What boat should I buy?

[Reef Runner]

Well I just thought I would get some opinions from you guys on which boat I should get. Here are a few things I do, and have thought of.

Currently I have a Crestliner ( SportFish 1800) It has a 130, 2 stroke Evenrude on it. I have been happy with this boat except the floor is garbage. It has rotted out and the dealer told me that I had to pay for it's replacement because it got wet. Duh ... It's a boat!! So I will not be buying a boat from them ever again. So the boat I have is fine but I now have the funds to get a new boat so I thought I would upgrade.

Currently I am in a small fishing league. We fish every other Wednesday. We fish Waconia, Tonka, Prior, Ect... Lakes in the Metro area. I am out on the water about once a week. I take at lest two tips to Lake Of the Woods every year. Usually it is just my wife and I , although we had a beautiful baby girl last year, so I am sure there will be three of us now. So that is what I will be using it for.

When I was at the sports show I checked out the Alumacraft Navigator. I seemed to like this one the best. It seemed to have plenty of fishing room and a good amount of storage.

I am guessing I would like to spend 20 to 25 grand.

So what do you all think? Anyone have a favorite boat out there? Any pros and cons of Alumacraft?

Thanks a ton!!!

[thebman]

You should be able to find alot of boats in that range, it just matters what you are really looking for. Do you ever take the family to the lake? A nice fish and ski might fit your needs. If your not stuck on aluminum check out the Ranger Reatta or the Stratos 386XF, neither will give you a floor that will rot out. You probably find a holdover 2006 Stratos close to $25K. I might be biased on the Stratos as I just picked one up but for the money it is a great rig.

[bassNspear]

reef, send me a email when you get a chance!!!!

[PDOGG]

I've been looking at boats for a while now and if I was to go new it would've been the Alumacraft Tournament Pro. It has top loading rod storage in the center of the casting deck and in one of the gunnels. It seemed like the perfect fishing boat for the money. Plus it will handle enough horsepower for any watersports you might do with the family. Check it out at the Alumacraft HSOforum I think you'll like it.

[caseymcq]

I have an Alumacraft Navigator 175 with a 75 hp Yamaha 4-stroke. I love it. There is a ton of room. The boat is nice and wide. It came with a big (40 gallon) gas tank which I really appreciated on a trip to Canada last year. While other people where using several gas cans I ran for five days (and we did a lot of running around in search of muskies) with out having to add a drop. I had no problem sticking 7-foot muskie rods in the rod lockers. There are two live wells (bow and stern) with a bait well in the bow. I would highly recomend the Navigator. If you are getting one with a wheel you can go up to 150 hp.