New Boat??? Lund or Alumacraft

Hi all, any one have any advice on which way to go. My fising partner and i are down to two boats, we are going to purchase either the Lundh 1825 Pro Guide or the ALumacraft 185 Tiller. We will be putting the 90 HP Merc or Yamaha on it. The lund is $5k higher in price for almost the same boat. Your advice is much appreciated and valued. toughest decision we have had to make in years other than where to fish.
thanks for the assitance.
good fishing to you all!!

Go with the one that is going to fit you the best with how you are going to use it. I prefer the alumacraft but either way it’s a personal decision.

Definatly go with the Yamaha though. Yamaha on either boat will give 20+ years of service if taken care of.

Both are nice but Lund IMO is a bit better. I had a few issues with alumnacraft in past years and won’t go back.

Don’t count out Suzuki. I purchased a used Alumacraft with a Suzuki this Spring and so far have been amazed with the overall performance of it.

Just my opinion. Lund. Better built and will hold it’s resale value better than Alumacraft or any other aluminum boat out there.

-J.

I realize this isn’t within your narrowed 2 options, but have you test drove one of the Skeeter Tillers? We filmed out of the 1790 tiller a couple years ago and I sat in the bigger model. Both beautiful boats and offer the smooth glass ride. Not to make things more complicated!! LOL!!

I to was going to suggest not ruling out a glass hull. While I have been very impressed with the Lund Pro Guide I would have a hard time going back to an alum hull.

While I like the Skeeter 1790T I must say the fact that the Warrior 1890 BT can take a 130hp on the back is a huge plus where the Lund and Auma take a 90 (I think).

The Alumacraft should have a noticably wider beam (I think). I had the Tournament pro 175 and absolutely loved it.
I would have never parted but pre fished a few FLW’s with a friend on great lakes in a 620 and owned one a few months later.
I’m on my 9th Yamaha, never a problem with any of them, wouldn’t own anything but!
Just MHO and nothing more.
Regardless, I think you’ll be happy with either, especially if you go Yamaha.. oops, there I go again.
Happy shopping

Both are nice boats but I would look again at fiberglass boats.

Otherwise 5k is quite a bit of cash and can buy you some nice electronics and trolling motor if you go Alumacraft.

Good Luck

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Just my opinion. Lund. Better built and will hold it’s resale value better than Alumacraft or any other aluminum boat out there.

-J.

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Will it hold it $5000 higher at resale?

As far as motor, with the advice of “taking care of a Yamaha for 20 years”, should also apply to a Mercury. Problem is, mentality is you need to take care of a Yamaha, so it works… as opposed to get a Merc, abuse and neglect it and when it breaks, beoch about it and say your gonna get a Yamaha… and then be sure to “take care” of the Yamaha ??? I also agree with the LUND choice

I bought a 2012 Competitor 175 tiller this year and have not had the best of luck with it. Dry storage leaked, cooler leaked, livewells leaked, splashwell leaked, wrong fuel tank is in the boat and somehow they didnt know(FYI all 2012 models that have the 35 gallon tank have the wrong/bad tanks and they are in the process of making new tanks), wrong dash is in the boat, damaged wiring harness under rear deck. It is a great fishable boat but the last Alumacraft I will own. Hope I just got a lemon and this is not how they build all of them.

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Just my opinion. Lund. Better built and will hold it’s resale value better than Alumacraft or any other aluminum boat out there.

-J.

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Will it hold it $5000 higher at resale?

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My opinion. Yes.

-J.

If your gonna keep this more than a year I’d not get to excited about resale, your going to fish out of it, not use it as a investment.
I’d spend some time in each (even on the showroom floor) and think about fishing out of it.

Storage, ease of moving around in it, rod lockers, live wells, height gunnel’s are off the water, netting fish, whatever you need to make a better day on the water.

I spent at least a half hour in each boat I looked at, just sitting and going through what we’d be doing in the boat and did that boat do it better than others.

Good luck.
Al

Having owned a 2010 Alumacraft and currently own a 2012 Lund, I can say with a clear conscience that the fit and finish on the Lund is hands down better and the hull is of a much better design. Also, you can get factory power steering on the Merc. My Alumacraft had a 90 yamaha and the Lund has a 90 Merc, I think the Merc is quieter and I am not giving the power steering back. If the Lund is 5k more boat to boat, you are looking at the wrong dealer. I shopped mine around, and the big Lund dealer in the cities (starts with an R) was considerably higher than the dealer I bought the boat from. Good Luck!

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Definatly go with the Yamaha though. Yamaha on either boat will give 20+ years of service if taken care of.

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As will a new merc 4 stroke.

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Just my opinion. Lund. Better built and will hold it’s resale value better than Alumacraft or any other aluminum boat out there.

-J.

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X2

I agree with Allen, if you plan on keeping the boat long term. I am very happy with my 1998 1650 Fishawk, upgraded my motor to 90 HP four stroke Merc 10 years ago and never looked back. There is always something out there I wished I had that is better than mine but at the end of the day my payments are just right and all the reasons why I bought the boat in the first place are still there. The platform serves my overall purpose just as well today as it did 14 years ago so think long and hard about what you really want in a platform and buy the biggest motor you can rated for your boat. Over the years I upgrade my electronics and trolling motors every so often and it feels new to me again. Best advice I can give you.

Here is some advice from someone who has sold both boat brands and many hundreds of every brand of outboard over the last 20 years.
Motor- Suzuki or Yamaha only forget teh rest as they simply do not measure up as far as performance, economy, and reliability. Honda are good but poochy performance wise.

Boat- Alumacraft has base coat clear coat paint, treated plywood, and a 20 yr or lifetime warranty. Plus a smoother drier ride. Much lower cost.

Lund has gone to a 3 yr warranty except for 1 seam on the boat which carries a lifetime. (read the fine print) Untreated plywood, no base/clear coat which requires waxing on a regular basis. much higher cost.

I would go well out of my way and pay a premium for either a Suzuki or Yamaha on any boat I own.

There is a reason Alumacraft sells more boats than Lund and Crestliner combined

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I agree with Allen, if you plan on keeping the boat long term. I am very happy with my 1998 1650 Fishawk, upgraded my motor to 90 HP four stroke Merc 10 years ago and never looked back. There is always something out there I wished I had that is better than mine but at the end of the day my payments are just right and all the reasons why I bought the boat in the first place are still there. The platform serves my overall purpose just as well today as it did 14 years ago so think long and hard about what you really want in a platform and buy the biggest motor you can rated for your boat. Over the years I upgrade my electronics and trolling motors every so often and it feels new to me again. Best advice I can give you.

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X3
I bought new boats through 2003. I had 16.5s through 18.5 footers. For my fishing and guiding my 1750 FishHawk (115 Yammy 4 stroke)is perfect because of the large front deck, as I guide mostly Bass now.
I have had zero boat problems and only replaced a couple plastic hose bushings on the 115 (per Yamaha’s recall). Now retired on about 50% of my working income, a new boat would really have to be a dire neccessity.
I am not a tiller guy but have fished with Mike Westman and was pretty impressed with his 175 Alumacraft tiller w 75 Yammy. The Lunds I’ve fished were nice but the front deck space was considerably less than my C liner. If you are a troller you wont really care. Again, get the boat that suits your fishing style.

Chris G. If I had the extra cash a new Skeeter MX 1825 would be sweet!

I have owned both I think you just get more bang for the buck with the Alumacraft. I run a 18.5 tourney pro with a 150 yamaha. I have had no issues with either. My previous boat was a 17.5 Navigator with a 115 yamaha, I ran the urine out out it and sold it to my buddy . He has put another 3 years of abuse on it and has had ZERO issues with either boat or motor. My buddies Pro V with a Merc has seen more time in the shop than on the water. One problem after another.

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There is a reason Alumacraft sells more boats than Lund and Crestliner combined

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Doesn’t Alumacraft count their jon boats and canoes as units sold?

Go with Lund, I have had Lunds for many years. Built like an Abrams. All Have withstood the batterings of the many angry leviathans I have hoisted over the side for decades!

You can have aluminum or fiberglass boat. It may be a bit biased, both has their own pros and cons of each but has good resale value. Welded aluminum boats depreciate much slower than glass boats.Choice is yours.

yamaha, yamaha, yamaha.

would go with lund if had the ability to pick between the two. my dad was in same situation last year not same models but was picking between lund and alumacraft. alumacraft seemed great until you compare it side to side. lund is just built better. x4 on shop around and even call on the lunds shouldn’t be a $5k difference.

fun decision to be making both are awesome boats.