# Opinions from "Fish & Ski" boat owners?



## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

Thinking about getting a new boat either this year or next. Right now I have a 17' basstracker and would like to move to a deep V for the type of fishing I do. Problem is, I also need something family friendly to spend some summer days on alum tubing etc. I've been considering some of the fish and ski combos that are out there as a possible solution, but wonder how many of you are happy with the one you have. 

¥ Is it enough boat to ski from? (Not professionally, but just dragging the kids etc. around on skis or a tube?) 

¥ What about comfort? Most of the fish & ski's I've looked at don't look much different on the inside than the regular fishing deep V's. Kind of bare and not much on comfort. 

¥ I'll need to mount a 9.9 kicker. Anyone have any problems doing this?

¥ Lastly, I would prefer aluminum vs. fiberglass. Any thoughts?

Again, I appreciate anyone's input - but really looking for those of you who already own one and can give me your experience.

Thanks!


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## ltdan (Sep 5, 2005)

Had A Couple Of Boats In My Life I Think I Trade Every 2 Years, Had A 17 Fish And Ski Star Craft And A 20 Ft Astro.the Only Thing Fishing Bass Tournments,the Windsheld Was In The Way.had A Hard Time Running Trolling Motor In The Wind.wind Shelds Acted Like A Sail And Pushes The Boat Everywhere. Early Spring Was Nice Blocked Cold Air On The Rider.went To A 18 Lund Single Counsol Could Still Put The Kids In The Boat And Lots Of Fishing Room.dont Know If This Helped Any.

Ps The Kids All Moved Out And I Got A 27 Ft Sportcraft. Lots Of Room


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## crankus_maximus (Apr 14, 2004)

Are you looking at galss or aluminum? I want the same kind of setup, but am leaning towards aluminum - as there are more options. I like the idea of a single console, but my wife would freezer he butt off cruising down the lake. I like the open utility-like areas within aluminum boats. Alumacraft, Lowe, Princecraft, Lund, Triton and G3 all have good offerings. Plus, you can move them well with a smaller motor, which wold translate into better fuel economy, lighter towing and easier on the mind when in unkown waters. Just a couple thoughts for you....


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## Reel Lady (Jul 4, 2004)

We pulled the kids on the tube from both our 04 Tracker Tundra and now our 05' Ranger 621. 
Both had walk-thru console/windshield. And yes, it definitely gets in the way when it comes to fishing. But I guess it's a trade off because it does a great job at protecting your passenger from the wind/rain and BUGS! lol With a walk-thru windshield, you can always just leave the windshield open to avoid the "sail" effect. So yeah, even with the downside of a dual or walk-thru windshield, I don't think that I could ever own a boat without it because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. (in my opinion)
Another thing with the deeper V boats when it comes to fishing....At least with our last two boats....When fishing from the deck (front or back), there is a lip (the side of the boat) that comes up much higher than what they are on a typical bass boat. This lip can interfere with pitching/flipping, so you have to adjust. Personally, I like that little bit of extra protection around the sides because we like to take our 2 dogs fishing with us. 
As for the kicker. We had a 9.9 kicker on our Tundra, that we eventually ended up taking off. The 9.9 created a "drag" because of the way it sat in the water when the main motor was being used. 
Marcia


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## fishin4five (Dec 2, 2005)

Looking over at my partner/nonboater/dad and seeing all the bugs stuck to their face is half the fun of owning a fast, single console boat!


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## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

Thanks for everyone's input so far. I would definately lean towards aluminum so I can use a smaller motor, and less weight for towing. 

Marcia, I hear you on the kicker. I guess best bet would be to install it on one of those "jack plates" like a sailboat uses, eh? (Where you can raise and lower it out of the water when needed.) Or otherwise, just go with an electric tiller job? 

As for the windshield I never really thought about it but I guess it would be a huge area for wind to catch and probably could cause some fits while trolling or drifting a steady course. That is unless you've got a mega-thrust trolling motor! Otherwise, I agree keeping the wind, rain and bugs off the wife and kiddies would be a big plus at high speed.

Anyone else with their thoughts please continue to post.

Thanks!


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## Snobal (Jul 26, 2005)

Don't have any experience with any of the above. Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents about skiing and tubing. Most everything I've looked at as far as tubes go and from some experience on them, you should only be going about 25mph when towing. It feels a lot faster on the tube or skis than in the boat!! I have a 15' tri-hull and had a 1970 35hp on it and was doing 25mph at top speed. Don't think you should have too much problem with any type of V hull unless you go to a really small motor.


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## jimofcfd (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Swollen Goat;
I have a 17ft. Lowe (aluminum) with a walk thru windshield. The fish and ski package is a compromise for fishing if you are used to a bass boat do to the reduced amount of open deck space. I put a 65 lb. thrust Minn-Kota on it and it seems to move it around fairly well in the wind as long as the windshield is open. We enjoy fishing out of it, 2 adults and 2 kids. The boat has a 90 hp on it and there is plenty of power for watersports. The drawback on these boats for towing is that the towing rings are close to the water. This causes the tow rope to drag in the water about half way back when you are tubing. It isn't a real problem if you aren't trying to do anything fancy, but it makes it a lot harder to get outside the wake. Adding a ski-tow pylon(most models have them available now) will get the tow rope up out of the water. The Fish and ski may not be perfect for either task but I am quite happy with the flexibility it provides us.


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## luredaddy (May 25, 2004)

Lund 1800 Fisherman, with a 150 HP motor. I think you would be very happy skiing or trolling for Muskies, etc...If there will be youngsters involved, they will have to vertically leap to fall out!! Plenty of room for a kicker.


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## BaitBucket (Nov 13, 2005)

Hi SG,

I have a 1980, 16' Sylvan, "V" with an '82 Evenrude 75hp that was originally just a bowrider. It came cheap and has been nearly perfect for a smaller family. Most of the time, it's just me and one kid or my wife, but many times we end up with 5 or 6 people onboard. It gets pretty crowded with three people fishing or 4 people skiing. It looks very much like the Lowe above and there are a couple pics in my pic thing here.

A couple years ago, I converted most of the boat to fish & ski, or mostly just fish. The bow now has a floor for fishing, relocatable seats for bow riding/fishing, live well, bait well, and storage under both front and main floors. A 55lb MK will troll at about 1.5 mph in normal winds. It still works well for the occasional skiing part, but it's mostly just fishing since the kids have grown and gone. Seems the less skiing we do, the more I convert it for fishing.

For skiing stuff it's been great. 75 hp is enough to pull two smaller people skiing, but mostly we used it for a single wake boarder. This is where the "V" is really good. It'll make a pretty good wake from 16-22 mph. The wake is a lot better with full fuel tanks and live/bait wells.  

It's aluminum and top speed is about 35 to 37 mph with two people. (depends on wind).

In back, there's nice gunnals, with downriggers, a shelf at the rear for tackle boxes, 12 gal fuel, and rear facing seats for either two troller fishermen (side seats), or one bass fisherman (center pedestal). It's convertable for most any type of fishing (bird watching for my wife while I'm fishing)  

For my use, it couldn't be better, unless it was bigger. I love the convert-ability of the "V" type boat. Seems like you can remodel it to do almost anythng. If you need any pics, I'll take some more on a sunny day and post them.


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

I'm on my second Fish-n-ski (both ive owned were glass) and when you're talking glass boats, the windshield is a much lower profile than on aluminums, and it never hampered my use of a trolling motor or acted like a sail. I could totally see how it would on an aluminum, as those things are a usually a much higher profile.

After owning a few (AWESOME setup for fishing/skiing/recreational boating) I would highly suggest getting the biggest HP motor you can afford. My stratos has a 150 on it, and can pull any sized skier up without effort. The lower the HP, the smaller the skier or the more seasoned skier it will take to get out of the water (obviously it's relative to boat size). With an aluminum boat, the hull wont be as fast as a glass boat (profile) so you'll need to consider that.

Regardless of what you get, I highly recommend fish-n-ski's for the family. Although the windshield does take up space otherwise used for fishing, it's worth it's weight in gold when you're chuckin down Dale Hollow in February at 65 mph in 15 degree temps


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## BaitBucket (Nov 13, 2005)

Shakedown,
Just to re-afirm what you are saying... I agree about the aluminum boat's windshields being a little higher. Mine looks higher than many of the F/G boats I see. I think the lower ones look a lot better, but my boat is a 1980 model and I think they were designed taller back then. Maybe the aluminum ones still are!?

SwollenGoat,
I guess I didn't address the 'windshield as a sail thing' above, so here's my take (fwiw)...
I've never really had any trouble with the windshield acting as a sail... at least I don't feel like it's happening!?!? Maybe it would if you were trolling downwind where a higher wind coming from behind could catch that 'pocket' of window like a sail, but honestly, if the wind is low, none of this come into play. If the wind is high, I ususally try to troll into the wind anyway. Trolling into the wind seems to streamline the boat pretty well! I use a 55 lb trolling motor and it works out great.

Maybe the weight of an aluminum boat is lot less than a F/G boat. I read somewhere that someone liked the heavier weight of a F/G boat cause it made the boat handle better when trolling. That's good input! I actually feel different... I think the lighter aluminum is an advantage to save fuel, motor size, troller size, etc. ...just a little more economical, and I don't have any trouble trolling.

Also, I've never really researched the weights of these boats, so that may be something you'd want to do, but I've held a chunk of fiberglass and a chunk of aluminum... and the aluminum was a lot lighter!


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

BB...I think the windshield profile has a lot to do with the profile/hull of the boat from what I've seen. Deep V's aren't meant to be water rockets, and even the glass Deep V's I've seen (although more sleek that aluminum) still tend to have higher profile windshields than mod-v true fish-n-ski's. There's also that "sporty look" im sure the f-n-s manufacturers are gearing towards, to entice the young family with young kids type deal, so they don't feel like they are driving dad's buick. My wife told me that when I was looking at Lund's before I bought our first f-n-s 

I think the added weight of glass has both it's ups and downs. I like the weight for stability and a smooth ride, but i when I troll at slow speeds I think it's less responsive and doesn't turn as quick as the aluminums I've driven when not on plane. However, get a glassboat (or an aluminum Xpress) on plane with a v6 behind ya, and hold onto your hat! The stability and sheer speed out of the hole (hull) makes them better ski boats out of the box. If skiing/wakeboarding/tubing is going to be a big part of your water recreation (more than just a few days a year) then I think glass is the way to go. Malibu, Mastercraft, and Nautique don't make aluminum for a reason, and part of it is that 23 year old coeds in bikinis don't look right sitting on the gunwale of smokercraft  (can anyone say Griggs?!?!)

I think in the end, you gotta figure out how much time is spent fishing vs. skiing, and what your wife will allow!


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## bassteaser1 (Apr 13, 2004)

All the opinions I read are exactly right.I've had alot of boats and only one fish-n-ski.I asked the same question you did and I didn't listen.Everyone complained about the lack of room for fishing and I agree.If you only use 1 rod it was fine.I had no room for my rods I like to lay next to me when I'm fishing.Also that small deck space was in my way when sidearm casting and I nearly fell over it a few times in choppy water.The console is further forward to make room behind driver for passengers so the deck will be small unless you go to a 21' boat.Mine was an 18' Stratos that was very well made,the 150 had great power,you need a strong motor to ski and the right prop to pull adults out of the hole.A 90 hp may strain on a full size guy until he gets up.Actually after I bought it we went skiing a handful of times.If you want to fish get a nice 18' aluminum boat with a 115 or better engine and buy a ski towbar for it and a portable ladder and be happy fishing on your big front deck.The dual windshield was nice in cold and the deeper v of the fish n ski was good in the waves but there were more negatives than positives.If you are looking for one,I sold mine to crazy4smallmouth which is a member here and he has considered selling it.It is immaculate and has everything including a top and ski equipment.It has the best of everything,even 3 livewells,the stratos was the best I could find after alot of shopping...great layout but it is glass.I even added elec. brakes


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

I have a 97 stratos myself, and would buy a second boat before I would trade this one in or sell it. LOVE it.

You did bring up a good point though...rod storage. Atleast on mine, it's a "lay em next to the seat" type of deal, as the rod locker is short and awkward. My first f/s was a tidecraft that had the console set farther back and had the front deck of a bassboat, which was nice. Most of the newer styles sacrifice front deck for having 5 seats (2 rows) behind the windshield, so it's a give and take.


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## BaitBucket (Nov 13, 2005)

> so it's a give and take.


Yea, I usually have 3 - 4 rods with me.. if one of the boys is out with me, they have a few. I'll sit myself on the pedestal in the bow with a couple rods in one corner, one in my hand and maybe another hanging off the side... can't tell you how many time I'm hooking one during a cast.

It's still a better day than most anywhere else!


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## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

Can't tell you guys how appreciative I am at all the feedback. I guess I can see where the extra weight and profile of a glass boat can make it handle better at speed. However, I'm still leaning towards aluminum for weight and durabillity. 

The small front deck you all mentioned is cause for concern. I'm a big guy (6'4" - 325lbs.) and small usually doesn't work for me. Although, with a MK PD I can always fish from the back due to the long foot pedal cord.

Lastly, I fish Hoover a LOT. I'm also getting ready to move further North towards Utica and will be about the same distance between Knox and Hoover. So I definately need to have the boat equipped with a 9.9. I'll also still be within a 1/2 hr. drive or so of Alum and would be able to fish and ski there. Overall, I guess about 75% usage will be fishing and 25% will be family. I hadn't really wanted to go up to a 21 footer, but maybe I should consider it.

Jeeesh! I guess I just need to start picking out a few and doing a pro's and con's list. Again, can't thank everyone enough for all the input! As always, the fellow members of OGF have been a great resource of information.


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## crankus_maximus (Apr 14, 2004)

Look at the lines from Alumacraft. I have found them to be the most divers in their offereings between deep V, single console and double console, fishing, skiiing, etc. They generally have more floorplans to choose from with better options. One thing I like about their 18ft models is that they have a rod locker under the front deck (both single and double consoles). This would make it easier to grab a rod if you needed one in a pinch. 

I fish tournies with a buddy and I know what I am specifically looking for in a hybrid-style boat. I even look at center console bay-style boats for their versatility. Only problem there is lack of seating and the seating they have is exposed to any and all elements. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I know I looked at a 17.5ft Alumacraft Navigotr CS with a 135 opti for around 17K at Delaware Marine last year. I wanted it pretty bad. It had plenty of fishing room, but could be outfitted for skiiing as well with a swim platform and ski pylon and more chairs in the cockpit. Plenty of room, though.


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## bassteaser1 (Apr 13, 2004)

Another idea is to go to one the boat shows coming up and really look them over.Get in them and walk around and visualize your gear and how you could organize it.Or just go buy a nice used pleasure boat and a 16' aluminum fishing boat set up to fish only with a 9.9............Problem solved!!!


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## Hotntot (Jul 28, 2004)

I have a 1850 crestliner sportfish w/ the walk thru windsheild & I love it! I bought it for the same reasons as you tubing & fishing ,it has 4 seats in back & 2 up front that can fold down to make a casting platform when I'm fishing by myself I just take the other seats out which leaves plenty of room! It has a rod locker ,2 livewells but also has alot of storage. 
I've only tubed a few times but it does a great job it has the tow hooks on the transom & a boarding ladder which I wasn't sure I'd like for fishing but I've come to really like it since it's much easier climbing in & out when your out of the water.
I have a kicker ( long shaft ) & a Minnkota 65 pd/ap but i'm looking to upgrade the bowmount to a Minnkota 80 pd/ap since you can't go wrong with as much thrust as you can get but have had no problems with the 65. 
The windsheild hasn't been a problem & is nice in the cold but I also like to go to Erie & it helps to keep you dry/drier in big waves. Obviously it is more work to hold on a small spot than say a bass boat or lower profile boat but i've found it's only when it's really windy but you can do it with a little practice or if you don't want to fight the wind just throw the anchor out. 
One last thought, is I troll alot the nice thing about the auto pilot, if it's not too windy, is I can put it down set it so you get just enough thrust to control the bow then start the kicker to the speed you want to troll ( I connect it to the big motor with a bar) the auto pilot keeps you straight while setting lines / fighting fish sweet deal when your by yourself . If it's too windy to use the AP I just connect the kicker to the big motor & steer w/ the steering wheel.


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## Hotntot (Jul 28, 2004)

OOPS!!! forgot the bow is over 90" I want to say 93" but I could be wrong but it is plenty big enough & sturdy enough when folded down also has a little depth to it I sit in the bow drifting on lake Erie in the spring & feel very comfortable up there.


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## Reel Man (Jul 4, 2004)

Swollen Goat- If you do plan to fish from the deck not just troll then I would recommend a heavier fiberglass. Reel Lady and I have owned both with our current one being a Fiberglass Ranger. Everyone that stated it is right the aluminum is lighter so you would probably save on fuel when trolling but consider what will happen if you and possibly a partner are both standing on the same side of the boat casting. We ran into this with our aluminum. The boat would lean and if a person moved from one side to the other it would shift back and forth. If you aren't paying attention and your fishing buddy goes from one side of the boat to the other you might find yourself going for a swim. Our fiberglass barely moves or leans with three of us on board. Our combined weight is probably about 550 pounds. In the aluminum we leaned quite a bit making it more of a challenge to troll along a bank especially if there was wind or current. It can be really difficult to make an expensive decision without taking different boats out for a spin. If the weather were warmer I would have been more then happy to take you out on ours just to get a feel for what a fiberglass fish and ski is like. If you can wait till the weather warms up enough to test-drive a few boats it would be well worth it. Of course if you have to sacrifice three good months of fishing this spring then you may not want to wait. It sure is great to get the opinions of so many knowledgeable people like you can on this site. Reel Lady is right about the kicker motor. Make sure you can get it out of the water when you are skiing. Also make certain you have a nice pull set up that won't intefere with the motor when steering.


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## jshbuckeye (Feb 27, 2005)

Only had my f/s out a few times it is alum a 1989 bluefinn windshield does grab a breeze without a doubt and can push it around ecspecially during loading so look out if ya see me at dock side. Only my second boat but i love it also consider how you will load it ecspecially if you have a 9.9 kicker on a 21 foot not allowed to lower the b9igger motor to even load it. Im sure boats now have better rod storage then mine cause it is pretty bad but i learned to make do. I put a 55 pound thrust m/k on it has the co pilot and auto pilot and love it also so far the 55 lbs of thrust seem more then enough for this boat. Keep in mind the loading of the boat and what lake it is on cause they can and will fine you for dropping the big motor. Think i will start a thread on the proper depth of a trailer for loading a boat cause lord knows i need some help!!!!!!
________
LovelyWendie


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