Purchasing new boat HELP!

[tuffishooker]

As previously posted there is no " perfect " boat ! Lot of good hands on advice as usual for the topic ! My passion , living on Lake Ontario is fishing & have been doing it for 35 years . An aluminum boat works for me , most of which has been posted . I trailer the boat had the boat docked at a local marina but for a smaller boat it was not the best all round usage .

As far as the manufacture you generally get what you pay for ! The comment on Lund boats was interesting and would have to be considered when making a purchase ! 

I pick my days the best I can because once it gets scary it stops being fun !

[whaler1]

Definition of boat is compromise



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[000]

I use a Lund tiller 16' (2012) with 25HP merc and 9.8 Nissan for Hemlock and Canadice and for early and late in the season on Lake O for trolling near shore. I use a Robalo R227 for the big lake and am able to multi species fish it and can still cruise with the wife or guests. The 250 Yamaha gets it to about 45 or so  but goes from 1/2 a gallon an hour at trolling speed to 27 gallons per hour wide open. Rides good and is heavy enough where it doesn't' roll and bob too much.

 

This is my second Lund and both have been trouble free. I have friends that have Starcraft aluminum boats and they love them too...

[Jomat]

I gotta put in another pitch for the targa.  I think tracker has kinda a bad name for whatever reason, but really all these aluminum boats are cheapish build quality when u really get poking around in them.  My buddies 18’ targa is much wider and much heavier than my 17.5 alumacraft and much nicer to fish out of IMO.  I don’t love the huge casting platform in the back but if you do more casting/jigging than trolling you probably will.  I think the price point on them is quite a bit lower too than a new Lund/alumacraft.  Storage and live wells are awesome and again much better than my 17.5 dominator.

[Fishstix]

Glass or aluminum ,Your choice.    Most important things for me are  Having the trailer set up properly so boat goes on straight everytime,Being able to touch the water to rinse off your hands and release fish,a place for the damm cooler,Be  able to get out of the sun, a cuddy to lock your gear in,a flag pole,easy access battery switch. lots of storage.good radio,strong gunnels to mount downriggers or drill holes in. Be able to stand up and move around a little you dont want to be stumbleing around over coolers and  tackleboxes when fighting a fish..Power tilt kicker., and I repeat a huge amount of storage.  Just 6 lifejackets  takes up a lot of storage space. I think white is easiest color to keep clean. I do not know what you need for jigging ,never done it but Ive seen guys out in the direct sun.  Ive probably missed a few things.Good luck in your search...

Almost forgot probably most important...A place for ladies to pee...........

[Chowdaire]

I had a Lund Impact 1775, which I loved. There’s nothing like the way a Lund jumps on plane.

I have a glass multispecies now. Ranger FS621 that I trailer everywhere. It’s great. Lots of storage. Stable. But a lot of problems with the trailer. Brakes, tire wear, etc. And my gas mileage is crap. A little over 9mpg when towing.

I fish alone 90% of the time but still love the big stable platform. I have started to think about maybe downsizing to a Lund again though. It would just make trailering and launching alone that much easier.


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[njg0621]

How would you say the ranger rides compared to the Lund? Is it less bumpy and noisy than the Lund. If you typically fished 3 people on the boat and had to do it all over again would you choose the Lund 1875 or a Ranger deep-v?

Edited April 8, 2021 by njg0621

[njg0621]

Thank you everyone for all the responses too!  There is nothing better than people that actually own the options that you are looking at giving you advice.  You can read all you want and look  at a million pictures but people that actually are using the boats giving advice is awesome!  I'm not going to say that I've made up my mind yet because it is still a difficult decision but your advice definitely helps.

[Chowdaire]

1 hour ago, njg0621 said:

How would you say the ranger rides compared to the Lund? Is it less bumpy and noisy than the Lund. If you typically fished 3 people on the boat and had to do it all over again would you choose the Lund 1875 or a Ranger deep-v?

 

I wish it was more straight forward but the Ranger tracks better trolling and is much more stable bashing big waves. It's also more stable with 3 people moving around. The Lund jumped up on plane at such low speed that it was great to just bounce spot to spot with and it was also fine for 3 people as long as the waves weren't too big. Then it got tossed a bit more.

[ncej03]

I currently have a Lund Pro V 1875.   Comparable to the impact.  200hp/9.9hp.   Absolutely love the boat.   It's a tank.   Fishes any water or type you want.   Had the Chrestliner Fishhawk years ago before the Lund.   Not even comparable.   Not a bad boat, but not comparable to the Lund.   How it handled the water and waves mostly.   Really got beat up.    Felt like the bow could get swamped.  (never did, just didn't like the ride when getting stuck in bigger waves)  

 

Never been in the Aluminum craft, but have seen them on the water.   Seem to ride solid, nice layout.

 

For best performance and resale, max out the HP and get the right prop upgrade from the start.  Even though I don't often run wide open,  it sure is nice having that mid range power.   

[njg0621]

14 hours ago, ncej03 said:

For best performance and resale, max out the HP and get the right prop upgrade from the start.  Even though I don't often run wide open,  it sure is nice having that mid range power.   

 

Here's where I'm stuck on this though.  From what I'm hearing the 115hp will troll at 1.8-2mph and the 150 will troll at 3.  To me that means if I put the 150 on I then need a kicker and if I went with the 115 I could troll with the main motor.  Major cost savings there but I don't want to regret giving up the HP on the main motor.  Thoughts?

[Beagler]

Get the 150 and a 9.9 or 15 kicker.  The kicker will pay for itself over time on fuel and maintenance savings, plus you have backup in case the motor goes down.  Speeds are easier to control as well. JMO.

[Fireredcannon]

 
Here's where I'm stuck on this though.  From what I'm hearing the 115hp will troll at 1.8-2mph and the 150 will troll at 3.  To me that means if I put the 150 on I then need a kicker and if I went with the 115 I could troll with the main motor.  Major cost savings there but I don't want to regret giving up the HP on the main motor.  Thoughts?

Or change prop pitch if you are set on running just the main

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[reeleyz]

I have a 90 on my 1775 Impact. It tops out at 40 MPH. I can't get it to troll below 2.5 unless I am running riggers or big boards that slow me down some. When I troll lead or inlines for eyes I run a small trolling bag on each side.

 

If you want to troll a lot I would go with a kicker. Otherwise I think you will need to do something additional (prop, trolling bag, trolling plate) to get down to 1.8 - 2.0.

 

And like Chow mentioned, LUND does pop up on plane better than any boat I have been in.

 

If you are not in a huge hurry I would try to take a ride in each boat that you are interested in if possible.

[ncej03]

In my opinion.   Don't under power.  115 Sounds pretty low for 1875.  Changes the overall performance of the boat.   That mid range power and quick plane sure is nice.   You don't want a dog out there plowing the water.  I'd say possibly safety issue, sure is nice having that mid power if you get stuck out in the rough stuff.    And, sure is nice getting in and out in a hurry if you need to.   It's nice running someplace in the middle of range at full plane and feeling like the motor isn't working too hard.  

 

My 200 Verado with the smart craft gauges trolls down pretty slow.   Down to around 2.2 if I remember right.   I'll actually use the big motor at times if I'm trolling shallow, calm, clear water.  Its actually allot more quiet than the kicker.   

 

Kicker sure is nice.  As the other guys say.   Keep my hours way down on the big motor.   Gas savings is noticeable.   Having a backup motor also is priceless.   A full day running around Lake O, trolling all day, I'd burn around 6 gal of gas.   That's even running around quite a bit and going out pretty far.   I think that's pretty good.   

 

Seeing and hearing the performance of the 150 on the 1875 Lund is impressive.   Not too different than my 200 Verado.  You'd save a bit.    I would think the 150 with smart craft gauge would troll down pretty nice.

 

I'd be happy to take you out for a run if you're in the Buffalo area.

[Chas0218]

If you're buying new have you looked at the Lund fiberglass?

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[Beagler]

2 minutes ago, Chas0218 said:

If you're buying new have you looked at the Lund fiberglass?

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I watched a walk through on Youtube of one.  Search JOB Fishing.