Although I really like my Impact, My next boat will most definitely be glass. Looking real hard at the Lund Tyee 189GL. Skeeter WX1910 is right there too.
That Tyee is a nice boat. Ted Takasaki walked me around one at the sports show. I think that’s what I would lean towards. We’ll be in the market next year or the following.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit star struck meeting Ted. My wife, not so much.
Each guy will use and take care of their boats differently. I’ve seen 5 year old boats beat to he77 and 20 year old boats that look showroom new. Point is it doesn’t matter if it’s a tin boat or glass boat. It’s how it’s handled and taken care of that matters. An informal survey of the rocks at VNP is they can’t tell for sure if it’s a glass or tin boat being crashed into them.
Most of the guides are switching over to glass up there, they just are careful (as you will be) where they ground the boat. The keel guard takes care of the keel real well.
A glass boat unless one of the big 20+ foot models seem to sit down in the water and catch less wind. But thats just my opinion.My only 2 concerns would be
1) whats momma want.
2) what can I afford.I have never once considered what my friends would like me to buy. We can hop in their boat next time if they don’t like mine. You are making the payments and only you truly know how much fishing use vs family use it will get.
In my case, the wife never gets in the boat so it’s a 20′ tiller and it will always be fiberglass.
But you do what you gotta do. It’s your cash.
Dang it Dutch, we are supposed to be narrowing things down here, not adding more options! Now you got me second guessing going tin… 
On a related note, does anyone know if there was a common problem w/ recent Ranger Reata’s? I’ve seen a ton posted for sale lately, at a much lower price than I would expect.
I haven’t heard of any Reata issues. Lots of them sold = lots of them for resale. Little tip……….don’t get a factory Bimini if you plan to keep the boat. Get a boat, take it to Canvas Craft and pay to have one custom made. Always get one you can stand straight up under vs the short factory ones.
Look at the Lund crossover great play and fish boat comes with a 150 I believe it’s a 1875. Comes with a bimi cover and everything you want
I bought my boat with family versatility taking importance over fishing. But here’s my 2 cents.
Openness, have all the storage you want but when you want quick access to towels, sunscreen, snacks, color crayons and stuffed unicorns it would be PIA for kids and or mom/dad to always be lifting latches and compartments. Plus haven’t heard of too many of those being completely waterproof so the need to open and air-dry would be another PIA. That’s what 31 bags are for, in and out of boat for next trip.
Edit: also more compartments equals less floor space and more for toddlers to climb on and dump overboard. Every mom who brings kids in my boat LOVE that the back is all open with high sides which they don’t have to worry about kid going Baywatch dive over the side at any point.
Bimini, x10 what’s already been said about them. Not just for crappy weather, also for great sunny weather. Mine snaps to the windshield, on hot days it doesn’t allow for a good breeze to come through but that’s about the only complaint. I like the fact mine isn’t very tall, it gets shade the majority of the day, when you start seeing these super tall Biminis I’ve got to think if they get nice shade other than when sun is directly overhead.
Motor, bigger isn’t always better. Not a fan of going over that 36-38 mph mark with the family inside. But I drive pretty slow in general. I do like popping out that hole immediately, so do the kids when they ride up front, get that bow down so I can see as quickly as posisble and when pulling skiers and tubes makes like easier.
Most boats I was looking at were glass before deciding I didn’t really know what I wanted and wasn’t willing to spend 30k finding out. Alot of great boats out there, hopping inside each one is imperative on your decision. Even if you don’t think you’ll like it, hop in it. I was a huge Crossover fan, then I hopped in one and out of all Lunds at the sportsshow and really liked the impact xs out of them all. And then I found Triton boats and was even a bit more intrigued and left bc it was getting too attractive 
Good luck man, will be a fun process.
These may be a little older than what your looking for but I think the Larson Fincraft’s are a great steal. A boat model that never took off from Glastron, originally made as a cheaper glass option and are now much cheaper than aluminum boats of the same size and year.
If you are considering a Reatta, make sure you also look at the Angler 1880ms. It’s a beautiful boat. Reatta is ski and fish. Angler is fish and ski. Choose the bias based on how you will use it.
If not glass, Lund has treated me excellent for a decade and a half.
ranger 1880 is my pick for obvious reasons.
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Just looked at a Lund 20’ fiberglass tiller. Momma won’t like it but you sure would. 
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The new crestliner fishhawk for next year will have rear jump seats, making the layout more comparable to the impact, thought that was a nice boat from what I saw and may be worth looking into, I love the sport fish sst, those are sharp looking boats. I grew up with crestliners so that’s what I know about the most, but have fished a lot in lunds and alumacrafts, they all have pros and all have cons.
I picked up a Lund Impact 1775 Last Friday. All I can say is Wow!!! I had a Lund explorer tiller That I loved. Out grew the boat with the family. The Impact I pick up was used 2018 The guy put 4 hours on the motor. He had the boat loaded with everything. The only option it did not have was the flip bench I got that put on in negotiations. We had 4 people in it on Saturday and did not feel crowded. I am 6,3 and can lay on the back casting deck with tons of room to spare. If you are in the Mankato area let me know and I will give you a ride.
Thanks for all the feedback, I’ve added a few more models to the “possibility list” rather than narrowing it down 
. But lots of good info, keep any other recommendations coming!
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>brian_peterson wrote:</div>
Although I really like my Impact, My next boat will most definitely be glass. Looking real hard at the Lund Tyee 189GL. Skeeter WX1910 is right there too.That Tyee is a nice boat. Ted Takasaki walked me around one at the sports show. I think that’s what I would lean towards. We’ll be in the market next year or the following.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit star struck meeting Ted. My wife, not so much.
Ted just beat out my buddy by 0.02 lbs on Otter Tail last weekend for a boat. Steve got third and won a smaller 14′ Lund with a 10hp instead.
My pops just got a new Trophy 175 with a full windshield and bimini this spring and I got the chance to run it over the weekend. IMO it’s a very nice boat and the layout is good, plenty of storage and the high sideboard is nice for small kiddos.
He had it up on Rainy sturgeon fishing this spring and used the bimini with his Buddy heater and said it was quite comfortable in the 40 degree weather. He’s also been out twice to Akaska trolling the river with only his 80lb terrova and was really pleased with performance on that going 6hrs or so per day. He got just a 115 yamaha on it and while it runs well with that motor, I’d assume you’d put the 150 on it.
My main concern would be how much wind it would catch being it sits fairly tall in the water. He had good weather for trolling in SD so no idea how it would track in big waves yet. Hope this helps, good luck with what you decide.
I have a Alumacraft Trophy 18ft with a 150 Yamaha. I only run it on Rainy Lake/VNP. It does suck a bit when the lake gets rough…the only time I wish I had a glass boat. However, I have punctured the hull before and its a cheap fix. When calmer, it does 45mph with a 19″ 3 blade SS prop. I can run it up on sandy shorelines…its awesome. It easily tows the kids and keeps everyone dry. The only downside to a high sided boat and full windshield is that it can act as a bit of a sail when the wind picks up. You’ll be able to do 2-3 mph trolls without your motor 
Thanks again fellas! Curious what you all would consider “too many” hours on a used boat main motor? Obviously condition and maintenance is a huge factor, but assuming similar care, how many hours in relation to years old is reasonable or too much?
First and foremost, don’t ever accept an “estimation” of hours. If buying new enough used and the seller is serious, they can get a printout.
Sometimes I think hours are blown well out of proportion. Maintenance is key. I’d also be more concerned about hours at certain RPM’s. For example, I’d rather purchase a boat with 300 hours and 250 are trolling compared to something with 180 hours with a majority used above 5k RPMs pulling kids around.
Ask specific questions about when and where maintenance was done (seals, lower unit oil, winterizing, etc.) If they give you the “on my own” answer, look at the garage/house/seller/vehicles and try to get a vibe if they keep things up and are likely handy. If they can’t recall maintenance whatsoever then I’d walk away unless it’s a nearly new rig.
If all things considered looked good and were equal, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a boat that’s got 150-200 hours and is relatively new. Smaller engines that sit are likely to have more issues than ones that are used (not abused) somewhat regularly. I’ve been told a modern outboard that isn’t abused and has regular maintenance should push 1000 hours before any rebuilding is imminent. In MN, that’s a lot of years for open water.
Keep in mind the average owner puts on less the 40 hours a year. A 10 year old boat with 400 hours on a 4 stroke is barely used.
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