165 Navigator

I’m thinking of down sizing from the 175 Nav. to a 165. Either one with a 90 or tiller with a 75 or 70 Yammy. Anyone have any idea what you lose going from a 75 to the new 70?

I have a 165 navigator with the 90 etec–love it–get about 38 out of it on the gps for mph. I dont know if I would drop down to a 70 or 75. as for the difference in the 2 of those, I do not know.

If your going to a tiller and fish mostly alone I would go with the 70 over the 75. 70 will get better MPG, troll slower, weighs less, you can expect probably 2 to 3 less top end speed and not as good of hole shot. If you are looking at consoles then 90 is what you should put on.

I own a Navigator 165 with a 75 horse Yami, tiller. Not sure what the difference in going to the 70 would be, probably no much. If console is more to your liking go with the 90. Out of curiosity why are you going from the 175 down to the 165 model? The only reason I went with the 165 is because I wanted the extra storage in the back rather than a second livewell. Not really sure how having a second livewell could ever be a selling point in a fishing boat that size in a state with such conservative fish limits, but whatever. Maybe some people just don’t like to walk the extra 6 feet when they catch a fish.

i have a nav. 175 and i didn’t know that was a live well in back, i thought it was a built in cooler with a drain plug.

On my 175 nav, the rear livewell has a plug in the drain and the sprayer turned off. It is used as a dead box when really cold and I don’t want to put water in the front well, as storage at times, as a garbage can, or as a cooler. On very rare occasions, I will fill it with water and throw a leech tamer or minnow bag in it, but not very often.

Nord, I got these two performance reports directly from the Alumacraft website. Both boats are 165cs models but differ by 57# tested weight and model name. The two hulls are the same through the water. I own a Nav 165 sport and it likes to run stern heavy when I am looking for speed. You can compare them yourself. I like the 70hp for sure on the 165 Classic.
http://www.alumacraft.com/assets/files/pdf/Performance%20Reports/Dominator/PERFORMANCE%20DOMINATOR%20165CS.pdf

http://www.alumacraft.com/assets/files/pdf/Performance%20Reports/Navigator/PERFORMANCE%20NAVIGATOR%20165CS.pdf

Look carefully, the Dominator is a heavier boat to begin with and the Nav has an extra battery and trolling motor. Otherwise, they are similar. Fuel economy is 15% better across the board with the 70. If you load the boat down with max passengers things might equal out and the 75’s acceleration might shine.
Something to chew on. Either one will be fine on this boat as the performance is not that much better with a 90hp on the transom as I have.

Good discussion. I fish with John a lot and love his boat. I don’t think I need one as big as that so the Nav 165 is high on my wish list.

During the summer I mostly fish alone. I also have a Ford Explorer Sport trac and the 175 is a load to pull with it.

I used to pull my 175 with a jeep grand cherokee. Pulled fine, didn’t stop so well. I replaced the jeep with an F-150 instead of downsizing the boat. Like you, I fish alone a lot and could never go back down in size on a boat. I had a smaller 16 foot boat and hated not having enough room. When I replace the Nav, it will be with a bigger boat. Maybe its because I’m fat, but I like all the room even when I’m alone.

You’re probably right, maybe I should think about a bigger truck. I have a little extra weight myself I’m carrying around.

I have a 165 and love the boat. When I do sell it’s going to be to get a bigger boat. I personally wouldn’t go from a 175 to a 165. That foot makes a big difference on the water.

I’ve made the decision, I’m going to keep the 175 Nav. Just need to talk to the wife about a bigger truck.

I think you chose wisely.