Advice on upgrading the boat

Been looking for newer boats with no luck... I am thinking about upgrading mine. Ive had it for sale for 4500$ for about a month with only tire kickers.. Its a 1995 Ranger cherokee with a 120 Johnson. Carpets faded, motor loves gas, but other than that i love that boat! Im thinking about upgrading to an Ultrexx with link setup and some Helix 9's. Which will be ALOT more than the ol boat is worth. Am i crazy to do this? Ive looked at new boats just hate to drop 20k+ on a boat i use 4 months out of the year.

If you can afford it get it ! You can't take it with ya ! I have been enjoying my up grade for about a year now from a 16' flat bottom 40 hp to a 18' Xpress 125 Mercury. With 898si I do spend more Money in gas . catch rate is about the same get their a lot quicker and I feel so much safer in this boat I want hesitate to hit 3' swells it handles the big water great also can get pretty shallow to and rides great . I love it. i did see my dream boat launching this morning but it was just a dream. 21'xpress with 250 fourstroke 2 power poles 2 helix 12's about a 44000 rig so I guess I keep dreaming !:yikes

I did buy a Triton tr175. 115 honda 4 stroke. I thought i would love it! I sold a week later because i cannot make myself like a fiberglass boat. This old ranger (crestliner) has plenty of deck space. Deeper V up front and rides like a cadillac. Ive not ran across any bargains that i cant live without. I am leaning toward 4 strokes also. I just thought that Ultrexx and new helix setup would pacify me vs. spending serious money on a new boat. The struggle is REAL! Haha! I have narrowed new boats down to Ranger, Triton, or Xpress.

I paid $7500 for my Tracker 175 and the other day I could add up that I had spent that much on TM,rods, depth finders and such.

if you was to want to ride in a Xpress just holler I live 15 mins from just about any ramp in Scottsboro .i be glad to let ya give her a try .

Yes Deltarat, if i was to add up what all i have invested in chasing these little fish it would be crazy. You cant put a price on fun! Haha
Slabprowler, I may holler at you on that, though it will give me that new boat "itch" awful bad again!

My boat is an '88, so lets not talk about is it worth it. The only question I see is; is that the way you want to have your boat rigged out? I would like bigger screens than the pair of 798's I have now, but I see enough on these and the GPS works good enough for me. The Riptide with Auto pilot does what I need, but I would buy a Terrova if I had it to do over again. Mine has a 150 with 3 carbs that likes fuel, and I consider putting a 115 four stroke on it and cutting fuel consumption. But in the end I just fill it and head out. One day I'll make a change, but it isn't today. I isn't broke, so I ain't fixin it!

Its not what it worth.its what it cost to replace it.Cannot beat the ride! Had the same on a 93 rebuilt the motor.can buy a lot of gas for 20k.

There are American workers depending on you to lose your mind and take the plunge for a new one. You know something funny though...I was fishing yesterday...and I was going into some rocky and stumpy coves I had not been in in a while.And my memory being what it is let's just say I made some contact. And I thought to myself if I had a new boat I probably wouldn't even try to come in here.

I got three boats and if you combine the age of all of them they are about a hundred LOL.

Maybe this will help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQPjKSVe1tQ

Personally, I would strip the boat you have to the hull and rebuild it. You will be money ahead, even if you repower and add the new electronics. your paying for the new motor and electronics on the new boat anyway. That cost remains the same. When I upgraded from a 14' I wanted a 16' and bought a used boat that needed a complete rebuild with the sole intention of rebuilding it to my specs.
You already love the boat and know how she performs. you said it yourself, she needs to be repowered and you want new electronics. As long as the hull is structurally sound, the rest is easy. Quick video of what I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcd4v25SHpI

Thanks guys, I appreciate it! I have a bad "want" gene! I did find an Xpress boat that i want to look at. I dont know how that will pan out tho. I will try to look at it tomorrow. I tried to dye the carpet a few years ago in mine but it never "took" I have rebuilt/refurbished alot of duck boats in my day so gutting this one doesnt really scare me that much. I can do the carpet myself, and if i get that deep its gonna get new paint also. I have not priced new 4 strokes but im sure it aint pretty. I know if i upgrade the TM and electronics that it will practically be like a new boat.

Had a similar thought with my 2005 Nitro, boat and motor are good, decided to put my money in electronics and trolling motor. Figure that would be about 7 payments toward a new boat, with all the stuff I would want to have on my new boat.

Xpress boat got gone before i could look at it. Priced a New Mercury 115 today. Not as high as I wouldve thought. I know what the electronics and TM are gonna cost. All i know of is carpet, i had a guy ballpark guestimate of 875$, that was installed. I need to price some and the glue to see how high it really is. Paint and prepping the boat would cost me a few hundred. Im pretty sure i could have it rigged the way i want it for a half of what a new one would be with all the bells n whistles on it that i want. Im about to talk myself into it. Haha!

Mudskiff ..... check with "Crappiefarmer" over on the Virginia Forum. He just did a tear down / rebuild and may have some insight on your project.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I've got a 1556 more or less duck boat. It fishes well, but I've just got basic electronics and a basic trolling motor in it right now. I'm REALLY wanting a bigger boat that I can dedicate directly to crappie fishing (rod racks, don't have to pull the trolling motor off during duck season, etc) but I just can't make myself pull the trigger. I'm leaning more towards buying some good electronics, a Minn Kota with iPilot, and be done with it, but then I talk myself out of it saying I don't really need all that on just a duck boat that gets crappie fished out of. I figure I could do that for under 2k and that's a heck of a lot less than a 10-15k boat. I'm still up in the air. Keep us posted!

Mudskiff, when I built boats for Correct Craft we used Weldwood contact cement wet, not dry like for Formica. Gives more work time and is some kinda tough to get it off. Holler if you get into it and I'll help all I can.

Well got a guy that called me and says hes coming with money for the old boat. We will see what happens. I did price a new Ranger Rt188 today, rigged out they way i want is 28kish$. :yikes:yikes:yikes Not good!

Man they're sweet rigs though!

Good luck on the sell ! Hope you find what you looking for.

Well I am officially as of 9:25 tonight!