new boat advice

[oscar]

I'm trying to decide between an 04 Lund 1775 Pro V, with a 75 four stroke Yamaha tiller or an 03 Alumacraft 175 Tournament Pro with a 90 Yamaha four stroke tiller. Will I stay dryer or have a nicer ride in one or the other? Which would handle larger water better? Will either slow down enough to backtroll with lindy rigs? Do trolling plates work? What kind of top speed would each have? Is a 2400lb galvanized Shorelander roller trailer big enough for either one? What should I all rig it with? Here is what I had in mind for rigging, wave wackers, on board charger, bow mount 65lb 24v trolling motor, and a Lowrance x125 or x135 fish locator. What am I all missing? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I wish I could take each boat home for about a week or two, just to try them out, it sure would make deciding alot easier. Thanks in advance for any help or input.

[Gofishleech]

Well this is just my opinon but I had this choice to make several years ago, I chose Alumacraft and am on my third one. A couple resons where - carpeted gunels and a wider bow for more bow space.

As for rigging, I would guess that you will not be able to go slow enough for live bait rigging. As for the bow mount, I had one about 3 boats ago and found that with a tiller I almost never went to the front of the boat, so I saw no more need for a bow mount. I would reccomend eiather a gas kicker or the largest electric motor you can find. I have the 185 T.P. and have a 74lb minkota that works great.

As for a trailer, that sounds like enough. My present trailer is a gavinized with torsion suspention that pulls very nice and will not rust like the painted trailers.

Hope this helps.
Gofishleech

[vikes40for60]

I also just made the comparison between Lund ProV and Alumacraft. Like the above poster, I too opted for the Alumacraft. I believe that the Alumacraft offers more bang for the buck for the average fisherman. They have alos made leaps and bounds in quality and fit/finish of their boats. I bought the TS 175 (same hull as you are considering, except full windshield) instead of the ProV IFS.

Will I stay dryer or have a nicer ride in one or the other?
Both the 2XB and the IPS hulls are well built and designed. I like both.

Which would handle larger water better?
I would guess they would both handle the same waves evenly.

Will either slow down enough to backtroll with lindy rigs?
I would say yes but it depends on a number of factors. In both cases mounting a transom mount trolling motor like the Minnkota Vantage or vector would allow some flexibility. What about a bowmount?

Do trolling plates work?
I prefer using drift socks for reducing speed both forwards and in reverse

What kind of top speed would each have?
I woould guess mid 30's on both. I had a Crestliner with a 90 Honda and I got to 38 in perfect conditions. The Lund with the 75 would be slower.

Is a 2400lb galvanized Shorelander roller trailer big enough for either one?
What is the total weight? In my opinion a trailer is not a place to skimp. I pted for a trailer rated for 3750 lbs for my setup. Bigger is always better. The galvanized is a nice option.

What should I all rig it with? Here is what I had in mind for rigging, wave wackers, on board charger, bow mount 65lb 24v trolling motor, and a Lowrance x125 or x135 fish locator.
I am not sure if the above mentioned sonar units have GPS, thats a must in my boat. I would also get a "snap-on" cover for traveling and some RAM 2000 Rod holders. The new STOWAWAY nets are cool and so are the Co-pilot remote units on an optional bow mount trolling motor. Other than that it sounds like you have your mind made up.

Good luck!!!

[This message has been edited by vikes40for60 (edited 04-05-2004).]

[WaveWacker]

Ah what a decision to make.

I have a 2000 1775 Lund Pro V with a 75hp 4 stroke (Mercury) and to be honest if I stuck with an alum. boat for my next one wouldn't hesitate to seriously check out the Alumacraft. Not that I dislike mine, I am just not that sold on the new Lund layouts (I like the 1800 ProV better then the 1775).

Ride for ride I would say it is a toss up and basically is all going to come down to price and personal layout preference.

I don't think that you will be happy with using the big motor as a primary backtroller. Only time that it goes slow enough for me is in a fairly heavy wind. With that said in my eye the #1 thing that I would not do without on my rig is the 24V 74lb thrust Minn Kota Vantage troller on the back. If your serious about rigging I would think seriously about putting one of these on the back of either rig. A couple of other must have's in my eye are splashguards, an on-board charger, and some sort of sonar/gps unit (I have a Lowrance LCX 15 MT).

I also have a 65 lb troller on the front and a X85 lowrance sonar but mainly use that for Muskie fishing and some other applications.

I can touch around 42 mph with full gas with a forard trolling speed around 2mph at a min.

Hope this helps!

WW

[Guest]

I would go with the boat with the most features for the money. What layout is good for you?

The Alumacraft has a ton of room and a 90 hp motor would be nice.

My boat has a 75 hp on the back. I use a Minn Kota Vantage to backtroll. When the waves get to 1 1/2 foot, I use the 75 to backtroll. Minn Kota now makes the Vector. Does the same as the vantage for half the price.

I think either boat would give you a decent ride. Buy a good rain suit. With a tiller you will get wet driving in a cross wind.

Lots of room and great boat handeling. Tillers are the way to go in my opinion.

You win either way.

[minnesota mac]

I have a alumacraft competer 170. The last year they made it, its been a good boat, not any problems. It was between the lund and alumacraft and I picked this one. On the trailer mine weights 2440 on the mndot scale, Thats boat moter and trailer, 60 hp mtr, 15hp mtr, elec mtr, 2 batt, 1/4 tank of gas and, just general stuff in the boat. I would think hard of up grading the trailer. I have been looking at new boats and they all try to under trailer them. One thing I wish I would of got is brakes on my trailer and I pull with a full size truck. Good luck

[WaveWacker]

I wouldn't go with the New Vector. Exactly it is 1/2 the price. I have seen them and in my opinion are no where near the unit that the Vantage is.

[oscar]

I am kind of leaning toward the Alumacraft because it seems like more boat for the money. My last boat was a 1990 16 1/2ft Alumacraft Competitor with a 60hp tiller. It was the most fishable boat I've ever been in, I could backtroll with it all day long and always find the perfect speed. The only thing it lacked was size for larger water, I always got soaked when the water was rough and didn't feel very safe at times. I hope that the boat I choose is as comfortable and well set up as my last boat. It really surprises me that nobody suggested I go with the Lund. Is putting a gas kicker on it a good idea or will the 74lb vantage on the back keep going all day and be enough? If I do decide on the kicker, what size should it be? Thanks for all the input.

[LocalGuide]

My dad and I just got a boat. We opted for a Alumacraft over a Crestliner.
It is a 2003 185 Tourny Pro with a 140 Johnson 4-stroke.
24v bow mount universal minnkota and a X-87.

I didnt ride in it yet but I did hear it is super smooth ride. This weekend I get to try her out! I cant wait.

------------------
And keep those hooks sharp!

[oscar]

Thanks for all the advice and information. I've pretty much made up my mind to go with the Alumacraft with a 90 four stoke Yamaha and T8 kicker. Now all I need to do is explain to my wife why I need a $23000 fishing boat. Any ideas?

[alwayscatchineyes]

Just to throw you a loop, I have a 1775 pro-v console and just love it. But have you thought about a pro-angler 16 or 17 or the mr. pike 16 or 17? cheaper than the pro-v and still have the new ips hull, plus they are lighter and still have the same h.p. rating. The angler is tiller and the pike is console. I know the lunds are a little faster but drier, all boats can be wet if you drive hard in rough water. I stay pretty dry in mine and have been pretty wet in others, friends of mine have a crestliner and a alumacraft and if I was to pick other than mine it would be a crestliner, sorry alumacraft guys just MY opinion, I'am pretty loyal to lund since having five of them but have been in the others, it is always a arguement here which is better, but it all comes down to a persons budget, and everyone likes somethings on some and not some on others. The alumacrafts are very nice lookin boats and have been for sometime now, but a boat will not catch the fish, the person running it will so sit in all of them like you were fishing, I know this might sound and look stupid but bring your rod, tackle box and net, go to the dealers and pretend to fish out os them and see what you like and don't like. It is a very expensive decision to make so make it right and never let the wife know if you screwed up on the decision!!!! As far as the other things you mentioned you were already clued in on by others above!!

[walleyehawk]

I second the idea of the Pro Angler or Mr Pike. Basically they are the same boat but Pikes are console, Anglers are tillers.

I have a 16 Pro Angler and love it!! Some day I may step up to the Pro V, but only because of the larger size and I primarily fish larger lakes. Either way, I can't emphisize enough to MAX OUT THE HP. I went with a 60 4 stroke when a 75 is the rating, and wish I had the 75 4 stroke.

Any way you go about it, you can't lose getting a new boat. I never second guess that decision.