# New Boat Suggestions?



## CRAPPIECOMMANDER (Feb 25, 2006)

Sometime either this summer or by next spring I will most likely purchase my first new boat. Right now I am leaning towards a Lowe or a Lund. I really like some of creature comforts that Lowe offers on its Crappie models. With so many options as far as boat makes and models to choose from it is going to be hard enough just figuring out what I want to buy let alone where to buy it. If any of you have had a good expeirence with any local dealers recently could you please let me know who they are and what brand of boats they carry? Thanks for your help!


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## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

Nothing more exciting than thinking about buying a new boat. Start at the beginning. What types of fishing do you do, and where do you plan to fish? Are you looking for more of a bass style layout or a deep V? Do you need to necessarily buy new or would a used one get you more bang for your buck?

If you can give up a few more details I am sure you'll get lots of replies.


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## dKilla (May 1, 2007)

I heard the new 42' Yellowfin is great for crappie fishing. It's practically a dingy.


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## [email protected] (Oct 21, 2007)

The best advice I ever heard about boat ownership

" When you are comfortable enough to walk to the end of the dock throw 300.00 into the water each time. Then you are ready to own a boat"

Boat Owner


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## Danshady (Dec 14, 2006)

wow, yea as dkilla says, there are so many variables, aluminum/fiberglass, rivoted/welded, bass/jon, light/heavy, flat bottom/v bottom, ....and are you bass fishing, crappie, walleye, fishing.....what waters? deep, shallow, erie rough, all of this stuff you gotta take into consideration. lowe and lund make good boats, i like the bass trackers as far as aluminum jons go...i saw a boat i dont know much about, i saw it at the bait store at alum one morning, it was a smokercraft, it had either a 30 or a 50hp with a 9.9 kicker and it was all brand new looking and it was a nice looking boat..i was really interested in it.


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## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

I have owned a 18' lund alaskan, 17' lowe roughneck, and currently have a lowe 165 fishing machine. Lowe and lund are both owned by Brunswick. They are both very good boats. A lowe will cost quite a bit less. The fishing machines and stinger series are both nice boats. Knox marine in Fredericktown sells lowe, and they are pretty good to deal with.


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

I have a Triton 175 Crappie boat and I love it. It's all aluminum so there's no wood in the floor to rot. Lots of tackle storage, lockable rod box, 2 livewells, 2 baitwells. 40hp Yamaha pushes it fine (32mph top) and it's enough to pull a kid on a tube. Great for inland lakes and going for shallow crappie (no problem in 18in of water).
Bought it new at Norton Marine in Akron in 2004 and they treated me real well.
Good luck!
Brian


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## dock dabber (Mar 20, 2005)

Been around boats for 60 years. The boats you are looking at in my openion are the best bang for your buck. If inland waters are where you are going to use the boat, I say the Lowe crappie boats are a good boat. If at all possiable put a 75Hp on though because you will then be more than happy with the performance. A fifty will do a great job, but be around the 30mph with two people in it. The 75 will get you around 45. The hardware they use on the decking wiil be on the lower price end, but if you work with it . it will last a long time. Lund without a doubt is a excellent choice also, but will for sure require the bigger motor, and on the same size boat will require more than the 75 to out run the Lowe with a 75. Regular maintance is what keeps a boat in good shape, not the price you pay for it.


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## bruce (Feb 10, 2007)

break out another thousand the best you can get on the first trip go for the lund.do not kick your self you want to fish ind land to day but what about tomorrow or in 3.4.5.yrs. just my 2ce. ps;I have 3boats.


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

Lunds are very nice. Way over my budget these days,but that would be my #1 choice.

If you're looking for something to catch panfish,lightweight, and trolling,The Lowe SeaNyph 165 fm is a very nice fishing boat.Cabelas sells them so you should be able to get some info on their website. I got mine at Windy Pt marina in celina.

Pros:Easy trailering,light weight to save on gas money for long hauls. She can get into the shallow 1' water or take on 2' waves at my local lakes. Enough room on back for a kicker. She'll top out at 30-35 mph with a 50 hp johnson. It's got rivots. It catches fish!!!! They should be already rigged: Stereo,Fishfinder,Trolling motor. A lot of the other brands don't come bundled like that.

Cons: May not plane properly, a stablizer/fin on the lower unit will fix that or put a fat guy like me in front.Batteries are a pain the butt to get to-when time to re-charge. Onboard charger will take care of that little issue. Automatic Livewell,but only holds 12 saugeye.

Here's my 2000 Seanymph 165 fm,along with a 50 hp,and 6hp Nissan 4 stoke kicker:










Being located in west central oh,with shallow lakes like loramie,grand,and Indian- this boat is very well suited for my situation and a heck of a trolling machine.:T .

Tracker would be my 2nd choice with my budget.


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## lesteratv (Apr 15, 2004)

Lowe makes a great boat! I have a Lowe Roughneck 1652VT with Johnson 15hp. The build quality is excellent. It is a basic duck boat with a few upgrades. I bought this boat to use on smaller lakes in place of my Champion 203 bass boat. 

I would recommend Knox Marine if you are looking to purchase a Lowe boat. The staff at Knox Marine are all fisherman and duck hunters, so they actually use the products they sell. You won't find a better group of guys.


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## warden (Jun 14, 2007)

I have owned a LOWE, now have a SMOKER CRAFT. Both are great fishing boats in the 16-17 foot range. Both have great storage space and are very stable. I now have a 4-stroke, which is very quiet,nice for trolling,easy start. P.M for more infro. Good luck!


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## sawguy1 (Nov 23, 2005)

to sum it up in one word.................Alumacraft


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

How about Fisher?

All those listed are very sweet fishing boats.


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## CRAPPIECOMMANDER (Feb 25, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies fellows. Sorry I'm late answering some of your questions had relatives in town over the weekend so my free time was spent. As far as the waters I plan to fish Delaware, Alum, and O'shay will make up 95% of my fishing. And the rest of the time I will be on even smaller reservoirs. I have access to a buddies boat for the bigger stuff which I very rarely do anymore with all of the good local waters we have here in central Ohio. I was leaning towards the Lowe Stinger 175 style of hull just for the added room and stability. I take a lot of kids fishing and and about half of the time I have three of us in the boat, so the more room and stability the better. I am still trying to figure out what size motor to buy without going bigger than I need. Honestly I would rather spend more of my money on really good electronics fishfinders and gps than on a big motor. But I am also afraid of going to small on the motor exspecially with three people in the boat so often. I really appreciate all of your advise, so please keep them coming I need all the help I can get.


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## SwollenGoat (Apr 13, 2005)

I personally own a Fisher Hawk 170 SC which is similar to the Lowe you are looking at. Lund, Lowe, Alumacraft, Fisher, Smoker Craft, Starcraft and all the others mentioned are very good boats for multi-species fishing and can also be used for a little summer tubing/skiing if necessary.

As for the motor there is almost no such thing as overkill as long as you stay within the hp limitations of your boat. Most boaters would agree that buying "too much" motor is far safer than buying too little. For comparison; I have a 90hp merc 2-stroke on my Fisher 17' and it allows me a top end of 37-40 mph by my GPS depending on the load.

*BTW - since you're looking at new I assume you already know your budget. Buying new is great, but there are some real bargains on nice used boats out there right now. This just posted this morning on Columbus craigslist and would be very similar to what you are looking at, plus it is already setup with all the goodies including a kicker and electronics. 

Probably won't last long though...
http://columbus.craigslist.org/boa/585167122.html


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

http://www.iboats.com/Lowe_Boats_175_stinger/nb/mo81880

Folding tongue on the one at that link: Very nice. Wish I had one of them.Mine will not fit in the avg garage. Folding tongue will take care of that.

Looks like motor is separate on that link.. I posted link for pic and specs only.

Large decks another plus.

1 thing to add to a boat like this, Onboard battery charger. Mine is a pain in the butt to get the clamps on the battery posts. Onboard charger took care of that issue. It's the best thing that I added to my boat.

Very nice. I went online to cabelas-dundee to price them and they had 3 of them.It said they were used. A couple were 2007 and a 2006.The 2007's with 50 hp Mercurys may be leftovers from last year? The way the economy's going,you may be able to get a bargain on those leftover 2007 models.

I didn't see any prices. Usually they are already rigged at Cabelas and sometimes runs specials. I'm not trying to steer you there. I looked at mine at cabela's before I bought the same pkg from a local marina for same special pkg price.


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## FishingDog (May 11, 2007)

I'm looking around at some boats myself, and everyone tells me the same thing. Don't go too small, or cheap on the motor. I've talked to pro's and just regular guys like us, and Mercury Optimax sounds like the best way to go. Hole shots, speed, and more important, fuel economy! That's what will be on my next boat! I'd also look hard at the electronics that come with a new boat. Hummingbird with the side imaging would really be an asset, or one of the upper-mid priced Lowrance units would be great too! Make sure to check out the size of the trailer tires. They come in all sizes, but just remember that the small ones turn alot faster and are more expensive. 14" would be my suggestion. Make sure you get a spare, and a folding tongue on the trailer would be a really nice thing to have too! It all comes down to what type of fishing that you do, along with what your budget is! Good luck, and by all means have fun!! Jusy my .02 worth


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## FishingDog (May 11, 2007)

I'm looking around at some boats myself, and everyone tells me the same thing. Don't go too small, or cheap on the motor. I've talked to pro's and just regular guys like us, and Mercury Optimax sounds like the best way to go. Hole shots, speed, and more important, fuel economy! That's what will be on my next boat! I'd also look hard at the electronics that come with a new boat. Hummingbird with the side imaging would really be an asset, or one of the upper-mid priced Lowrance units would be great too! It all comes down to what type of fishing that you do, along with what your budget is! Good luck, and by all means have fun!!


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## DuV (May 9, 2004)

My first boat was a Smokercraft. Took all the enjoyment out of fishing. 2 of the 3 years i owned the boat it went back to factory for repairs, then I had to wait till late April to get it back. The 4th year they replaced it with a Sylvan after i threatened them with a lawsuit. We spend our hard earned money on something to enjoy our time off and they ruin it for us by running us around! Smokercraft CAN EAT MY SHORTS! I aslo agree its better to over power your boat than to under power it. Good luck and choose your supplier carefully! DuV


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## theduke (Feb 29, 2008)

I bought a new Lund last year 19'-6" with a merc 4 stroke 90 h.p..it pushes me at about 37 mph by my gps with 3 adults in the boat plus tackle,rods,etc and i have a lot of tackle,lol.it has a folding tongue on the trailer too.


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## JignPig Guide (Aug 3, 2007)

DuV said:


> My first boat was a Smokercraft. Took all the enjoyment out of fishing. 2 of the 3 years i owned the boat it went back to factory for repairs, then I had to wait till late April to get it back. The 4th year they replaced it with a Sylvan after i threatened them with a lawsuit. We spend our hard earned money on something to enjoy our time off and they ruin it for us by running us around! Smokercraft CAN EAT MY SHORTS! I aslo agree its better to over power your boat than to under power it. Good luck and choose your supplier carefully! DuV


I was looking at a new Smokercraft recently. And upon doing some research, I went with a new Triton. The Smokercraft has .020 of an inch less thickness in their materials than almost all of thier competitors. I thought if they were willing to skimp on the basic structure of the boat... what else would they skimp on?
Jig-N-Pig out...


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## DuV (May 9, 2004)

Jig; I'm glad you avoided the mistake I made.


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## scott17b (Feb 22, 2008)

I fish out of a 2005 G3 single console 90 hp yamaha. Had only one problem with fishing line that wrapped around the lower unit and cut into the lower seal. Called Yamaha and it was 2 months out of warranty... they replaced it free! Great customer service.


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