Best boat to buy?!???

[Pomdale]

I'm curious on which boat is the best fishing boat if anyone has experience good or bad looking at these  hard top boats
Raider
Thunder jet
Kingfisher
Any input would be awesome 

[fishngamereaper]

What's your primary use. Budget. Etc.. there's literally a hundred things to consider. Fit and finish, dead rise, hull thickness, extended transom design,........

Raider is good. I would add hewescraft to the list if your looking at raidar, since they are basically the same boat.

Thunderjets are to shinny for me. To much diamond plate and way to much carpet. Not fond of their hull design.

Never liked kingfisher for some reason.

I run a 22' Hewescraft. Full cabin. Love the boat. But I fish salt water and mostly the ocean and Canada. There are a few things I would change if I could but it does everything I ask it to.

[Mfowl]

Of your 3 choices I'd go Raider. I would also have North River in my final considerations. But as asked, it really depends on your intended uses.

[C-Money]

When its new boat time for me, I'm looking at the 18' Thunderjets and the 18' Hews Sportsmen. Both can be had new with a 90-115hp engine for in the lower $30s. My Alumaweld Talon served me very well which I bought used for half the price.

[wamuledeer]

I bought new in 2017. I was looking at used but the value just doesn't go down on used so it made sense to buy new. Look at RH riverhawk boats. All welded, great thickness and I got a very nice new 18' with 115 yamaha for around 27K. Not sure what they are now but reviews on them are great. I have put a lot of hours on mine and it has been great.

[Fishmaker57]

Bolton.....period. Bought a new one in 2011, books now for $4k more than I paid for it. Check hull thickness, fit and finish, functionality.....all around awesome boat! We crawled through every boat at both the Seattle Boat Show and the Puyallup Sportsman Show that year, the Bolton was a far better buy (factory direct), and much better built.

Just my 

[blackpowderhunter]

I would also add Northriver to your search.

But you need to answer a few questions.
1.  What is your budget?
2.  What are your intended fishing uses (based on the fact you want a hard top, id imagine more salt)
3.  How many people do you usually intend to fish with
4.  How big of a boat are you looking at

It's a shame you just missed the boat show, could have walked around multiple different boats, and compared fit and finish of each one. 
I run a 21 ft seahawk soft top, that for me is great.  A few things to look at when you compare different brands/models.
How are they set up for rigging after the fact?  You're going to have to run wires and such for electronics..how conducive is the factory set up for adding everything you need? (downriggers, sonar, gps, radar, etc etc)
In looking at some of the new king fishers at the boat show, their "fish boxes" were a joke...like, could fit 1 salmon in each.  Where you gonna put a halibut?
If you're going hard top, do you want full door, or alaskan bulkhead style.  Personally, i like being able to completely open from the cabin to the fishing deck on a boat thats only 21-24 feet, otherwise it feels pretty closed off.
There's no perfect boat...everyone needs 3 
most guys you talk to are going to say whatever boat they have is the best, well, that's because they spent a s ton of money on it and want to be happy.  there's a lot of good options out there!  then there are some so so options.  just take you're time and do your research.  build a spread sheet and input the specs, deadrise, hull thickness, SIDE HEIGHT, all of that.
but you need to figure out the boat that compromises the least for YOUR intended uses, not mine, or anyone elses.
lot's to consider.  feel free to PM me with any questions.  i just went through the buying process and have some tips in dealing with dealers if you're interested

[Stein]

I agree, if you provide more about your budget and why you chose those as a short list it would help.  For me, none of the ones you mentioned would be on my short list.

[2MANY]

What floats your boat??

[Pomdale]

Budget is around 30-40
I like a hardtop option for crappy weather
I just dont want to end up like my father, he bought a brand new tracker...started falling apart since the day we put it on the water the main reason I'm uneasy about buying. lots of funny nightmare stories with that one haha. I just need to get off the bank and go explore I guess and dont want to be stranded or have the damn thing fall apart, dependability and fish ability, not looking for river or ocean fishing just big lakes with lots of walleye TIGHT LINES:)

[Angry Perch]

Budget is around 30-40
I like a hardtop option for crappy weather
I just dont want to end up like my father, he bought a brand new tracker...started falling apart since the day we put it on the water the main reason I'm uneasy about buying. lots of funny nightmare stories with that one haha. I just need to get off the bank and go explore I guess and dont want to be stranded or have the damn thing fall apart, dependability and fish ability, not looking for river or ocean fishing just big lakes with lots of walleye TIGHT LINES:)

So it sounds like you don’t really need a hardtop. You just need decent canvas. That, along with no really big water, opens things up a lot.

[Mfowl]

That hardtop will be great in rain or heat but you will hate it in the wind. Especially if you are slow trolling for walleye. You can gain control with a bow mount electric but its not perfect. If I were shopping a walleye boat it would be a 18-21' side console or tiller with a front deck and bow mount. Definitely kicker compatible too.

[Jimmybelltown]

I love my hewescraft more than most people.

[Jburke]

Budget is around 30-40
I like a hardtop option for crappy weather
I just dont want to end up like my father, he bought a brand new tracker...started falling apart since the day we put it on the water the main reason I'm uneasy about buying. lots of funny nightmare stories with that one haha. I just need to get off the bank and go explore I guess and dont want to be stranded or have the damn thing fall apart, dependability and fish ability, not looking for river or ocean fishing just big lakes with lots of walleye TIGHT LINES:)

In that price range I'd also suggest looking at Alumaweld.  I know there's not a dealer local to Spokane that carries them. Wenatchee or Tri-Cities are your options for actually buying but I've got an Alumaweld Talon you're welcome to look at to see if they're something you'd be interested in.  I'm 100% happy with it, waited until I got the previous years model and got it for a few grand less than the current model.

[Angry Perch]

If you’re looking for a walleye boat, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Go to a spring walleye tournament and see what walleye fishermen drive. Any windshield boat can get a canvas top to keep you dry.