Lund Pro V vs Alumacraft competitor or dominator

[Covey]

I went to the boat show with a pro v being the only boat to buy and left thinking maybe I should buy a Alumacraft. Really liked the competitor le 175. Loved the storage and layout. Would love your opinions and suggestions on whether nearly 7k makes up for the price of a Lund.

[SledNeck]

Crestliner Raptor

[TR21HP]

You can buy a lot of goodies with 7 grand. Honestly I'm a glass guy but have owned or ridden in Lunds as well as Alumacraft and to me, they ride almost identical, have the same fit and finish and storage capabilities as well. The Lund guys are going to say higher resale value but if you're paying 7 grand more on the front end where is the advantage? I would encourage you to get a ride in both but if you like the layout, finish and storage why wouldn't you buy the Alumacraft?

[leechlake]

my favorite boat I ever owned was a ProV 1875 IFS. Took waves like a dream but I still had various issues with the bilge, live wells etc over the years. If I liked the layout of an Alumacraft and it cost the same, let alone $7000 less I'd get the Alumacraft. Resale isn't relevant when you're fishing in the boat, paying at the beginning, only matters X amount of years from now.

[weld1]

Have a glass boat now but have had both a lund and alumacraft with hulls that were very similar and the lund was superior to the alumacraft pretty much in every way, fit and finish, handling, loading on trailer, customer service ect. but for 7 grand you could prob get yourself a new 4 wheeler to go with the boat

[MN Hooksetter]

I went to the Boat show with my mind set on the Ranger vs1780. After seeing three adults sitting in the cockpit of that boat, I realized it won't be big enough for my family and I and needed to jump up to an 18' foot boat. I looked hard at the Lund Impact, Crestliner Fishhawk, and Alumacraft Competitor, all in the 18' range with 150 four strokes on back. I liked them all alot, each having their own pro's and con's. The Crestliner Fishhawk had the best bow (for my style of fishing), the Lund Impact had excellent storage, layout was nice and had a few nice touches that I liked. The Alumacraft Competitor had excellent storage as well and the layout was very similar to the Lund. The LE package offered by Alumacraft offered some nice amenities that I liked. Build quality and fit and finish were comparable between all three with maybe a slight nod to the Lund???. The Pro-V will probably be built better than the three boats i'm describing here.

I ended up buying the Alumacraft Competitor 185 LE. I did a lot of negotiating with the Lund salesmen and i'm confident I had him as low as he would go. The difference in price between the Competitor and Impact was roughly $3000.00. The Crestliner was closer to the Lund in price than I thought and I probably could've talked them down some more but at that point I had decided on either the Lund or Alumacraft. The big selling point for me was I was able to put a Yamaha F150 on the back of the Alumacraft where the Lund I could only get the Merc or pay an extra $2100 for the Yamaha. I know Lund says they're the strongest built aluminum boat, but I would have to think the Alumacraft is no slouch and from all the research i've done, it sounds like the Alumacraft is very well built boat too. They say Lund has the best resale, but for me, putting the motor I wanted was more important than that. A good friend of mine also bought a Competitor 175 LE the same day I did, he was down to the Lund and Alumacraft as well and his reasons were he couldn't justify the price difference between the two and he also liked the fact he could get the Yamaha F115 to go with it.

[delcecchi]

The last time I looked at them I came to the conclusion that Lund was adding to the ProV price due to their name, unlike when I bought mine in 1998.

[CaptainMusky]

Lund, Crestliner and Alumacraft all make great boats. At the end of the day I would pay more for a boat that allowed me to put the motor choice on it that I want vs being pretty much told which one to put on it. The beauty is I got both, a better price AND the motor I wanted when I went Alumacraft.

Not a knock on Lund because they are a great boat, just think they are overpriced and I don't like the fact it is even more expensive for the choice of outboard.

[Wensel]

Is the Alumicraft model mentioned in the original post an equal to the Pro V?

I've had both boats, one thing I can attest to is the support from Lund and Merc IMO its pretty good,

[CaptainMusky]

The Alumacraft Tournament Pro is more comparable with a Pro V than the Dominator (next closest) or Competitor.

[BoxMN]

FWIW, We currently have a 97 Alumcraft TP175 with 150 merc efi. We bought it new. Used by three adult owners (me, brother, Dad) so it has been used A LOT every year. Still tight as a drum and solid, even the floor. We have fixed things that have broken, but for 18 years worth of things (seat bases, bilge pumps, aerator pump, even steering wheel) that is necessary. The hull itself is still rock solid, and we have rock dings on bottom to show it

I am sure Lund is just as solid and like them as well. But I would not worry about the hulls of either. In fact we have a 82 Alumacraft Classic with merc 50 that my Dad bought new. Still ticking after a couple rehabs. nd after fixing self made screw holes and a crack in hull (they were thin and not braced as well back then) it still gets usage every year and we trust it to end of duck season.

Resale? get a good boat and you never have to worry about resale

Go with the layout you like, and the price that works for you. They are all "good". But honestly, go black on the motor, haha! Combined ~45 years on our two and only in shop for a couple tune ups and only 1 repair (a trim relay), they just need maintenance, and that is the same for all makes. (Oh yeah, and another 3 trouble-free years on my new 60 Bigffoot

Have fun with the new boat whatever you get!

[Todd S.]

I have had both, and both are good. My most recent Lund was a 2012 1775 pro v, fished out of it for a year and sold for what I paid for it. But I have also had alumacrafts in the past and thought highly of them. If I'm not mistaken though the pro v and competitor are not really an apples to apples comparison. Pro v to dominator is, or Lund impact to competitor are more similar comparisons if I remember correctly, I havnt looked at aluminum models Ina few years now so I could be wrong.

[CaptainMusky]

But honestly, go black on the motor, haha!

YES!!! A big black SUZUKI!!! ;-)

[delcecchi]

YES!!! A big black SUZUKI!!! ;-)

I love my suzuki, but there aren't many service locations around, compared to a Merc.

[CaptainMusky]

I love my suzuki, but there aren't many service locations around, compared to a Merc.

True, but who needs one? :-)

[delcecchi]

Mine is about 2 miles from my cabin. I have them winterize it so there are no questions if something breaks while under 6 year warranty.

So far so good. Love the motor.