Anyone have ideas on what are comparable tiller boats to Alumacraft competitors and navigators but in a different manufacture??? Bought a new boat this year and already getting back into the market on a new boat. Not to familiar with lund and crestliner models.
I spent a lot of time looking at tiller boats and decided to go with a G3 V177 Guide. Ordered it a week ago.
I think you should get in them all and see whats suites you best.
Lund Pro Guide and Crestliner Fish Hawk are what you would be looking for.
Lund has the Pro Guide 16′-20′. I think Crestliner has a couple in the fishhawk series too. The lunds are pretty nice.
Have a 2012 Competitor so looking for a boat layout similar to that. Will be hitting dealers next week.
Lund pro guide
1675 & 1725 rated up to 75 horse
1825 rates up to 90 horse
2010 rates up to 125/200
Warrior V1890 BT (rated for 130hp i think)
Skeeter 1790T
Ranger 175T and Ranger 618T
The Lund Pro Guides are a nice rig also.
I really like the layout and the storage space my Lund 2010 Pro Guide. The large front deck is a musky hunters dream!
If you wanna take it for a spin, let me know, as you’re more than welcome to. 
What are your dislikes of your current boat?
What would you like to have or keep in your new boat?
Make a list and take that shopping with you as well.
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What are your dislikes of your current boat?
What would you like to have or keep in your new boat?Make a list and take that shopping with you as well.
Acutally love the boat but with the fixes that had to be done to a brand new boat and now with the whole fuel tank deal with them installing the incorrect 35 gallon tanks on there boats since the 1st of the year and they now have to replace all of them. Top it off with the phone calls I have had with them I am so bitter twords the situation that no longer will deal with them if possible. I will get screwed from the deal but spend to much time in a boat to deal with a boat I am not 100% happy with.
Go with glass.
Hey,
Skeeter Tiller is best in MHO. 
Fiberglass, dry ride. Accessabile to all your gauges and electronics. Own a 2003 1790T. They haven’t changed the boat layout since then. (If it ain’ broke, don’t fix it.)I guess in 2013 they will change the layout. All my fishing buds have owened this model of Skeeter and then they bought Ranger 620’s (nothing wrong with them) and now they are going back to Skeeters.
Just my 2 cents worth. 
Jerry
Yarcraft or backtroller boats……both are great!
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Go with glass.
X2!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Go with glass.
Yep, glass gets my vote too. I’ve owned a few different brands of aluminums and until I made the switch I never would have believed there could be this much difference. 
jerr
The Pro Guides are great boats. But of coarse, you’ll never be happy in life if you don’t own a Skeeter. 
I got a 2012 Lund 1825 Pro Guide this spring, and have been very pleased. I started my search about two years ago when I was less than satisfied with my Alumacraft. The boat rides well and fishes big (42 mph on gps with 90 4stk merc). I looked at the 618t as well and did not care for the layout. I wanted a center rod locker and a livewell that was mounted in the rear. If money were no issue, I would look at a Warrior 1890 tiller with a 115hp on it but that is a 12 to 14 k jump from the Lund. I was into my 1825 loaded and rigged the way I wanted it for what you would pay for a Ranger or Warrior, boat motor and trailer. I had a great buying experience at Al’s Specialty Marine in Rochester and would recomend them. My previous boat came from Cabela’s and I will never buy a boat there again (although I do get great service there otherwise). If you have questions or would like to hook up for a test ride, please pm me.
Comparable boats all have been pretty much covered. However, if you’re looking for what looks to be the best bang for your buck in a 17′ glass boat, I’d consider the Backtroller Boat: http://www.backtrollerboats.com. I test drove it a couple weeks ago and it tracked very nicely. Looks to be a very well thought out designed boat!
Last boat was a 1750 crestliner fishhawk S/C did’nt like it at all.Rough ride and alway got wet and did’nt have to be to rough.Looked at ths lund 1725 pro guide,nice boat but pricie,/ended up buying a SKEETER 1790T for a few dollar more and theboat is great so far.Got caught in pepin in some rough water and got bak dry,deffinately a big plus
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I spent a lot of time looking at tiller boats and decided to go with a G3 V177 Guide. Ordered it a week ago.
I think you should get in them all and see whats suites you best.
REALLY? You got rid of your Lund? WOW!
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Comparable boats all have been pretty much covered. However, if you’re looking for what looks to be the best bang for your buck in a 17′ glass boat, I’d consider the Backtroller Boat: http://www.backtrollerboats.com. I
test drove it a couple weeks ago and it tracked very nicely. Looks to be a very well thought out designed boat!
I am not very familiar with the back troller I would reccomend glass I’ve own a few Lund boats I feel it’s the best aluminum boat on the market but I now have a 620 ranger and wouldn’t trade it for anything! Skeeter and Ranger make great glass boats I like Skeetertillers a little better and Ranger counsel boats better but it’s all preference on the layout. My one concern with the back troller is I see it’s only an 18 gallon tank… To me that’s undersized. Of course I’m used to making long runs on big water with my yamaha f250hp with 50 gallon tank. but even 18 gallons on a 75hp seems a little low to me. Anyone with this boat have any input?
You couldn’t burn 18 gal. in one day if you tried with my 75 tiller Yamaha if you were fishing. I fish Oahe and make some long runs for a tiller and don’t need gas for 3 day’s. Just another reason I sold the big wheel boat and went to a tiller.
Does aybody have any first hand experiece in the backtroller boats? Looks like an interestig boat. I would love to test drive one.
I test drove one a couple weeks ago on Prior and it performed very similar to my old 1785BT YarCraft. However, the rod lockers are longer/bigger in the Backtroller. Both of which are 9′. The one thing that stood out for me was the ability to do a complete 360 in the captains chair without knocking your knees or shins. It also seems like everything you could think of was carefully thought through. I would have strongly thought about buying one had I not just puchased a boat. Maybe next year.
As mentioned the Lund Pro Guides, Crestliner makes a 1650, 1750 and 1850 Pro Tillers that are nice, or if you want the ultimate, find a Lund 2075 Pro V Tiller with a 250 Optimax Pro XS on it!
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Anyone have ideas on what are comparable tiller boats to Alumacraft competitors and navigators but in a different manufacture??? Bought a new boat this year and already getting back into the market on a new boat. Not to familiar with lund and crestliner models.
What you dont like your alumacraft i was looking to buy one next spring?
Based on my personal experience I will not own another one. dry storage leaked, cooler leaked, livewells leaked, splashwell leaked, damaged wiring harness, wrong dash is in the boat and no one seems to know what should be in it, wrong fuel tanks have been installed in all Alumacrafts that use the 35 gallon tank since the 1st of the year. Hope I just had bad luck.
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Based on my personal experience I will not own another one. dry storage leaked, cooler leaked, livewells leaked, splashwell leaked, damaged wiring harness, wrong dash is in the boat and no one seems to know what should be in it, wrong fuel tanks have been installed in all Alumacrafts that use the 35 gallon tank since the 1st of the year. Hope I just had bad luck.
Your experience is a total bummer. I will be picking up my 185 Competitor today, and will report back any issues. I know for sure the fuel tank issue will exist, but at least they are standing behind that and are will to fix it. As far as all the leaky spots go, I am hoping that Alumacraft was honest in that your case is a result of inadequate performance by one of their technicians. I will report back on how dry my compartments stay. Considering the multiple phone calls and all the reassuring I have received from Alumacraft, I will not be tolerant of any leaking.
My experience with purchasing a new boat from Alumacraft has not gone without hiccups either. Somehow, they let themselves run out of dashboards for their Competitor models. They tried to blame it on their supplier, but I call BS. I think it probably has more to do with poor inventory management. I was told this past Monday that after a month of waiting, I will have to wait another 10-14 days until they get another shipment in. I just about lost it when I was talking to the salesman at Alumacraft. Luckily, LaCanne’s (my dealer) has made sure that I get a boat by this weekend. They have been good to deal with.
With all that being said, I do know others who have purchased Alumacraft boats, and have had nothing but good things to say. I would be sure to get feed back from multiple sources on their Alumacraft purchasing experience before discounting them. Just like every product, their are people who have poor experiences.
Drew
It is a great boat and fishes awesome and I hope I just got a bad one and mine does not represent all there product. I just know for me I will not own another.
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Skeeter Tiller is best in MHO. Own a 2003 1790T.
Accessabile to all your gauges and electronics. They haven’t changed the boat layout since then. (If it ain’ broke, don’t fix it.)
IMO this boat is a hot mess that needs a massive makeover. The entire driver’s console area is one of the goofiest setups in a tiller boat that has ever been brought to market.
When I was shopping for tillers I was really interested in the 1790 until I got a closer look at it and quickly discovered the lack of electronics mounting options made it a no-go. That, and the screws coming up out of the floor on a brand new boat. 
I’ve yet to see one rigged up that doesn’t look hokey.
I sure hope they don’t go with the excessively wide beam of the 1825MX. Don’t they realize that you have about an inch of clearance on each side when backing into your typical garage door opening? There is no logical reason their next 18′ class tiller needs to be over 92″ wide, and if it’s is as wide as the 1825MX I won’t even bother looking at it.
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I test drove one a couple weeks ago on Prior and it performed very similar to my old 1785BT YarCraft. However, the rod lockers are longer/bigger in the Backtroller. Both of which are 9′. The one thing that stood out for me was the ability to do a complete 360 in the captains chair without knocking your knees or shins. It also seems like everything you could think of was carefully thought through. I would have strongly thought about buying one had I not just puchased a boat. Maybe next year.
I test drove a BackTroller last fall and wow what a boat. I spent a lot of time last year looking at glass boats to replace the Lund. I looked at all the glass boats, and while they were nice and I would have enjoyed fishing out of all of them, none of them were enough of an upgrade to justify the price in my opinon. I officially gave up looking for a new boat and then I heard about BackTroller, looked them over and then called John Thelen, the owner. Fortunately he lives reasonably close to me. I drove over looked at the boat and he let me take one to test drive. I took it out on the lake and was amazed. I ended up ordering one which will be ready in a month or so. The entire layout of the boat is well though out, and if you want something different you can change it. The components are top notch, no plastic, and locks that actually lock. I thought that a 70 would be underpowered, but it is not. It flies out of the hole. I had two guys in it, full gas, and two full livewells and that thing was up on plane immediately going into some serious wind.
So far dealing with John has been great, and it has been a ball planning the layout and features of “my boat”. To each their own, but I think anyone who is looking at a Glass Tiller should take a look at these boats.
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