Best Fish/Ski Boat

[Chad Luebker]

Hello -

I am just starting to do research on the best fish/ski boat. I am wondering what people like/dislike about their current setup. What are must haves? Double windshield? Etc. What's the best Brand? Lund, Crestliner? Alumacraft? It will be used about equally for fishing and skiing. Maybe a little more for fishing however. Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

Chad

[boatfixer]

All 3 of the ones you listed are very good boats.

You will definitly not want to cut corners on power. I dont know what size people you will be pulling but I would go no smaller than a 90 on a 17ft. I have heard many people say 115 4strokes are a bit of a pooch out of the hole. What kind of budget are you working with? 18ft with a 150 will provide you with room and power. with a family, you might want the windsheild. make sure it has a livewell.

[bassNspear]

check out trackers Targa, alot of boat for the money

[SandBayFishCamp]

I have a Alumacraft Trophy 180 with a 150 4-Yamaha w/19" prop. Excellent out of the hole. Top speed is 49mph with 3 adults, 20 gallons of fuel, and 1 full live well (the boat has 2). Because Lund and Crestliner are owned by Brunswick, you are somewhat limited on your motor options (because of the cost of re-rigging the Mercury pre-rig). Also, I was told by a boat mechanic to buy a riveted aluminum boat because they flex more, which is a good thing. Crestliners are welded. His point was: "Have you ever seen an airplane that was welded, instead of riveted?"

The double windshield is nice on big water or if you want the ability to put a canopy up on a really sunny/rainy day. Your passengers will thank you. That said, it makes fishing 3 a bit more awkward for the middle person...still beats working though.

[yaggie]

You definitely want a walk through wind shield. I was set on getting a alu. Tourny sport last fall until I saw a triton Allure. Love this boat. You just need to do a lot of looking at all models until you find one that you like. The glass boats are definitely dryer and give a smoother ride, but you do not want to beach a glass boat around any rock shores. Like previously stated do not under power the boat as a lot of the package deals are.

[hydro]

Pay attention to the interior space, particularly on the glass boats. Watch the room behind the buckets and the rear bench as it can be very cramped on the smaller boats. This is my boat, a 20' hull.

[bassNspear]

hyrdo, i liked your boat the day i meet ya on clearwater. nice looking rig

[kdawg]

Every brand you've named are good brands. I've owned a 2000 Crestliner Superhawk, a 2004 Alumacraft Trophy and currently own a 2010 Skeeter WX 1850. I fished most of last year out of my buddies '09 Lund 1900 Pro V IPS. All good boats. My favorite is the one I currently own with the Lund a close second. As previously suggested, look at all the boats and see what's out there. Personally, I lean towards the boats that are a little more fish than ski, but do both well. There are other boats out there that are more ski than fish. There are significant differences in floor plan layouts of many of these boats. Do you want separate baitwells? In floor rod lockers? Raised rod lockers or rod lockers at your foot level? These are all things that I spent a LOT of time considering, as I've been in many boats with many different features. There's no "best" boat out there, but there is a "best boat for you" out there - you just have to do some homework. Most guys love "their" boats, as I do mine, but 5 different guys can have 5 different specific criteria that must be met in order to have the "best" boat. A few of my must-have's are as follows: Windshield, separate aerated baitwell, raised in-floor rod locker, maxed out HP. Good luck - shopping is half the fun.

[PierBridge]

Ranger Reatta can do both effectively!

[herefish101]

look into G3, I rode in a buddies a couple weeks ago on mille lacs, I was actually amazed at how much like a lund these boats are, almost a one for one match, and the G3 is thousands cheaper, plus there made by yamaha for their outboards, you cant go wrong. I think my next boat will be a G3.

[gregg52]

i would think bout how big of water you will be on (glass vs tin)

like kdawg said everyones boat is the best thats why they bought it

mine has lots of storage..i dont like thing bouncin around or around my feet

i'd look at 2 strokes if you going to pull skiers

think bout how your are going to rig it to fish

front troling motor

back tolling kickers etc etc

be sure your happy before you spend all the hard earned money !!!!!

[NWBuck]

When we were in the same situation as you, a salesman made what I believe to be a very true statement. He said "The only perfect fish/ski boat is 2 boats."

That wasn't an option for us, and we ended up with the Lund Fisherman, 18 foot and got it just at the tail end of when you could get the 150 Yamaha 4 on them. It's a great combo boat, but when fishing, there are things I wish were a little different...and when pleasure boating, there are also things I wish were different. All in all, it has served us well and provided for a bunch of great family time.

One difference we noticed from Lund to Alumacraft, the area in front of the windshield is bigger on the Alumacraft with less room behind. That was a main reason we opted for the Lund...more room for kids behind the windshield. Now, when I'm running the boat from up front during a fishing trip, I often wish I had the additional leg room found in the Alumacraft.

Think about what's right for you and how your family will use it and go for it. One of the best purchases our family has ever made.

[311Hemi]

One difference we noticed from Lund to Alumacraft, the area in front of the windshield is bigger on the Alumacraft with less room behind. That was a main reason we opted for the Lund...more room for kids behind the windshield. Now, when I'm running the boat from up front during a fishing trip, I often wish I had the additional leg room found in the Alumacraft.

This was the biggest negative I found with the Fisherman when I was looking at boats (and they were a little above my price range). I really did not care for how small that area was in front of the windshield, especially with me being 6'4". It's much bigger on my 1850 Sportfish and fits me well. There is still plenty of room behind the windshield for us.

All a matter of personal preference and what your needs will be the boat. Make sure you think through things as your looking at boats.....better to figure out any potential issues like this before buying.

[rmb]

no matter which boat you select, i would suggest getting as much motor as you possibly can afford. i have never met anybody that regretted getting a motor with too much hp but know plenty that wish they wouldn't have settled for less when the boat was rated to handle more.

I would try to be at least 90 percent of what the boat is rated for. For me it's not a top speed issue but it's nice to be able to yank the water toys up with ease and being able to get on plane quickly is safer (visibility). nothing worse than a boat plowing along forver trying to get up on plane when you have 4 adults, gear and coolers in it on a crowded lake trying to watch for other boaters.