Tuffy

[Iafish]

Being relatively new to the upper-midwest, I was not familiar with Tuffy boats until recently. I am looking at a serveral used boats, a few of which are Tuffy's.

I would be interested in any comments on these boats, particularly boats in the 5 to 10+ year old range relative to: durability, resale-value, safety, and general performance as compared to other glass multi-species boats?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. I've gotten a lot of good guidance already from this forum, and I really appreciate it!!

[Craig]

Nobody else has answered you so I'll give you the benefit of what I know about Tuffys. I own a Ranger and am very, very pleased with it but had I run into a comparable Tuffy I'd have had a real tough choice.

Never met an owner that wasn't real pleased with them. I've met several. The boats I've seen at shows look to be very well built and finished. Haven't fished one but I really liked the layouts on them. Seemed to have been designed with fishermen in mind. The dealers I've run into are pretty good guys. My guess is they seem to figure they have a lock on a very good product that will sell itself. In fact, if I were going to look at another boat right now I'd sure be checking out Tuffy.

Everything I've read reinforces what I've just said.

Hope this is some help to you.

[Bad Finger]

I agree with Craig. Everyone I have met who owned one loves the boat. You may want to put this post over on Musky Central. There are a lot of "Ski" guys who run Tuffy.

[Schmitty]

I run a Tuffy 1990 Osprey with 225 Merc.
I live in the central Wisconsin area.
Fish waters rangeing from the Fox and Wolf rivers to Green Bay.
And this boat is Awesom. Handles the big water with the best of them
and the river and smaller lakes above the rest of them.
If you are a jig fisherman this is the finnest boat out there.
It takes a little while getting use to trolling out of one because the counsels are set back for a better ride in big water.
After a few trips you will find there is plenty of room for trolling.
They are built as strong as any boat out there.
There customer service is second to none!!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps
Schmitty

[steve(IL)again]

I had a '94 Renegade 1800 which was just like today's Tuffy deep-v muskie boat. I loved the boat and would still have it if not for the guy who ran a red light and totalled my truck and boat. I will own another Tuffy some day. My buddy runs a 1760 Osprey which he really enjoys. Another guy this way (NE Illinois) runs a 1700 Renegade which I think is for sale @ Chainwalleye.com(there is a picture). He has won or done well in many tournaments with it.

Any contact I've ever had with the factory has always been rewarding. The people are great.

I was at Cabela's last night looking at Ranger 617VS and 620VS. I got to fish out of a 620VS once. I'm sure Rangers are nice - but there are a ton of other nice boats out there too!

IMHO - you'll never regret owning a Tuffy - unless you want to enter RCL tournaments. I'm starting to resent RCL though. I wouldn't want to have my choices limited to Ranger, Lund or Crestliner.

[steve(IL)again]

p.s. If you know of any Renegade 1800's used - please let me know - as long as it's not some funky electric blue color. Also, be careful of ex-tournament boats. Also, shine a light up under the floor boards back by the bilge clean out. Make sure it hasn't sat with water in it.

[RK]

Hi,
I run a Tuffy 1760 Esox Deep V and love the thing. I also have several friends who have run Tuffy for years and feel the same. Tuffy's construction quality is excellent, and they hold up well. The Esox Deep V is built on the same hull as the Osprey series, and they do very very well in rough water. Nicest thing about Tuffy is that as a smaller company they are very service-minded (not to say that others aren't...) and the service you get from them is outstanding. Really a great company. I'd buy another Tuffy without a second thought.

RK

[CharlieB]

I had one and had a problem. Darrel from the factory came to my house and picked the boat up,took it to the factory and brought it back a week later like new. They even fixed some things that were not caused by the problem. Gave my wife and I Tuffy jackets and hats and apologized for the problem. Great company to deal with. My best friend has one and I love to fish out of it. They are designed with the fisherman in mind. If I didn't own a Ranger, I would own a Esox Magnum. They had one at the Musky Expo and I stayed there looking at it for a long time. What a great layout!

[OOC]

I run an Osprey 1760sc.I chose the Tuffy because I preferred the layout over the other glass boats in it's class.It's overall performance far exceeds all my expectations,particularly it's fast.smooth,dry ride.This week the boat is at the Tuffy factory to repair operator induced gel coat cracking and scratches at no charge.

[Rick]

I just purchased a 1990 Osprey last fall which replaced my 1700 Osprey. I have absolute faith in these hulls they are solidly built and performance is top notch. I agree with all previous posts regarding factory service it is always customer first.When it comes to interior layout these boats are well designed. If you decide to purchase one you won't be disappointed.