you can afford 6 grand and the hull and motor on the Lund are in good shape, you can buy alot of trolling motor and electronics for that extra 3 grand. Whatever boat you decide to buy, It's never going to have enough storage or speed anyway. Good luck

Thank you!! I agree... and that's my debate is how much extra cash I could have if I spent less. However I also don't want to start dropping to much into the boat if I decide to go a difference direction next year. I'm looking/working on a 06' Tracker PT175 now that can be had for what appears to be a decent price. We'll see... I'm going to head off tomorrow to take a peak at it. I'll be sure to post back with whatever I do. I'm sure I'll be hanging out here a little more now and on the golf forums a tad less.