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Posts: 67
| I need a new boat (need...lol).
I can buy a new 15 Tuffy Esox Mag for $20,000, or a 16 Aluma 175 Competitor for $22500.
Tuffy, 80" wide, Fiberglass, 60hp merc, had one, liked it.
Competitor, 95" wide (and a foot longer), Metal, 70hp Yami, had an '11 165 Nav/70 Yami, liked it. The Alumacraft has upgraded Phoenix trailer, so that's a wash.
Any other ideas for boats of this size? Neither have true dry storage (like the 15 Skeeter I just sold). I seem to enjoy fishing out of the tillers I've had.
I mainly fish Northern WI lakes (Musky) and the WI river. I am concerned I need to spend some time on Green Bay.....will the Mag handle that?
What about Backtroller boats?
I will say...I did REALLY like the dry storage I had with my Skeeter bass boat, but I just didn't use the 250 SHO like it wanted to be used, boat wouldn't go 20mph very well either.....10 or 40 plus! |
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Posts: 32883
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | The Magnum storage compartments other than the rod locker and battery compartments are now molded fiberglass, sealed and glassed to the bottom of the deck, and have a gasketed, sealed lid, as do all of the lockers. Only way to get water in those is to flood the interior of the boat, tear a gasket, or otherwise compromise the seals.
99% of the time when I deal with a wet storage locker in that boat, I find a loose lock seal on the latch bottom or maladjusted locking mechanism. You'd be amazed at how much rain can leak through a loose Perko style latch. |
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Posts: 67
| My 2013 Magnum was a wet one.
When did these "changes" to the compartments happen Steve? |
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Posts: 32883
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Not sure, but the 2105 definitely has this. Just look inside the compartments up at the deck and the compression gasket that seals against the lid. Only way for water to get in is a lock or maladjusted seal. |
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Posts: 291
Location: Madison, WI | Ive got a 175 Navigator (same as Comp now) and really like it. I maxed it out with a 150 opti as it was the same weight of the 115 4 strokes. I have a friend that has a 90 on that boat and it dogs.....bad. 115 might be ok but its nice to run 35 mph at half throttle too.
If your going to stick with smaller lakes, id go magnum but if you are going on bigger water, id go with a the alumacraft. Mine is on LOTW and never had an issue if we had to run through 5-6 footers. |
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Posts: 633
Location: Madison, WI | 5-6 footers? I call BS on that! Any time waves approach true 3' or better, the ride will be sketchy in any boat - including 620s. Neither of those two boats will handle big waves well, but for casting in any normal conditions I'd take the e-mag. I have 2 friends with the magnum that I fish in regular and I used to have a Nav 165, I prefer the Tuffy |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I don't know that I would venture out on GB with any kind of wind / waves in an esox mag... it can handle driving in big waves but I think you would be taking water over the bow while casting if you work into the wind... mag is a great rig but a deep v of some sort is going to be safer on BiG water |
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Posts: 8772
| sworrall - 1/4/2016 9:00 PM
The Magnum storage compartments other than the rod locker and battery compartments are now molded fiberglass, sealed and glassed to the bottom of the deck, and have a gasketed, sealed lid, as do all of the lockers. Only way to get water in those is to flood the interior of the boat, tear a gasket, or otherwise compromise the seals.
99% of the time when I deal with a wet storage locker in that boat, I find a loose lock seal on the latch bottom or maladjusted locking mechanism. You'd be amazed at how much rain can leak through a loose Perko style latch.
Several of mine were just loose enough for that to happen. |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | Brad Nelson nailed it.
As to the other poster, don't know about 5 and 6 foot waves. I can run up.and down 3 and the majority 4ft waves with my crestliner running 1/3 throttle around 20mph. I wouldn't dare driving those full throttle. Nobody is running waves bigger than 5's full throttle or even 1/3 throttle. I know guides in fiberglass running 5mph in 4's on lsc.
Edited by ToddM 1/5/2016 2:48 PM
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Location: minocqua, wi. | i just put the hammer down and ride the top of those 6 footers ...
you measure them with girth tape? |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | jonnysled - 1/5/2016 3:25 PM
i just put the hammer down and ride the top of those 6 footers ...
you measure them with girth tape?
Sled you have a hydrofoil.
Never girthed a wave, I just use the bump board. |
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Posts: 32883
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | In answer to the question, the new Tuff Trail trailer is a welded frame tube model with powdercoating, a special axle, aluminum mags standard, matching fiberglass fenders. Very nice trailer.
If you didn't know not to call any product 'junk' here, now you do. |
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Posts: 67
| No, I didn't know I couldn't say that, sorry.
The Phoenix and Tuffty trailers I've had have been 1st class and VERY well made. The Shorelanders I've had were not my favorite.
Do you have an affiliation with Tuffy Steve of some sort? Just curious. That could help me make up my mind on what boat I buy.
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| Todd's comments about running full throttle in big waves brought back memories of working at my service club's tent on the shore of Lake Winnebago for Walleye Weekend. 300 Teams participate in a Mercury sponsored tournament.
One year the wind was howling out of the north and the waves were over 4 feet on Thursday when the guys were pre fishing. I was setting up our tent and took a break to see a bunch of boats head out. Winnebago is a huge lake but shallow so waves build quickly. Those guys were running up to Oshkosh from Fond du Lac and when they got to full throttle, those big Rangers and Lunds were going airborne. And this was for pre fishing. After watching those boats slam down after going airborne, I understood why a tournament fisherman had told me not to buy a used walleye boat from a serious tournament guy. If they didn't have special air ride seats, they must have turned their kidneys into mush. |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | Not to mention everything in it takes that beating too. I know people like that and they lose rods, #*#* bouncing and flying all over. Was in a big name fiberglass bass boat on lsc, the guy decides to drive across with the boat rather than launch on that side. The constant bang on the 2fters at speed cost him his trolling motor transducer for his big dollar hummingbird. Know another guy who won't drive to Canada to launch, all travel by boat. Took him and drove my crestliner 22 miles in 4fters in the dark. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | ToddM - 1/6/2016 7:06 AM
Know another guy who won't drive to Canada to launch, all travel by boat. Took him and drove my crestliner 22 miles in 4fters in the dark.
Won't or can't ?  |
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Posts: 32883
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | materospizza - 1/5/2016 9:28 PM
No, I didn't know I couldn't say that, sorry.
The Phoenix and Tuffty trailers I've had have been 1st class and VERY well made. The Shorelanders I've had were not my favorite.
Do you have an affiliation with Tuffy Steve of some sort? Just curious. That could help me make up my mind on what boat I buy.
OutdoorsFIRST has an affiliation with several boat companies in our fishing company portfolio, it's what OutdoorsFIRST does. We have a huge file of pros hitting it hard in the big stuff beating equipment and body to a near pulp. This one Keith shot last Summer. It was running about 3' to 4' out there.
Nothing with Alumacraft, but we're friends with brand management, some of the Alumacraft pros, and Canadian management from their Lund days. I have been associated with Tuffy since 1976 with a couple jobs with other builders including Skeeter just before the Japanese bought them. I liked Kilgore, but I was the only Yankee there. Took a ton of abuse, and handed it back pretty regular.
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | dfkiii - 1/6/2016 7:31 AM
ToddM - 1/6/2016 7:06 AM
Know another guy who won't drive to Canada to launch, all travel by boat. Took him and drove my crestliner 22 miles in 4fters in the dark.
Won't or can't ? ;- )
Won't. One day I drove from belle river to the north channel just to launch.
Edited by ToddM 1/6/2016 12:58 PM
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Posts: 67
| sworrall - 1/6/2016 12:16 PM
materospizza - 1/5/2016 9:28 PM
No, I didn't know I couldn't say that, sorry.
The Phoenix and Tuffty trailers I've had have been 1st class and VERY well made. The Shorelanders I've had were not my favorite.
Do you have an affiliation with Tuffy Steve of some sort? Just curious. That could help me make up my mind on what boat I buy.
OutdoorsFIRST has an affiliation with several boat companies in our fishing company portfolio, it's what OutdoorsFIRST does. We have a huge file of pros hitting it hard in the big stuff beating equipment and body to a near pulp. This one Keith shot last Summer. It was running about 3' to 4' out there.
Nothing with Alumacraft, but we're friends with brand management, some of the Alumacraft pros, and Canadian management from their Lund days. I have been associated with Tuffy since 1976 with a couple jobs with other builders including Skeeter just before the Japanese bought them. I liked Kilgore, but I was the only Yankee there. Took a ton of abuse, and handed it back pretty regular.
Good to know....its nice to access to smart guys when ya need em.  |
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