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More Boat Questions (Bullet)

Spurhunter

Spurhunter

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There's a guy wanting to trade his 1998 Bullet 20XD for my Xpress. It's a beautiful boat and very clean. I'm interested, but I'm concerned about hull integrity, stress cracks, etc. since it is 26 years old and I don't know much about glass boats. I think the value of the two boats is pretty close and I think we can work out a fair deal. Anybody have any experience with a 98 20XD or Bullet boats in general from the late 90s? What about hull integrity and such?
 
My best friend had a 96 XD at the same time I had my Allison. He loved his boat. Up until I stopped bass fishing mainly he kept it like new. I think he sold it maybe 3 years ago to get the 21 footer. It’s not gonna ride quite as good in the really rough stuff as the bigger boat does. But going from an aluminum boat to glass I’m sure you’ll still appreciate the better ride overall. Check down the back around the jackplate frame . Inside the live wells on the back panel. If there are gonna be stress cracks from abuse it’ll be in those 2 spots first. Bullets and Allison’s both if they have been abused start getting cracks in the gel coat in the live wells from the water slamming back and forth.
 
Does it have a motor? I would be just as concerned with that.

One thing you could do (it'd be a hassle) is take the boat & trailer to a weigh station & weigh them both. Take the boat to the lake (or somewhere) and take it off the trailer. Take the trailer back and weigh it... subtract from the total to get the weight of the boat. Make sure it lines up with what is expected for that model so you know the foam isn't waterlogged or something.

Any reputable boat shop should be able to do a general inspection of the transom and let you know if it looks ok. I personally wouldn't buy a boat that old from someone I don't know & trust without having it checked out. Paying a shop $100-200 to check it out is worth saving yourself a lot of headaches down the road. If it checks out and you like it, they're good boats!

EDIT: one of my buddies had a 20XD from around the same time period. It was somewhere between 99-01. It was extremely well taken care of and had a new custom trailer built for it, but had motor issues. He sold it, and the new buyer wound up getting the motor fixed right and last I heard it had ran great. With a 225 it would run in the 70's.
 
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TNReb said:
Does it have a motor? I would be just as concerned with that.

One thing you could do (it'd be a hassle) is take the boat & trailer to a weigh station & weigh them both. Take the boat to the lake (or somewhere) and take it off the trailer. Take the trailer back and weight it... subtract from the total to get the weight of the boat. Make sure it lines up with what is expected for that model so you know the foam isn't waterlogged or something.

Any reputable boat shop should be able to do a general inspection of the transom and let you know if it looks ok. I personally wouldn't buy a boat that old from someone I don't know & trust without having it checked out. Paying a shop $100-200 to check it out is worth saving yourself a lot of headaches down the road. If it checks out and you like it, they're good boats!

EDIT: one of my buddies had a 20XD from around the same time period. It was somewhere between 99-01. It was extremely well taken care of and had a new custom trailer built for it, but had motor issues. He sold it, and the new buyer wound up getting the motor fixed right and last I heard it had ran great. With a 225 it would run in the 70's.
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The motor is a 2007 ProXS 250 that was just rebuilt and he just finished break in. Thanks for the info!
 
Rebuilds worry me a little. I would find out who rebuilt it and if there is any warranty on it as well as see what paperwork they have on it. Might be worth taking it somewhere and reading the diagnostics.
 
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You might consider getting in touch with Nichols Outboard in Soddy Daisy. While it might be too far for you to take the boat to be looked at, Paul is probably as knowledgeable about Bullets as anyone out there. He could tell you what to look at. One thing is for sure, it will be a lot faster than the Xpress.
 

Riverport Marine Surveying Inc.

offering a wide variety of marine surveying, inspection and reporting services, and have the experience to handle the job professionally.
www.riverportms.com

Use a real marine surveyor. Will give you the peace of mind that you are getting a fair deal on the hull.

Ask for a water test and get the motor up to 6k rpms

Pay a mechanic to check the outboard.

Sucks that it will cost you some money but will ensure you aren't buying an expensive bathtub.
 
Very well made boats. I have a 95 that looks better then most 1/2 it's age. In 96 they added another brace to the transom for the heavier motors that were coming out. Will flat haul the mail set up correctly.
Will add one thing that suck is all the pumps are under the gas tank. So to change them the tank has to come out. And that can be a job on a 20.
 
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nso123 said:
You might consider getting in touch with Nichols Outboard in Soddy Daisy. While it might be too far for you to take the boat to be looked at, Paul is probably as knowledgeable about Bullets as anyone out there. He could tell you what to look at. One thing is for sure, it will be a lot faster than the Xpress.
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This, my dad had his 95XD w/built 225 for almost 20yrs. He bought it from Paul. Any service went to him as well.
Like above comments it can ride rough but you learn how to make it comfortable, a ranger in rough water with a bad driver can be a horrible ride.
I would not hesitate to take it out for a test drive.
I’m not sure if you have driven through chine walking but once running in the pad it takes some practice.
Ours would run 80 with 2 ppl and minimal fishing gear.
 
Ladys man said:
This, my dad had his 95XD w/built 225 for almost 20yrs. He bought it from Paul. Any service went to him as well.
Like above comments it can ride rough but you learn how to make it comfortable, a ranger in rough water with a bad driver can be a horrible ride.
I would not hesitate to take it out for a test drive.
I’m not sure if you have driven through chine walking but once running in the pad it takes some practice.
Ours would run 80 with 2 ppl and minimal fishing gear.
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Never had a boat that would chine walk. My Xpress will run low 60s and you can drive it with 2 fingers on the wheel. So stable it's boring to drive.
 
Well… at around 65… ish depending on prop and setup that boats gonna get light.. and right after that you will basically be flying it on around 6 inches of pad… have fun. It’s a rush . I had pictures that I lost on an old phone of my Allison with only the pad lip and the prop down on the lower unit touching the water as I went by the dock at 92. Hate I lost them.
 
There used to be a group that would meet on the Hiwassee river and race Bullets. Of course they had non stock outboards on them and all that. It was fun to watch them race. A friend of mine bought a stock Bullet because he was buddies with those guys and he said he had to get them to teach him how to drive it....it was different than any boat he had been in. I've never drove one but he said their advice was to fill the livewell with water for extra weight to help learn to drive them. The way he talked, it was a learning curve from other boats he'd been in.
 
Allison , Bullet , Norriscraft , Stoker and a few others have a pretty steep learning curve for anyone not used to how driving a real pad boat feels. It took me a few months of practice runs to get the real feel for it and how different it was from skeeter or ranger or champion I had driven before buying my Allison. But lord it’s fun when you get it down.
 
I would really put some thought into the change in motor... I get the other one was just rebuilt but what does that really mean? rebuilt just enough and will have more issues or done really well... if your is a 4 stroke and the other is a 2... consumption is gonna be very different as well.
 
nso123 said:
You might consider getting in touch with Nichols Outboard in Soddy Daisy. While it might be too far for you to take the boat to be looked at, Paul is probably as knowledgeable about Bullets as anyone out there. He could tell you what to look at. One thing is for sure, it will be a lot faster than the Xpress.
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Nichols has a good reputation, but they're the ones my buddy took his 20XD to that had motor issues, and they told him it was running normal. He took it back to them and said "no it's not"...

They made some more changes and again said it was normal. It still wouldn't break 55mph. I don't know what they were doing, but I'm not sure they even put the boat in the water to test it. It was completely off. The new buyer had it fixed in a couple of weeks somewhere else.
 
Sako said:
I would really put some thought into the change in motor... I get the other one was just rebuilt but what does that really mean? rebuilt just enough and will have more issues or done really well... if your is a 4 stroke and the other is a 2... consumption is gonna be very different as well.
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Thats why I said find out who rebuilt it and get all the paperwork they have on it. If it was just rebuilt, it should have some warranty on it if the mechanic is at all reputable. That scares me far more than the age of the hull.
 
I've decided to not do the trade. I'm just not comfortable acquiring a used boat long distance that I don't have ample time to check out.

Plus, as much as I would love a 90mph boat, what I really need is a big, heavy, stable barge that fishes great and rides good in rough water. I've always wanted a 21 foot Ranger and that's what I'm focusing on. I have decided I am going to get a 2005ish - 2015ish 520, 521, or 522. Non-negotiables are 4 stroke motor (Yamaha SHO or Mercury V8) and single console. 70mph is fast enough. I spend my time fishing instead of running all over the lake anyway.
 

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