Lund Angler SS [Archive] - Walleye Message Central

John in MN

02-14-2000, 11:21 PM

LAST EDITED ON Feb-15-00 AT 01:25AM (CST)[p]The following is a review of my new boat last season. It is a 1999 Lund Angler SS with a Yamaha F100 (4-stroke). I like the Yamaha since it is less weight than the Honda. I'd suggest the Yamaha F115 which is the same motor but they fuel injected it this year to get the extra 15 hp. I've heard they are hard to find though. E-mail me if you have any questions.

I’ve had my rig about 5 weeks so I’m giving an initial review of it. The rig is a 1999 Lund 1700 Angler SS (gotta like the increased beam at 88 inches, wider than the 1999 1775 ProV!!) on a Spartan 2400# trailer with brakes, a 1999 Yamaha F100 (4-stroke) on the back (it’s rated up to a 115 hp with the side console) and a Minnkota 824 AutoPilot with a 54 inch shaft on the front. Other electronics are a 9 year old Eagle Z-9000 (it still works great) and a Garmin 38 GPS at the console and a Zercom Clearwater Classic 2EL and a Dual Pro on-board charger at the bow. All the electronics except the charger were used on my old boat. I couldn’t be happier with the rig once the gas leak was fixed; the sending unit on the gas tank was not tightened down and leaked about 2.5 gallons into the bottom of the boat. Now if I can only get it to load on the trailer straight I’ll be all set and I’m getting better at doing this consistently. Most of my fishing is in the bow and there is a lot of room up there; no cramped feet when sitting down and I’m 6’ 2". The dual rod lockers are very nice and since they are not built into the gunwale, when the door is closed there is a nice ledge for setting things on like fishing tools, another rod, a small tackle box or even a cold beverage. With the 4-stroke motor, there is a storage compartment in the back where the oil reservoir would usually go.
I am ecstatic with the Yamaha. I was a little worried if the hole shot was going to be slow with the 4-stroke motor, since we'll do a little skiing with this boat so that is why I opted for the F100 over the F80. If I would have put a 2-stroke on it, it would have been the 90 hp Yamaha. I can't imagine coming out of the hole any faster with a comparable 2-stroke, though. There is very little bow raise; the boat just takes off. It’s up on plane in what seems to be 2-4 boat lengths. On dead calm water it trolls down to 2.0 mph and with a drift sock on the ski harness it brings it down to 0.5 mph. I can live with that!!! If the tachometer is reading accurately, idle is at 600 rpm although the manual says 800-850. Right now I'm getting a top end of 40 mph by GPS at 5300 rpm, range is 5000-6000. That's with 2 size 27 trolling motor batteries in the front of the boat (closest compartment to the bow), 2 guys and full of gear. The motor is mounted one hole up and has a 17 pitch prop (I think). I may try raising the motor one more hole but probably won’t go to a higher pitch prop since I don’t want to increase the trolling speed. At WOT it is a little bow heavy (due to the two batteries up front?) and I have to trim it up just short of cavitating to start getting the bow up where it should be. Most of my cruising is at 4000 rpm which is about 30 mph and can adjust the trim just fine. It also has a 20 amp alternator. I have never run a comparable rig with a 2-cycle engine but I can't see how the performance would be much different other than the increased engine noise unless it is a Ficht (my dealer said he would have tried to talk me out of one if I would have asked for one) or an OptiMax. When cruising I here the hum of the motor and the wind in my ears. If you’re debating between a 2-stroke and 4-stroke, my biased vote would be the 4-stroke. I don’t know if it’s true or not but someone said the Yamahas have a better hole shot than the Hondas, but I have nothing to base this on but I know the Yamaha has a good one.
I took it to Mille Lacs and christened the live well with its first walleye, a plump 15 incher. Released a 24 and a 27 also. When the wind produce 1.5 to 2 footers (3-4 feet from trough to crest), I did get some occasional cavitation from the bow mount (54 inch shaft) and that’s with the 2 batteries and me at 240 #s in the bow. I may have to go to the 60-inch shaft, but right now I can live with it. I can control this heavier boat better than my old rig. It’s nice to have a decent-sized boat to be able to fish in some rougher water, it helped my friend and I put 7 ‘eyes into the boat in white-caps one morning on Bowstring last week.
I want to thank everyone for all the help in putting together this rig. I’ve gotten great input on motors (gas and electric), trailer brakes (if you’re thinking about them, get them, they make a huge difference), transducer mounting boards, motor height and much more. This rig should perform well for many years to come.

This spring I'm going to try a 15 inch pitch prop to increase the rpms closer to 5500. Currently, I'm running a 17 inch pitch prop. I had my dealer lower my motor so now it is at the lowest setting. At one hole up I was cavitating on turns.

I would think the Mr. Pike with the IPS hull would give a quicker hole shot and better ride but I didn't want to spend another $1000 for the boat.