Pro Craft Bass Boats

Any of you guys out there fish out of Pro Crafts? Any pros and cons would be great.

Thanks

Musky, I fish out of a Fisher FXDV18 which is built in the same factory as Pro Craft. It is an excellent, strong and well built hull. The bass boats handle exceptionally well and are great to fish out of. Pro Craft has been long one of the leaders in the bass boat industry.
Chris Beeksma
Get Bit Guide Service

With no disrespect to Mr. Beeksma, a first class fishing guide in his own right, the question really is:

Is there any other boat than a Lund, really?

I have fished out of a Lund, and Alumacraft, and Crestliner… and from Chris Beeksma’s boat. I liked Chris’s Fisher… nice boat. But also nice is James Holst Crestliner… so is my Alumacraft a good boat.
Boy…
I wish someone would tell Lund we at EFN exist! Last time I called and spoke with their Pro-Staff dept rep., they had never heard of us here .
Oh well… Alumacraft and Crestliner both have been a great aid in working with EFN & our Pro-Staff thus far…. great boats and good folks to work with.

Lunds… do tell us all about why they are a good/better boat. I am very interested to hear.
Hoggie

Hi Hawger,

Go to the Lund site and read all the propaganda, just like every other boat site, telling you why their brand of boats are the best. My PERSONAL experience is that Lund makes the most solid aluminum fishing boat that I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in. And the new hull they have, the IPS, really makes for a comfortable ride, as good as any glass boat I’ve ridden in.

I know up here in the midwest and the northern regions, people choose aluminum over glass boats by a long shot. Why is that? Probably because aluminum hulls can take a helluva pounding and not crack or split, like glass. And also because the boats are considerably cheaper and take less horsepower to get around in.
I love my 1700 Angler SS…I’m on my second one, and I’ve got a new 135 optimax, so I’m chomping at the bit for spring.
The boat I purchased also has a Lowrance LMS 240 sonar/GPS unit…I’d like some feedback from other people out there about their experiences with that particluar model (or Lowrance in general), and if anyone has had any problems with their Mercs Optimax. I’ve heard of problems with the optimax with horsepower in excess of 200…does anyone know if those problems exist in lower HP units????

Thanks for any info.

Bronzeback, just trying to start something hey! lol Aluminum boats have improved a great deal in the past 10 years. The ride is very much like a glass boat but still not there. Day after day I watch aluminum boats pound in the waves of the big pond and am glad I have the cushion of the glass. Boats with rivets will leak sooner or later. Unfortunately, for comparison sake I have not fished out of any of the bigger newer Lunds. Just not a popular boat on the bay. Most aluminums are Crestliners or Alumacrafts. I take that back one of the gentlemen I guide with has a 2 yr old 18 ft Lund with the IPS hull and really likes it. As you know there are the pros and cons of Aluminum and Fiberglass and we buy them for the pros that fit us best. Put on of the rub strips they have out on the front of your glass boat and that has taken care of the #1 disadvantage of glass boat. Running up onto shallow bottom. Most of the Optimax problems were with the 200 plus HP engines. Esp 225’s I have heard nothing but great things regarding the 135. I love my 200 Optimax and the gas economy is incredible. I do get a kick out of Dale Strocheins ad in some of the magazines though saying he can go a month on a tank of gas with his Optimax. NOT! Must have a hell of a trolling motor or uses his kicker ALOT. They are incredibly econonmical for their size. Take me out in your Lund and than I can fairly judge the boats. lol Of course we have to fish also, not just boat ride. As far as cracking and splitting if you take a close look there are a few brands that do the most of this. Right Dee Zee?? And most of the time when this happens they are plain ol’ being abused. Aluminum cheaper?? Not much any more. Ok I give!! Take care and thanks for the info.
Chris Beeksma
Get Bit Guide Service

I will try not to stray from Mr Muskymidget’s original question of this post but this has the making of a Chevy versus Ford dellema.

Bronzeback, I respect your liking for a Lund boats (I used to own a Lund), but that does not make it the best boat out there in the market. What is the best boat out there? Its whatever YOU deem as your boat of choice for your conditions and paces that you put the boat through. I have recently split a hull on a fiberglass boat, But quite a few years ago, my whole transom was coming apart on my Lund after about 1 year of running big water.
It amazes me that these boats built today can stand up to such a task that gets delivered day in and day out in rough conditions. I will go out and say that I do prefer a glass ride over a aluminum ride in big rough water, buts that my opinion. I have had the pleasure of running some bigger Lunds as well as several bigger glass boats and to me, I like the results I saw from the glass boats. To me, I feel that Ranger is the best boat made, but again thats my opinion and every is entitled to one. I spend between 175-200 days a year on the water and get to see all sorts of intersting things on the water or back at the weigh-in docks after a 45-1-1/2 hour crawl through the roughest conditions. No one boat can go through these conditions without showing some sort of fatigue or wear over time.

The problems you have heard about the Optimax’s can be misleading to most that do not know the real root reason for some of the issues. From my understanding, when fishing cold water times of the year, these motors that had the issues were not properly warmed up prior to getting hard on the throttle and suffered. Most people that understand this just give the motors a little extra warm up periods in conditions where water temps may be below 45 degrees.
I am a happy 225 Optimax owner.

Dee Zee,
I’m in complete agreement…to each their own. MY comment about Lund’s superiority was a tongue in cheek good natured ribbing of Pro guide Beeksma, as he is SPONSORED by Fisher boats…and the company, who he points out, manufactures Pro Craft. Lund’s argument regarding rivets vs. welding rests on the position that commercial airliners are riveted, not welded, so it must be more than adequate for fishing boats. IF welding was a more adequate way of putting together a vessel, than why are jets riveted, rather than welded? Of course, I don’t care, I just like my Lund, it seems really solid compared to some others I’ve been in. I haven’t owned it long enough for it to start leaking on me.

Thanks for the clarification regarding issues with the Optimax…I had heard that it was related to owners who weren’t giving the motor adequate time to “warm up” prior to jumping on it.

I have had the good fortune to ride with Herr Beeksma in his stylish glass boat, and it was certainly comfortable. And the Optimax cruised, even with that big heavy glass boat attached!!!

Just for fun let’s look at Mr. Bronzeback’s last statement.

“Big Heavy Glass”

Weight & Specs of a PROcraft SuperPRO 210:

SPECIFICATIONS

Length 20′ 9”
Beam 93.25″
Transom Height 24.5″
Max. Recommended H.P. 250 HP
Weight Approx. 1760 Lbs.
Fuel Capacity 50 Gallons

Vs.

Lund 2025 Pro V Magnum

Length 20’6″
Beam 96″
Transom height 25″
Max H.P. 250
Weight Approx. 1910 Lbs.
Fuel Tank 55 gal.

Hmmmm… which boat is HEAVY now?

Fiberglass is much different than it used to be….

I’d rather ride in a Plastic Bottle than a tin can.

Of course the Midge already lives for Beer so he gets enough Aluminum in his diet… he better get the Procraft!

How did a thread about ProCraft become a thread about Lund?

By the way midge if you ever go out on anything but the Great Lakes with this guys make sure you bring along some reading material so you’ll have something to do while waiting for them to catch up with ya!

Thick Shady

Well, my question did not get answered, but thanks anyways.

I am extremely happy with my Crestliner Fish Hawk for right now. I was just wondering if I did move to the “bass” style boat for musky fishing, I would take a look at Pro Crafts !

I know a couple guys that run them on the Denny’s circuit and they both like them a lot. 1 is a 20’er thatusually seems to always be nose high when in the water. The 18’er seems to float more level. Suppose that could be because of the difference in gas tank valomue and the weith difference between a 225 and 150. Both have part of the Procraft lettering peeling off after 1 year of use.

i’m in the opinion with the other galss boat owners. If you are going to fish big water, my opinion is glass is the way to go. I have had a glass boat for 3 years and fish primarly big water and wouldn’t trade it for anything. On rough days I watch alluminum boats try to handle the waves and just cringe thinking about how that must feel. I know they are making great improvements to alluminum boats but they still don’t compare to that of glass for big water.