G3 Boats

Looking for anyone’s experiences with these boats. I have looked at their site and am impressed, but don’t know how they compare to let’s say Alumacraft or others. Good or bad, let me hear it. Thanks.

First of all Welcome to IDA

There is a trough full of knowledge here and people willing to share it. IDA Pro-Staffer Chris Tuckner just made his maiden voyage with his new G3 rig yesterday. He ran a Alumnacraft tiller last year and I know he has ran Crestliners also. He should chime in soon or look for his report on the front page holding the panfish. I think he is in the process of writing up a review of the performance and layout of his boat as we speak. Good luck and again welcome to the best place on the net. !

My experience is limited, so I cannot with good concience tell you that it is the “Best boat I have ever owned,” but the first ride yesterday left a great impression on me. I have the 185 XT (Vinyl interior) with a F150 Yamaha. First of all, the fit and finish of this boat is very nice. Performance-wise, it was flawless. Drawing from past experiences in other boats, I can tell you of a few things that I liked in comparrison to other brands. Rangers to me get out of the hole, and the nose settles down, and really provides a nice ride. This boat does much of the same. One thing you notice is the way it “Cuts” through the water. At mid trim, water moves away from the boat at mid-ship. Hammer it down, and go to full trim, and the spray disappears and the motor sings. The boat is very nimble for an 1800 pound boat. Much like a TS 172 Crestliner I owned. I won’t say it is sports car like performance, but a feeling of control. You cannot blow this motor out of the water! One of the things I like to try is sharp figure 8 turns and try to blow the motor out. (Meaning trying to get the prop to suck in air, and loose traction so to speak.) It would not do it. I had excellent grip throughout the excercise. With a 20 MPH wind, the ride was smooth and dry. The 80# Minnkota pushed it around the shallows with ease! The front casting deck offered plenty of room, and two people fished from the cockpit with tons of room to spare. The gunnels are wide, and can be sat on as well. The removable tongue is a nice touch too! It actually takes up less room in my garage than my 175 Navigator with the swing tongue!
If you would like, this boat will be in Red Wing for the upcoming FLW events, and I would be more than happy to provide a test drive.

I just returned from the FLW tournament in Detroit River and I fished my G3 extensively for the first time. I am pleased to report that this boat handles well, is great for vertical jigging, controlled drifting, and live bait rigging. At 18’5″ she’s easy to handle and she sits well in the water. We had some 3-4 footers on the river one day and she road perfectly atop the waves, no porposing, and went smooth through the rough conditions. I’ll be taking her out on Green Bay soon, as this will give me more information on how she handles bigger rougher water. But my first impression is the layout is great, it handles well, and is a snap to maneuver for live bait and vertical jigging situations. My rig is a V185F with a 200 HPDI Yamaha. At 5900 rpms she’s hitting around 57 mph. The hole shot is great too.

I ran a 185 dual console 2005 with 150 yammy 4 stroke all of last year. It is all the above and more I put this boat through the ringer and the preformance is great . The storage is super,the handling is great and dry. I’m sure me or Tuck can get you on the water I’m up by Brainerd!!

Stick, got 49.6 MPH today. I had one other guy and me…Although we were going down river!

Wow thats awesome best I did down river was 48 . How was the fishing!!

We were mostly out to break in the engines. I did manage two saugers pitching, one 3.3 and the other a true brute at 3.9 pounds! Got another trolling three ways and cranks.
Man, that Troll Master is going to be nice! It took a little fine tuning on the water, but is running great now! I can’t wait for Mille Lacs!

I can’t either!!!