New Reatta or Lund's glass fish/ski ?

[oly67]

Looking at buying a new 1850 Reatta or Lund's glass fish/ski boat. Have a 01 Crestliner 1850 Sporfish I bought new that I would keep if not for the terrible ride(wet & rough) in rough water. Had my family up to Pokegama Lake in Grand Rapids for vacation last week. Was windy many days and just got fed up for the last time the with the ride. Ray's Marine in G.R. had a demo Lund with a 175 Verado on it that he graciously let me test drive on one of the windier days. I just got off the lake with my boat and was pounded by the waves and had buckets of water comng over the side & front. The windshield of my boat kept most of the water off me but would get my passengers to the rear wet. Riding in the front is out of the question, you would be totally soaked. Anyways, I had this Lund lined up to test drive the same day and I was anxious to see and feel the ride in the Lund in like conditions. The Lund performed flawlessly. Perfectly dry with windshield open and a very smooth ride. I could go wide open with the Lund smoothly where I could go about 25 with my Crestliner and get pounded and wet. I will get this boat or a Reatta with a 175 ETECH or OPTI 175XS. My main question is if the Reatta is as smooth and dry as the Lund. I am
from Iowa and talked to the Ranger dealer in Cedar Rapids and he will let me drive a Reatta that he has in stock. I will try to line it up on a windy day to drive on the Coralville reservoir. Any comments about the dryness and ride of either boat and my selection of motors would be appreciated. The owner of Ray's said the Ranger would dive a little bit in rougher water and get some water over the front? Thanks for the help.
I don't want to make a big mistake again.

[larrym]

Sounds like you had the perfect conditions to test the Lund and it performed well. Don't know why you would look any further......besides, that Verado would seal the deal for me!

[went522]

He's right, they do "dive" and take some water over the front. Takes some big water though. Never been a worry for me but if I could change anything about the boat, that's it. It only does it at trolling speed, trolling into the waves.

BIRDDOG

[bluegill 1]

Talk about an apples to apples comparison during same conditions.....Wow.
Line up that Reatta test with similar conditions and report back on your findings. I think a lot of us would be curious to hear what you expieranced.

Bluegill 1

[teamlund]

LUND,
LUND,
LUND,
LUND,
LUND, oh, by the way get the lund...

Seriously, I would like to hear your opinions after you have ridden in both of the boats... It would be interesting

[BW]

I looked at the new Lund when I ordered my 1850 Reata. I think it looked a little "cheesy" inside and otherwise was a pretty good copy of the Reata. It is a little lighter and the sides are higher, so getting blown around in the wind will be an issue. I know some equate higher sides to safety and staying drier, but that is far from the truth.
I have been very happy with my boat and think it performs well in all conditions. Coming from aluminum, you have to drive a glass boat a little differently in rough water. At idle going into big waves, most boats would take water over the bow. Get the boat up on plane and it rides great. It really comes down to having a trusted dealer close by. The Lund was quite a bit more money when I compared and was lacking a lot of the standard equipment that came on the Ranger.
You'll have to test drive both and decide which one you like the best.

I am a faithfull lund "tin boat" owner and I am on my 3rd Pro V. I don't believe there is a finer "tin boat" out there. However, my next boat will be glass. In my mind, if one is going to go to glass, you need to go to a Ranger. Why not go with a proven glass boat like Ranger ? My second choice would be a Yar Craft. Just my two cents.

[tbob101]

Agreed, furthermore the Lund isn't really a Lund anyway - it's Triton. So your choice is one of the best selling boats on the market (Ranger Reata) and a proven design, etc. or a brand new venture whereby Lund contracted a 3rd party to make a glass boat for them . . .

I know what I would do.

[Matt V]

I went through the same thing this spring, and ended up with the Tyee GL with a 175 Verado. A big part of my decision was the dealer. The Lund dealer was 15 minute's from my house, and the Ranger dealer was over 2 hour's away. My wife and I looked at both boat's several time's and we both liked the Tyee better, the depth of the Tyee was what we liked the most. I have been very happy with our decision. With the 175 Verado, 9.9 pro-kicker and my wife and 2 kid's the top speed is 53.5 on the GPS. At some point I would like to take it out by myself and see if I could get a little higher on the top speed. As far as price, when I had the dealer's quote EXACTLY everything the same, the Lund was around $300 higher. I had both boat's quoted with a 150 Verado. At the time, part of the Lund incentive's was to upgrade from a 150 to a 175 Verado for free, which was around $1,200 if I remember right. So, really with the 175 on the Reata the Lund would have been $900.00 less. But this has a lot to do with the dealer and what kind of deal that you can negotiate. I really don't think that you could go wrong with either boat. There are a ton of happy Reata owner's out their and everyone that I have talked to that have the glass Lund's love them as well.

[BK]

Good luck, it's fun to have to choose!

We chose Reata, and have had no reasons to look back.