2003 Smokercraft 161 millentia

[c21fishing]

looking to purchase a 2003 Smokercraft 161 millentia with a 75 merc 4 stroke or a 1999 Lund Mr Pike with a 90 merc 2 stroke can anyone give me some pros and cons on both boat and motor . Extras a basiclly the same

[alumalunker]

Are they priced similar? What do each come with as far as trolling motors, locators, etc? From just information you have given I would go with the smokercraft with the 4 stroke because I like to troll. The 4 stroke will troll a lot smoother than that carbed 2 stroke.

[JOHN L. HECKLSMILLER]

c21fishing: I'm not totally "Bad Mouthing" Smokercraft, as much as alerting you to what your application maybe. I owned a new 1999 Smoker 16' "Tiller-Stinger" from 2000 till 2004. It was rigged with a 40hp Mercury 2 stroke. In the Fall of 2000, my wife & I purchased a Summer type facility on the US side of LOTW. For the seasons of 2001,02,03,&04 I put 7,000 GPS miles on the boat. During those 4 years of ownership I had to return the boat to the factory twice. Each time the issue revolved around several rivets stretching & allowing the boat to leak! I must state that I was very selective when I would take on the "Open" waters of the South portion of the lake! And I really was conservative with operation when in rough water.
My alert to you, is to evaluate where you plan to use the "Millentia". I'm of the opinion, that the model of my Smoker was not a "Big" water boat. It struggled with rough water. I have used my 2001 Lund 1800/Pro-V since 2005 and an additional 17,000+ GPS miles on LOTW. I think that the Lund "Mr. Pike" would serve you better if your going to be fishing large open waters. My only purpose in commenting is to give you some insight to the application of a chosen rig. My Mercury. 2 stroke performed flawlessly for its 4 years. Best wishes & choose the boat that will satisfy "You"! Set the Hook, CRJohn

[Matt H]

the millentia is quite a bit deeper, wider and heavier boat then the stinger is. I think it holds more fuel and the hull is thicker also

[Shellback]

Originally Posted by Matt H

the millentia is quite a bit deeper, wider and heavier boat then the stinger is. I think it holds more fuel and the hull is thicker also

Times 2 on that. The Millentia is all together different boat than the Stinger. I'd lean towards the Smokercraft with the 4 stroke myself.

[Matt V]

I would buy the Lund over the Smokercraft. My Father-in-Law bought a brand new Smokercraft 172 Pro-Angler in 2004, this boat was similar to the 172 Millentia. I tried talking him into buying a new Lund at the time, but the Smokercraft was a couple grand cheaper than the Lund, and he has regretted it ever since. At the time I had a 1700 Lund Fisherman, when we would be fishing together on the same water running side by side, we would get back to the dock everyone in his boat would be wet, everyone in my boat wouldn't have a drop of water on them. His boat was a lot rougher riding also. He only uses his boat 1 week a year, and the thing is falling apart. He has broken several seat's, his rub rail keep's falling off, the carpet in the boat is pulling up, the hinge on one of his side compartment's pulled out of the boat. He has had to replace the livewell pump on his boat, and the livewell drainplug is only 3/4", so when the boat is in the water, you can't drain the livewell, it stay's around 1/4 full. With the smaller drainplug, the livewell constantly plug's up, so he has to reach in the water and clean all of the debris out of the livewell after every trip. There is a reason the Lund's cost more, it is because they are built better!

[Matt H]

I agree with much of what the previous posters have said but Ive spent many hours in my best friends smokercraft millentia and have nothing bad to say about it other than its not a GB 4ft+ wave boat. If your goin to fish the bay on a rough day neither boat would suffice. Every guy is partial to his boat or a past experience, Im a fishing in comfort guy... We'll take my skeeter on the rough days in big h2o, when it comes to northern wi lakes on weekends and on a warm summer day we take my buddies smoker (the 21 ft skeeter can be a pain in the butt to launch in some lakes we fish mid summer)- cheaper to tow, run and park in camping sites... and it has plenty of room for 3 guys/girls jigging/pitching for eyes or casting for other species (ie:musky). It all comes down to personal preference and application! If its something your going to pay off right a way choose which ever one will fit in your garage better, be cheapest to run and save you money to spend on your summer fishing buddy ((WIFE)- so you can continue fishing even if you're on a dry spell) or be easier on your pocketbook in the long run! If you are an electronics type of guy, that might have something to play in your final decision also...