Lund vs. Crestliner

[fishlakeman]

FishinBill, The 1650 Rebel is a great boat! Lund has been making the Rebels since 1989 and everyone that I have talked to loves their's. It's the ultimate economical fishing boat, as it had a good sized livewell, casting platform,and ample storage areas. My friend has a 1650 Rebel with a 50 Yamaha and it has plenty of power for 4 full sized guys to get up and plane with a good top end. We have even skied and tubed behind it while 4 people were in the boat. His has the true-Lund V hull, where the new 1650's have the IPS(Integrated Power Strake) hull. I haven't fished out of the new ones, but they sure look nice. I would highly reccomend maxing out the Rebel, as you won't regret it. With a 60 hp and one person I'm sure you'd reach 40 mph. A 50 hp is very suitable also (for console model).

I don't know a whole lot about them, but the new Lund Classic 16 SS looks like another sweet rig. Gary Roach had a lot of praise for this boat at a seminar I went to in Fargo during the sportsman show. Looking at the specs, it's wider than the Rebel and seems deeper also. Just something to look into.

[Guest]

[ the sides of a lund are 60mm the sides of a alumacraft are 90mm.

---

Where did you get this info from?

Is it metric? Even so, I doubt its correct.

60 mm is 2.36 inches and 90 mm is 3.54 inches.

They both make great boats.

[fishing-addict]

I meant in thousands, my numbers came from sales people at the boat show. I checked your numbers you are partcially correct. The difference is with lund to get .100/.080 you have to go to the top of the line. Example Mr. Pike 18 ft .080/.068 Alumacraft Tournament Pro (comparable to the Mr. Pike)a step or two below a Trophy .100/.080. Want to compare some more? I see where you are from and would guess you work for Lund, sorry to have to point this out to you.

[Gus]

I think you are off base comparing a Mr. Pike to the Tournament Pro. More like Mr. Pike to the Lunker series.

[fishing-addict]

Come on now, I don't know if you are joking or what. The lunker is the same as a rebel, no gunnels. Your not giving the Mr. Pike any credit.

[perch hunter]

if you guys ever compaired those boats to alumacraft

you would never buy either one again

[Big Julie]

Chevy vs. Ford all over again!

Don't you love it?

Ford Ballad:

(melody of The Old Rugged Cross)

On a hill faraway

Sat an old Chevrolet

It's fenders all battered and worn

Then along came the Lord

In His thundering Ford

And towed that old Chevy away!

hehehe

[kevfish]

IN a no brainer- LUND LUND LUND

[Gus]

Looking back I was confused and crossed models in my head. I was thinking lund alaskan not mr. pike. (no gunnels) My bad. But I still don't know how anyone in thier right mind could say an Alumacraft is a better boat than a Lund.

[caseymcq]

Here is how someone in there right mind can say Alumacraft is better than Lund.

Alumacraft is better than Lund.

Ok, I am kidding. I bought an Alumacraft this spring. I looked long and hard at both brands. I was looking at either an Alumacraft 175 Navigator or a Lund 1700 Explorer. For less money I got more in the boat. The Navigator is wider, has a larger gas tank and had an gauge cluster (tach and spedo). I think the Lund is still a great boat. I love my Alumacraft. I had it rigged with a Yamaha 75 hp 4-stroke. That motor is awesome. It is fuel injected so I just turn the key and go. It is unbelievably quiet.

As far as Crestliner... I am not a big fan of welds over rivites. If there was a better method of fastening metal to metal they would use it in airplanes, skyscrapers and large ships.

[pikerliker]

I'd take either one if I could afford either one! Hopefully next year................

~piker

[Northlander]

The only boat you can really compare to the Mr.Pike is the Angler and maybe Explorer. MR.Pike has some nice new options this year. I really like that center front rod locker thats simular to those in the Rangers and Pro Series boats. I believe Chrestliner has one in the RCL series as well?

[troutchaser]

First off you need to realize where you got the information from. A sales guy at a boat show? Come on they will tell you whatever you want/need to hear to get you to buy their product, and obviously he was having trouble getting you the right information.

Once again I must help you figure this out. The tournament series from Alumacraft is comparable to the tournament series from Lund. This series from Lund would be the Pro-V Line of boats, and the comparisons between the two would be the same.

The Magmun series from Alumacraft would be comparible to the sportsman seriers from Lund, and if you check they will have the same thickness hulls. The Mr.Pikes are built more like a Pro-V's so this comparison is not totally apples to apples, but it is as close as Alumacraft has to Lund in this size boat.

The Navigator Series from Alumacraft would be comparable to Boats in the Adventure series from Lund which would include Fisherman, Explorers, and the Pro Sport models.

The Lunker boats would match up with the 1650 Rebel well and they have the same thickness bottom and sides, but the alumacraft does have a second bow plate, and the Rebel does not, but at a 50-60 HP max these boats do not take the pounding like a Pro-V from Lund or a Tournament Pro Boat from Alumacraft so concerns about weight play a factor in these smaller boats.

Just want to make sure that the comparisons are made between equally built and equiped models. Both companies build boats to compete against the other company, and if one company uses .100 bottom material the other company will also use that material. Just the nature of the boating market.

This thread was started by a man asking questions about what to buy and I just want to make sure that he gets solid information about whatever product that he is looking at, and make comparisons to boats that are on the same playing field, and buy a boat with the features that you like.

[buzzsaw]

Ok guys, doesn't it really come down to the boats features and how it is layed out vs the hull thickness? I mean really, who goes into the dealership and says I need a boat with X amount of thickness? maybe Jenna jameson but not me! The bottom line is this, if you are buying any one of these three top end fishing boats you should end up being pretty happy... just don't underpower the boat.

[iffwalleyes]

Right on Buzz that is what it really boils down to. If it meets your needs you like it. Like mentioned every manufacturer has some flaws. You also have to be comfortable with how much you are spending on it. Like mentioned DO NOT underpower it or you be looking for a different motor in a year. Bigger is usually better when it comes to a motor for a boat but this is not always true of a boat.

[STILLNOFISH]

Buzzsaw,

I am rolling on the floor LMAO on your last statement regarding Jenna Jameson.

By the way, I have a MR. Pike and like the width, I guess Jenna would say the same.

[TSCTSC]

Why is it important to get a travel cover and to spend good money on it? And where can I go to get one? I have a 16 foot Lund Pike 2001 and I want one that will not cover my bow deck and my rear deck so that I do not have to remove my downriggers and my trolling motor whenever I need to use the cover.

[TSCTSC]

Just want to put my 2 cents regarding the Lund aerated livewells. I have the 2001 Lund Pike which has 2 livewells and both of them are aerated (manual and automatic). I think the rear livewell is larger and we can keep about 10 salmons there in total. I have even kept a couple of 17 pounders in there with no problem so far. Space in livewell on my boat has never been an issue so far. Always use the rear livewell for fish and usually leave the front livewell as a back up. Has never caught that many fish that I have had to fill both livewells.

[sunkinboat]

Smokercraft. I have a 2003 smokercraft 165 ultra sport le with a 90 hp merc 2 stroke.

Love it. 84" WIDE very deep and very stable. Great hull warranty. Does about 50 which is nice to get where I want to go and if I decide to pull a couple skiers she gets right up and goes. I looked at Lund and Crestliner and they are just overpriced to me and I liked the features better on the smoker. Just my 2 cents

[TSCTSC]

Bought a Lund because it was the most visible brand of boat around here in SE Minnesota. Also, it was aluminium and we had the impression that it was more durable. There is no doubt that they are more pricey but I think the resale for Lund's are great and that good used Lund's are hard to come by.

In any case, after getting my Lund, I have had no problems. I got it used tho'. But our target were Lund Rebel's. But we could not find any good used Rebel;s and nearly got a new one. Fortunately, we found a used Pike that we nearly the same price as a new Lund Rebel. So here we are.

Basically, the Pike has been a great multi-species boat. Lots of space, single console, dual aerated live wells, IPS, a lot more storage space than the rebel. Have fished from 2 foot deep waters to the near shore waters (5-6 miles off shore) of Lake Michigan. It has been in 3 foot swells in Lake Michigan in 10-15 mph winds and has been stable. Because it is also wide, there is a reduced chance of capsizing too.

There is no doubt that the Alumacraft are better value for money. But it did not appeal to us as much.

As for Crestliners, we thought that the next boat that we would get would be a CR with a Yamaha 4 stroke. Simply because the design and the look of the CR seems to grow on you. But I do agree that the interior of the CR seem to be less well built that the CR although they are real pretty.

My 2 cents on this are that I think both CR and Lunds are very good aluminium boats. Do not think that one could go wrong with them. More importantly is to get a good 4 stroke motor and a strong trailer. As for resale, I do have an impression that Lunds sell better, but that is just my opinion. If you even have a remote chance of fishing the great lakes, do consider getting a boat as large as you can afford (store, trailer, handle) and you will not regret it. I am so glad that we got the Pike as that has enabled has to fish the great lakes in tougher conditions than the rebel would have allowed.

[LocalGuide]

Quote:

---

Stupid things like why would my motor hit the rear seat when it's in the back pedestal on my Lund?

crestliners do the same

---

Alumacrafts do it when the motor is tilted all the way up. Otherwise it doesn't seem to be much of a problem.

I have a '03 185cs Tournament Pro Alumacraft with a 140 4-stroke Johnson on it. We found this boat used at the dealer in our back yard. (I know, having a boat dealer right out from our back yard is always trouble )

Well it was a really good price for a really good boat. My only concern about it was the motor. A 140hp on a 18'11" boat seems to me its under powered when the max rating is 200hp. But to my surprise it got a good hole shot, not bad top-end speed and handles the big waves pretty decent. With that motor I alone get 41mph and with 2 people its 39mph. And what a big difference a stainless steel prop gave the boat, that was a big help.

Now to compare to other brands. I think my 185cs TP is equivalent to a ProV 1900 or 2025 options/storage wise. I can be the only person that says Alumacraft is better than Lund! HAHA, naw I think Lund had a good ride and nice storage also but for me it seemed a little more compact or something that just didnt fit me well.

I don't think the interior on the TP is cheap at all either. I use the boat a lot and the carpet gets its abuse all the time. Its held up really well and I don't have any complaints about it. I know the wood in the boat is all 100% treated so the insides wont rot out. Which is a good thing because once I forgot to put the plug in the boat and I didn't notice until the floor was wet! Only bad part was draining and drying it out.

I also like that they put them grab handles all over, have nice cleats on it, put the good storage compartment locks/openers on them, and have the nice wide gunnels on them.

IMO, I would rate theses 3 boats like this. Lund, Alumacraft, Crestliner. I rode in quite a few Crestliners and they are alright but they have a few things to improve on.

As for the new Tracker Tundras, wow they seem like the cats meow for aluminum boats. My dad talked to one of the PWT Pros that had a Tundra for this year. He said he just came off Erie and did not get wet at all with 6' waves. Its a dry ride and couldn't complain about it.

The boats top speed was around 46mph with it maxed out.

I went and looked at one of these boats close up at a dealer and it seemed to me the storage compartments were weak and floppy like they could break if you wanted them too. That was my only concern about the boat, otherwise I think that boat is pretty darn awesome for being a aluminum boat!

[fishing-addict]

Could you explain how the stainless steel prop made a differnce?

[Ralph Wiggum]

The jist of it:

The blades on an aluminum prop flex when you put the hammer down, causing you to lose hole shot and speed. The blades on a SS prop are much more rigid, so no flex = better hole shot and more top-end speed.

[TSCTSC]

But if your stainless steel prop hits a rock underwater, your lower unit will have a higher chance of being damaged. Whereas, with the aluminium prop, there is a lower chance of lower unit damage as the aluminium is softer and might bend to take the hit.

[JWB475]

Most props these days are on a nylon hub, if you hit somethign the hub will give reducing the odds of damage to the lower unit.