After much looking, viewing, snooping and rejecting I have finally found a boat that fit my criteria.  Size, motor, trailer type, condition and price.  Looking forward to spending a lot of quality time on the water.

BillB

Congrats, Bill!

Great to hear Bill.   It's nice to know you are finally getting time to go fishing...especially now in your own boat...enjoy!

Bob

Outstanding!!  That's way too cool, Bill!  I'm sure you're excited, and we're excited for you.  You've been looking forward to this day for a looooong time! Great boat.  You deserve it!

Thanks guys I appreciate your kind words. 

Glenn it came down to either a Z20 or the HS, 50K or 7.5K, let's see 50....7.5, 50...7.5!  Judy finally made up my mind for me, don't get me wrong she loved the Ranger, just thought it was better to ease into this a little 

I know what you mean Smitty, I took it for a spin and was grinning from ear-to-ear when I got back to the ramp!

Hey BassAholic, you live in SeaTac and I am in Des Moines let's hook up!

Bob, I still do not have a lot of free time, but at least I won't have to hope my timing is good to catch up with someone else when I do get some time.  I will watch for you out on Lk Sam!

Bill,

Congrats on the new ride. Hydrasport was the first bass boat I rode in back in the early days. Great ride. Enjoy.

Russ

Hey Troy

Congratulations on the Tri-City win by the way, I would love to talk to you about your approach and plan for that tournament.  I keep a diary on all of our NW waters and add information whenever/wherever I can. 

As to the boat finding, I have been seriously looking at boats for over a year, I have had almost no time to do any fishing for most of that time and it was getting frustrating to finally get a day off and have no easy way to get on the water.  I had friends and family looking out for me all over the northwest and I visited every boat dealer within 500 miles, even down in California on business trips etc.  Either the boats were snapped up after I saw them, before I could get to them (two immaculate Rangers back to back) or they wanted more money than I wanted to spend for that particular boat.  I saw a lot of questionable boats with solid gold price tags! 

I was just about to pull the trigger on a new boat when this one popped up on Craigslist and I was about three miles away so I dropped by right after work.  I was the first person to look at it and bought it after checking out a few things and taking it for a run on WA.  I was very impressed with the care that the previous owner put into this boat.  A guy from Portland pulled up just as were signing the papers, he offered 8K on the spot, I told him 15K and he left. 

It is not perfect, but the engine should not give me any trouble, the trailer is in almost new condition with excellent tires and tracks perfectly, it has a very nice JVC removable sound system, the carpet is in good condition, the live wells work both front and back, it has all of the necessary electronics (but I will be upgrading), storage is not the best but will do for now and the seats have no hook snags in them.  Hotfoot, jackplate and 62# Tour Edition Motorguide TM, ready to fish which I will be doing this weekend. 

I believe if you are looking for a boat, that from now through next spring you will find some good deals as things tighten up a bit.  I think that Craiglist is probably the best for this.

Good Luck
BillB