newbie. gonna need help

[bassin]

hi, everyone. im a newbie here and i am gonna spend the winter building a jet boat for spring. found a couple of base set ups and wanted to get opinions on them? i just want a good deal and a dependable strong boat for rivers and lake in my area. all these options will need my custom touch added of course. thanks for your opinions and help.

1st - Xpress 1652 with trailer and 1989 150 johnson jet, {ugly boat color} - $4000

2nd - 2010 Blazer 1648 with livewell $2400 + trailer $625 (no motor) boat never been used - $3000

3rd - 2014 tracker grizzly 1648 + trailer $625 (no motor) - $3500

4th - 1990 Alweld 1752 with trailer, stereo, livewell, console steering, 26" transom (no motor) - $2800

 

[thudpucker]

Just for excitement, get a 18'-20' Tin boat and modify the stern with a Two stage jet, powered by a 4 Cyl auto or boat inboard.

 

[openseat]

Welcome bassin:
What you want to do with the boat will determine some of the tradeoffs between the 4 choices you've listed.

If you want to stand up fairly often, go with one of the 52 inch bottoms. They will also generally drift shallower than the 48 bottom, given 2 motors of equal weight on the back.

The gauge of aluminum used is a big factor if you are likely to hit rocks. The tracker is .100 , and I think the express is too. Blazer and alweld come in either .100 or .080.

I'm not much of mechanic, so I would be better off saving for a new motor over the winter, instead of going through that 150hp with 25 years on it.

My guess is you'd probably have fun in any of these 4, so don't sweat the decision to much.