Lund Rebel XL SS?

[Pat B]

I am looking at purchasing my first boat and would like some feedback from the good folks in this forum.

The boat I am currently looking at is the Lund Rebel XL SS. I am thinking of configuring this with a 75 HP motor, a top of the line trolling motor (e.g. that can be operated wirelessly and with a sonar) and a fish finder with GPS.

I am not sure if this is the right boat for me and could use some feedback from more experienced boaters. Here are my needs:

1) I have access to a slip on Minnetonka from a family member. On most days, the boat will be parked in this slip and I want to use it for northern, bass and especially musky (I picked up this bug last year!). I imagine spending a lot of my time using my trolling motor and casting from the front of the boat as I cover water. Walleye are less important.

2) I also imagine using this boat to hit mid-sized lakes around central MN (e.g. back in my home town of Annandale).

3) I lived outside of MN for about a decade. During this time I became a fly fisherman and spent a lot of time on rivers. I would like to use this boat for smallies on the St. Croix and Mississippi (e.g. near Monticello and below the Ford Dam) for both fly and spin cast fishing.

4) I would like to hit a few of the premier lakes like Mille Lacs, Rainy, etc.. at least once this summer.

5) I am not concerned about setting speed records on the water. Most of my adult life I've run boats with 40 HP.

6) Most of the time, I will only be fishing by myself or with one other person. Hauling 4 or 5 people is not an issue for me (I am going to join a boat club with my wife to get access to a high performance boats to make her happy).

My question is how practial is this boat for these uses? In particular, I am a bit worried about only having 16 feet 3 inches on bigger water. Will this give enough stability for safely casting while standing on the front platform (particularly with a fly rod which is a bit trickier). The guy at the boat dealer said of course this is big enough- but I am not sure that I believed him.

Also, is 75 HP big enough for water like Tonka, etc... I have no interest in setting speed records while on the water. On the other hand, I don't want to be inappropriately underpowered either.

I'm willing to spend more for a new boat (I don't want to deal with the hassle of buying a used boat that might be a lemon). I spend a lot of time fishing and would be willing to put up to 30K into a boat. However, I don't want to blow my money given that I don't need to haul several people around while I am fishing.

Do you think the Rebel is appropriate for these needs? If not, do you have any other suggestions?

Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Pat B

[polarsusd81]

I think for most of what you want to do, that boat would fit your needs. Where I see a problem, would be fishing the river, especially the Monti area, as it is extremely shallow for large stretches there and you will undoubtedly knock yourself out of a lower unit running those waters with that boat. I have a buddy that has an Alumacraft Tourney Pro 175 that they fly fish out of a lot, and it works fine for them, but if you were to be in some rough water, such as Mille Lacs on a windy day, it may be a little tough to fish the bow with a fly rod. I think 75 hp should be plenty to get you around, and you wont have to worry much on Tonka. It might be a little hairy out there on the weekends when all the cruisers come out to play and throw the big wakes, but if you can handle that, you should be alright. The Rebel XL SS is a nice boat for the money, and you seem to be on the right track.

If you are dead set on fishing the river near Monti, you might want to get a small john boat with a little short shaft motor to run up there so as to not wreck the bigger boat. I have fished there in my 14' lund, and was barely able to make it around certain areas.

[rodmaker]

From what you described that boat would be ok. I would consider something just a little bigger maybe a ProV 1775 or 1800. Just for the bigger lakes you mentioned.

I have a Merc 75 tiller on my 185 Alumacraft compeditor. I like it alot. I fish Mille Lacs mainly.

Just remember for a motor, be in 90% range of the max hp that the boat will take.

[herm]

Pat B, I ran a Lund Rebel SS with 40 hp Yami from 1998-05. That was max hp rating then. Your model seems similar, only on steroids. Mine did 35 mph with the 40 hp...I bet this beats that easy with the 75.

The only problems I see with this boat and your needs are:

1. Big water/waves...the Rebel was seaworthy but not fun to fish from in waves of 2 feet or more. (In other words, Mille Lacs.)

2. Although I have not fished the river where you cite, I agree with the post about the Rebel drawing too much water. (Although I could drift through as little as 12 inches.)

3. Finally, for what it's worth, my Rebel side-console was absolutely terrible for boat control when trolling with the 40. It was one of 2 reasons I jumped to a tiller. (The other was more space.)

Hope that helps.

[Pat B]

Thanks a lot for your comments. This was really helpful.

Pat B

[marine_man]

Welcome to fishing minnesota part b!

I agree with the other's sentiments - it's going to be difficult at best to get any outboard boat on some streches of the river with a boat that has a lower unit. Your best bet in those situations then would be a jet drive motor, which opens a whole other can of worms.

With respect to the big water (Rainy, Mille Lacs) you'll be able to get around, but will need to pay attention to the weather conditions so you'll be able to get back in safely if the wind should come up.

With respect to that, I'd be inclined to take a look at an Lund Explorer - they're a little wider which would give you more stability than the rebel.

75HP on that boat should be sufficient for what you're after, and be plenty of power to get you where you want to go.

Good luck with your decision!

marine_man

[snapjigger]

I have the 1650 V Rebel but in a tiller. I have no problem on Mille Lacs in windy weather. If it's to windy for my boat it isn't any fun fishing anyway. I have mine maxed out with a F50 Yamaha it does about 34-36 but rides really nice for a smaller lighter boat. The only other advise I can give you is to invest in a set of wave wackers. Will definitly make a diffrence in backtrolling and wavy weather. I also have a Minnkota 55lb autopilot which pulls this boat just fine. Good luck with your purchase..

[herm]

Snapjigger is right. Wave Wackers/White Caps are a must. I added them and stern and bow trolling motors during my Rebel years. One other thought...I was not real pleased with my Karavan trailer. The main bracket broke twice...finally had it welded...and the three main rollers I replaced twice before getting smart enough to spend the extra money on polyurethan rollers. (Of course, the next season, I promptly sold the rig.) Doh!

[mnmarlin]

The 1625 Rebel XL SS is completely different from the "old" Rebel or the V Rebel. Its much wider and deeper. It should be a great boat for you. You should have no stability issues while using the bow casting platfrom. As far as big water, remember 25 years ago, everybody was running 16 foot boats with 25-30-40 horse motors and thought they were awesome for even the big lakes like Mille Lacs and Winni. There may be some days where its to rough to safely fish with it, but if its that rough it wouldn't be any fun even in a 2025 Pro V. One thing to note is that the Rebel XL is factory rigged with 12v power and only one trolling motor battery box. The Motor Guide W55 is a great match for this boat, with the wireless controller you can run it from anywhere in the boat (I let my kids run it, they think its a hoot, just like a video game). As for the sonar feature on a trolling motor, they are nice but not necessary unless you run a bow mounted locator.

With the 75hp motor you should hit close to 40mph, maybe a little more if you're by yourself with a light load.

[billro]

I took a serious look at the 1625 Rebel XL SS at a recent boat show. I liked what I saw until I noticed that it doesn't have splash rails. That surprised me.

I asked the salesman about it and his guess is that it was a cost cutting measure to compete with the competition's similarly priced and rigged packages.

Knowning that a sixteen foot aluminum needs all the help it can get to give a dry ride having no splash rail doesn't seem very smart..??

Or aren't spash rails very effective in the first place?

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Pat,

You mentioned that you might keep the boat on Minnetonka, and it seems like you are serious about purchasing a nice boat. Depending on which bay the slip is located, you may want to consider a lift if possible. Black Lake, Carson's Bay, and St. Louis Bay have no wake zones so docking is safe. However, large bays like Crystal, Spring Park, etc. have huge boats cruising around that create monster waves and I've seen my share of boats sustain serious damage being tied to docks. The weather pattern that creates the roughest water on Tonka is 90 degrees and sunny.

[stjernefodt]

I have the 1650 V Rebel but in a tiller. I have no problem on Mille Lacs in windy weather. If it's to windy for my boat it isn't any fun fishing anyway. I have mine maxed out with a F50 Yamaha it does about 34-36 but rides really nice for a smaller lighter boat. The only other advise I can give you is to invest in a set of wave wackers. Will definitly make a diffrence in backtrolling and wavy weather. I also have a Minnkota 55lb autopilot which pulls this boat just fine. Good luck with your purchase..

gretings snapjigger, I have a similar boat as your 1650 Rebel and the same Yamaha. What prop pitch were you using to get 34-36?

Thanks.

[marine_man]

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota stjernefodt!

marine_man

[BobT]

The boat I am currently looking at is the Lund Rebel XL SS. I am thinking of configuring this with a 75 HP motor/quote]

Is that boat rated that high? I didn't know they rated any of the Rebels that high.