Buying a new boat! Help!

[msbanker]

I have decided to purchase a new boat. I am leaning towards a 17' or 18' center console jon boat with at least a 50hp up to 90hp on the 18'. have even considered a 20' center console jon with 90 to 115hp. the reason I am upgrading is because I have to young children and a wife that enjoy fishing. I will need a boat that can accomidate 4 people easily. I figure with the CC I can drive with a child on each side and the wife sitting on seat in front of console. The only draw back is that there is not that much storage on the CC as it would be on a more elaborate Fisher or BassTracker. Another reason is becasue I duck hunt and I also fish alone sometimes. I figure the CC will handle better with one person(270lbs) in it. I need some advice and if possible some picutres of your boats to help me with ideas. I have even thought about buying a 20' pontoon and keepin the 16'(25hp) Lowe Big Jon I currently have so I have the best of both worlds. I am very unsure about what route to take, any help would be appreciated,

thanks

[J White]

Having fished out of one for years, I will always have a soft spot for
the jon boat - I like Shilohreds's big War Eagle a lot, and looked at a
G-3 that called my name loudly right before I re-boated last time.
Things that swayed me away were the mentioned lack of storage,
and rough-water ride. But if I was able to avoid long rides in big waves
and didn't feel compelled to carry a small tackle store with me, I'd still
be in one! I liked the sharper deadrise "V" on the War Eagle better, but the 30" sides on the G-3 were really nice too. My last one was a SeaArk,
tough as a tank.

[kycreek]

I Love Jon Boats.

[itallushrt]

Another vote for a jon boat.

[ShilohRed]

Look at Sea-Ark and there 15 degree hull. Also if you go with a 2072. Your weight will not bother it one bit. Side console or CC. My War-Eagle is a side console and has way more room than I need. But its full LOL
But the Sea-Ark will sure ride great and I think the sides on them are 28" so its a deep safe boat for kids.
Pete

PS Make sure you ride in a few before you decide. And It it were me I would go with the 2072 for the family.

[Illinois_angler]

Look at Sea-Ark and there 15 degree hull.
But the Sea-Ark will sure ride great and I think the sides on them are 28" so its a deep safe boat for kids.
Pete

There are 26" sides on the Sea Ark 15 degree hull, 28" sides on the 6 degree hulls.

[Illinois_angler]

I have decided to purchase a new boat. I am leaning towards a 17' or 18' center console jon boat with at least a 50hp up to 90hp on the 18'. have even considered a 20' center console jon with 90 to 115hp.

If you are going to use it for duck hunting, stay away from the center console. If you go with a 2072, you will have no problem with just you in the boat...it will not lean to one side.

[charlie H]

Check out PolarKrafts 2096 www.polarkraft.com If you like what you see I might be able to help with the price.

[email protected]

[rushcreekoutdoor]

The tin boats referred to above are all great boats. I just bought a 20/72 mod v F & F. In my opinion it was the only choice. It is a custom built welded boat. I designed it and it is built to order, cheaper I might add, than those listed above. That way, you get what you want, not what they want to build. The sea ark looks pretty good, most of the war eagles waste way too much space and the g3's front deck is too high to crappie fish (too high if you are paying that kind of money!!!) They are all good boats, I just wanted a boat with set up right to fish 3 grown men comfortably in the front and steady/powerful enough to go skiing if I want to or run up the river at 50mph+. (115 Tohatsu power!!)

my 2 cents
rick

[sosowingshooter]

I would advise you not to make a move til you checked out whichever polar kraft fit your needs. I went with tiller steering to free up some space and I am glad I did. This was a picture that I dug up to show the space.