alumacraft dominator or navigator?

hi guys, new to the sight
looking at buying a new boat this fall,early winter and narrowed it down to these two. I like the navigators livewell, the dominators rear jump seats, the dominators gunnels maybe a little better. I plan on putting a yamaha 90 four stroke on it. I would appreciate any opinions on the two. I also have heard guys say that for the money they would definately take the boat on the water before buying, do alot of boat dealers do this? I'm from central wisconsin so I have been looking at dealers from around the area.
thanks ahead of time for any input.

[beeman]

Alumacraft Trophy is there best boat.

[walleyedmike]

I guess it would really depend on what is most important to you, and works best with your style of fishing. Does the large front livewell outweigh the bow rod storage? Will the gunwhales on the Navigator fit your needs, or would you prefer the wider gunwhales of the Dominator for mounting rod holders, Bert's tracks, downriggers, etc.? If the jumpseats are important, then the Dominator gets the nod.

They are both great boats, get the one that works best for YOU.

Are you looking at the 165 or the 175?

[hommer23]

I have an 08 Navigator 165 CS with a 75 HP evinrude on the back. Running with 2 guys (about 420#) full livewell, gear and a full tank of gas I can get 34mph gps speed and 35 mph alone. Rod storage is fair, floats like a cork in 3 footers. The downfall is the gunnels are only 3" wide so tracks overhang the inside about 3/8" but the carpet covers the overhang. I am in the same position you are looking to upgrade to a 185 in the spring but what one to go with since I love the navigator but the wife likes the Dominator better.

yeh, my wife and kid said they liked the dominator better to. I was set on the navigator just seen a 2011 new for 17 with a yammie 90 on it in minnesota. definately would put rod holders on either one. are the doms front livewell balanced when full? seems a little offset. I have seen rod holders on the nav just below the gunnels on the carpet. I think the dominator is a little higher priced? I would like to stay around 25 or lower price wise with trolling motor and decent electronics. Sorry by the way boat would be 165 cs plenty big enough for me.

I would look for dominator just for the rear jump seat for you kids. You should easily be under 25000 for a fully loaded 165. You probably could get under 25000 with a fully load 175 with a 115. I currently have a 175 navigator with a 115 yamaha on it. If I had to do it over again I probably would have got the dominator just for the jumpseats, but at the same time I would not have paid a lot more for it. Lot of people like the center rod storage and I was died sold on getting a boat with it, but the two side rod holders hold longer rods and alot more of them. Positive and negative to both boats. If you can get a 165 with a 90 yamaha for 17000 I would really look at that boat. That seems like a good price.

[Bigstorm]

I bought a new to me 2008 Dominator Sport 165 with a 90 Yamaha about 6 weeks ago, love this boat. With the 19 pitch prop it will go around 37-38 but I usually dont run it wide open anyway so speed doesnt mean much to me. I went down to a 17 pitch prop to try and drop my idle speed down closer to 2mph. The hole shot with either prop is amazing

It rides great, stays on plane down to 20mph. The center rod locker is great. The front livewell is on the left side of the boat, I havent noticed the boat leaning to that side at all except for when there are 2 people sitting on that side with the livewell full, it has a slight lean then when in motion. When there is just me, and 1 person on that side with a full livewell, I didnt notice any unbalance

I was also interested in the Navigators as well, but I have to admit, the center rod locker, rear jump seats and wider gunnels made a huge difference to me.

I know the Dominator is around 200lb heavier than a Navigator, I would think that this would make the Dominator slightly slower but also handle waves a little better. I cant say for sure though, never test drove the Navigator

I purchased this boat from LaCanne's in MN, they did let me do a test drive before signing under the agreement that if everything worked as it should during the test drive that I would purchase it.

[vteye]

I have the 175 combo with 115 yamaha and like the center rod storage, gunnels, ride etc. 165 with 90 Hp is going to be a nice combo.
Congrats.

[fishn_pa]

I took delivery of my 2012 Dominator 165 Sport earlier this year and I am very happy with it so far. I like its solid ride and the way it performs in waves. With that wide beam it feels like a much bigger boat to me. I outfitted mine with a Yamaha 90 and Yamaha 9.9. Both engines are four strokes and I have no complaints, but they and the boat are still virtually brand new so only time will tell about reliability and durability.

We chose the Dominator because it has the layout and all of the features we wanted and it has worked out really well on the different waters we fish and with the ways we fish them. I recommend considering how and where you will be using the boat the majority of your time on the water and then consider which model will be the best fit.

I'm behind the times from an electronics standpoint so I don't have any GPS-based speed numbers to offer.

Good luck deciding and I hope this helps.

[walleyedmike]

I don't see why you couldn't get this boat at $25,000 out the door with an 80# Terrova w/iPilot and a nice Sonar/GPS unit.