Crestliner or Alumacraft

Which make and model and why?

What about lund ?

Drew…

Both make excellent boats. As for the model to get? I would go with whatever you are most comfortable with. The layout of a boat is everything to me, if I dont like how things are arranged/set up, I dont feel right.

Check out the models that suit you best and go from there, you wont be dissapointed.

I have an Crestliner 1850 Fish Hawk DC. Would I do it again?….Maybe. About the only thing I don’t like about mine is it is kinda a wet ride in bigger waves and wind.And the compartment openning devices Suck!My compartments in the bow are pretty tight and all there is ,is a plastic openner that all you can use is your finger tips. I’d much rather have the round pull types like in the other boat’s. Other than that I like my boat. My $.02

Drew what do you want to do with the boat? Are looking for just a fishing boat or do you want something that you could ski/tube with to? Both companies make a good boat & both have there good & bad things. I own a Crestliner Sportfish 1850, it is a very good duel purpose boat. But my brother has a Almucraft Trophy 175 that is a very nice boat to. So my advice is go to both dealers sit in alot of different boats & take your time.

I have owned an Alumicraft since 2000 and I love it. I’ve fished out of several Crestliners over the years as well. Both are good boats. If you compare similar models there probably won’t be a huge difference. Both offer welded hulls. The only difference I’ve noticed between the two is that the paint finish on Crestliners does not seem to hold up as well as the finish on most other aluminum boats. I have seen several fairly late model Crestliners with dull and faded finishes. I’ve seen enough of them to know that the poor finishes are not isolated incidents caused by neglect, etc… Just my own observations.

i run a tournament pro 175 tiller and love it! if you want a fishing boat i recommend going with a tiller. there is so much room and they arent like the old style tiller where if you let go they throw you overboard.just a really nice boat to fish out of. not to mention stable, really wide! 96″ i beleive.

As had been said above, you need to tell us what your primary uses of the boat will be. If its 100% fishing that’s one thing. Fishing and family boating, that’s something else.

I run a Crestliner Fishhawk 1750. Good all-around fishing boat, a very good starter walleye boat that is excellent on the river and good on larger lakes. Shortcomings in my mind are rod storage and wetness of ride. On the other hand, it offers a sizable front deck for casting, a decent amount of room behind the console for trolling, and is very very reliable, especially when paired with my Joh-zuki 115 HP 4 stroke. Nevertheless, I will be looking to step up to another ride in the next 12-24 months, as my guiding and tournament activities simply demand more space, more storage, and a drier ride.

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I have an Crestliner 1850 Fish Hawk DC.
My compartments in the bow are pretty tight and all there is, is a plastic openner that all you can use is your finger tips. I’d much rather have the round pull types like in the other boat’s.

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Me too. I’ve got an 1850 ‘Hawk dual bubble console boat, and I really love it. I haven’t really had it out in real rough stuff yet, but I do also believe that anytime you’re out in the that kind of thing, you’re going to get wet, I don’t care what you’re in. The above is also true about the compartments though, mine up front are real tight too, which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing….MOST of the time, anyway. I don’t mind having those plastic pulls myself, but they’re real hard to pull open from outside the boat. Inside, no problem. I personally don’t care for the ring-pull types because I had a boat 7 years ago that had those, and I was also pinching my fingers, and it hurt like hell.
The only other thing I can say about the ‘Hawk is that there’s no dedicated completely dry storage. So if you’re going to be taking on water or in the rain, take some of those big baggies if you need to keep something absolutely dry.

As for Alumacraft, I owned a 2001 Tourny Pro 175 SC for 4 years, and I thought it was a tough, very well built boat. I did have that thing in some 5 and 6 footers and we led the pack across the water in a tournament with a 115 Merc on it. The thing I like most about the Crestliner is how wide it is compared to the ‘Craft. I have more room too because the gunnels aren’t as wide in the ‘Hawk like they were in the ‘Craft. These boats are ’01 and ’02 models I’m talking about, so that’s one thing you’d definitely want to look at is the width, although I believe they’re all made fairly wide these days.
Along with that, I think some of the more important things to look at are floor plans, features (how many livewells you want, what kind of rod storage, etc), and what’ll fit the type of uses you’ll be wanting it for.
Kinda long winded, but hopefully that gives you something you can use.

I have a 4 year old I need to keep in the boat, so that is an issue too. I have been looking at an alumacraft 175 navigator, but I am in a 1992 crestliner 170 right now and don’t know how much I would be gaining by making that change. I have also looked at a used 2004 crestliner tourny 192, which is a beautiful used boat, but it is only 20 inches deep so I am not sure that is the way to go either as far as safety goes. How do you think the alumacraft navigator would ride compared to the the crestliner 192?

Alumacraft Trophysport, To me defiantly Alumacraft gives more bang for your buck.

I do not think it is fair to comapre the 175 Navigator to a 192 Tourney Series. The ride in the 192 would be much better, at least on big Water. Adding close to 2′ onto any boat, the ride would be better on the longer one in big water. The extra length mean smor eroom, etc. Check the beams of both. For me and what fits me best between those 2boats, I would say hands down the 192 over the 175. That is what works for me. You might have different needs.

In regards to paint, I would be careful. I have heard about some issues on some AlumnaCraft boats. It is just not fading either, actually coming off. Bob Carlson can comment and give you factual data on this. As his is into the Manufacturer right now. He can tell you if it is an isolated or a bigger problem.

Both are good. I have owned one Lund and 5 Alumacrafts. I keep an open mind whenever I purchased a new boat and did comparisons. I’ve never had one problem with Alumacrafts and I always come to the conclusion that you get more boat for the money than Crestliner or Lund. Again Lund and Crestliners build good boats but that is just my take. Good shopping!

My dilemma is choosing between the following two boats and figuring out which is the better deal or if I should wait and look for something different: brand new 07 alumacraft navigator 175 sport with 150 4-stroke yamaha with no kicker motor for 21,000, or used 04 crestliner 192 tourny (double bubble console) with 200 horse yamaha 4-stoke with 8 horse yamaha kicker (100 hours on main motor) for 23,000? I will be using it mainly as a fishing boat Which would you choose? Tough decision. Do I want new or do I want to take the chance on used?

For me, only the Almucraft is deep enough. I would look to the 195 to compare apples to apples vs. the 192. For safety of the kids(I’m having the same dilema), look to the Alumacraft Sport models or Sportfish in the Crestliners.

Tough choice, any chance you can bump up the ‘craft to a 185? I have a 175 Trophy and the only thing I wish was better is rod storage. I believe the 185 adds a center floor rod locker. Could be wrong, but that’s what I’d look for. No other issues with my boat and I’d lean toward the newer boat if I were in your position.

Eric

yeah,what is the deal with the rod locker in the floor? the holes arent big enough to fit the bottom eye through on my spinning rods… ’03 tp175. other than that i have no complaints
fritz

I love my 1850 Sportfish! I would like more storage but the 192 tourny should have more storage based off the difference in the layout from mine. I have been in the Craft’s and they are nice. It came down to those 2 brands when I made my choice. I went with the Crestliner because of the welded hull. I like how wide the Crestliners are.

Remember, rivits leak and pop out, welds can break! You have to do what you feel most comfortable with. Like everyone else said, you have to decide what you will most need out of it.

Ditto ,have the same boat the rod storage could be better.but theirs an old saying, bigger boat.. More stuff. The 175 tp alumacraft is a nice rig. alittle small for pure tournament fishing but i like it.

Full windshield or “double bubble console”? There might be something else to consider here:

With a full wind shield you can close the center window to block wind when cruising and you can get the full covers to seal out the elements completely if you need to. A good option with my wife and kids aboard…and just general comfort for everyone. The cons to this will be with lost space in the boat, but I’ve been a passenger in a boat without a wind shield, and rain does hurt at 25 MPH!

I have an older 1850 SportFish, and really like it. (This is not mine, I stole the image from Google).