Take a trip down to Miami for the boat show. It's the week after the Super Bowl this year. Every manfacturer that has anything to do with boats and worth a damn is there. Being able to check out all the boats in one place is well worth the price of the plane ticket and you could do it with a one-day turnaround. Louisiana has a very limited boat market considering the amount of water around here. Plus once you walk around for a day looking at boats with $1+M price tags, $80K for the top-shelf bay boat will seem like pocket change. :thumb: There are a lot of boats out that between a flats boat and a 24* deadrise V that are classified as bay boats. Either way, buy a slicker suit because you will get a wet arse. As far as engines go, I'd go with a Verado. The E-Tecs popularity vanished quickly. Yahama are notorious for blowing heads. Hondas lack on power.
If you plan on keeping the one boat and not buying a new one every 5 years like some people make sure you get one with no wood. And watch for catchy/tricky phrases in their brochures that mean encapsulated wood. Key West and Sea Pro are two that are wood free and are nice bay boats, but there are a few others also. Hard to beat those Honda and Yamaha four stroke engines. What area do you plan on fishing?
There are good boats and then there are not so good boats. You will get what you pay for. Putting it in salt water makes it even worse I'd assume but I guess some are just made for that. You do know what boat stands for right? Bust Out Another Thousand:lol: the name of my boat is "Always Something"
The name of my boat is the "Flounder Pounder" which coincidentally was a term we used in high school for "punching your clown" or "burping your worm".
i From experience I can tell you that a boat is a hole in the water that you throw your money into.:dis:
You opened up a can of worms with this question...but here goes. NS should put me on their damm staff. - I have a NS 1900, '06 model. This boat has all the features you can imagine...trimmed out perfectly. I'm talking about pop up cleats, storage galore, nice sized oval bait well, nice sized redfish jacuzzi (livewell), 60 gallon tank, which is pretty much unheard of on a 19 ft boat, 102" wide on a 19 ft boat, SOLID hull, doesn't feel like you're pressing on a aluminum can when you push on the sides. (By the way, I strongly suggest you test that on other boats...) There isn't a splinter of wood in a NS. No wood means no rot...period. It's a true full liner boat. In floor fish box...HUGE. The 10 year warranty is transferrable. They're made in Mississippi. I could go on and on. Oh, ALL stainless hardware, too. See below...there she is. A two man trout limit, and still room on the front deck. - I have a 150 Optimax on it. I can do mid 50s, and I have never...I said NEVER...porpoised in this rig. I hit the throttle and launch, and as it's picking up speed, I'm trimming up. When I am trimmed all the way up, I'm at b/w 5500 & 5700 rpm, doing mid 50s. If you can find another stock boat/motor combo, same size and HP, that can do that, let me know. Lots of people have their own opinions on motors as well. I can only go by what I know from experience. And here it is... I have never...EVER...not cranked this boat in less than 3 seconds. That includes the times I've come home from Dallas after MONTHS, months in which the boat sat idle. First try every time. And to make it better, while fishing redfish tournies, I have done take off next to teams with the exact same NS 1900, but with 150 Yamahas, and I will blow their doors off. I have a friend with that set up that hasn't touched 50 MPH. By the way, my mid 50s is GPS measured only. I hit 59 once, but I don't count it, as it was a tourny takeoff in Venice, and I was heading DOWN river. - Now, I said it was stock...and it is. But I did a little playing with props. The best I've had it is what's on it now. I took a 19 to Precision Props in Metairie and had him add some tip cup. Guy knows what he's doing and is cheap. I also had him put double tip cup in a 18 I carry as a spare. I use that prop for tournies if I know I'm gonna have to run shallow, and don't have far to go. It REALLY pops up on plane, but it sucks the MPH right out of it. I can only hit 48 with it on a good day, and I have to watch the RPM. It will over rev if I'm not careful. Some other things I've done is move everything heavy to the back. The less boat in the water, the faster it'll go. True, but as stated above, that's not all Fishhead has. I can when I toss the kayak in the bayboat, beyotch. Yessir. Although I have never had any trouble out of mine, I do love spending $$$ on it. I mean, you just have to have a Power Pole, and the Stay in Charge system is a must. I will never run out of trolling motor power again...no matter how long I fish. This system charges the trolling motor batteries while I'm running the big motor, and even when I'm towing the boat TO the launch...off the truck.
Didn't see this or I would've quoted it too... Please explain why it's "Hard to beat those Honda and Yamaha four stroke engines". Heavy anchors that get crappy mileage. Yes, they're quiet...but I very much enjoy hearing my motor. Let's me know it's still there pushing me along. Optimax gets better mileage, is faster, and it's black. Grey is boring. - I just do not understand the deal with the four stroke mania. You all have seen the Evinrude ETEC infomercials against the 4 stroke Mercs and Yammies, but you've never seen it up against the 2 stroke Opti. There's a reason for that. Etec is 2 stroke as well, but an Opti will smoke it. Just listen... - - And to my knowledge, Key West doesn't really have a "Bay" boat. They have center console fishing vessels, though. There's a difference. Sea Pro is decent, but check the fit and finish against a NS. Push on the sides of either. - Frontier is a fine hull design, and is often compared to NS. I hate that, though. It contains wood...and again, wood rots...period. Same with Blue Wave, although their "Pure Bay" series is wood free. (Push on the sides of one though) Blue Wave storage and livewells suck, and they are too much $$$ for the Pure Bays. - IMO, Ranger, Shearwater, Triton, Blazer Bay, Pathfinder, Champion, are all REAL bay boats...quality. However, they are all very pricey...and have nothing that a NS doesn't have. - DISCLAIMER---When I say Nautic Star, I'm talking about THESE models only... NS 1900 (although I think the 1910 is basically the 1900 now, but I'm not sure. Check the beam. If it isn't 102", it ain't one of NS good models) - NS 2200 - NS 2400 - NS 22 TE (tournament edition) - NS 24 TE The 1800, 2100, and 19 RG are NOT in this class of boat. Do not be fooled.
