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Advice on buying my first boat? 2 stroke or 4 stroke etc.

icedoctor

By icedoctor
in Open Water

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icedoctor Explorer

icedoctor

Posted
Posted

I'm looking forward to getting on the water with my own rig but I must say it is becoming a hard decision. I've never owned my own boat and I need some real advice without a sales pitch. I'm willing to spend $15,000-$20,000 for the boat, motor, and trailer. I've been looking at Crestliners, Lunds, Smoker Crafts, Sylvans, and Starcrafts. There all 17-18 ft. and have 115 hp on up. What if any advice do you have on these boats. Secondly, what is your opinion on 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke? If you could by an optimax 2 stroke or a 4 stroke which one would you buy? What brand and why? Lastly, for the money I want to spend should I buy new or used? If you guys have boats you just love or are dreaming of buying let me know the model in this post.

Thanks

J.

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buzzsaw Grand Master

buzzsaw

Posted
Posted

I also just went through this! I traded in my 2002 Crestliner sportfish 1850 w/Mercury 125 HP 2 stroke for a 2005 Crestliner sportfish 1850 w/Yamaha 150 HP 4 stroke and am excited to get it out on the drink later this week! My vote is 4 stroke hands down, no comparison... I'm sure the Optimax is nice... it all comes down to personal preference and how much moolah you have to spend.

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LocalGuide Proficient

LocalGuide

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I am with ya Walleye Guy on that one. The new E-Tec engines are a awesome. They get just as good as gas mileage as a 4-stoke, have better hole shot and even emissions are super low.

We currently have a 140 4-stoke Johnson on our boat and if we would upgrade, a new E-Tec is what we would be putting on the back. I'm not saying the 4-stroke Johnson isn't good, its actually a awesome motor, just saying I think the E-Tec would be even sweeter! :P Ive just heard way to many good things about them from people and dealers so far.

As for your boat preference I would just go and look around and sit in each boat. Think about your rod storage, storage for anchors and life-vests and other things, live-wells and just the amount of room that the boat has.

I choose a Alumacraft for many reasons.

I would just go out, sit in a boat and see how it feels.

If its a 1 year old boat or something, maybe ask them if you can take it out for a test drive.

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Ole #1 Rising Star

Ole #1

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My rig: 2003 Crestliner 1850 Sportfish with a 140 Johnson 4 stroke, so I am biased.

4 stroke, hands down. Much, much, much quieter. The engine is like a car engine, starts right up, no choking. It doesn't burn oil, oil lubricates the motor. Much cheaper on gas too.

As far as what boat to buy, you really have to shop around and see what boat fits you best. I decided on a Crestliner Sportfish 1850. I liked Crestliner because you get a lot of boat for the money and it just seemed to have more room than the other 18 footers. My grandfather has owned nothing but Crestliners, he lives on lake Vermillion and is the most die hard fisherman I know. That helped my decision too.

Either way you go, you're gonna love your rig. grin.gif

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smokercraft Explorer

smokercraft

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Same deal last year,went with a suzuki 140 4-stroke. My decision was based on the relatively simple technology of a fuel injected 4-stroke (nothing new or fancy) vs a high tech Opti or E-Tech 2-stroke. I believe in the long run my 4-stroke will be less prone to problems plus a full 6 yr

warranty was the kicker for me.

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Gus Veteran

Gus

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There are tons of opinions both ways on this topic. Myself, I would look at it like this: I am about to drop 15-20,000 on a boat. I don't do this every day, now I want to make darn sure I'm going to be happy with myself for this purchase. To ME that means not skimping anywhere and going for the whole 9 yards. To me that would mean the 4 stroke. To others that might mean a 2 stroke and a $1500 graph. Yet to others it may mean a smaller payment our out of pocket check. I guess my post doesn't have a whole lot of point other than you are going to have to make the decision yourself because there are tons of happy people on both sides of the line. Good luck, and be happy! Afterall you are getting a new boat!

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Ed Carlson Grand Master

Ed Carlson

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In an outboard if I were to buy new today, it would be a 4-Stoker. They are economical to operate, super smooth running, smell less, and far less noisy then 2-stroke models on average.

With gas on the rise and likely to remain high the economy is a big bonus. You can run a full weekend on what a 2-stoke burns in an afternoon. As a whole package they are easy to maintain and a pleasure to operate on a fishing rig. My vote would be solidly the 4-stoke in an outboard or IO configuration.

The Honda’s and Yamaha’s I have run both empress me as good choices in a 4-stoke configuration.

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Scoot Grand Master

Scoot

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I totally agree with Ed. If you can afford one, definitely get a 4 stroke. I'm a huge fan of Yammy's, but I don't see how you can go wrong with a Honda, Suzi, or Johnson.

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