Please rate the 17-18 ft deep v and tournament style boat

[bsok]

I'm new to this board and have just started looking for an aluminum boat. I have been considering a 17-18 ft. Tournament or Deep V style boat. I have no intention of starting WWIII, but I would like everyone's opinion on what are the best boats, what are the "middle of the road" boats and what boats I should avoid. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, overall what do you think is the best boat for the money. Thanks for your help.

[Gumbo]

Most people on this board run Lunds, Crestliner is second, and probably Alumacraft is 3rd. These are all good boats, and you can't go wrong with any of them. Welds sometimes crack and rivets sometimes pop. It isn't a perfect science, but most of these boats hold up really well.

The determining factors should be cost, layout, features, and dealer support. Availability and resale are also important, and vary by region.

As for which boats to steer clear of, as soon as someone mentions one someone else will post a long-term, positive experience with that same model.

Search the archives--there's a lot there on this subject.

[Todd_NE]

Give us the BESTS you want. Some suggestions.

Brand Reputation
Resale
Purchase Price
Warranty
Dealer Network
Pre-Rigged or Not? What Motor Brand
Beam width
Storage
Dry Storage
Trailer
Dryness of Ride
Livewells
Transom Height
Console/Tiller
Room for Kicker
Gas Tank(s)
Style
Gunnel H & W
Battery Storage
Rear Deck?

Sorry to make it seem hard, but I can think of a lot more even. Plus, remember everything is a trade-off.
Todd

[Schnauzer]

Good point on resale - sometimes Boat A is better than Boat B because it offers the same features at a lower price. But sometimes, Boat B's higher resale value levels the playing field.

In my opinion the "tournament" style boats do fish better but the deep V's have their advantages too. For example, the ability to pull up a top in the rain or close off the bow and close the windshield in cold weather can be a great card to play.

Meanwhile, the deep V’s can offer more family fun and versatility while the tournament boats tend to have nicer live wells, accessibility to the water for fishing, etc…

[mnwalleyekiller]

go 18 feet and buy a lund. Get the IFS with the console It will save your XXX someday. Also you can get a canopy to avoid the skin cancer

[goldeneye]

The IFS by Lund is a nice boat, but I saw the new Alumacraft Tournament Sport 175 & 185 at the MN Boat Show last week and they look equally nice for less money. I liked that the new bow rod locker has the rod tubes marked for what size rods, also there is a nice light in there. This boat comes with a front and rear livewell, CD player, three air ride seats. Take a look at it and compare the pricing, fit and finish, and a true V hull compared to a IPS. I rode in a new Pro V last year and found it didn't drift straight, the guy I was with said that his old one did, but the new Lund hull does not.
The boat always slides at an akward angle drifting. I would suggest you ride in both boats and you be the judge.
Tight Lines!

[Box]

I like the 2002 Lund IFS 1900 and 2025, and the new 2003 Alumacraft TS185 (still very early in development). I posted more info on the Alumacraft new boat that is probably on about page 3 or 4 now if you are interested. You are right, the new boat is pretty nice (that's from a current Alumacraft owner happy with my boat).

-Box

[REW]

I will throw another log into the mix, and ask the question.
Why are you looking at aluminum boat.

Unless you have a very strong reason to buy an aluminum boat for a fishing boat - it might interest you to look at one of the great glass boats that are being sold today.

Many of the glass boats being sold today, are in the same price, weight and have similar performance features as the aluminum boats, and there are some decided advantages in getting a glass boat. Having said that, there also some decided advantages in getting an aluminum boat as well.

You decide -- simply don't rule out a glass boat, because you haven't thought about it - or thought that it wouldn't make a good boat to fish from.

Take care
REW

[Box]

Hey REW or any others that have had both,

If you were to buy a boat that you planned on keeping a looong time, would you still consider glass? I am still not sure what I'd do for next one, and there are many alum and glass boats I like... but my reason for asking is that it is MY perception (very possibly wrong) that an alum boat would handle the passing of time better. Not just structurally, but styling wise. It seems that glass boats kind of go "out of style" faster than alum boats do... maybe that is just my old fashioned ideas. Maybe its just the colors, but it seems that glass boats keep changing the hulls (for the better of course) but that seems to "date" them.

With that said, I do like some Triton, Ranger, Tuffy, Javelin, Warrior boats a lot, and there is no doubt they ride better than alum. But a 10 year old glass boat seems to appear much older than a 10 year old alum boat to me. That's about how long we seems to keep boats...

Just wondering your thoughts,
-Box

[Keith Kavajecz]

I run Tracker Boats for a living, so I'm a bit (maybe more than a bit) biased, so I'll tell you what features I think you should look for in a good performing walleye boat. I am mainly concerning myself with how the boat runs. Interior layout is a personal preference - the good thing is that you can hop in a boat at a sport show, or at a dealer and pretty much tell if it will fish the way you want. It's a lot harder to tell if a boat will perform well - especially in rough water.

The hull characteristics I look for are:
1) A deep V. This will cut through waves, thereby softening the ride especially when driving into the waves or in follow seas. I like the deep-V to have a good flare in the bow. This is important in following seas so you don't spear the next wave.
2) Length is goodness, the longer the boat, the more it will span waves and again give you a softer ride.
3) Reverse chine - if you look at outside edge of the bottom of the boat, there should be a small flat area (maybe 3" wide), that is angled slightly down. This chine will throw water down and out giving you a drier ride. Many aluminum boats (including some Trackers) have basically straight side (some curve) from the keel all the way to the top deck. When these types of boats hit a wave, the water travels up the side, shoots into the air and often ends up running down your neck.
4) Strakes - these are smaller flattened areas on the bottom of the boat. For most aluminum boats they are extra pieces welded on. For boats like the Tracker Tundra, they are built into the hull using the Stretch Form technology - in fact the bottom of this boat looks just like a high performance fiberglass hull. Strakes - or lift strakes as I've heard them called - turn the water down giving you a cushion of water to run on - this gives you again a softer - cushioned - ride. The flat areas also increases the flat water speed of the boat. Note: the strakes and chine will also give the boat a softer re-entry. If you happen to jump a wave, chines and strakes cause the hull to re-enter in several places insteading pounding down on a flat area.
5) Pad or V-pad - this is a flattened area in down the middle of the boat at the back of the hull. This flattened area will give you more responsiveness - a better hole shot and better acceleration when powering up waves.

In the Tracker lineup of aluminum boats, only the 18ft Tundra (the new one that looks like it's a glass boat) has all these features. Then the 17 and 18ft All Welded Targas come next - they have everything but the V-pad.

Hope this helps

Good Walleye Fishing

Keith

[Dodge1]

Keith,

I think I'm running one of your old Skeeter boats that you and Gary helped design. It's a 1989 Skeeter Walleye System 135, with a white top, black sides, white bottom and red carpet.

I bought it in 1990 from Cornhusker Marine in Omaha, Nebraska. Anyway, I was told that you and Gary ran this boat in a couple of PWT events in 1989 and was wondering if this might be true?

It's still in great shape, without and cracking or glazing and after a coat of wax it looks as good as the day I took it off the dealers lot.

[dave]

REW,

I couldn't agree more with you, I've come from a 1775 pro-v(aluminum) and now own 1775 Skeeter (Fiberglass). Both boats make a good comparison to one another as they are similar sized and had basically the same sized motor on the back end, here are my findings:

-Similar weight and speed.
-Cost is about the same.
-The ride is incredibly different, Fiberglass is smooth and doesn't beat you up in the rough stuff. The Pro-V was a very wet ride, especially while quartering waves. The bow flare of the Skeeter keeps the water down while it just comes over the top in the Pro-V.
-More maintenance with the Fiberglass boat, nothing major just a little more work to keep it clean and perhaps it needs to be waxed more often.
-Fiberglass boats sink down in the water once you stop, this is nice as you don't have as much freeboard while drifting, essentially slowing your drift. My Lund was like a bobber being pushed around by the wind and didn't drift as straight. This helped also while backtrolling, the fiberglass boat is easier to stay on the spot, again due to having more boat under the water.

I guess I would be hard pressed to find a reason to go aluminum unless I was going to fish some of the Canadian shield lakes that had many underwater rock hazzards. Other than that Fiberglass will outperform in about every other situation.