Fish & Ski / Fish & Sport Boats

[servocam]

I am in the market for a boat as I have been wanting to buy one for a few years and tired of shore fishing and my kids are getting older. My son and I want something we can fish off of, but yet I still want something to pull tubes and skis. My wife wants a boat with some space (like a pantoon) - we are a family of 5 and soon to be 6; Plus a dog. We also want to have room to take out friends for fun. I also must be able to pull it w/ my '05 Honda Odyssey EXL, so 3500lb max / ~19ft max. I live 3 miles from 2 lakes and in 15 mile radius, at least 15 lakes.

I have been looking on-line for years and being out with friends over the years on their boats. Based on our criteria we have:

1. Fishing boat - no for her

2. Runabout / Bowrider - doesn't meet all the needs

3. Pantoon - no for me

4. Fish & Ski / Fish & Sport - looks like we have a winner.

The issue I am seeing with many of the Fish & Ski boats from your typical I/O bowriders/runabouts is that the new models have no room. You get a 18 1/2ft boat and the back ~6ft of the boat is this sun-deck and platform. The rear bench seat is then smashed up against the main seats - there simply is no "Floor" space in these things for the family.

- Glastron

- Larson

- Stingray

Even the sporty fishing boat expert's Fish & Ski, many have same issue; rather than sun deck, you have fishing platform (tho I'd take one of these)

- Ranger Reata

- Skeeter SL

- Nitro Sport

- Stratos SF

- Triton (should go look at)

Then you have the fishing boats and others that have or tried to make a Fish & Ski version.

- Lund

- G3

- FinCraft

- Alumacraft

- Crestliner

If the name was not mentioned above, then I have either never saw one before or never saw advertised around here in MN.

I still need to get my wife to take a look at some boats yet to get her opinnion as this is a 50/50 selection.

In my search, I would of never considered some of the brands. For example, I went to look at the Glastron Fish & Ski and after looking at the rest on the showroom: Lund, Ranger, and Crestliner.

We happened to both like the Crestliner Super Hawk 1800. It gave the floor space and passenger seating she wanted, it gave me the fishing platforms and had a ski tow bar. What was nice is the rear bench seat for extra seating and it folded down to extend the fishing deck in the back.

I am not that familiar with this style of boat with outboard. My friend has a FishHawk 1750 w/ 90HP Honda Outboard. It works for fishing, but not something w/ a lot of room for larger family nor does it have much power for tubing.

What I am starting to like about the outboard concept is that it does not hog up the space of the I/O and the draw is say 24 inches vs 33 inches. What I don't know is how the 150HP Merc w/ SS prop will really pull tubes? My brother has Larson 186 Senza w/ 5.0L (~220HP) and it works well. I use to go out w/ friends that had 18ft Rinker w/ 4.3L (~190HP) and it did well.

Since this style (outboard) boat draws less water, does that mean less power to push it along? Is 150HP enough or do I try to get the 175HP engine? I am also not sure about the aluminum hall compared to the fiberglass. I would think the fiberglass design would be a stiffer structure? Adv/DisAdvages?

I am looking for opinions on Fish & Ski / Fish & Sport boats. I think I need to go look at the Triton 192 Allure. Maybe some of these others had options that give more room and I just didn't see or ask. I wish I could have made it to the boat show this year :-(

[hydro]

Nice list of wanna haves! You mentioned some important criteria in there that I can give some feedback on.

First, you really need to decide if you want to pull water toys or if you want to have fishing boat as the winning activity will drive the compromise. Second, your tow vehicle’s limitations will dictate the size and weight of boat, most likely limiting you to an aluminum boat as fiberglass boats with your feature set are very heavy. Don’t forget that it is not only the ability to tow the boat, but also to be able to stop it in traffic or an emergency situation. Third, I recommend going the outboard route for the interior space and power to weight ratios.

Considering your tow vehicle I would recommend looking at boats in the 17’-19’ range, aluminum construction, and with outboard power in the 135 to 175 hp range. One type of boat that would give you close to what you want is a “deck boat” with moveable pedestal seats. It will give you a versatile platform that will be a good water toy tow boat, have option for a sun deck, and can carry the trolling motor and other accessories needed for a good day out fishing.

[PerchJerker]

Wow, lots of info and questions in there ..... and obviously a big decision, buying your first boat.

I have almost no experience with I/Os, but I can tell you that an outboard is going to have more than enough power for tubing and skiing, and I think will be quicker out of the hole than an I/O. I don't think you need to be concerned about putting a 150 on those boats, just keep in mind that you want to max the HP or be very close to it. For example, a boat rated for a 175 will do fine with a 150, as those motors have essentially the same displacement.

On the subject of outboards, get a 4-stroke since it's going to be a family boat. You'll be glad you did when you're cruising around and trying to have a conversation.

I don't know if you're going to have any luck finding a boat with a sundeck and a fishing platform, I think you're going to have to compromise here. IMO you can sunbathe on a fishing platform better than you can fish off a sundeck, but it's up to you and your wife.

Whichever boat you go with, I strongly recommend a bimini top especially if you're going to be out there with young kids. The shade is very nice on the hot days when cruising with the family.

We have a Reata 1850. The features we like the most for the multi-purpose family boat / fishing boat are the retractable bow platform and the rear jump seats, and the hidden swim ladder. Works great for family and fishing. Other reasons that we liked this boat are how deep the sides are, and all the room behind the windshield, and that it is more of a deep V hull than a bass boat hull (like you get on some F&S boats) so it is much better in waves and better for fishing the big lakes.

Hope that helps a bit, have fun shopping.

[servocam]

Nice list of wanna haves! You mentioned some important criteria in there that I can give some feedback on.

First, you really need to decide if you want to pull water toys or if you want to have fishing boat as the winning activity will drive the compromise.

[servocam]

Wow, lots of info and questions in there ..... and obviously a big decision, buying your first boat.

I have almost no experience with I/Os, but I can tell you that an outboard is going to have more than enough power for tubing and skiing, and I think will be quicker out of the hole than an I/O. I don't think you need to be concerned about putting a 150 on those boats, just keep in mind that you want to max the HP or be very close to it. For example, a boat rated for a 175 will do fine with a 150, as those motors have essentially the same displacement.

On the subject of outboards, get a 4-stroke since it's going to be a family boat. You'll be glad you did when you're cruising around and trying to have a conversation.

[hydro]

I took a look at your link to the Crestliner Super Hawk 1800 Fish & Ski and it looks like a nice boat. A little surprised at a $38K price though. Have you researched any used boats in that category? This is the season to look used, they are all over the place, and priced to sell with the level of unemployment and underemployment now days. A $40K boat will only go for about $20k in two years so you take a big hit. But if you can afford it then it is your decision to go for it, but that's just my 2 cents worth.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Comparing HP on I/Os to outboards isn't apples-to-apples. A 3.0 L (130 HP or so) I/O is going to be a dog towing anything. But a 130+ HP outboard will tow a tuber or skiier with no problems (assuming it's properly sized for the boat).

My mother-in-law has a 17' Alumnacraft with a 115 on it (max for the boat), I'm a big dude (6'2" 235), and I slalom behind it. Definitely get an outboard.

[servocam]

I took a look at your link to the Crestliner Super Hawk 1800 Fish & Ski and it looks like a nice boat. A little surprised at a $38K price though. Have you researched any used boats in that category? This is the season to look used, they are all over the place, and priced to sell with the level of unemployment and underemployment now days. A $40K boat will only go for about $20k in two years so you take a big hit. But if you can afford it then it is your decision to go for it, but that's just my 2 cents worth.

Yeah, I was too - seems too expensive for that type of boat. I have been doing some used research on the bowriders Glastron and Larson (they seem to depreciate at $1k/year after your first ding from driving off the lot). I started researching used Ranger, Skeeter and Crestliner. I figured too that it has to be a buyers market and should be able to push pretty hard on a brand new boat. I still see dealers with brand new 2008 models and many 2009's, so we know they are having trouble moving some (or that make/model just isn't what people want). A few people I talk to, neighbor, brother, wife, - all say to buy new. Other friends say buy a used boat and it will come with all the goodies. So yeah, another big debate.

I have a $40k max budget for a boat - and that gives me a lot of options. I am very analytical and will do hundreds of hours of research before I buy something, and late in the season...so may not buy until next year.

[servocam]

Comparing HP on I/Os to outboards isn't apples-to-apples. A 3.0 L (130 HP or so) I/O is going to be a dog towing anything. But a 130+ HP outboard will tow a tuber or skiier with no problems (assuming it's properly sized for the boat).

My mother-in-law has a 17' Alumnacraft with a 115 on it (max for the boat), I'm a big dude (6'2" 235), and I slalom behind it. Definitely get an outboard.

This is helpful as I didn't think they could because when looking at the different systems, it looks like your bowrider w/ the I/O simply has to push more water, thus needing more power to push it. Water has a lot of resistance. I suppose the deeper the hull and the more it sits in the water, the worse it can be, but also I assume how the boat gets up on the plane makes a difference as well.

Geez...now I want to go read about hull design and the effects it has. Darn that Engineer in me.

[_GSP_]

Go check out a Ranger Reata 1850RS...it will meet all of your needs and then some. You can get into one cheaper than the Crestliner you mentioned.

[CJH]

The Reata's are really nice. It is a little tight between the 3rd row jumpseat and the 2nd row swivels, but its not terrible. I think you are going to have to look at it in person to determine if it fits your needs. Of course the most we've had in it at one time was 5 people. If there's more than that we take the pontoon!

My Father in Law has a Reata 1850. I think he has a 150 Yammy on it and that gets somewhere around 40 (never redlined it - not my boat ).

I would be very cautious towing anything larg with an Odyssey. Puts alot of stress on the tranny, brakes, suspension, etc....and will shorten the life of those components. Again, stopping is the biggest safety issue IMHO, just not for you, but everybody else on the road. Remember that when going to the lake you are probably going to have the vehicle all loaded up with everybody, plus coolers and everything else + boat, so you are going to have a ton of weight combined on those components.

Good Luck!!

[MIDNIGHT777]

Servocam,

I am sure Perchjerker will chime in on his boats performance, but I will give you a little info on my boats performance. I also have Reata 1850. Mine is set up with a Yamaha f150 and Yamaha t8.

Performance:

I have 2 different stainless steel props

-3 blade 21 pitch will give me a top speed of 50mph on a great day with a medium to light load. Hole shot is not the greatest and I have never tried to pull a skier or tuber with this prop. I have had 6 adults in the boat with this prop. Takes a bit to get on plane and the top speed is about 45mph with the extra weight.

-4 blade 17 pitch will drop my top speed about 4-5 mph with the same load. Hole shot is amazing and the boat jumps out of the water. I use this prop when the boat is in recreation mode. I bought the boat 1 year old. The previous owner told me he had 8 adults in the boat (way overloaded). One guy jumped out and they pulled him up on 1 ski. Said he had to drag a little, but it got him out of the water.

I have never weighed the boat/motors/trailer combo, but have heard 4,000 lbs form others with a similar setup.

A few years back my wife thought the need to get more of a fish/ski boat than my then fishing boat. I hated the idea at the moment. We started looking at all different makes/models like you are. I never even considered Ranger because I thought I never could afford it. Well the more research I did the more I realized they were not much more expensive than their aluminum counterparts.

IMO the Reata has the best of all categories; fish ability, Ranger quality, fiberglass ride, decent storage, great layout, and can be converted into a great recreational boat…..

Matt

[servocam]

The Reata's are really nice. It is a little tight between the 3rd row jumpseat and the 2nd row swivels, but its not terrible. I think you are going to have to look at it in person to determine if it fits your needs. Of course the most we've had in it at one time was 5 people. If there's more than that we take the pontoon!

My Father in Law has a Reata 1850. I think he has a 150 Yammy on it and that gets somewhere around 40 (never redlined it - not my boat ).

I would be very cautious towing anything larg with an Odyssey. Puts alot of stress on the tranny, brakes, suspension, etc....and will shorten the life of those components. Again, stopping is the biggest safety issue IMHO, just not for you, but everybody else on the road. Remember that when going to the lake you are probably going to have the vehicle all loaded up with everybody, plus coolers and everything else + boat, so you are going to have a ton of weight combined on those components.

Good Luck!!

i have done a lot of research on pulling w/ my Ody and believe it or not, the suspension on that is way better than a 1/2 Chevy truck. The Honda Ridgeline truck uses it even. Tranny cooler, Power Steering cooler and OEM hitch. New brakes (nice large rotor, all-wheel disc brakes). Surge brakes on the trailer will help as well. I won't be pulling anyting that big. And yes, I have taken in to consideration the van loaded up w/ People as well as that does effect the towing capacity. Believe me when I say nothing is more important than safety.

[servocam]

Thank you Matt for the feedback.

[CJH]

Originally Posted By: CJH

The Reata's are really nice. It is a little tight between the 3rd row jumpseat and the 2nd row swivels, but its not terrible. I think you are going to have to look at it in person to determine if it fits your needs. Of course the most we've had in it at one time was 5 people. If there's more than that we take the pontoon!

My Father in Law has a Reata 1850. I think he has a 150 Yammy on it and that gets somewhere around 40 (never redlined it - not my boat ).

I would be very cautious towing anything larg with an Odyssey. Puts alot of stress on the tranny, brakes, suspension, etc....and will shorten the life of those components. Again, stopping is the biggest safety issue IMHO, just not for you, but everybody else on the road. Remember that when going to the lake you are probably going to have the vehicle all loaded up with everybody, plus coolers and everything else + boat, so you are going to have a ton of weight combined on those components.

Good Luck!!

i have done a lot of research on pulling w/ my Ody and believe it or not, the suspension on that is way better than a 1/2 Chevy truck.

Don't want to start an argument, and you are going to do what you want. However if you think an Odyssey rated at 3500lbs is going to tow better than an 1/2 ton Chevy rated at 10500lbs, good luck to you.

I have always been told the rule of thumb for towing is 75% of the max your vehicle is rated to.

[hydro]

This thread has become a good read, but may have strayed from the original criteria a bit. The original statement is that you want a boat that will carry 5 or more people (that's a big crowd!), little kids, dog, etc. You want to be able to fish in the lake, not from shore, and you want to be able to pull people on water toys. You live in the Forest lake area surrounded by lots of lakes (nice!), you have a vehicle with a limited towing capacity (be realistic here), and best of all, you have $40.000.00 to spend.

How about an outside the box idea? Try backing up and looking at pontoons, and shop around for seasonal dock space on one of those nice lakes around there. You could easily purchase a very nice pontoon, set up with a large enough motor to pull water toys, and the gear needed for fishing. It will carry 6-8 people easily and meet all of your needs. Best of all, with a seasonal dock/slip, towing becomes a non issue. That $40K will buy the boat and quite a few years of dock rental. You should be able to find somewhere to dock it within a 20 minute drive from your house.

[CJH]

Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to be realistic.

[servocam]

How about an outside the box idea? Try backing up and looking at pontoons, and shop around for seasonal dock space on one of those nice lakes around there. You could easily purchase a very nice pontoon, set up with a large enough motor to pull water toys, and the gear needed for fishing. It will carry 6-8 people easily and meet all of your needs. Best of all, with a seasonal dock/slip, towing becomes a non issue. That $40K will buy the boat and quite a few years of dock rental. You should be able to find somewhere to dock it within a 20 minute drive from your house.

Not out of the box as I have considered this, just not yet in this thread. Timm's Marina has slips avail ($1500/year) on Forest Lake. I have a buddy who is more than willing to let me use his truck to put it in and out, so yeah, I don't have to worry about pulling it. I would at some point plan on getting a vehicle to pull it with (like old Jeep wrangler). $16k-$20k gets you a nice pantoon and yes, fish from, fits family and then some, and yeah, you can ski behind it w/ large enough motor (but IMO looks kinda funny :-)

This thread has been very helpful so far, and we will discontinue any discussions about the tow vehicle :-)

I think tomorrow I will take my son to go look at a few more boats. Now that I have my wife interested, I just need to get her to realize that we don't need a house-boat!

-cam

[PerchJerker]

Can you tell me more about your boat:

- Size Engine

- How fast it will go loaded with people?

- How does it pull tubes/skis

- How many adults/kids to you load up in it and is there plenty of space?

- What don't you like about it

I have a 175 Opti on my boat. I love the motor. I love it when I'm fishing with the guys. But if I could do it over again I'd go with a 175 Verado or 175 Suzuki 4-stroke ---- only for the noise factor when cruising around with the family or friends.

I tested 5 different props on the boat and finally settled on a 19 pitch Rev 4. Great hole shot and great handling with a load. The fastest prop I had on there was a 21 pitch Tempest 3 blade which would hit 54 under the best conditons, but with a load it would drop way off. With my Rev 4 I can get 49-50 or bit more, but what I really like about it is I can always get at least 47.5 with 3 guys and a loaded boat.

I haven't pulled skiers but it would whip them right around. I pull tubes and you don't even notice they're back there.

We've had 6 adults in the boat, and 4 adults and 4 kids. No problems. Plenty of power with the Opti and the Rev 4 really handles the load nicely when cruising. Plenty of room in the boat. The retractable front deck is a huge hit with the ladies and the kids, they love riding in the front of the boat when cruising.

When we got it I thought the boat would be great for family activities but that I'd be giving up some fishability with it ----- but it's been great in all respects. It'd be at the top of my list if I was looking for another boat.

[servocam]

Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to be realistic.

- no worries and I welcome the comments & opinions as all of this is important as well.

[gregg52]

take a look at Yar Craft boats you'll find lots of room

and storage

i have a 2095DCX i can easly put 5 people in there and fish

ski pull what ever all at the same time if i wanted to

i have 150 etc that work well for pulling things and people

with the power it has specially taking off if you going to be on those cities lakes on the weeks ends you want to think some about safety

and with that motor you never lose sight in front of you also its fairly quite you can easly talk over it

you might want to bump up to a 200hp if you going to have 3-4 people in the boat and pulling people but this boat will meet all your needs with ease again with lots of storage for some of those toys the front storage on my boat can hold a small child lol...i'm serious

you will hafta to do looking new is well over your 40k

but i paid 38k for mine it was a non current in 08

love it great boat and can stand the riggors you are going to put it threw very very well built strong boat

[hydro]

Good feedback. Having been there and done that, I think you would be very happy with a nice pontoon docked at a slip on Forest Lake. You don't have to worry about trailering, the wife will be happy , and all the kids and relatives will be comfortable and contained. Pontoons are a great thing when you have the option to park them somewhere!

[servocam]

Good feedback. Having been there and done that, I think you would be very happy with a nice pontoon docked at a slip on Forest Lake. You don't have to worry about trailering, the wife will be happy , and all the kids and relatives will be comfortable and contained. Pontoons are a great thing when you have the option to park them somewhere!

er, umm, ahh, that's a big NO on the pantoon :-)

[servocam]

Looked at the Skeeter SL210 and SL1900 (one I wanted) - nice boat - one of them will do :-)

Won't fit in the garage unless I angle and leave a car outside.

[kdawg]

There are a lot of different boat manufacturers that make a fish/ski type of boat. Some are more fish than ski and others vice versa. I've owned a Crestliner Superhawk, an Alumacraft Trophy and within a couple weeks, my Skeeter WX1850 will be here. I went to a dealer that sells both Skeeter and Ranger. I think they're both great boats, but for me personally, I like the layout of the Skeeter the best. I was happy with my Crestliner and my Alumacraft boats, but the longer I owned/used my boats, the more I was able to fine-tune my specific "wants" with a boat. I've ultimately ended up with the 1850, hoping it's the last boat that I'll buy for at least another 10 years or better (my wife would be rolling her eyes if she heard me say that). My point is, you should really sit in every boat that you are considering and see how the layouts differ. Some small differences that don't matter to one guy, will matter a great deal to another. If you're going to do any amount of fishing, things like rod lockers and baitwells are very important to most guys that fish a lot. Shopping and doing the research is half the fun. Good luck.