Fishing/Ski/Tubing Boat Question/Info

Hello –

As my family has grown I will be looking to purchase a used fishing/tubing/skiing family boat next year or the year after. It will most likely be used about 50% fishing and 50% tubing/skiing – I am hoping more fishing but it will depend on the kids interest. Now the question is what do others that are in the same situation have and any likes, dislikes or what would you do over if you could – besides make sure you have the max HP as that will be a must on my end? What boats would you recommend that would work well for fishing and family fun? By the way I have a family of 5.

Thanks!

Chad

Quote:

---

Hello –

As my family has grown I will be looking to purchase a used fishing/tubing/skiing family boat next year or the year after. It will most likely be used about 50% fishing and 50% tubing/skiing – I am hoping more fishing but it will depend on the kids interest. Now the question is what do others that are in the same situation have and any likes, dislikes or what would you do over if you could – besides make sure you have the max HP as that will be a must on my end? What boats would you recommend that would work well for fishing and family fun? By the way I have a family of 5.

Thanks!

Chad

---

I was pretty impressed with my buddies Skeeter SL1900. I am much more of a fish style layout so that puts me on the MX/WX series. But he uses his SL for fishing a ton and is very happy with it. In fact he just got back from Kabetogama and said he loved how it fished.

The MX1825 would probably be a good boat, but there won’t be many used ones. I know a few people that have Ranger Reatas and really like them. They have kids and they go skiing and tubing during the day and then they pull the rods out at night and go fishing for Walleyes. The Crestliner console boats are another option. My Dad has a Sportfish and we used to fish in rough water all the time as well as ski and tube behind it.

Some things to consider are the layout and storage. Can you comfortably seat everyone in the cockpit area? For storage I would make sure you can easily stow the fishing rods so they don’t get broken and nobody ends up with a hook in their foot. Its nice to have a compartment that will hold skis so you can get them out of the way. Jump seats in the back are a nice option. It opens up the floor space.

Good luck in your search.

Fuel efficiency would be my top priority. At 4.00 per gallon for gas, pulling tubes/skiers for an afternoon with anything with a big motor is going to get expensive. My older 115 hp Johnson gets really thirsty pulling tubers. Within a couple 2 – 3 hours, it is nothing to burn up more than 50.00 worth of gas (maybe more). Do that every weekend,or multiple times on a weekend and it will add up quick.

Teach your kids to ski. They will only last skiing for about 10 – 15 minutes per time. They will be able to hang onto a stupid tube all day (unless you try and throw them off, then they either get hurt or cry). Not a fan of tubes.

I’ve had a Crestliner Sportfish for the past 11 years, and been very happy with it. But if I were buying today I’d go for the Ranger Reata. Nothing at all wrong with the Sportfish. Just that the price of the Reata is so close and it is a nicer boat.

If I was shopping, these would be on my short list for a family boat.

Aluminum:

Alumacraft Trophy and Competitor

Crestliner Sportfish and Super Hawk

Lund Tyee and Cossover (and Fisherman)

Glass:

Skeeter WX

Ranger Reata

Yarcraft 186SFX

Musts for family boat IMHO: probably a 4-stroke (at least 80% of max hp), on board chargers, swing tongue, top set/bimini top, Terrova trolling motor, Lowrance HDS or Humminbord 800 series depthfinder/GPS, swim/boarding ladder, ski pole and stereo with iPod adapter and/or satellite radio.

Make sure when comparing models, you’re comparing as apples to apples as possible model wise (and not say Lund Tyee vs CL Super Hawk) and rigged wise.

No family but I’m the one who likes to do both. Kind of depends on which one of the items takes priority, skiing, tubing, or fishing. The other big one is the budget.

Disclaimer: hate tubing, love fishing and waterskiing

If tubing: It doesn’t matter a whole lot what you buy. As long as the family is comfortable in the boat and it’s easy in/out with a ladder. Can save on horsepower and get something that fishes well.

Skiing vs fishing. Most of the boats that are called a fish and ski are a very poor compromise. The one that starts as a fishing boat isn’t a great ski boat. The runabouts that pretend to be fishing boats are even worse.

Budget no issue the only one I’ve really liked is the Ranger Reata. They really thought that one through for both recreational and fishing uses.

Budget an issue: An aluminum fishing boat that has a good sized motor and has a mount point for a rope. If no mount point you can use a harness that attaches to the eyes on the stern. In addition to the Crestliner referenced above check out the Smokercraft Ultima.

Notes on motor: Dad has been a lifelong waterskier. His pet peeve(one of many) is an underpowered motor. You can never have too much horsepower. This can be self defeating on gas mileage but necessary to get adults out of the water properly. In the last thirty years he’s never had less than 170hp but none of the boats were worth a crap for fishing.

I have been in this type of boat for 10 years now. We have the Alumacraft Trophy but others will work as well. My input would be along the lines of last poster, max horsepower and unless you plan to fish remote lakes often, go with a two-stroke, like Optimax.

You’ll need the hole shot for the tubing and adult skiers and what gas mileage you lose, I’d take back in power in a heartbeat. We’ve run a 115 4-stroke Merc and while it performs flawlessly, now that we pull 2-4 teenagers, it really dogs around the corners.

Power, power, and power!! You can fish out of anything!!

ET

Quote:

---

Hello –

As my family has grown I will be looking to purchase a used fishing/tubing/skiing family boat next year or the year after. It will most likely be used about 50% fishing and 50% tubing/skiing – I am hoping more fishing but it will depend on the kids interest. Now the question is what do others that are in the same situation have and any likes, dislikes or what would you do over if you could – besides make sure you have the max HP as that will be a must on my end? What boats would you recommend that would work well for fishing and family fun? By the way I have a family of 5.

Thanks!

Chad

---

I entered this arena a few years ago. I was lucky enough to find a used Ranger 617 with a 150 Optimax and have never looked back. It seats 5 if needed, and you can hook up a tow rope to the back of the boat and have no problems. I go on a family vacation each year and this handles tubing and family boat rides with ease.

As a side note it is a great fishing platform for walleye and muskie. No complaints.

Good luck.

I tried the whole dual-purpose boat thing. Didn’t work for me. Too many compromises, nothing was what I wanted. The boat was too big for fishing and too small without the right features to really make it a good family fun boat.

I now have two boats so that each boat has what I want. I’m not saying you can’t do it, but I think you have to look at your wants, needs, and budget and be real about how likely it is that you’ll be able to find one boat to do everything in the way that you want it to.

Grouse