competitor 175 tiller questions

Been looking at tiller steer boats for around 24 months know I have narrowed it down to a Aluma-Craft Competitor 175 Tiller with a 75 Yamaha I think.
Being i live in North Carolina there are no deep Vee hull tiller boats available all john or bass boats so I may have to buy sight unseen and that troubles me this is going to be my retirement boat.
We have a truck camper and plan on visiting places in the North like first off Lake of the Woods, The Great Lakes just would like to travel around for 6 to 8 months a year.
Can anyone pass along any information on the Alumacraft Competitor 175.

Thanks
Gary

[IronFisherman]

Very nice boat, I have the 185 competitor, it is not a great Lakes boat, but on good days it would work. If you have any specific questions let me know. Check out LaCannes in fairbault mn. can't beat his prices.

[TinmanDon]

almost bought one but ended up with a Lund 1725 Pro Guide, very comparable boat to the Pro Guide....nothing wrong with a Competitor for LOTW, fish it lots with my Pro Guide

[West Newton River Rat]

I bought a 2012 175 Competitor Tiller 75 hp Yamaha new this winter. If you buy a 2012 make sure it has a 35 gallon tank in it (tag for capacity of the tank is back by the battery)and ask how the tank fills. Alumacraft put the wrong tank in for a few months in 2012 (30 gallon)and the venting system was wrong on some too so you could only put about 19-20 gallons in it before it would start to burp up gas. Mine came with a 30 gallon tank but I did not have trouble with the venting.
They just replaced my tank for free (got it back yesterday and they put a 37 gallon tank in it) but only because I found out from another fishing web site that a service bulletin about the wrong tank was put out by Alumacraft April of 2012 so I complained. Alumacraft is not notifying the people that have the wrong tanks so a lot of screwed up boats are probably still out there. Customer service from Alumacraft told me if you look in the back of the catalog there is a disclaimer saying they can change items on the boat with out notifying you. That is how they get away with not telling people about the 30 gallon tank being in there. Unless you figure it out yourself they will not replace it. To replace a tank it normally has to go back to the company too so take that into concideration since you live so far away. The dealer did replace mine but that is not the norm. Lastly I did buy mine from LaCanne's; the price was good but I had very poor service.
As for the boat itself I like the layout and it handles better in turns than my previous Lunds did. The hole shot is very good too.

[locomoto]

I have a 2012 competitor185 tiller so slightly different than a 175 but not by much. I have been very pleased with the boat. I've done a fair amount of rough water fishing out of it on Lake Winnebago and the only thing that chased me off the water was lightening. If you know how to handle a boat you should be able to run in the rough stuff with no problems. You may get wet once in a while but that's part of the deal. I didn't consider the 175 when I made my purchase but looking back I feel I would have been just as happy. Things that annoy me about the boat are the rear livewell and transom trolling receptacle on the starboard side of the boat. Id prefer them on the port side but that's what fits my style..opinions vary. All in all I'd say its a very capable boat. I bought my boat sight unseen because it needed to be built. I did however look around a single console version of a 175 before I took the leap.

The things I can't live without in my boat....vinyl floor surface....24 volt Terrova Ipilot....24 volt Vantage....Wave Wackers....Group 31 batteries.

Good Luck

Thank you for all your information,
The dealer here in North Carolina has worked us up a out the door price for the Competitior 175 Tiller with all my options but said to hang on a little longer because the 2014 are about to come out, but then i got to thinking since i am spending that much money and it is going to be my last boat would i be better off going up in size to the Competitior 185? Will the 185 do anything else the 175 can not do other then have a larger engine also we plan on visting different campgrounds traveling and may have to man handle the boat and trailer from time to time in the campgrounds and in my case buying this boat sight un seen i can not judge the size or even sit in one to get a feel for it, will the 185 be to large to do this with.

Thanks (your feed back will be greatly appreciated)
Gary

[Big_Island]

The 185 has a 25" transom, the 175 has 20", so there is some compromise from that perspective if you are in rought water often. That being said even the 175 is a big boat, Competitors are big inside as it is, remove all the consoles and it's quite the platform.

[yamaha1973]

Originally Posted by GULFMAN

Thank you for all your information,
The dealer here in North Carolina has worked us up a out the door price for the Competitior 175 Tiller with all my options but said to hang on a little longer because the 2014 are about to come out, but then i got to thinking since i am spending that much money and it is going to be my last boat would i be better off going up in size to the Competitior 185? Will the 185 do anything else the 175 can not do other then have a larger engine also we plan on visting different campgrounds traveling and may have to man handle the boat and trailer from time to time in the campgrounds and in my case buying this boat sight un seen i can not judge the size or even sit in one to get a feel for it, will the 185 be to large to do this with.

Thanks (your feed back will be greatly appreciated)
Gary

I would seriously consider the 185, there's not much price difference

[IronFisherman]

I would definitely get the 185, my 90 yamaha pushes me at about 37 mph, I have had 4 people in the boat all loaded for fishing and still get 34 mph. I can push mine around by myself if it is on hard pack, it is only like 150lbs. Heavier than the 175, but the extra room is great, and it will be a little better in rough water, especially if you back troll, having the 25 in. transom. I would wait for the 2014 alumacraft always seem to add something, 2013 they introduced the aluma track ( which I wish I had) 2012 they put the cooler in, which I like alot more than I thought I would. Other options to consider on top of what loco said, the captains chair, worth every penny. The titan system for the motor if you can find one. Wave wackers. Good luck and enjoy

[locomoto]

I'd have to say that if you're on the fence considering 185 or 175 that you'd probably be happier long term with the 185. The reason I say this is boats shrink 20% when put in the water and if you go 175 you may always be asking yourself what if I got the 185. Either boat will be a breeze to launch by yourself in tight launches. If you get a roller trailer you should be able to launch in some real shallow launches. I've got a bunk under mine and launch easily anywhere I've went. Some of the differences you'll encounter with 185 or 175 is bigger horsepower on 185, longer length on 185 equals better rough water handling, 25" transom on 185 as opposed to 20" on 175, longer rod storage on 185 up to 8 footers on my 2012.

I would be willing to bet that either motor is going to be quite economical to run.

Good luck and keep us posted.