Buying a new boat questions

Having gone through the college fishing with our son, here’s some thoughts/lessons learned…
Tandem axle is fine for the trailer and even on a Sabre. The Sabre will be kind of smallish compared to a lot of the other college anglers, but it’s not a real disadvantage. Each year it seemed more and more college anglers were finding their way into 20 ft / 250 hp rigs. Most national championships saw 175 hp and up on all the boats.
If your son is fishing the central states, imho, it will still be unnecessary to go bigger than a standard 45 inch MK trolling motor. Maxxum or Ultrex is up to you. A single power pole is fine but really not necessary. A 175 hp is absolute on a Sabre in those tourneys if you want to stay up with the pack.
You can keep the weight lighter in the bilge by not having a power pole/ talon….AND using a portable charger rather than an onboard one. Get the biggest fuel tank option available.
Aaron fished out of our 1996 Eyra /175. Two used HBird 898s on the boat. Finished his college angling ranked #5 nationally. Not bad for an older, smaller boat. But it was definitely more the person than the boat.
As for learning from those times, I would advise to go at least 19 ft / 200 these days. Which would open up more “newer used” with warranty options.

Cajunhunter67 wrote:

I spent 5200.00 on this metal building/shed. I had my 20 foot Eyra under it with no issues.
Keeps it clean and dry
IMG_2249.JPG

One of my friends has one of these. He later added the tin on to the ground on both sides and back filled with gravel. These are very nice!!

Well I agree with you on both counts.
My kids are all grown except for my 15 year old daughter. Downsizing is the way to go. Less upkeep, utilities cost less, and they cant all move back in!! Lol!
The Sabre FTD with the 175 is an excellent rig. As you can see in the metal carport pic, I had one. With the 25 Trophy plus it ran 69.4 with me and my wife….Live wells empty. 65 mph all day long with little to no chine.
I have a video of my daughter (at 13 yrs old) driving it. Cant figure out how to put it up. Very easy rig to drive.

What I did notice was with me and my buddy on the front deck, the bow really sank from our weight. I’m a 195 lbs he’s 215lbs. My PII doesn’t do it as much (barely noticeable), and my buddy commented on the difference. With him on the rear deck it fished just fine!

The Caracal is on a different playing field all together, but garage space may be an issue.

TonyCrafton wrote:

Cajunhunter67 wrote:

Well I agree with you on both counts.
My kids are all grown except for my 15 year old daughter. Downsizing is the way to go. Less upkeep, utilities cost less, and they cant all move back in!! Lol!
The Sabre FTD with the 175 is an excellent rig. As you can see in the metal carport pic, I had one. With the 25 Trophy plus it ran 69.4 with me and my wife….Live wells empty. 65 mph all day long with little to no chine.
I have a video of my daughter (at 13 yrs old) driving it. Cant figure out how to put it up. Very easy rig to drive.

What I did notice was with me and my buddy on the front deck, the bow really sank from our weight. I’m a 195 lbs he’s 215lbs. My PII does not do that, and my buddy commented on the difference. .
With him on the rear deck it fished just fine!

The front deck sink with 2 people on the front is something I had not thought about.  Did you have problems with waves coming over the front of the boat when it was windy or from wake boats?  I am sure 2 people will be on the front most of the time.

1997 Pantera Classic
1999 Mercury 200 HP Optimax
Bob’s 6” Hydraulic Jack Plate

I have never fished big water with 2 on the front deck. Never had an issue with wakes or wind causing it. 99 percent of my fishing was alone.
2ea 200lb adults on the front deck in big water I could see it happening. Of course that can happen in 20 foot Bass boats.
With me, 2 adults on the front and one moves way forward to get a hook unsnagged from a tree and she really drops.
I think this is from the forward position of the TM pedal puts the weight further toward the bow. With two good size men on the front deck, it make a difference in the Sabre. Larger BCB boats, this isn’t even noticed.

I will say had I not received such an excellent deal on my PII, I would still be in my Sabre. I wasn’t looking for a boat when I got the PII.

1. Garage is 20’-8” it would be nice if the new bot could be kept in the garage.
I have put a sabre ftd, caracal, a cougar sho, and a puma ftd merc all 2015 and up into my garage to see what all fits. The bigger rigs fit at an angle. Its a 20×20 garage with a 18′ wide door. 
2. Needs to be about the same speed as the one we have now. Faster is ok slower I might as well change brands. 1997 Classic with a 200 is what we have now.
I would dismiss the sabre, your current boat fishes bigger than it. The p2 is similar and probably going to fit straight in. Both it and Caracal will run low 70s. I dont know about the new classic. I think they run low 70s and will have more fishing room than your current rig.
3. Want a duel axle trailer. My son will fish out of it while in college the next 4 years.
I feel like they pull easier, and are also easier to get in and out of due to the fender design. 
4. Max HP for the hull.
5. Which shaft length on the trolling motor? My son has been doing more vertical fishing away from the shore.
45-52 depending on the rig

6. Are Power Poles worth the money. That looks like something that we could save money on now and add later.
I use mine more for preventing the wind from blowing me around when I have to stop and re tie or put rods up and looking away from surroundings. They are also useful on remote ramps without a dock. Or when ramps get crowded you can bank the boat and get in your truck if the docks getting hammered with pleasure boaters jumping in line. I never really use mine for bed fishing or things that you would think they would be used for. One is better than none. Or start with an ultrex add them later.

7. Really confused on which brand of engine to get. Evinrude can be got with 10 yrs right now. Yamaha and Mercury you can get 5 yrs. They all seem to have pluses and minuses. The engine will make a difference in the dealer we would go through on a new boat. Go with whatever support you have locally. If you have a good mercury tech near by or any of the brands, dealer support is key. And good mechanics are some times hard to find. I’m a mercury fan, theres alot of yamaha and honda guys out there too near me. 

I really think I can get what we need with a Sabre for those that have one what options do you wish you would have gotten?

I’ve had a sabre, caracal and now a puma over a short peroid of time. I really like the under seat storage and rear fuel tanks. My caracal and sabre did not have that and there was alot of unused space in the rear of the boat. For what a new classic gos for, if you could squeeze a caracal into your garage it will fish massive, run 70’s, be good for two people, and get you into the premium line. Its 21’10” with trailer folded. You could probably shrink it with a shorter jack plate. There are some out there with extended warranty here or there and you would still be below the price of alot of rigs. If you dont think it would fit, I would look hard at the classic and p2. Vote going to p2 over classic because you get pro air, a colored top cap and a few other build features that I feel are more desirable. Good luck! Hope my input helps. Dig around on iboats, bbc boats forsale, craigslist and other areas. 

Reading all these post about wat different folks prefer always amazes me. Whether its here or over on the bbc board. Whether its boat, motors, or the rods and reels folks use. Wat ive learned thru many yrs it seems everyone seems to favor their preferences which is perfectly normal! But wat about you? Wat are your true needs in a boat. I suggest whether new or used go crawl around in and ride in ALL of them. I fished out of 88 caracal that i purchased in 89 untill i purchased my 13 p2 in 14. Keep in mind back then the caracal was only 17ft. I looked for a few yrs simply because had a hard time with my “wants and needs” in a boat. I saved for several yrs for my purchase so cost wasnt even a factor. I chose the p2 for reasons for my own. It has more than enough storage. Its quick and nimble. Awesome hole shot. And will run with most 250’s. More than adequate for tournament fishing. Again i looked at all the bcb models rode, touched, crawled all over and under. When i started my search my “only” preconception was it would be a bcb!! Good luck in your endeavours!