Boat manufacturers

So I have been looking into buying a boat of my own (for the future since I have no money for one now) and was curious of which manufacturers were favorites or the 'best'. Let me know what you guys think.

What are you looking for? Are you looking for jon type boat or a full blown bass style boat?

Essentially a jon boat, that has nothing but the ribs, seats, and transom. I want to have a trailer with it would prefer a mod v about 16ft. Anything helps really.

also, does transom height make a difference with stability or anything? Or motor shaft length?

what kind of water are you going to be fishing or using the boat in. Saltwater, intracoastal waterways, Coastal flats like pamlico sound and Neuse river (I used to live in Havelock, NC) , inland lakes, shallow rivers?

When I get this boat, in the next few years I hope, its probably gonna be used to duck hunt around bay river/pamlico river, my family has a place down there around mesic. But also ponds, lakes things like that.

Now this is just my $0.02:
If you never need to hand carry it, I would go with a mod-V around 17'-18' that's nice and wide, 54"+. It's nice to have all that room when you're hunting with a lot of gear, dogs, and another person.
Tracker, Alumacraft, and Lowe all make fine boats.

For the Pamlico you will definately want a mod V. It can get as rough as any big lake.

If it were me, I would be looking at AlumaCraft, G3, and Lowe, they offer riveted and welded boats in many different sizes, all the way up to 18 foot riveted mod-V jons and some over 20 foot welded jons. Tracker offers some smaller riveted flat bottom Jons but no riveted mod v's. All of thier mod v's are welded starting with the smallest model..... the 1448 Grizzley, a good little welded Mod-v for the price.

If you can afford it you might want to look at Alweld, SeaArk, War Eagle, and Xpress.

15 or 20 inch transom is up to you. If you get a 20" transom you will need a long shaft outboard motor. Motor hp might dictate the transom as well. But you can always put a Jackplate on a 15 inch transom to raise it if needed.

I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this on "tinboats" but you might wanna take a look at a Carolina Skiff too.

Hope this helps a little.

man thats good stuff. Ive been lookin around on different sites for G3, Lowe, and Alumacraft and know that the riveted ones arent gonna cost me as much and the welded ones might hold up longer. But I'm definitely not gonna get one right from the manufacturer unless some large chunk of money just falls in my lap. I do appreciate it though and I'll keep lookin to compare and learn new stuff about 'tin' boats.

As far as carolina skiff goes, my grandparents have a 17' carolina skiff and they use that for fishin and what not. I've taken it out a few times but like I said just for fishin and i dont think he would let me buy that off of him. But I might try and work that angle.

I use the manufacturers websites to get HP ratings, weights, measurements, capacity, specs, to see what options are available, and to compare MSRP (new to new) from the different makers. You can also look at some different pics of the boats on the websites and see how they are laid out. This gives you an idea of what you want or can afford used.

You can then use the manufacturers websites to find a dealer in your area. Go look at the boats you like/are interested in at a dealership in person. Sometimes you think a boat is what you want when looking at pics on the computer then when you see it in person its really not that great. Or its alot smaller or bigger than you thought it was. Bass Pro is awesome for this because they usually have a lot of different boats in stock and you can walk around and compare the sizes (a 1654 is a 1652 no matter what the manufacturer) even if you are not interested in a tracker it will give you a good idea of what you want. If you ARE interested in a tracker they will finance you on the spot. Boat, Motor, Trailer, out the door!

This also gives you an opportunity to talk to a knowledgable person (hopefully) about the boat. Sometimes you can find some good deals on used trade in boats at dealer as well. You might just stumble upon the perfect boat while your there, or run into a guy who knows a guy who has a boat that might be for sale. LOl This happens all the time.

After you do all that, search Craigslist for the one you want at a discount.