175 or 185 ???? Sport

My dad is thinking about getting a 175, or maybe a 185 (Navigator, Competitor, Trohpy, Dominator, depends on what he finds) Sport (full windshield). His hope is to start looking around this fall for carryovers and/or new stock that someone will deal with him on so they don’t have to store it over winter, so new, but not an ordered boat just something on someones showroom floor. Anyway, I just wanted to ask the guys on here that have one of the above models if you have any tips/suggestions/things to look out for when looking at them that I can pass along for him? Or if you know a place that is sitting on any of these models that might be looking to deal this fall I can let him know also.

Thanks in advance guys.

I’m sitting on a Trophy 175 that I’m looking to move so we can upgrade. PM me and I’ll give you my info.

Eric

I have a trophy 175 with a 115 merc 4 stroke. If he goes with a Trophy don’t get anything less than the max hp. Rated for a 150 and needs a 150. Other than that I love the boat.

“don’t get anything less than the max hp.”

Thats what I’m working on convincing him right now, got him talked into a 175 or 185 from a 165 (he wants a boat to fish bigger waters with), trying to convince them to come over and go for a ride in my boat, I just upgraded it to the max hp (60) so they can see/feel the difference in a boat with a maxed out hp, they’ve been in mine before with the 40 on it so they’ll be able to tell the difference.

Poo,
I”ve got a 2011 Trophy 175 with Yam 150 and T8, am very happy with the boat. The 185 is just 1 foot longer, I would have liked the longer boat, but it would not have fit in my garage when I needed it too for recharging batteries.
I got a VERY good deal from Cory at LaCannes’s in Fairbault, DO give him a call, you may be surprised what you can find. DO tell him I said HI.
Cory 507 334-6416.
Jack

I have a 2012 175 Competitor tiller and with how everything is going and has gone it is the first and last Alumacraft I will own. My boat seemed to have no quality standard when it was built. If you spend a ton of time in a boat all year long, do your homework.

I bought a Dominator 175 side console with a Yammi 150 last fall. Added a Yammi 9.9 kicker this spring. Add times I wish I had the full windshield but other times I am glad I don’t… they both have there advantages and disadvantages. I absolutely love the boat so far! Good Luck!

We have a 2012 Blue Dominator 175 Sport in stock that we would love to sell before September rolls around. It is pre-rigged for a Yamaha 115 or max hp 150, buyers choice. We would be happy to take you for a test ride sometime, the lake is just around the corner.

I had a Navigator 175 sport with a 150 on it that I just recently sold. I had ridden in two with 115s on them. The difference in performance is night and day. You can cruise at half throttle at 35 mph and not use any gas, and bust it home at 50 if a storm is coming. DEFINITELY convince him to go with max HP. I’ve never heard anyone say “I wish my boat had a smaller engine”.

I have a 185 TS with the Yamaha F150 on it. To me the difference in the Navigator/Trophy/Tournament Sport is how the storage/room is used. Trophy higher sides and a little bit narrower gunwale storage. Navigator much more overall room in the cockpit but give up a little depth in storage. The TS has wider gunwale storage and isn’t quite as high sided as the Trophy and doesn’t have the jump seats or Bimini top.

Got mine at Lacannes great deal service OK. They crushed the price of any of the Alumacraft dealers who had the boat I wanted here in WI.

I have mine loaded to the gills with gear and a T8 kicker and I get about 44mph wide open with it trimmed for max speed. I can pick up a couple more MPH running a stainless prop but that is plenty fast for me.

Having the extra horsepower is nice because that motor doesn’t have to work so hard to get decent speed. If you keep the RPM in the right range you can get decent cruise speed and economy.

And Chris is 7 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds so normal folks would go even faster. I saw your son in a magazine with a monster cat entry earning a master angler stripe. I’ve been thinking about getting a few of those myself but want a true monster to do it. I’ve caught a qualifying fish every week this summer. 30 inches isn’t really a fair mark for Mendota.

I’m going to have self image problems if you keep adding to my weight.

Most anything will have massive amounts of storage compared to what he’s used to (or needs, at first anyway). He’s pretty much a 2 tacklebox guy right now. I suspect once he has the new boat though that his inventory of gear will begin expanding.

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I have a 2012 175 Competitor tiller and with how everything is going and has gone it is the first and last Alumacraft I will own. My boat seemed to have no quality standard when it was built. If you spend a ton of time in a boat all year long, do your homework.

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Sigh… I have to agree with you here. I also purchased a new competitor this year (185), and it seems like everytime I go out I notice something that’s coming lose or is not shored up the way that it should be. I don’t know if they are have production problems this year or what the deal is. I was thinking the same thing as you. I’m on the water 3-4 days a week and I just don’t think that these boats are built for that amount of use. I don’t shy away from bad weather, and am really worried about the durability of this boat. I have tried to stay positive, but it is getting really difficult to do.

I know that the price tag looks nice, but keep in mind that you get what you pay for. At least in my case.

-Drew