First never owned one. would I be afraid to own one? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
Several of my friends in Owensboro had purchased Sprints from Tyler Boats just across the river. I've ridden in 18 footers and 21 footers. We used to tease one of the guys that his looked like an aircraft carrier because of the massive deck space he had on his!! It was huge... more space than my triton.
When I first began looking at them, I thought they looked a little rough around the edges, that is to say some of the finishing touches were a little poorly done. But then in ... I think 2001, a friend bought a 21 footer, and man, it was the prettiest boat I had ever seen. I loved fishing out of it with him, because like I said, a ton of deck space.
Last thing.... and I remember this specifically about the 18 footer, it seemed to sit very low in the water as compared to other boats, and at the time I had a Stratos. When I fished with the guy, I noticed the water was up over the rub rail on the back... but did not come in the boat unless very heavy chop while we were fishing.
You have hit my biggest concern with buying a used one, and that is that Sprint is out of bass boat business. However, if you are sure the owner has taken care of it... then you should be OK.
Oh, someone mentioned making sure the transoms were strong enough. This was a trick taught to me by a boat retailer.... when looking at a used boat, stand up on the motor, with the toter removed, have your feet on the lower unit, and bounce up and down. Any stress cracks in the transom will show themselves. I'm a very big boy... and they, the boat dealer, had me checking their used boats that way before I chose my Triton.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Tight lines and God Bless
Danny
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