Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Reef Hawg... Jason, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the floor space of the current 1760 T model. I had the opportunity to see one with the factory rear deck extension up at Wild River Sports this summer... There is a ton of room on the floor, and if you make a rear extension like Lambeau is going to ( a great design I might add, IMHO) you would still have the room that I think you desire. You mention butt seat placement and that too is a special requirement of mine and I hate where Ranger has it in their 618 models. Mine in my 690 is up closer to the bow and Tuffy's new one is closer yet and it is right in the sweet spot. It allows you to work either side of bow without getting off the seat.
For those that haven't seen one of the new Tuffy's first hand I can tell you it has the finest center-line rod locker that I have ever seen.. Head and shoulders above Rangers by a long way. I had the opportunity to drive and pretend fish, and load about 6-8 of my rods in one of the first new 1760 prototypes in the summer of 04 and the rod locker is unbelievable.. Lambeau, you aren't going to know what to do with all that room...you're gonna have to buy some more rods or put a dog bed in there for you Lab..:)
Additionally the new 1760 sits as flat in the water as their Esox Mags do... and it should track behind the trolling motor like it's on rails.
For those looking at a tiller rig that will handle any WI water and still give them the safety to go to LOTW or MN the 1760 is definately worth checking out... And it won't break the bank either.
To help answer your question on Tuffy factory keel guards. My friend who purchased the last new tuffy I owned (July 2001) from a client who purchased it from me originally is storing that rig in my shop and the keel guard looks as good as the day I picked the boat up in Lake Mills. The folks in Lake Mills can turn out some of the highest quality products on the market today.
Now to throw my .02 cents in the ring... I used to be a tiller freak since the late 70's but have really grown to like consols again. I currently run a Ranger 690 and to me it has the ultimate interior layout, I like side tank type layouts and the current 618C is just a bit small in terms of storage and leg room when driving. Like someone said earlier, if they would put it in the 618 Tiller hull, and forget the darn rod tubes and make it an open locker I would already have one on order... Like Reef Hawg... I too think they missed the boat by not offering a rear deck option in the 618T, but then again that rig was designed with the walleye guys in mind. But I love the side tank design and man do they ever have the storage...
Like Norm, I'm looking forward to seeing the new 18' model Tuffy in a single consol version with the optional storage compartments/decks.
Steve, I hope Tuffy is still going to offer the top-cap as an option.. There's still a few of us out there that like that look and are willing to pay a little extra for it.
Lambeau, Congratulations on your new rig... You're gonna love that hull.
Jason, you really need to check them out, suspect you will pleasantly surprised and it will be a darn close fit to most all of your expectations. |
