Best brand / value deep V aluminum boat?

[shawn393]

My Lund has been absolutely amazing.   It is a 2003 and I have had it out in conditions I shouldn't have many times. I fish it in lake Ontario and the st. Lawrence alot. I have never felt unsafe and still trust it just as much as the day I bought it. In my opinion you want some flex that a riveted boat offers in big water. All the rivets are still perfect and it doesn't leak a drop. Lund will be the only aluminum brand I ever own. I know you said probably not a Lund but I just wanted to offer my opinion of them. The dealer that I bought from and will buy again from was awesome.  I think that a big part of buying a boat.  Most of them don't care after they get your money 

Edited October 24, 2020 by shawn393

[Rookie Fisherman]

1 hour ago, Sk8man said:

The smaller Tohatsu and Merc motors are made in Japan.

That is correct, my mind works faster than I can type

[kempie]

i have a 2017 16'9" crestliner fish hawk. very versatile boat. fish all over with it even up to lake ontario during the summer. bought it at silver lake marine. handles the rough water great.  

[bandrus1]

Best value?

 

get a 90 sea nymph gls put a brand new 90 hp and 10 hp kicker and deck it out with rod holders, riggers and electronics and every toy you want for under 30k

Edited October 24, 2020 by bandrus1

[maddog]

Go with the Lund. It's worth a few dollars more. My 17.5 is now 20 years old and except for a few scratches and fish stains in the carpet it's as good as new. Big enough for Ontario on calm days and small enough to trailer around to smaller lakes.    

[sstout]

I've always oogled and ahh'd over the crestliner commanders. Spent alot of time looking over one at the Syracuse boat show one year. When my current boat gets to the point of needing replacement that'll probably be the first I look at. That price tag though...

[Yankee Troller]

I don't have an 18 Starcraft in stock now, but have one coming before Christmas. It's an 18' Delta Pro, which is a new model. I wish at Krenzer Marine in Sodus Point NY. If Starcraft is one of your choices let me know. Currently, I have a 210 Fishmaster and 2050 STX. The two 196 Fishmasters I have on order are being built right now as well.

The one 18 we did have sold, but I have it in storage and can show it to you so you can get a feel for that layout.

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[Bluefin54]

Thanks, I’ll reach out if I’m out that way. How late are you open during the week?


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[Yankee Troller]

17 minutes ago, Bluefin54 said:

Thanks, I’ll reach out if I’m out that way. How late are you open during the week?


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5pm

[just me]

Crestliner  NO RIVETS

[Iceman]

B F;

It will be 11 years next April since I took delivery of my Hewescraft Sea Runner 220, & it has been a awesome boat.  Got it in the Windy City, however Calumet Marine no longer sells them.  The hull is basically indestructible. 

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

John

 

 

[Queechylakepro]

2nd the Hewescraft got 210 Searunner from Calumet Marine before they moved to Thunderjet another NorthWest style all welded aluminum hull and transom style boat. Dealer by Cleveland Erie Marine sell Hewescraft and North River welded aluminum boats and sell/service the big four outboards. Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, and Mercury. They are big time into fishing so they understand your wants and needs. Check them out they do in water demonstrations quite often so you can actually ride/drive a model before you pull the trigger. If you compare actual dealer price quotes on similar equipped boats you will be pleasantly surprised. Avoid internet hearsay and the I heard bs from people that dont own them. Give them a call. Its not that far and you wont be going back except to fish walleye or buy a bigger model.

[Chicong]

I have a 18' Tracker that I bought brand new in 2019.  Nice boat.  But there are some serious ergonomic design flaws.

 

1. Cant completely open live wells when back and front seats are installed - huh?
2. Can go to full throttle if driver seat is turned the wrong way - seat hits throttle upon rotation - dangerous
3. Cavitates unless trim is set 95-100% full down
4. Switches for power, bilge, live wells - almost impossible to tell if on or off.   Two dead batteries to prove it.

Simple stuff any engineer could look at and say - this sucks.  Has full welded hull so that's nice.  The Lund was just too much money for me.   I know they're great.  I also wish I could get a Honda or Suzuki.  Not an option.  Trailers they sell with the boat are awesome.  Can load by your self easily. 

 

[just me]

Get one with no RIVETS 

[john1947]

I bought a used 91 seanymph 19 ft gls for $700 

It was a trade in

Put my 88 120 evinrude and 9.9 kicker

Very fast .deep

It's open now so I put a minkota for bass

It's also a great duck boat handles big water well

 

[tedc54]

I fished in a 22 foot Crestliner Authority on Oneida in mid October. I loved it.

 

I have an 18 foot Skeeter MX multi species. If I were going to upsize, I would take a very serious look at the Authority.

 

I had a 16 foot Alumacraft Dominator. Good boat. Wanted fiberglass, they each have their advantages. If I upgrade, (which I probably will) it is going to be aluminum.

[jimski2]

My 1992  18 foot Crestliner had 26 years service from my original Evinrude 90 hp. I replaced it with a 4 stroke Mercury 90 hp that trolls fine. Also I have a 9.9 Honda 4 stroke for trolling and it brought me home at 6 mph a couple times. The Mercury tops out at 34 mph although I use  the boat at 25 MPH cruising speed.

[chowder]

On 10/24/2020 at 7:51 AM, bandrus1 said:

My personal suggestion would buy an older hull and deck it out including a new motor 

I'm going through this variation now but it's not for the faint hearted. It's been obvious to me for years that the new boats are just completely out of my range (Personally, I'm not going to spend what amounts to a mortgage payment on a toy) Anyway, the older hull and repower is what I'm looking at for a bigger 'offseason' boat' because I can't afford to consider having an old motor issue with customers on board. What I'm seeing is that even a repower is gonna have to be a used/rebuilt motor because a new Optimax or equiv is gonna be 14-20k depending on Hp. 

[bandrus1]

11 hours ago, chowder said:

I'm going through this variation now but it's not for the faint hearted. It's been obvious to me for years that the new boats are just completely out of my range (Personally, I'm not going to spend what amounts to a mortgage payment on a toy) Anyway, the older hull and repower is what I'm looking at for a bigger 'offseason' boat' because I can't afford to consider having an old motor issue with customers on board. What I'm seeing is that even a repower is gonna have to be a used/rebuilt motor because a new Optimax or equiv is gonna be 14-20k depending on Hp. 

Oh yeah my repower 90 hp with rewire and controls was almost 12k in 2011

[DixieDangle]

I appreciate the weight of my 21' Proline WA when I'm in nasty waters of lake Ontario.

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[chowder]

12 hours ago, bandrus1 said:

Oh yeah my repower 90 hp with rewire and controls was almost 12k in 2011

Bloody hell man. That's flatout out of my budget! I'm looking at motors for roughly 4K that I can see cylinder pressure testing done on and then cold start/shift/run etc. 

[bandrus1]

On 11/16/2020 at 9:25 AM, chowder said:

Bloody hell man. That's flatout out of my budget! I'm looking at motors for roughly 4K that I can see cylinder pressure testing done on and then cold start/shift/run etc. 

It was a lot but it's a great feeling that in 10 years I have never turned the key more than once at the dock. I drive cheap used cars in exchange

[MINNOWNITE]

Another for Seanymph GLS195! repower and your way under budget. get a 1993 or newer. fully aluminum. never worry about rot! 

[HBC]

Rivets are fine.  I've known a few Crestliner owner's who's boats had to go back to the factory to reweld busted welds.

 

Take a ride in the boat as opposed to determining whether it has rivets, welds, not rot construction, etc.  I've owned 6 Lunds (2 Pro V's, one Grand Baron 2100, couple Adventure models), a few Sylvan's, Polar Kraft, and a bunch of Starcrafts (2 196 Fishmasters, one 196 Superfisherman, and a few others).  Currently own a 196 Fishmaster.  For a dry and comfy ride in any wave conditions, the Starcraft has the best riding hull out of all those boats I've owned.

 

Never had a Crestliner because I didn't like the layout and the broken welds scared me off.  I'm sure their quality has improved drastically since then but your best thing is to hitch a ride with someone and then make up your mind. 

 

Some of us can be very biased based on what we own.  I used to really like Lund's until I got into a Starcraft hull.

[Bluefin54]

Great advice from all!


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