New boat. Where to start?

patk wrote:

x2 well said

I actually had a preference for the 115hp. Fuel economy for remote trips and lower cost were my personal drivers. Our family has a glass boat for waterskiing so I didn’t need the extra juice.

Some dealers will sell that 175 with less than 115hp, don’t do it! Can’t speak to 18 footers but I might lean to needing more than 115hp.

Oh yeah, I would say 115hp is not enough for a 18′ aluminum boat.

I have an older Tourney Pro, 2004, and it measures 17’11”. The new 185 T-Pros are only 4″ longer at 18’3″. They shrunk when they were re-introduced.

My 175 came with a 115hp and it was under powered. It gained fuel efficiency and top end by bumping up to a 150hp. I imagine that a 175hp would have been even better. Although it may be overkill for the hull design. A friend has a 175hp on a 175 Trophy and agrees with me that these hulls gets a little squirrelly as you pass 45-ish mph. You can start to feel it above 40 and as you approach 50mph it gets more pronounced. It doesn’t really matter though because I’m usually cruising in the mid 30’s.

A buddy of mine’s company made the holders, etc for the Alumatrac system. According to him the plastic Alumacraft chose to go with isn’t as robust as his engineers recommended, but I cannot say that I have heard of any failures.
I would certainly be leery about using it for downriggers, but I think most trolling applications would be fine.
I think the key is making sure you do not point the holder at a 90 angle or perpendicular with the boat. That puts a lot more stress on it than if you have it angled back a bit and make sure your drag is loosened up a bit.

It was painful to do to a new boat, but I drilled holes in my gunnel (in the doors) for flush mount Scotty rod holders and I really like it. Works well and isn’t cumbersome with something mounted on top or on the inside of the gunnel.

There is some really good advice here. Speaking from first hand experience from buying the wrong boat, I believe there is no substitute for spending time on the water with the model set up you are considering. I encourage you to invest your time on the water. The best deal is buying the right boat the first time! Good luck & have fun !

Kyhl wrote:

I am curious about the multiple aversions to the wide gunnels. I was hesitant about them as well before getting a Tourney Pro because they do take up some inside space but later found that the storage is ideal.

I quickly came to appreciate the wide gunnels. Some advantages.
They make a great step for getting in and out.
They make a great seat when anchor fishing.
Nice to sit on the edge and hang your feet in the water.
My dogs like to lay on them while I fish, or walk laps around the boat on the gunnels.
They are easy on the stomach muscles when you lean over to release a fish.

And they make a comfortable foot rest or ottoman.

There definitely are advantages to the wide gunnels. However, the negatives definitely outweigh the positives for me.

Negatives:
-Carpeted wide gunnels show wear/stains in a real hurry from being stepped on or having fish slime/blood. I cannot imagine what those would look like after 6-8 years of people stepping in and out on them. I do a lot of winter fishing with muddy boots and launching where there aren’t docks. I just don’t see this holding up well. I’ve seen a few with vinyl, but most look to be carpet. Any boat I purchase will be vinyl everywhere if possible.
-Loss of space inside the boat itself
-Boats with the wider gunnels are a few hundred pounds heavier according to specs (lower top end speed, worse fuel efficiency)
-Boat models with the wider gunnels seem to be more expensive/higher end

buckybadger wrote:

There definitely are advantages to the wide gunnels. However, the negatives definitely outweigh the positives for me.

Negatives:
-Carpeted wide gunnels show wear/stains in a real hurry from being stepped on or having fish slime/blood. I cannot imagine what those would look like after 6-8 years of people stepping in and out on them. I do a lot of winter fishing with muddy boots and launching where there aren’t docks. I just don’t see this holding up well. I’ve seen a few with vinyl, but most look to be carpet. Any boat I purchase will be vinyl everywhere if possible.
-Loss of space inside the boat itself
-Boats with the wider gunnels are a few hundred pounds heavier according to specs (lower top end speed, worse fuel efficiency)

Valid points, but my boat is now 11 years old (2006), I purchased new in 2010 (holdover) and my gunnels look like new. Trust me, carpet is easy to clean provided the company uses good quality marine grade carpet. I have 3 boys and let me tell if you it can be tracked, spilled, dropped, puked on it has been done in my boat. I just use a pressure washer twice a year and it looks brand new.
Vinyl? I personally would never get a boat with 100% vinyl surfaces without carpet snap ins. Fish slime, frost etc make that surface treacherous. A buddy has it in his boat and he has said never again.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BuckyBadger wrote:</div>
There definitely are advantages to the wide gunnels. However, the negatives definitely outweigh the positives for me.

Negatives:
-Carpeted wide gunnels show wear/stains in a real hurry from being stepped on or having fish slime/blood. I cannot imagine what those would look like after 6-8 years of people stepping in and out on them. I do a lot of winter fishing with muddy boots and launching where there aren’t docks. I just don’t see this holding up well. I’ve seen a few with vinyl, but most look to be carpet. Any boat I purchase will be vinyl everywhere if possible.
-Loss of space inside the boat itself
-Boats with the wider gunnels are a few hundred pounds heavier according to specs (lower top end speed, worse fuel efficiency)

Valid points, but my boat is now 11 years old (2006), I purchased new in 2010 (holdover) and my gunnels look like new. Trust me, carpet is easy to clean provided the company uses good quality marine grade carpet. I have 3 boys and let me tell if you it can be tracked, spilled, dropped, puked on it has been done in my boat. I just use a pressure washer twice a year and it looks brand new.
Vinyl? I personally would never get a boat with 100% vinyl surfaces without carpet snap ins. Fish slime, frost etc make that surface treacherous. A buddy has it in his boat and he has said never again.

That’s interesting, because I’ve heard just the opposite. The vinyl floors I was checking out at the boat show were mostly textured, almost like a truck liner. I like the idea of no snagged hooks, no cleaning/scrubbing carpet, just hose or wipe things down that comes with vinyl.

My entire house is wood floor or tile as well, so maybe I’m just anti-carpet!

Looked at the Lund crossover today and wow a great boat but very pricey. Anyone have an idea of how much you can get a dealer down in price. Not that I’m too serious about this boat. It’s over my limit but it got me thinking about how long I may actually have my next boat. Thanks!!

Yes vinyl is textured but test that out when it’s wet, frosty or covered in slime. Its slippery.

I have full vinyl floor and sides and love it, no slipping and it gets a full scrub every time it sees home and looks like the day it was bought. Carpet to me is a wick especially near the live wells, all day sloshing and really soaks the floor leading to soft floors. Carpet for 35 years and nothing but rott and replacement.

Take your time and think what you need before you make that large investment. I’d also opt for the max motor running at 35% with a load and always able to call for more then having a motor running at 80% trying to do the same as the other. It’s not about the speed. You can really find some values on 1 year old boats out there right now with very few hours if your patient and look. There’s an 1800 Lund Impact I just saw with less then 40 hours on it… loaded 40+K boat for 30K, so there out there you just need to dig them up.

I agree about the used boat market DonG but the problem I ran into is my credit union wouldn’t give me a loan for a used boat at market value. And it wasn’t a problem of credit it was because of how the bank valued used boats so unless you are paying with cash you might have trouble getting a loan for a used rig. That was my experience anyhow

Not all hulls are created equal, my 18’6″ with a 120 flys, but its a fish/ski. Test drives will let ya know, and bigger motors suck more gas typically, my 2 cents.

crappie55369 wrote:

I agree about the used boat market DonG but the problem I ran into is my credit union wouldn’t give me a loan for a used boat at market value. And it wasn’t a problem of credit it was because of how the bank valued used boats so unless you are paying with cash you might have trouble getting a loan for a used rig. That was my experience anyhow

Wow that’s a shame, just looked at that Lund again.. its a 2016 1850 Impact Loaded.. looks like new but the guy has some health issues and it’s down to 29K. Now I’m not a banker nor how they play the game but I can’t believe a deal like that would not have some loan value. You cant buy a 1800 Alaskan with a 90 on it (totally utilitarian) boat for that. I agree if the sale prices are beyond loan values the banks won’t lend but only to a certain point requiring you to drop some cash but I’d stay away from those deals. Good Luck in your search, you’ll find something.

Count me as someone who also loves the wide gunnels. In fact I’d say the wife gunnel on my 98 tournament pro 170 saved my 2.5 year old daughter from taking a swim this summer. The carpet on mine also looks really nice

The carpet on my ’04 still looks good too. But I’m tired of scrubbing it every year to keep it looking that good. I’d like my next boat to have something different.

I personally don’t like wide gunnels, but that’s because of how I fish. I spend a lot of time casting from the rear of my boat at wing dams, and a good amount of time trolling. The more open space I have in the rear of my boat the better. If I primarily jig fished and live bait rigged all year, then the wider gunnels would be the ticket.

I have a vinyl floor in my boat, and while I love it for cleaning reasons, it can get slick fishing after dark in below freezing weather. However, that’s a few time a year deal, and something I can live with. I fished out of a buddies new lund that had the huge gunnels, and we were pulling flies on lake Petenwell. For that type of bite, they were nice since I had the rear of the boat to myself and was basically just standing around manning one rod.

For sure shop around. Last fall was looking at the new alumacrafts at cabelas. went to rapid marine in ham lake and got a cheaper end of season deal on the last lund rebel xs for a 2016 1750. Was looking at alumacraft for the price point but with the good deal on a lund it was a win win to get a lund and cheaper. not sure price difference right now but I would look at both and compare with dealer. boat I bought was cheaper in store than on line. Guessing your looking a bit bigger though my motor was 90hp not huge but a light boat. There was a rebate going on where a 90hp merc was super cheap mustve had extras.

Go wide gunnels and vinyl floor in the cockpit area. carpet on the deck and storage areas. vinly keeps clean and is nice but won’t seal on the storage areas would leak.

slipbob_nick wrote:

Go wide gunnels and vinyl floor in the cockpit area. carpet on the deck and storage areas. vinly keeps clean and is nice but won’t seal on the storage areas would leak.

Interesting I’ve never heard or thought of that.

Honestly I like carpet because every now and again I like to go barefoot.. I know I’m asking for a hook in my foot but I try to keep my boat clean

Jonesy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>slipbob_nick wrote:</div>
Go wide gunnels and vinyl floor in the cockpit area. carpet on the deck and storage areas. vinly keeps clean and is nice but won’t seal on the storage areas would leak.

Interesting I’ve never heard or thought of that.

Honestly I like carpet because every now and again I like to go barefoot.. I know I’m asking for a hook in my foot but I try to keep my boat clean

As a fellow risk taking barefoot fisherman, I get it. Nothing better than a warm summer day kicking back barefoot and dragging lindys.

In my very humble opinion you have to consider the Crestliner Sportfish. It has all the bells and whistles for fishing and family boating. I absolutely love mine! At the very least give them a look.