Where are the Crestliner Owners?

So are there really no Crestliner Owners on this forum or is it because everyone loves their boats so much they have nothing to complain about. Personally I’ve owned my Crestliner for a year and a half and it falls somewhere between my wife, kids and two dogs…and my old Malibu. I guess what I’m saying is I love it. But seriously….No-one on here has a Crestliner? I always kinda assumed my next boat would be a Crestliner. Is there something I’m missing?

I’m a EX Crestliner owner. It’s like anything else. You either love ’em or hate ’em.

There are a lot of happy Crestliner owners out there.

Here is one of them. Have a 2005 1850 Sportfish. Not complaints about the boat other than storage.

I own a 2014 FishHawk 1650 SC. Love it. IDO put in a Crestliner specific forum about 1-2 years ago after I asked why there wasn’t one and it appears there are minimal Crestliner owners on IDO.

Hi,
I’m a happy owner of a 2016 Crestliner 1850 Pro Tiller with a 90 HP Merc 4 stroke, just bought it last year at the boat show. (that’s why FW won’t let me go again this year…)
The boat is great, quite a step up from my old ’90 Forester.
It has everything a guys needs, tons of storage, lots of room, very smooth ride (and no, it’s not a wet ride like a lot of people say. That’s a boat handling and operating issue).
For an aluminum boat, I think it’s at the top of the list.

I fish pool 4 exclusively. Can’t wait to get back out on the water….
Don

I own a 2007 Fishawk tiller, 60 hp Merc, 80lbs Terrova, lowarance HDS7’s on bow and at back.
No complaints and I expect this boat to be with me, until I am no longer able to launch a boat. It does everything I need it to do.
(now that I said that, I’ll be waiting for something to happen) A few years ago, I had a boat totaled when a gal (on her phone) rear ended me. Broke the motor in half, busted up the transom and launched the boat up into the topper on my truck.

94 Phantom

I’m an ex crestliner owner too. I had a raptor 1750 with a Yamaha f150. It was relatively fast at 50 mph. It had a good ride in rough water as long as you kept the speed up so the hull could cut the waves better. The only dislike was that if there was more than 10 mph of wind, you had better invest in good rain gear. The spray from the hull was very high and the wind would carry it right back into the boat.

My 2000 182 Tournament Series that I really really.

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My ole 2001 Crestliner Angler has been a good boat.

Counting days till I take her out of storage. Oh how I miss her.

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1995 Sportfish 1750 I/O. Love my boat!

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Brian Offerdahl wrote:

1995 Sportfish 1750 I/O. Love my boat!

Everything about that picture kicks butt

Those Sportfish are sweet deal, the convertible bows and the deep sides are great for the family. Looked at many Sportfish in that 89-96 year class last year, sweet setups.

I’ve got an ’04 Crestliner Canadian 14-my first boat. Its modest but serves me very well.

I’m an ex crestliner owner too. I had a raptor 1750 with a Yamaha f150. It was relatively fast at 50 mph. It had a good ride in rough water as long as you kept the speed up so the hull could cut the waves better. The only dislike was that if there was more than 10 mph of wind, you had better invest in good rain gear. The spray from the hull was very high and the wind would carry it right back into the boat.

X2 Had a 2004 1850 fishhawk with 150 merc. I bought some great rain gear when I had that boat. Switched to Lund and I’m much much dryer.

1999 1650 fishawk. Welded up the transom were it meets the bottom of the boat last year ( the original weld cracked ). Took awhile to figure that issue out. Replaced the decking last year but I have used it for so many camping vacations I cant count. Been a good boat overall.

I have a 1850 Super Hawk and I’m very happy. Mine is only three years old and has a good and mostly dry ride even in big waves. I heard that the hull was re-designed about 2006 and that improved the ride considerably. Having a full windshield is also a big help I fish Rainy Lake three weeks every year and it can be nasty, I never felt unsafe in this boat and was out in weather a couple times when I should have been in the bar. I’m sure there are glass boats that ride some what better but are they worth the extra cost, not in my opinion. Also really happy with the 150 Mercury four stroke motor. This boat fished four people with out any problems. Trailers nice with single axel just barely fits under seven foot garage door. At age 72 I’m sure it is the last boat I’ll ever purchase.

16 fish hawk with a 90 merc. Bought it last August and love it. My wife is not a water fan, but when she saw the full windshield in the showroom, it was all over. I was on vermillion last fall for a week and it was such an improvement over my lunker, with the room, stablility you name it. Very happy, but I’m sure I would have been very happy with any new boat.

Awesome to see all these replies! I have a 2004 Angler 1600SC with a 70 hp Merc 4 stroke. So far I’ve enjoyed everything about this combo. I topped it out at 40 mph with the original prop, but put on a 4 blade for better trolling so now it goes about 35. Plenty fast for a boat in that size class anyway in my opinion. Boat handles like a much larger boat and is very stable. I can walk all the way around the boat on the rail and it barely moves in the water. As for the wet ride I guess I haven’t noticed it too much, at least its no worse than my buddies Alumacraft. I spend most weekends on Pool 4 and sometimes it can get pretty rough but I haven’t had issues.

slab-hunter wrote:

Hi,
I’m a happy owner of a 2016 Crestliner 1850 Pro Tiller with a 90 HP Merc 4 stroke, just bought it last year at the boat show. (that’s why FW won’t let me go again this year…)
The boat is great, quite a step up from my old ’90 Forester.
It has everything a guys needs, tons of storage, lots of room, very smooth ride (and no, it’s not a wet ride like a lot of people say. That’s a boat handling and operating issue).
For an aluminum boat, I think it’s at the top of the list.

I fish pool 4 exclusively. Can’t wait to get back out on the water….
Don

Don we have the same boat and I also bought mine at the boat show last year! I also am very happy with it. It is awesome on big water and the ‘fishability’ of this rig is great! Enjoy! RR

My dad and I share a 2001 Crestliner Phantom 1900. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. I like that it is a combo boat and we can enjoy it for a day of boating, tubing, etc. But if I were getting a boat 100% for fishing, I probably would look at something else.

Got a 1850 Commander last spring and I love it. Tons of room in the cockpit, very stable, high sides for big water… Got this one with the full top and have been surprised how many times I have used it.
Previous boat was also a Crestliner, 2010 1750 Fish Hawk, full windshield. Had over 1600 hours on the motor when I traded. I troll a lot and the 115 Merc trolled very nicely, thus the reason for so many hours on the motor.

I had a Sportfish with the terrific SST feature. I believe mine was a 99 or 2000.

I’ll tell you one thing, it might sometimes feel like Crestliner gets no lover here in the Land o’ Lund, but when I put that boat up for sale, my phone was on FIRE. It seemed pretty weird at the time, but I had about a 50-50 mix of US and Canadian replies with some guys from Canada just frothing at the mouth to get it.

The Great Lakes guys love the welded hulls, especially guys that leave them in the water. The Canadians love the big water handling ability and, to be honest, the price seems to be lower for the same features as a Lund.

I bought that boat used, did a tune up and maintenance, cleaned it up dramatically, added some electronics, and sold it to a guy from Manitoba 4 years later for a small profit. I could have made more, the guy offered me an extra $250 to hold it for him, but I didn’t think that was fair, so I made him promise to show up on time and with American money and also he had to take that bag of Canadian change that was in the glove box back home with him. Fair deal all around.

Grouse

My Sportsman 16 was begging to hit the water this weekend. Fishing was slow, but it felt good to go for a cruise in January!

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hillhiker wrote:

My Sportsman 16 was begging to hit the water this weekend. Fishing was slow, but it felt good to go for a cruise in January!

Man I’m jealous. I would love to get the boat out on the water.

I bought a 2016 1850 Sport fish last fall with a 150 Merc. After reading through the boat show topic it appears that you should run your motor wide open occasionally? Do you guys do that? I am still breaking mine in and haven’t gotten above 3/4 yet but plan to this summer pulling the kids on the tube.

Thoughts?

rick- Here is the break in procedure from Merc for your specific engine. Running at wide open for short periods is actually a good idea to make sure the piston rings seat properly. Hope this helps.

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I have a 2003 1750 Fish Hawk D/C w/ a 90 Yamaha 4 stroke. It works great for me. I fish by myself most of the time on medium-sized lakes for the most part. I do take it to Rainy every year,too. I really like the large casting deck in the bow w/ the cock pit tucked back. I wish it had rod storage in the bow. I added vinyl flooring and the motor runs like a champ. I bangs around a bit in rough water, but I asked for it by being out in it.

I tried to give some of the Crestliners an honest look at the recent MPLS Boat Show, but the prices were considerably more expensive than comparably packaged Alumacrafts. The two main dealers selling Crestliners at the show were also hanging 90hp and 115hp motors off of 17 and 18′ boats. When I “played dumb” and asked those dealers about how they’d perform, they were less than honest with me. I then told them I spend 4-5 days a week in the Summer on average in a boat, many with a friend who owns an 1850. He was selling me a line of BS – which turned me off to the Crestliners (at the show at least).

ssaamm wrote:

I have a 2003 1750 Fish Hawk D/C w/ a 90 Yamaha 4 stroke. It works great for me. I fish by myself most of the time on medium-sized lakes for the most part. I do take it to Rainy every year,too. I really like the large casting deck in the bow w/ the cock pit tucked back. I wish it had rod storage in the bow. I added vinyl flooring and the motor runs like a champ. I bangs around a bit in rough water, but I asked for it by being out in it.

Do you like the vinyl flooring? I’ve been strongly considering it. How is it when its wet? Does it get slippery? My concern was that I would regret it when I have the wife and kids out and we are swimming and tubing.

I’m strongly debating a FishHawk or SuperHawk. That boat wrap is nuts Brian! Love it.