Which Boat to Buy Lund or Alumacraft?

[Dawnpatrol]

I am looking to buy a new boat and i can't decide between them. If anyone has any Pros and Cons on these 2 boats i would like to here them. I will use the boat for slow trolling and casting and maybe drift fishing. I am usually fishing 2 guys in the boat sometimes 3 but no more than that. I will outfit the boat with a 4 stroke motor.

1- 2007 Lund 1800 Explorer ss

2- 2007 Alumacraft 175 CS.

Thanks for the input, Dawnpatrol

[scaup]

I had a 1675 Explorer for 4 years. Loved the boat hated the motor. When I upgraded this year I compared the Lund Pro V and the Alumacraft Tournament Pro. I ended up going with the Lund. Not because I thought it was a better boat but because the Alumacraft salesmen made my skin crawl. I don't think you can make the wrong decision. I think the thing people often over look is dealer service. Every new boat I have owned makes at least on trip to the dealer so the closer the better. Good luck you are going to have really nice boat no matter what.

[196thDLR]

Buy the one that makes you feel good. When you can start to see yourself in it on the open water, that's the one. I always dreamed of having a Lund Pro-V. I did not buy new. An aquaintance of mine had one six years old, but the boat looked as if it had just came off of the show room floor. A couple of years later, I put a new motor on it. The boat is a 1992 Lund 1775 Pro-V and the motor is a 2003 Yamaha 75hp 4-stroke tiller. I am a very happy guy. Good Luck.

[prov1900]

I am on my second Lund. If I buy a third boat someday, it will be a Lund also. My buddy has the 1800 Explorer. Nice boat plus it fishes three nicely. Buy the biggest motor you can afford. His runs nicely with a 115 Optimax, but he thinks he needs bigger. I looked at Alumacraft prior to buying mine as well. The salesmen in our area are HORRID. Not just my opinion, but several, several people I have talked to. Maybe just a regional thing. Both boats in my opinion are good to go. It all boils down to service after the sale. Check on this before you buy. I have a Lund dealer, for example, three miles from my house. They treated me very poorly when I went to purchase years ago. I bought my two boats out of town and now I drive 35 miles one way everytime I have a problem. Could'nt be happier in doing so. Remember, just because it is new, doesn't mean it will be problem free.

[eyepatrol]

Either boat will treat you well. If you can't decide, it would seem that you like both just as much. At that point, it comes down to the dealer. Buy from the one who you feel will treat you the best and be there for you in times of need and one you feel that will back up their sale.

There are many fine boats out on the market today. All very similar and set up excellent for fishing, family, what have you. The same cannot be said for dealers though, and that's where a lot of your joys or frustrations will rest.

[JohnMickish]

Read the other Lund thread. Both are great boats and I'm partial to Lund but right now I am not so sure of Lunds place in the future. I'm not a big fan of "package" deals or being told what dealer to buy from.

[harvey lee]

Dawnpatrol

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota/HSO and Ice Leaders. There is a wealth of information here. Glad to have you.

[Dawnpatrol]

Thanks guys for your info. It looks like the lund has a bigger main floor space but They want $2000.00 more for the lund with a 90hp.Suzuki four stroke on it and the dealer is about 3 hours away. the nearest lund dealer (which is 20 min. away) said he can't buy the hull only. I call lund and they said they could So thats dead in the water.

The alumacraft dealer is really nice and they are about 30 minutes away and that boat would be power by 90hpYamaha four stroke, I could probably upgrade this motor to a 115 yamaha and still be cheaper than the lund.

I like some of the thing in lund like the life time warranty and transferable,sport trac system and the console but the alumacraft has top notch seats and a bigger live well with only a ten year hull warranty.

it's a hard decision when your dropping big money down on this

Dawnpatrol.

[gtofast1]

I was in the same boat as you, which one to buy. Picked up a 1700 explorer with a 115yamaha. Love the boat. If you purchase the 1800 go with the 25 in transom and a 150 four stroke yamaha you will love it. hope it helps just don't under power the 1800.it's rated for a 150 I think.

[caseymcq]

Are you talking about a Alumacraft Navigator 175 CS or a Dominator 175 CS? If so they are both a smaller boat than the Lund Explorer 1800 ss. You may want to compare them to the Explorer 1700 ss. They are closer in size.

I have a 2005 Alumacraft Navigator 175 Tiller. I love it, it is pretty much my dream boat. The boat has a really dry ride. It is wide. Plenty of room. We mainly walleye and muskie fish out of the boat and the room is a huge bonus. With muskies it is nice to be able to move around to boat while fighting a fish. I took it to Canada this summer and I really liked having the 40 gallon gas tank. I have a 75 hp Yamaha 4-stroke that is EFI and it is an awesome motor. It starts like a champ and really sips the fuel. It has live wells front and back with a bait well up front. There is rod storage on both sides of the boat that will take up to 7 ft. rods. Storage up front for gear.

[Dawnpatrol]

I am sorry for not putting in the model, it is the Alumacraft Navigator 175cs. The only difference between Alumacraft and the lund 1800 ss is 6" in lenght compare to the Lund 1700 explorer ss which is 8" shorter and 4" narrower than theNavigator 175cs.

I don't want to under power but i don't need a 150hp motor. my boat now that i am selling has that which is

Thanks for the info., Dawnpatrol Ranger Reata with a 150 four stroke Yamaha.

[caseymcq]

Either boat would be a great boat to have. I think when you are talking Alumacraft vs. Lund it is 6 one way, half a dozen the other.

I am a little partial to Alumacraft though, so I will put a plug in for them.

[Ray Esboldt]

Dawnpatrol,

Welcome to FM!

Not trying to change things up on you, but have you looked at the Crestliner 1850 or 1750 Fish Hawk? I really think those two boats stack up quite well with the boats you're looking at.

[Central Bassman]

Crestliner is a great deal!!! For the Price you cant go wrong!!!

[caseymcq]

But Alumacrafts are so much better looking

All this talking about boats makes me want the weather to warm up and the ice to go away.

[Central Bassman]

not with all them rivits!!!

[caseymcq]

If there was a better fastening method than rivets it would be used in airplanes and skyscrapers.

[Central Bassman]

Its funny that you say that a Alumacraft is just like a airplane with the rivits and how well they are. Well lets think about this for a min. Airplanes have rivits like the boat, and airplanes have the foam like a boat for it and when it goes into the water, but let me ask you this, if in fact that plane goes into the water, and the rivits are on the plane, i have one questions to ask you, why cant the plane handle the water, becuase the pressure from the water, just like in theboat, will pop the rivits on the plane or boat, and sink. Why you think there starting to weld planes!!!

[caseymcq]

I have yet to see a plane that doesn't have a rivet. They weld riveted boats to seal the seems as they probably do with planes too but the intent of the weld isn't to fasten the pieces of metal together. My dad and brother have Lunds and I have an Alumacraft. I have yet to see a rivet come out of any of those boats. Those boats have been on Mile Lacs, Cass, Red, LOW and Vermillion in some decent rollers.

Planes aren't designed to handle water pressure. They are designed to operate well above it. Although the hsolist-215's and DeHaviland Beavers that I have seen that frequently scoop water and/or land on it are riveted. I don't hear of many problems with them, possibly because they are designed appropriately.

[bassNspear]

I see both your points. Fact of the matter is, i feel a welded boat is alot more sound to the water then a rivit boat. Im not saying that there bad, just my opinion. But on the other hand, i would go to glass ne day then any other aluminum boat made today.

[VMS]

That is all in the design of the structure. Think about it. A plane is designed to go through a fluid that is so much less dense than water. It does not need all the extra support to hold out the low pressures at 35,000 feet in the air. It is designed to hold IN pressures of the cabin. The foam is basically the same, but it is used for insulation purposes and sound-deadening.

In a boat, it is designed to Displace water, and on the underside of any boat deck there is a bunch of support.

Rivets work in both environments since the attatchment actually allows the joined pieces of metal to expand and contract as needed due to temperature changes. A boat in 70 degree air temp but 40 degree water temp needs to be able to sustain itself and the hull will shrink when it hits the water. Likewise, a plane at 35,000 feet will be extremely cold. At the top of Mount Everest (26,000 feet) it is around -20 farenheit when they can climb safely.

This is where welding can potentially fail. If two different alloys are used, the metal cannot expand or contract as it should, thus cracked welds and a leaky boat. With technology, though, that has been much less of a problem, but it still can potentially exist.

You are talking about 2 totally different physical systems. That is like comparing apples to peanuts.

Steve

[Rost]

VMS is on the right track. The reason they use rivets for aircraft is for the flex factor. A jet must withstand a variety of temperatures and air pressures during flight. Therefore, they must be constucted with materials that are strong, yet flexible.

A welded seem will not flex. Does that mean a welded boat is better or worse? Who knows?

It's funny how this debate will come up over and over and over and over and over again.

[Duffman]

Had my heart set on a Lund, but went with the Alumacraft. No regrets and I was able to pimp it out the way I wanted with the difference in price between the two brands.

You can't go wrong with either brand, but you might be able to get more motor selection with the Alumacraft due to Lunds recent rigging policies. Good luck with your decision.

Gotta get this baby out of storage, pimpdaddy 2007 starts in mid-March.

[bassNspear]

Its funny how you say that Rost, Becuase your correct. It comes back and up all the time. If you think about it, it will never go away. People are always going to look at things different no matter what we do, thats just the way it is.

We have to have different boat lines out there becuase everyone likes something different.

[Rost]

Yep! And it never fails...about 5 posts into the debate a glass boat owner has to jump in and say "They both suck!! You need to go glass!!!"

That's okay though. Keeps me entertained.