1st time buyer need help

[nip]

I am looking to purchase a new boat or used if the right boat is available. I need some guidance about financing (current rates and a lender), price, 2 stroke vs. 4 stoke. I currently have an old boat (1984), that needs to have its transom replace/rebuilt.

I am looking for a 16 boat with at least a 60 horse motor. I am looking at the lund rebel, tracker 16 sc, and alumacraft.

As far as the motors go, both the 2 and 4 stroke are Mercury. Optimax or the EFI any thoughts on these motors.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am rather new to this, so the simpler the better.

I will be fishing for walleye, pike, and crappie. I will be on small to medium size lakes, and rivers.

[Tim Ellis]

What kind of fish are you chasing? Body of waters you plan on fishing? These should be answered to get the most accurate feedback.

[stinkycat]

Lund Rebel is a great boat. My brother fished one for over 12 years and it never had a problem.... neither did his 40 hsp Evenrude that he had on the boat. I think the 16 Rebel with a tiller is only rated for 40hp but if you can find one with a steering wheel it would most likely be rated for 50+hp. The 40hp on the Rebel is just about right. My father still has a 16 Rebel from the early 90's and no problems what so ever. I would highly recommend 4st motor with EFI if you can find one in your budget. Less problems all the way. I am also a Yamaha fan but I know Mercs that are 4st and newer than 2002 are also an acceptable choice...

If you are looking at new I believe that Lund replaced the Rebel with the Classic. I looked at one last summer and it looked like a heck of a boat compared to the Rebel years. IMHO

[grunny71]

The best rates I have seen at our dealership are about 6.5 to 7% depending on credit scores amount financed and term of loan. Can not go wrong with the new rebel great boat at a great price. Have sold alot of them.

[Minnesota Tiller]

Lund Rebel is a great boat. My brother fished one for over 12 years and it never had a problem.... neither did his 40 hsp Evenrude that he had on the boat. I think the 16 Rebel with a tiller is only rated for 40hp but if you can find one with a steering wheel it would most likely be rated for 50+hp. The 40hp on the Rebel is just about right. My father still has a 16 Rebel from the early 90's and no problems what so ever. I would highly recommend 4st motor with EFI if you can find one in your budget. Less problems all the way. I am also a Yamaha fan but I know Mercs that are 4st and newer than 2002 are also an acceptable choice...

If you are looking at new I believe that Lund replaced the Rebel with the Classic. I looked at one last summer and it looked like a heck of a boat compared to the Rebel years. IMHO


I bought a new Lund mid last year, my first boat too. I got a lund 1675 pro guide. I like the width of this boat and for right now will only own a tiller. I put on and would highly recommend an Evinrude E Tec motor. 2 stroke with better than 4 stroke charistics, less maintenace and quick push button starting, great hole shot and industry leading warranty and servicing.

I Love the lund line and always have best fit and finish on the planet. Rod storage, dry storage, battery compartments and command center are all laid out excellent.
The Classic was my second pick I wanted this boat for a long time and found the color I wanted at a dealer close to me and also put on this motor. I didn't know much about the ETEc until I got this one and am comletely satisfied with it. I chose the 50 hp boat is rated for a 75 but this one handles it perfect. Backtrolls down to a crawl and jumps out when I want it to. 26 mph full of people, gear and fuel.
Choose what ever tickles your fancy you'll love any of the boats you get.
hook em in the lip.
MM

[nip]

Grunny,

is the national advertised price for the rebels the lowest they go. Is it worth my while to shop around, or will price be the same everywhere?

[paulisan1]

Check out an Ultracraft made in Iowa. I bought a sixteen ' Canadian but they had some nice 16 ' rigged with an E-Tech looked to be well constructed and price was good. Many 16 ' models to choose from. Boats were double riveted and bows were welded.

[jimcar]

As far a motors you should check out the latest Bass&walleye boat magazine 50hp tests. They compared Merc 2 & 4 strokes, Suzuki 4 stroke, Tahatsu 2stroke, yamaha 2 & 4 stroke, Honda, Evinrude 2 stroke. Very good reading with surprising results. Order of finish comparing noise,economy,acceleration. #1 Merc2 stroke,#2 merc 4 stroke,#3 suzuki 4 stroke,#4 tahatsu 2 stroke,#5 yamaha 2 stroke, #6 honda 4 stroke, #7 evinrude 2 stroke,#8 yamaha 4 stroke.

[grunny71]

Grunny,

is the national advertised price for the rebels the lowest they go. Is it worth my while to shop around, or will price be the same everywhere?

Nip, you may find a dealer that will sell you a carry over for a bit less, but that price includes standard features,and a 50 hp two stroke. I would suggest upgrading the trolling motor and electronics. we order all of ours without them so the customer can choose what he would like most dealers do not. Another thing dealer frieght and prep are not included in the advertised price.

[doubleheader]

You can't go wrong with either the Lund or Alumacraft. I'd probably buy an Alumacraft just for the cost savings, For my 2 cents I'd stick with a 4 stroke, you'll save some space as you won't need a compartment for oil. Almost every motor today is reliable, but considering service options, I'd probably look at Mercury, Honda, or Yamaha. Four stroke maintenance is a piece of cake. I have a Merc, but I've also owned Honda. In the rare instance that you do have a problem, nobody stands behind their product better than Honda. If you search the site you won't find many dissatisfied owners of any of those 3.

[Sunshine]

With the economy as poor as it is, I would look at new (never put in the water) 2007 or 2008's. Dealers are feeling the pain of a poor economy just like the rest of us.

My dad taught me a valuable lesson on buying cars that apply to boats. Get the best price possible and then walk away. Your phone will be ringing by the time you get home. Everyone needs to make a buck to survive but there is no reason to pay top price now.

Play nice

[rebel1625]

Thought I'd add my experience so far. Last summer we bought a Lund 1625 Rebel XL SS with a 75 HP Yamaha 4S EFI. I've been extremely pleased with this boat, with one exception. I wanted to max out the motor (rated for 75), but the 369 lbs is a little heavy for the stern. The boat has lots of zip, but tended to porpoise at anything over 1/3 trim (be sure to get a trim gage installed by dealer!). After moving the trolling battery into the front compartment under the bow seat, the problem is pretty much solved. Anyway, this thing trolls down real slow and quiet for walleye's and gets about 40 mph GPS top end with the stock 13.25 x 17 aluminum prop. I hope to get ~ 42 out of her by switching to a Yam 13.25 x 16 SS performance prop in the spring.

I really like the layout of this boat. One of the best things was adding the aft flip up seats. It wasn't an official option for 2008, but the hull is the same thing as a Lund Classic which had this option. Gives me extra seating for two, but doesn't take up any floor space. The best part of all is flipping the seats down gives a large stern casting deck where I move the passenger seat to. I bought an extra bow seat as well and this thing can fish 5 (with some inevitable crowding on a 16 footer).

We also crossshopped the 16' Lund Explorer, 16' Crestliner Fishhawk, and Alumacraft 165 Classic. I liked the Alumacraft for the price (built like a tank), but it felt narrower and didn't look quite as pretty. The Lund Rebel in dark red is a real eye catcher, had many comments on it.

As far as motors, I was split between the Yamaha 75 4S and the Evinrude Etec 75. The Etech was lighter, but had 3 cylinders and I didn't know how smooth and balanced this would be. I'm pretty happy with the Yamaha with the exception of it's weight. If you're looking at the 4S Merc 75, note that it's huge. 400 lbs!

Good luck!

[Tim_Kelly]

As far a motors you should check out the latest Bass&walleye boat magazine 50hp tests. They compared Merc 2 & 4 strokes, Suzuki 4 stroke, Tahatsu 2stroke, yamaha 2 & 4 stroke, Honda, Evinrude 2 stroke. Very good reading with surprising results. Order of finish comparing noise,economy,acceleration. #1 Merc2 stroke,#2 merc 4 stroke,#3 suzuki 4 stroke,#4 tahatsu 2 stroke,#5 yamaha 2 stroke, #6 honda 4 stroke, #7 evinrude 2 stroke,#8 yamaha 4 stroke.


I thought the conclusion section, where the motors got their final positions, was a bit misdirected. The top speed and time to plane speeds were given a high prominance in the tally, where on a 50hp motor the boat is never going to be about speed and hole shot. The top speeds ranged from 35 (Honda and Merc efi) to 30 (etec), so not a huge difference between any of them really.

Fuel economy was best with the Merc efi and Honda and the sound level was best from the merc efi. The honda and merc were the slowest on hole shot and acceleration (which makes me think that sort of stuff is a prop issue rather than any real variation in the engine technologies.

[Flip Silverlake]

I have owned both a Lund and and Alumacraft. The Alumacraft was an older boat that had the streached hull design. I really don't think you could have hurt that boat as long as you didn't kink the hull. The boat I have now is a 1700 Fisherman and I enjoy that one just as much. Having said that, you really need to shop around. There are a lot of good rigs on the market today. I have been impressed with Princecraft. They are fairly well finished and seem to handle heavy water pertty good. The west coast boats are starting to show up here in the midwest and Canada becasue they are built like tanks and have some very solid features. The main reason I did not go with another Alumacraft, was at time I was in the market I couldn't get one as deep as the Fisherman. Since then Alumacraft has a model that offers a deep boat in that 17 to 18 foot class.

Motors, we could beat this one to death. I'm a 2 stroke fan becasue the way the engine reacts. So my favorite would be and E-tec. Lunds and Princecrafts are not easy to get a BRP motor hung on the back end where Alumacraft can be rigged with about anything you could dream of.

So you have a ton of things to consider and now is the fun time. I think I enjoyed shopping for a boat almost as much as I do using the one I have. Make sure you will get service after the sale, thats where Tracker can be a problem among other things with that make.

Good luck and let us know what you bought.

[Seedtree]

I've run a Tracker 16' with a Merc 4 Stroke EFI for 6 years now. I would not buy any outboard engine other than a 4 stroke EFI. They are clean, quiet, reliable and always start at the first turn of the key. Spend the extra bucks up front for a 4 stroke EFI and you won't regret it.

[lund rebel]

I fish with a 1650 rebel tiller a 04 model with a 4-stroke merc. it is a great little boat, I fish a couple of tourneys a year, and you wouldn't believe the rough water this boat will handle for a 16 foot.
lund came out with a whole new line of rebels last year from tiller models, ss models to the sport models with full windshield, as far as motors my merc is dependable as they come, but I do think the Honda's and Yamaha are more fuel efficient, but go with a 4-stroke. good luck fishing