Bass boats for sale

How the type developed

The modern bass boat came out of the Ozarks and East Texas. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas credits Forrest Wood, who built six boats with his wife Nina in Flippin in 1968, with creating it. Skeeter, in Texas, had moved to fiberglass in the 1950s and in 1975 introduced the Wrangler, a 150 hp V-bottom. Rick Pierce of Bass Cat writes that his 1984 Pantera Pro set the template for the 19 foot, 92 inch beam, 200 hp boats that dominated tournaments afterward. See Ranger, Skeeter and Bass Cat.

Fiberglass tournament boats

Nitro's Z21 Pro is typical of a 21 foot glass boat. Nitro's 2021 spec page lists 21'2" overall, a 7'11" beam, 16 degrees of deadrise, a 300 hp rating, a four person capacity and 55 gallons of fuel. Dry weight is 2,150 lb and the package with trailer is 4,050 lb, with a towing length of 27'11". Check that a garage or storage spot can take that length. See Nitro and Triton.

Aluminum bass boats

Aluminum costs less and weighs less. Vexus lists its AVX 2080 at 20'2" with a 95 inch beam, a 200 hp rating and 35 gallons of fuel, and gives a starting price of $62,184 MAP. Trailered, it measures 23'10" by 8'2". Tracker sells the Bass Tracker Classic and Pro Team lines at the entry level. See Vexus, Tracker and Lowe.

What to check on a used bass boat

Many have been run hard on tournament trails. Ask how the boat was used and get the outboard's hours from a dealer scan rather than the seller's memory. Look at the jack plate and transom for cracks around the bolts, since high horsepower on a light hull loads that area. Test the trolling motor at every speed, check the batteries and charger, and run the livewell pumps. On fiberglass boats, walk the front deck and feel for flex. On aluminum, check welds or rivet lines and the hull bottom for gouges from ramps and stumps. Last, look the hull ID up in the Coast Guard recall list before you pay.

Where to look

Bass boats concentrate in the South and Midwest. Browse Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri.

Questions for the seller

Ask how many hours are on the outboard and whether it has a service record from a dealer. Find out if the trolling motor batteries are original or recent, since a full set is a real expense. Ask whether the boat was used in tournaments, which can mean hard running in rough water, and whether the trailer bearings and tires have been replaced. A seller who kept receipts for those items usually kept the rest of the boat up too.