Lund vs. Crestliner

[chief]

I spent nearly all of 2002 shopping for a fishing boat I knew I'd buy in 2003. After thoroughly investigating the big 3 aluminum brands,I finally settled on a 2003 Crestliner 1750 Fish Hawk with a 75hp Yamaha 4 stroke tiller. I'm extremely happy with my purchase, in particular I looooove my Yamaha, but, really, my purchase reflects a compromise between price, trailerability, fishability, and storage-ability(?) Beyond this, here are my thoughts:

1. Lund cannot be beat for selection. At every popular length and hp rating Lund has several models, lots of options, and lots of finishes. Additionally, Lund dealers tend to carry large inventories which makes real-life decisions much easier. On the other hand, these factors truly drive up prices--on all models-- and I felt some models were truly overpriced.

2. Alumacraft's Tournament line was/is very impressive, but I felt their lengths and hp ratings left me betwixt and between an underpowered rig and one that was simply too big for my needs. But they still interest me. A brother-in-law just bought a Navigator package this spring (his first fishing rig) and he just loves it.

3. To objectively critique my Crestliner: It's storage compartments are not as well appointed, or as sensible, as Lund or Alumacraft, and there wasn't much available in terms of options. However, its fishability and ergonomics, that is the ease with which 2 or 3 guys can comfortably move about while employing a variety of presentations, is superior. On some days on some waters I wish my rig was a bit deeper, and a bit beefier. On the other hand, because it's lighter than the other guys, I gain a bit extra speed. And so on, and so on, and so on...

4. Finally, my dealer (and his location) made my shopping experience pretty darn pleasant and convenient. He was easy to work with, accomodating, and as far as I know, he was honest. I made a good deal that allowed me get a custom cover and a bigger trolling motor for about the same price as stripped down Lunds and Alumacrafts.

[buzzsaw]

Chief, that was the best post I have seen regarding the numerous threads started on this subject to date!

[fishinphilth]

What you need is more cow bell!

[Curly]

Anyone know much about Alumacraft? I'm going to sell my Crestliner Fish Hawk this fall and I'm looking at the Trophy series of Alumacraft, probably the Trophy 200. Anyone?

Thanks

[troutchaser]

I agree

MORE COWBELL !!!

[lots of luck]

Thanks chief and everyone else for their responses. There have been some really good ones. Sounds like each manufacturer has its strong points, and some minor weak points. It also sounds like some manufacturers prices are vary enough to persuade some fisherman. Name recognition is also of some importance to some fisherman, especially for resale value. What I am hearing the most is that it basically comes down to personal preference and that a fisherman needs to "kick" the tires to see if the boat suits their needs.

P.S. "I have a fever and the only prescription for my fever is more cowbell." The Bruce Dickinson......Baby

[Juan Grande]

lots of luck,

I love your avatar. I can just picture Christopher Walkin demanding "..more cow bell." That skit is a classic!

[Juan Grande]

chief,

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for your rig? I'm looking at buying a new boat next year and was looking at the Fish Hawk line. Do you recommend adding the trolling motor, sonar, etc. in with the boat purchase?

[fishlakeman]

FishinBill, To answer your question regarding Tracker boats: I can't say that I'm a fan. The Tundra's look pretty sweet, and probably are, but their Pro Guide's and Targa's are not well designed boats in my opinion. My friend has a 2004 SuperGuide 16 with a 50 hp Merc that I have fished out of a lot, and it's not a good boat. The hull design is very poorly designed, as it doesn't handle waves well at all, has trouble getting out of the hole, and is a very wet ride. In my opinion, the front of the boat comes up way to fast, so there isn't that surface area to come in contact with the water to help the boat get on plane quickly. This boat is rated for a 60, but the standard package comes with a 25hp? They extremely UNDERPOWER their packages to make them look like a great deal, but after your mandatory upgrade of the motor, you don't save as much as you think. Their Targa 17 foot is rated for a 125 hp, yet it comes standard with a 50 hp??????? I doubt that package would even get on plane. The only other reason I could think of why they would underpower like they do is because there market is down south where the lakes are smaller and fewer. Like I said, the boat I was in had a 50 hp, yet it really had a hard time getting on plane with 3 guys in it, and had a top end of about 26 mph. My friends Lund Rebel(very similar specs as the tracker) with a 50 hp gets up and goes and has a GPS top end of 34 mph. These are the same legnth boats with the same weight in them, yet the Lund blows the Tracker out of the water. This friend greatly regrets buying the Tracker, and says he's going to sell his boat and buy a Lund next year.

I might as well throw in my 2 cents regarding the others also . I will start off saying there are a lot of Sweet boats out there of different brands, it comes down to what a person wants in a boat. I have ridden and fished out of a lot of different brands: Alumacraft, Sylvan, Crestliner, Tracker, Ranger, Stratos, and of course Lund. The Ranger and Stratos- both great boats and rides as expected.

Now the the aluminum battle: My friend has a 03' 1750 Crestliner Sportfish- even though I'm not a full windshield fan, I really liked the layout. It handled alright as far as driving, I don't think Crestliners hulls provide as dry/solid of a ride as the Lund IPS hulls. My friend who owns the Crestliner agrees with me on this.

The Alumacraft Tournament pro 175 I was in was a very nice rig. Good layout, plenty of space, seemed like a pretty good ride (but it was a calm day). It just seemed like the whole interior seemed cheap. The carpet really caught my eye as being pretty thin and the fixtures/trim also seemed weak.

The Sylvan I fished out of was also a sweet rig, I really like the layout, in fact I can’t think of anything bad to say about it. I’d say they’re the most underrated fishing boats out there.

As far as Lund boats go, I have fished out of and owned many. I have owned little bench aluminum boats, to 16 foot carpeted tillers, to my current 04' 18 foot Explorer Dual Console with a 150. I haven't ever had a problem with a Lund. Not one leak, popped rivet, anything. I think the engineering is top-notch and only quality materials are used. The IPS hull is the driest, smoothest aluminum hull I've ridden in. Sure, a person is going to pay more for a Lund, but your buying the best of quality boat, and when it comes time to sell it, you'll get a lot more than any other rig here in Minnesota.

Conclusion:

I really think Lund, Crestliner, Sylvan, and Alumacraft are all top-notch boats. They have their flaws, but it depends on the buyer’s preferences. I wouldn’t hesitate to go out and buy anyone of the 4, it’s just that I very much prefer Lund boats because they have never let me down, and by experience, I like them the best out of the 4.

[Wild Thing]

Curly,

This conversation is as silly as Chev vs Ford vs Toyota, but here goes.... I bought an Alumacraft Trophy 190 last winter after looking for more than a year at new and used boats. I ended up buying new becasue I couldnt' find exactly what I wanted used, and if you're going to spend $25,000 plus on a package, I wanted EXACTLY what I wanted.

I picked Alumacraft over Lund for one basic reason -- price. I saved more than $1,000 on a nearly identical boat (same motors and trailer, too.) Maybe in 10 years when I go to sell I'll lose that $1,000 in resale, but not likely, and I'd rather have it in my pocket now when it's worth more! Resale is a term coined by new car salesman. It varies so much by market and by individual item (condition) that it means almost nothing, but that's another story.

My Trophy 190 came with a fourth seat, second bilge pump, 25 inch transom, CD player and a few more things as standard vs Lund Fisherman which all were add-ons and thus added to my $1,000 savings, plus I got a $500 rebate but I don't think that is still in place. Overall, it appeared the aluma dealer had more room to deal. Lund dealers all were within a couple hundred bucks and didn't want to deal.

All in all, both are great boats. I also looked at Tyee but they were too heavy for my boat house's sling-style boat lift and they were even more money.

The Trophy 190 (nearly same as 200 you are lookign at) rides fantastic in choppy water and has great amenities. Nothing has fallen off or come loose yet! I would have liked larger hacthes for the livewells, and separate livewell controls, but they consider this a combo touring/fishing boat so they haven't put those things on it yet. They probably will. The jumpseats are a great addition if you occasionally tour with lots of people on board.

You can't go wrong with any of the brands mentioned here. I've had Smokers and Sylvan's (just traded a Pro select after 10 great years) and fished out of Lund's and Crestliners and Starcrafts and more. Each has their own plus and minus points. Buy what you want and what you can afford and you'll be happy.

Good Fishin!

P.S. They all have one shortcoming. THey don't make it easy to add on options at home. The engineers all bite when it comes to make room for big finders, on-board chargers, GPS, hooking up electroncis etc. I talked to a tech who does it all the time and he says Ranger is even worse for space! I don' think they like us adding stuff on their boats!

[Curly]

Wild Thing- Just a couple questions- What size motor did you go with and what kind of speed do you get out of it? What dealership did you buy from?

Thanks

[FishinBill]

where is a lund dealer in the twin cities?

[STILLNOFISH]

FishinBill,

Nelson Marine in White Bear Lake sells them.

[cjac]

Bought my Lund at Nelson, not that I should have any problems with a new boat, but the couple times I had to bring it in they turned my boat around the same day. Good things to consider.....did my homework, most dearlers ended up within a few hundred of the same price.

To echo an earlier post, whatever the boat make sure not to cut corners on the trailer. A good trailer pays for itself in ease of trailering and loading!

[Shorelunch]

I've had very good sales and service with Rapid Sport in Ham Lake.

[Wild Thing]

Curly,

I went with a Yamaha 150 four stroke and a T-8 high thrust kicker. Unbelievably quiet and better gas mileage than my old 100 merc two stroke even with 50 percent more power.

I'm hitting about 44-45 mph top end on the GPS speedometer (boat speedo is dead on, fyi) with the factory standard prop. I also haven't played around much yet with trim levels. My birthday present next may will be a high tech stainless job, but 45 MPH is way fast enough for me. I'm not a speed freak at all. It seems to hum along real nice at about 32-35 mph with fairly low RPMs, and that covers a lot of water nicely.

With a 20 footer I might have been convinced to go to a 200 four stroke, but that's a lot more money.

I'm really reluctant to mention a dealer on here for fear of peaving someone off. Everyone gets so darned touchy. I had it back in once cause they put a small hole in the livewell tubing when they added a snap for the top! They also ahd to adjust the steer bar between the two motors.

Northern Twin Cities suburb dealer, very large. I bought a smokercraft from the same salesman in '88 and he's a good guy.

Good luck!!!

[Curly]

Could you shoot me the info at my email- brdmtrx at yahoo.com

Thanks

[chief]

Juan Grande,

Please don't be offended, but I'm reluctant to talk prices on the net as it nearly always puts someone in a needlessly uncomfortable position. Furthermore, as you say you're "buying next year", 2006 prices are likely to be widely different from what I paid in early 2003, so comparisons won't be meaningful.

I made a good deal (I think) because I was adequately informed, confident about my choices, and willing to wait on a special order. As to the second part of your question, my answer is YES!! Add all your extras at the dealer. Let the pros rig, wire, drill, move, and modify. They're much better at it than we are, and they'll warranty the product and the install. I do think that adding more options, and total dollars, puts you in a better bargaining position for freebies and upgrades. Finally, strongly consider a trailer upgrade. Get more than you think you need, 'cuz a boat spends 90% of it's life on a trailer.

Good Luck

[fishlakeman]

I think the amount of $ the dealer makes off of you plays a huge role in what they're willing to do for you after the sale. I wanted extras on my boat but the dealer was pretty reluctant on putting them on for me. I offered to buy a Lowrance X-135 from their marina, and asked if they would rig it while they prepped the boat, but the salesman said since there already was a depthfinder pre-instaled, that they couldn't do it. So I then offered to pay for the install and he still said they couldn't do it. I guess it's not good to buy a last years model boat from a large output dealer during the busiest week of the year for them. Oh well, I am so happy I didn't get that X-135 because I ended up buying and installing a 332-color myself and absolutely love it.

[Northlander]

If you buy a Tracker make sure you get a bigger motor than what the package comes with. The starting price is nice but once you get everything the way ya want it your not much better off than if ya went with one of the top 3 brands. Trailers. electronics, motors both outboard and trolling were what I thought would be too little for my needs.

[Wild Thing]

I'm not so sure on having dealers rig the boat options. If you look at the kids actually doing it, they aren't Rhode Scholars. They can handle mounting outboards on boats and boats on trailers, but they are not elec. techs.

Besides, most dealers carry only mid-road electronics and at average prices. The stuff they usually offer in packages is really not top end. I saved a ton by buying form a local marine elctronics guru. The guy who was supposed to rig it broke his back, however, and I ended up doing it all myself. Somehow, it all works!!

Good luck!

And yes, add at least 500 lbs onto the trailer so you can pack lots of stuff in it!

[FishinBill]

anyone have/know about a lund 1650 rebel? good/bad? I'm looking for a new boat for next season and trying to figure out what to get

[fishing-addict]

Yes, lund is in that group, the sides of a lund are 60mm the sides of a alumacraft are 90mm.

[troutchaser]

Direct from both companies websites:

Lund Hull for the Fisherman Series of Boats

Thickness bottom/freeboard .100/.080

Twin Plate Thickness .100

2XB HULL for the trophy series of boats

Thickness bottom/sides .100"/.080

2XB Bow–2nd plate .100"

This is directly from both of there websites, and by the looks of it they are exactly the same. These two series of boats are in the same class. Both companies make boats with thinner bottoms and freeboards, and this depends on the series and the use the boat is going to receive. I could throw out information on comparisons for whatever model you want to talk about and you will find that both companies use the same material for all of their boats that match up with another boat of a simular series of the competitor.

Once again I must say compare apples to apples and get the right information.

[CatManLee]

All my life I was raised with my family and freinds driving Chevy's. I HATED Fords! Now I have a ford and love my truck, I've never had a lick of trouble with it. My point is, look at the different boats and get what you like. Just make beieve the Brand name isn't there when your looking and then choose. Your final decision may suprise you! Beside the boat manufacturers all have great warranty's now, so really wich ever you go with should be pretty good for overall quality.

I don't know wich would "Be Better". I'm not fortunate enough to own a new boat yet, but I do know it doesnt matter to me the brand. It's all about how it handles and feels to me. If I like it, I get it!