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Posts: 291
Location: Madison, WI | Ive got a bud looking to buy a new boat this spring. He is looking at an Alumacraft Dominator 175cs. A little bigger than his boat now, he is looking to upgrade size and go to a console. Thing is, all the dealers are telling him that a 115 is plenty for that boat even though I beleive it is rated for a 150. Im trying to get him to go to at least a 135 but I guess the cost is pretty steep. Any ideas of persuasion are greatly appreciated. Is it not worth the additional money or should he look for something gently used with more HP?
My concern is it bogging down and not getting out of the water without running the motor 100% all the time. I only have a 60 HP so my knowledge of bigger boats is limited.
Thanks |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Two seasons ago I had what is now the Dominator. It was a Alumacraft Magnum 175cs. Owned that boat for five years and had it on the Great lakes and other big waters without a problem. We had a Mercury 115 fourstroke and it ran wonderfully. Pending our load, I could get 44mph pending conditions. Majority of the time it was 39-42mph without a problem. Had I put a better prop on it, I'm sure I could have done better yet. However we just never spent the money on a new one. The Magnum was rated for a 130 hp, but I know they resigned the boat on the dominator series and might even be a bit deeper. But I think a 115 fourstroke would be just fine if you ask me. Fuel economy was also very good. But if you were to put a Mercury 115 Optimax on that boat, I'm sure it would do even better yet. I sure wouldn't be afraid to put a 115 on that boat.
If you have any other questions, feel free to call me at the number below or ask away, I will try and answer any question.
Edited by Merckid 2/11/2008 1:56 PM
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Posts: 431
| By the looks of that boat, a 115 will be just fine. You're not buying that boat for speed. It's not real long and it's aluminum, so it's not that heavy. I don't know what speed you'll get out of it with a 115, but I imagine it's plenty. I run a 90 merc 4 stroke on a slighly longer, but faster hull and it will get into the low 40s. |
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Posts: 291
Location: Madison, WI | My intital main concern was that it wouldnt be enough to get going and would have to run at full throttle and kill the gas mileage, doesnt sound like that is an issue here, good stuff. So it sounds like I should recommend the optimax... |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | My buddy has that boat with a 115 yammi 4-stroke and I thought it was a little bit of a dog out of the whole. It fished great and I think he got it to 36-38 with two of us, but kind of slow I thought. I think the optimax will get you up and going a little bit faster. |
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Posts: 291
Location: Madison, WI | I hear last night he is also looking at the FishHawk by Crestliner....anyone run this boat?
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Lots of guys run that boat and seem to like it. Is he looking at the 1750? I think they used to have the gas tanks built into the back of the boat (like under the rear deck) rather than in the floor like the Alumacraft. With a bigger 4 stroke and gas it can get a little heavy back there from what I hear. I would think it might also reduce some of the storage.
This isn't something BAD, just something to compare with. They might have gone to in floor gas tanks now too, I'm not sure. Lots of guys are plenty happy with their FishHawks though, so I don't see it being a problem.
For the boats you are talking about, you might want to try the boats and motors forum over on Walleyecentral.com. That has a VERY active boats forum, and it seems like you can always find a half dozen or more guys that have run just about any rig you want to ask about.
curleytail |
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Posts: 177
Location: Cohasset, MN | I don't know how different the new FishHawks are but I've got a 2000 1750 with a Johnson 115. Hole shot is good or excellent depending on prop. Top speed (unloaded) is 40-43 (GPS), again, depending on prop.
Edited by jtroop 2/12/2008 9:20 AM
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Posts: 138
| I have an 01' 1750 Fishhawk with an 01' Evinrude 115hp Ficht I also have an 00' Evinrude 9.9 hp fourstroke kicker and I'm maxing out at 43 mph on the GPS fully loaded. (2 guys and gear) |
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Posts: 291
Location: Madison, WI | I think he is looking at both the 1750 and 1850 fishhawks. If you guys had to do it over, would you look at buying brand new (and outfitting it all yourself), or looking at something 2-3 years old with all the bells and whistles included (batteries, graphs, rigging, etc.) and maybe saving 4-6 grand.
Again, thanks for all the help. |
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| I've got an '06 Crestliner 1750 Fish-hawk for sale. 815-735-3863. Dont |
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| you might want to tell your friend to look at a mirrocraft aggressor or aggressor exp. they both have aluminum flooring so they won't rot and also makes them very light. very nice aluminum livewells also. |
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Buddy's New Boat