In regards to the smaller boat makers……….
Check out the Yar-Craft boats at the Boat Show. We have our “Power of Choice” program in full swing now. The Yar-Craft 2095DC with the choice of your favorite make of motor…. a Mercury 150 Verado or Optimax, or Evinrude’s 150 E-Tec, Yamaha’s 150TXR, or Suzuki’s DF150TXK.
Your choice……$33,999 
(tax, dealer prep, and destination charges not included.)
I think that G3 will really give Lund and Crestiliner some market share grief if they would just expand their Angler Deep-V series line to include the single console on the larger boats and even add a dual console option. The wife wants the full windshield, but I say BAH to that.
That price sure sounds alot better than the 50,000 plus price tags on the Rangers. Smittys Marine in Lake City, Mn is Yar-Crafts newest dealer. 
Thanks, Bill
I haven’t been in the market for a boat so I don’t know. Can you get a G3 with a Merc, or is it just a Yamaha and thats it ? Will they put a Merc on for more money like Lund is doing ?
big g
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The wife wants the full windshield, but I say BAH to that.
She can have mine! I want to get away from a windshield, but momma ain’t havin’ none of that! 
Bill you can buy Rangers for less money then $50,000 maybe not for $33,900 but considerbly less then $50,000
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Bill you can buy Rangers for less money then $50,000 maybe not for $33,900 but considerbly less then $50,000
Yeah, but its still not a Yar-Craft!! 
Thanks, I thought I was right about Jacobs trying to corner the industry and then selling out to Brunswick. It is clearly legal, but the guy in all his take-overs has no ethics.
As for boat prices my son and I were at Cabela’s last night and they had a Warrior Boat with a 225HP Merc. There so-called discount price was 48 grand. Just ureal in my opinion.
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That price sure sounds alot better than the 50,000 plus price tags on the Rangers. Smittys Marine in Lake City, Mn is Yar-Crafts newest dealer.
Thanks, Bill
Hannay’s signed on with Yar-Craft also!
Jack,Yar-Craft really started to generate local interest last year. Heck, I even took a look! 
Hopefully they can meet production demands because I saw alot of value vs dollars in their boats.
That said, I still don’t like the looks of the name on the side of the boat. 
My dream boat and I could pick any motor I want.
Dream boat
I can always dream 
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I think that G3 will really give Lund and Crestiliner some market share grief if they would just expand their Angler Deep-V series line to include the single console on the larger boats and even add a dual console option. The wife wants the full windshield, but I say BAH to that.
They did expand the line by adding the 172. This one is giving the Crestliner Fish Hawk a run for it’s money for a little over $20k. She does 46 MPH on GPS.
Here it is in the single.
Big G, the G3 is owned by Yamaha, and was that way from the beginning. Yamaha only on the motor. 
Jack –
Before we get all negative on the FLW and Irwin let’s make sure we take into account the lawsuit that Merc brought against YAMAHA. The net/net outcome of that was a higher cost of all engines that was directly passed onto the consumer. Nothing like playing the USA card while taking more hard earned money out of our pockets and quietly building a production plant in China… nice two step there!
I do applaud Yar Craft for offering all engine choices – it appears that they are following a successful market model that another glass company is using to keep increasing sales each quarter.
ted
Ted,
The post stating Jacobs was a corporate raider has nothing , zero, to do with the Mercury / Yamaha lawsuit.
Everyone agree’s (I think) that Jacobs has done an outstanding job with both Genmar and the FLW. My point was he has a very large interest in seeing Brunswick go down the tubes. Thus it was in his interest to make sure the letter he wrote got published in as many spots as possible.
In regards to his business background, “He is what he is.” 
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They did expand the line by adding the 172. This one is giving the Crestliner Fish Hawk a run for it’s money for a little over $20k. She does 46 MPH on GPS.
Here it is in the single.
That is good speeed out of a 115, but is just doesn’t burn enough fuel for me 
My 17.5′ alumacraft has a 175 on it, that takes care of the fuel. They need a 20 footer with a 225 or 250, that’s what I’m talking about.
Hey guys…doesn’t Brunswich now own Trition? I can’t remember, but i thought so. If that is so, why should he complain about anything? And by saying that, I am not saying he’s wrong about Brunswick….they are a diverst company though….
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the G3 is owned by Yamaha, and was that way from the beginning. Yamaha only on the motor.
So for boat buyers who are adverse to having a 4stroke outboard, then G3’s business model is no better than Brunswick’s?
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——————————————————————————–the G3 is owned by Yamaha, and was that way from the beginning. Yamaha only on the motor.
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So for boat buyers who are adverse to having a 4stroke outboard, then G3’s business model is no better than Brunswick’s?
THANK YOU. 
FINALLY.
Brian –
I believe you missed my point or maybe it wasn’t clear. I am an advocate for the consumer and I don’t think that Brunswick and/or any of its brands going away would be a good thing. Mr. Jacob’s companies need healthy competition from Brunswick to ensure they are putting the best product on the market at a fair price. Unfortunately Brunswick’s aluminum lines have suffered since being purchased and that has created an opportunity for other top shelf aluminum lines (like G3) and glass companies (like Ranger) because they are not allowing enginge manufacture choices and are limiting the number of dealership competing for the consumer dollar. Again the consumer is losing here. Fewer dealerships mean less competition and increased prices… Brunswick started on the engine side and now they are moving to the transom side of the equation. So if Jacobs is a corporate raider (or an insightful owner/seller of the aluminum lines) the facts are pointing to Brunswick being a consumer raider.
—
Desperado – YAMAHA offers 2 stroke (carb and HPDI) and 4 stroke models up to 300 HP in shaft lengths to accommodate walleye transoms.
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Desperado – YAMAHA offers 2 stroke (carb and HPDI) and 4 stroke models up to 300 HP in shaft lengths to accommodate walleye transoms.
But it is still a Yamaha. What if I wanted to throw a Mercury on the back of the G3. Could I even do this with out paying a premium or would it even be allowed????
If not, how is this different than Brunswick doing the same thing on Crestliners or Lunds with the Mercurys that everyone is all bent out of shape on???????
This isn’t really about being pro or con towards one motor company versus another. Currently all of the motor companies are turning out solid motors with the rare stinker in the works. Some companies do 4 strokes better than others while the next companies has their eggs in the DFI basket.
In my opinion is about the backlash Brunswick boat companies are feeling right now from their dealers over their descision to go from “open transoms” to making all boats pre-rig mercury.
G3 has always been yamaha. Every dealer that purchased the dealer rights to sell G3 boat knew going in that all boats will be rigged yamaha. That has not and will not change.
Where the brunswick boat companies have hit the wall is with their own dealers. They tried to tell individual dealer how they were going to run their business after these dealers had spent years, often decades, building personal relationships with individual customers to match each customers preference to a package the dealership could provide.
Dealerships have had to make a descision. Take the move from Brunswick and go all merc or drop merc and bring in competing boat companies to fill the void that was once lund sales.
Many have gone the route of dropping brunswick boats.
And that is the difference.
Relating it to something more personal how would each of you react if someone, one of your vendors, walked into your office and told you starting in the very near future you were no longer going to order supplies from a variety of suppliers and that all supplies had to be purchased through them?
I suspect you’d show them the door.
I’m sure many of you already know this, but Ranger lets you hang whatever motor you want on the back
James, sounds like you already know Chrysler !!!
big g
Ted,
Nothing negative intended towards the FLW at all. It’s just that the same man that owns it, is the same person who really kicked this whole boat/motor packaging debacle into high gear. Everyone is pointing their fingers at Brunswick, when they should be pointing them at Irwin, but they don’t because he is the man behind the FLW.
They just can’t see the forest because of all the trees.
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I’m sure many of you already know this, but Ranger lets you hang whatever motor you want on the back
My point exactly which is why I prefer a boat from a manufacturer who is independent from the motor manufacturers.
Of course it all comes down to what fits each individual best; which is why the two most attractive options for me right now are Warrior for glass and Lake Assault for tin.
Ya Rangers are really nice and they do make a good walleye boat, but bass boats are still their specialty. Just like Warrior now makes a bass boat, but walleye boats are still their specialty.
I bought my first new boat last year (Ranger Reata with a Suzuki) so I don’t know much about boat making history. There seems to be a lot of talk about G3 boats. My question is did Lowe sell that model to Yamaha before Brunswick purchased Lowe? Just curious.
Thanks.
Wow, this is a very interesting post, I had no idea all this was going on, I guess I dont have the money to care one way or the other. But reading this insider information and opinions is very interesting, I have owned a boat all my adult life but each boat has been a 10 year purchase average, with the Crestliner I bought in 98′ I need to stretch that out till my kids graduate from colledge. I will say this- The dealer does make the boat. My dealer at Wissota Marine has been great and Crestliner has lived up to there 3/10/20 year waranty so on a personal level I have no complaints. It is a very well built boat. Keep up this discusion, in ten years or so I’ll be in the market for my retirement boat.
Good point about being loyal to a good dealer. I was thinking the same thing. That is why dealers brought in other lines of tin boats, so customers could have a choice of motors. It will be a good selling point, you can say your Crestliner is pre-Brunswick!
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Ted,
Nothing negative intended towards the FLW at all. It’s just that the same man that owns it, is the same person who really kicked this whole boat/motor packaging debacle into high gear. Everyone is pointing their fingers at Brunswick, when they should be pointing them at Irwin, but they don’t because he is the man behind the FLW.
They just can’t see the forest because of all the trees.
I could not agree more with that! The best thing that could ever happen(but never will) is if the boat companies made boats, and the engine companies made engines.
Let the dealers make up the rigs the way THERE customers want them.
There’s a lot of confusion out there – and rightfully so. Here’s a fact:
YOU CAN HAVE AN E-TEC, ETC, ON A LUND WITHOUT PAYING A PREMIUM. BRP/Evinrude are offering Lund dealers extra incentives to put their motors on Lunds. They have discounts for dealers and will pay for re-rigging if needed. You CAN order a Lund without a Merc and it should not cost you extra – if they claim that this is untrue, they’re either misinformed or don’t want to work for the customer’s interest. It is true that it may cost you more to have another brand of motor on your Lund/Crestliner – but that is because the other motors, such as an E-TEC, cost more than a Merc.
Why is it that nobody really raises a stink that you have to have a Yamaha motor on Yamaha-owned G3 or Skeeter while everyone’s ticked that you “have to have a Merc on a Lund or Crestliner”? Quality and experience of product. Consumers’ like the quality of their Lunds and C’Liners.
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