Opinions needed....

Looking at this boat real close. Nice price, functional fishing platform and that leaves good money for upgrades to the trolley and electronics.

2001 Pro Craft Bill Dance Edition

I fished bass tournaments for two years out of a 2003 Dance edition. It had a 115 Merc. It was actually a very nice boat that fished a lot bigger than 17 1/2'. We ran a lot of miles in some rough water in it amd never really felt unsafe. Ours ran upper 50's so that one should run out in the mid 40's which is plenty fast for Truman. That seems like a pretty fair price on what looks like a very clean boat. Got to do the usual check on the motor and test ride/drive on the water. If that all goes well go for it.

Thanks J... your word means a lot. I'm asking about getting the engine hours and compression readings. I'd even pay for them. He's already agreed to a ride on Beaver since he lives close to it. If all works out I'll be taking a drive Saturday. The 40's are fine for me, in the loaner I fished this year I mostly cruised at 35.

I have an 02 pro craft 200 super pro 19' 4" that fishes really nice. Mine can be a wet ride at times in a cross wind. That boat might be priced the way it is because of motor size? You might look the trailer over good I have heard of complaints about them in reviews that I have read?? Nice looking boat, I like mine.

Tight_knot your 200 SP should be a nice rig. Been in one several years back. Plenty of deck space and lots of storage. Can hold a square dance on them 20 ft'ers. My cousin that I bass fished with back then now runs the 210 Super Pro and loves it. Gordon I hope it turns out to be a good one and you get to drag it home with you.

Looks like a nice boat and nice deck area. Does it have front and rear livewells? Good luck.

Just rear, that is one big negative. Everything else looks tight and well cared for. I had him email me more pictures that I could zoom in on. I'm currently fishing with just a rear and it's so tiny that it can barely keep half a limit alive, but a front lw would be real nice for dipping trees. Heck, usually if I'm fishing for groceries I don't even use the lw, I have a small ice chest and they go straight to the ice.

my opinion is the integrity of the engine is the biggest variable on a used boat like this, if it goes bad you will put another $2-5,000 in it depending,,,that era 90 merc is a good engine overall but isn't known for being a powerhouse on torque and hole shot depending on how much boat (weight / distribution, etc) it's being asked to plane off,,,i'd suggest driving it before the purchase, load the live wells full, full of fuel, put a 2nd person in the boat and know that if you upgrade trollers you may add the weight of another battery in addition,,,,,now see how it planes off, the last thing you want is a boat that takes 300 yards to plane on a busy lake or one with lots of stumps to dodge, if it planes slowly that doesn't necessarily make it a poor purchase just that you might need to re prop it for your normal use

Thanks, that is my plan. Flood the lw, taking my fishing buddy (245#) and getting the seller in there to boot and see how it planes.

Thats the bad thing about only one live well in the back and if the fuel tank is in the back you have double weight and makes it harder to plane out like Kaz says.
If you have two live wells, you can fill only the front to keep the weight distribution up front. Ask on when the water pump was replaced last. Loosen up the bottom plug on the lower unit to make sure the gear lube isn't milky. Good luck, it sure looks nice.

Thanks for the input, looks like I'll be taking a drive Saturday morning. If I go alone I may have to pack a crappie rod and detour by the lake to break it in right.