I say "forget new"....huge waste of money. If you buy a good used 17-19 ft boat you can fish just about everything and power it reasonably. It's a small enough size that a guy can handle it by himself, yet safe enough to drag a couple of buddies out as well. It also is easily towed with just about any type of vehicle and you won't have an arm and leg into it.

Since you apparently are in no special hurry, I would guess you will find a gr8 deal in short order.

I've seen Stam's trips....save your money and go with him once in awhile.

who says you have to buy a new boat? I would stick to Aluminum because they just don't depreciate much. I bought a 1998 Wooldridge three years ago and i looking what they're selling for it really hasn't gone down in value at all. Why not just buy a used Aluminum boat, if you decide you don't like it in a few years you could sell it for close to what you bought it for...

True, those Aluminums depreciate very slowly, but he's out near the coast. Gonna need a real big Aluminum to put on some weight and not get bumped around like crazy out in the salt. A similar size glass boat will weigh much more and handle far better in the salt.

Don't needa go new IMO. Get something gently used, a year or two, and save money and put that towards gas. You could probably still get something with a warranty on it and save a lot of cash. People are unloading boats left and right, with gas prices and the economy being the way it is...Lots of boats for sale, few being purchased...