aluminum boats

[salmonquest]

My dad and I may be looking at trying to trade in our Grady-White for an Aluminum fishing boat. It seems that Lund gets top billing at a lot of sites. How do other aluminum boats rank for big water fishing?

[jay d]

starcraft,best value for the money and hewscraft if you want the flat out best.that my opinion:thumb:

[Killin' It]

I have an older 18' side console Lowe that I love. She has a 70 horse and a 9.9 for trolling.

The good:

Fits 3-4 people

Sips gas (Less then 18 dollars a trip depending on how far I go out)

Easy to trailer

I can take her on smaller lakes

GREAT for fishing in close in the spring

The Bad:

I fish in nothing over 3 foot waves!!! You get thrown around a lot. Call me a sissy if you will. but I am not going to take my own life in my hands by fishing on a marginal day. We have plenty of nice days to fish and that is good enough for me

Tight fit with 4 people

Open bow

Not a huge amount of room to work in the back.

Mounting rod holders is a bit rough

Carpet in the boat gets bloody and I have to steam vac it ever trip or 2

[mriversinco]

I love mine for it's ease of pulling it. I can fish sag. bay, and any port along lake michigan without any worries. It's a 4 stroke motor so it sips fuel, fill the 14 gallon tank once every 5 or 6 trips.

The main negatives I have with it is that it bobs like a cork on heavier seas, and it's an open bow so my young kids don't like riding on it because it doesn't have a potty.

Bought it for dual use of duck hunting and fishing and have found that I only use it for fishing.

[1 old guy]

Crestliner no rivets to start leaking. All Welded

[ALLEYES]

I would look long and hard at the Starcrafts. They have been building big water boats for years. The one Jay has is SWEET !!

[mriversinco]

Forgot to answer the kind, I agree with starcraft getting good bang for buck. I never really agreed with the whole welded versus rivets thing. Both are fine..... I will say that if you want the boat to hold it's value then Lund is the way to go. They simply don't go down in price!

[CAC]

I Love my Lund! I looked at them all before buying about five years ago. The Starcraft was my second choice. I get 3/4 a gallon per hour trolling with the 60 hp. 4 stroke. I wish I would have got the 90 hp.

[tltorrice]

Jason, I have a Starcraft Fishmaster that I bought new in 2006. It is 19'9" long, and trailers good. What I really like is the back end is open giving you plenty of room for working the down-riggers and fighting fish. It takes the waves well. You should give it a look.

[Casey II]

I own a 10 year old 1900 Pro V SE with a 150 Opti/9.9 kicker. Purchased it new from Winn Matteson and had him set the boat up. They do excellent work and are great to deal with. The benefit of a Pro V or similar style boat is the ability to easily fish multiple species. You can jig the Detroit river in the AM, troll Stoney Point in the PM and fish salmon the next day. They trailer well and allow you to stay on a hot bite. Lund boats are well built and the IPS/IPS 2 hulls will take on some pretty wicked water. These are very stable boats with wide gunnels and wide transoms. They handle 2-3 footers well. When you get into 4s and 5s, things get wet and pretty bumpy when running. I am not a big fan of fishing crap water, but have been caught in stuff I had no business in and the boat did perform impeccably. With gas prices I would look into a 4 stroke kicker. Having two engines is a godsend if you lose the big motor.

The main negatives are the lack of a head and exposure to the elements. Many also have short gunnals that bother some guys. If you fish alone they can be tough to get back into if you get wet as most don't have a swim platform. Three anglers is fine, four is a crowd.

Recently Lund came out with a boat called the "Sport Angler". I have talked with a few guys that have them and were very pleased. It has the higher gunnels and a removable seating system. Good Luck in your search.

[mattmishler]

Fished on alot of different boats, starcraft, lund, crestliner, sea nymph ect. The only boat "tin can" i wanna be in is a Lund.

[jimcr]

I have a tracker targa and I love it . does pretty well on the big water. 1-2 ft fine don't run in 3-4 feet. Fully loaded 38-42 accross the water.

115hp optimax and a 15 hp kicker

[salmonquest]

Thanks for the input guys. It's going to be a hard sell for my dad since he loves the 'glass boats and the ocean worthy rep of a grady white but there is something about those lunds and dual consol starcraft, and crestliners I like. I think I'll have to get him to take a spin in one.

[Chummer]

I've owned two 20' Sea Nymph Great Lakes Specials both with 90's, 15 kickers, etc. that seen plenty of waters.

Started looking early 2010 for a new fishing/boating platform. Always thought I wanted a Lund but they did not make the boat I wanted. Was getting serious on a Starcraft when I first saw a Hewes. Then I really drank the cool aid, I got on board a Hewes. Couple more test rides and reseach, we ordered our 22 Ocean Pro. If your dad is a Grady man, then he'll appreciate a Hewes Ocean Pro when it comes to heavy gage welded aluminum. Please feel free to contact me if you ever want to experience a Hewes.

[det07]

I own a 10 year old 1900 Pro V SE with a 150 Opti/9.9 kicker. Purchased it new from Winn Matteson and had him set the boat up. They do excellent work and are great to deal with. The benefit of a Pro V or similar style boat is the ability to easily fish multiple species. You can jig the Detroit river in the AM, troll Stoney Point in the PM and fish salmon the next day. They trailer well and allow you to stay on a hot bite. Lund boats are well built and the IPS/IPS 2 hulls will take on some pretty wicked water. These are very stable boats with wide gunnels and wide transoms. They handle 2-3 footers well. When you get into 4s and 5s, things get wet and pretty bumpy when running. I am not a big fan of fishing crap water, but have been caught in stuff I had no business in and the boat did perform impeccably. With gas prices I would look into a 4 stroke kicker. Having two engines is a godsend if you lose the big motor.

The main negatives are the lack of a head and exposure to the elements. Many also have short gunnals that bother some guys. If you fish alone they can be tough to get back into if you get wet as most don't have a swim platform. Three anglers is fine, four is a crowd.

Recently Lund came out with a boat called the "Sport Angler". I have talked with a few guys that have them and were very pleased. It has the higher gunnels and a removable seating system. Good Luck in your search.

You nailed it.. I bought my 18 sport angler last year and am very happy with it..

My advise is buy the biggest you can afford (boat and motor). The sport angler is an excellent choice because of the amount of room in the back for trolling. If you bass and walleye fish more you may want to look at the pro v that has more room in the bow for casting.. Casey is exactly right though.. I can handline, vertical jig and troll in the same trip! However it is still an aluminum boat and doesn't handle the rough stuff like a big glass boat. I got the 115 4stroke and 9.9 kicker and the motor is super quiet and fuel efficient. The max hp is 175 and I wish a 175 verado was in my buget.. The 20' is the same width and depth but offers 2 more ft of trolling room. I got the full canvas with side and drop curtains.. I was able to mount all my traxstech gear without drilling holes using the t bolt mounts. I have no problem running rods for 4 guys.. Loaded w/ 4 guys and gear she takes a second to get up on plane but will hit close to 30mph. Has a 40 gallon fuel tank and vinyl floor w/ washdown system for easy clean up. I opted for 2 extra removeable seats instead of the side benches.

[det07]

I've owned two 20' Sea Nymph Great Lakes Specials both with 90's, 15 kickers, etc. that seen plenty of waters.

Started looking early 2010 for a new fishing/boating platform. Always thought I wanted a Lund but they did not make the boat I wanted. Was getting serious on a Starcraft when I first saw a Hewes. Then I really drank the cool aid, I got on board a Hewes. Couple more test rides and reseach, we ordered our 22 Ocean Pro. If your dad is a Grady man, then he'll appreciate a Hewes Ocean Pro when it comes to heavy gage welded aluminum. Please feel free to contact me if you ever want to experience a Hewes.

I really like the "west coast" aluminum boats.. I plan to one day buy a bigger glass boat and didn't want to have an aluminum hardtop and glass hardtop..They do look sweet though!

[Chummer]

Matt,

Nice looking Lund you have. We actually went with a soft top on our Hewes. It was more versatile for what we do and enjoy.

Plan to take some excursions where fishing will not be the priority. I can hardly get that out of my mouth!

[SPOONWASHER]

I agree with several others that Lund is the way to go. We have a 18ft Lund Fisherman that is a dual console. It is powered by a 115 horse Merc and a 9.9 kicker. It fishes VERY nice and is very trailerable. If you want any more info or pics of set up let me know!

[det07]

Matt,

Nice looking Lund you have. We actually went with a soft top on our Hewes. It was more versatile for what we do and enjoy.

Plan to take some excursions where fishing will not be the priority. I can hardly get that out of my mouth!

Kevin, That is an awesome rig! IMO there is no better aluminum boat setup out there! Who made your arch? It looks like it folds down.. Call me crazy but I think I am going to have one built for my boat.

[SPOONWASHER]

Kevin, That is an awesome rig! IMO there is no better aluminum boat setup out there! Who made your arch? It looks like it folds down.. Call me crazy but I think I am going to have one built for my boat.

Yeah Lund is under Hewes for sure! Wish I could afford one.

[Chummer]

Thank You. Bob Kietzman aka GETAWAY out of Bay City built the arch. Yes it does fold back if needed. Bob is a great guy and his work is spot on!

[salmonquest]

O.K. I'm convinced. Definately like the Hewes craft. i have seen a couple at boat shows. New #1 on the list. after looking around and looking at prices (yikes) I think we'll stick with our set up. It's very hard to get rid of a quality boat that has treated you well. The few issues we were having could be relieved by small changes to teh set up. Thanks for sharing everyone.