Location: Green Bay, WI | misterperch - 5/16/2013 11:07 PM
Just wondering what are the major brands from your perspective?
I am very interested in your prespective you seem like a person who puts a lot of thought into things
Sorry, didn't see this until now...
I have a few "leading" boats right now. Mainly, I am looking for a boat with a more trolling-friendly floor plan and a hull built for big water. So in no order:
1) Tufffy 2060. Very nice hull, although the cockpit is too small for my needs. Build quality of the 2060 I was seemed very good--the 6-7 year old rig looked like it would pass for a one year old (or newer) boat, if it had been detailed. With an Optimax, that thing is a rocket! Personally, I would put a 200hp Verado and a 15hp Pro-Kicker on the hull and go fishing. At first I thought the 90" beam would bother me, but it really didn't at all. The hull is significantly lighter than the other glass boats, no doubt due to the kevlar. The cost for the Tuffy rigs is about the lowest of any of the boats I'll mention--a big plus. And Tuffy is a relatively local company, which I really like a lot. I can't really see how a person could go wrong in buying one, so long as it has the lay-out you like. I am not a big fan of the storage around the cockpit in the 2100 though, as it's what I don't like about the Ranger Fisherman. So I'll be interested in seeing the pictures of Mike's rig.
2) Warrior V193/203. I rode in the 203, and it's a MACHINE. Big, beefy, powerful with the 300hp Verado. No doubt it could take anything that Green Bay could dish out--at least anything that I'm able to tolerate. I absolutely LOVED the floor plan, as you can hold a dance in the cockpit. The gel coat is as good the majority of boats, but that of the Ranger is probably *slightly* better...as is the Ranger's fit and finish. This isn't a big deal though, as the two are quite close. But the 203 is significantly cheaper than a comparably-equipped 620 Fisherman. Also, the console is HUGE, so if you are a gadget freak like I am, you won't have a problem finding a place to mount anything. The storage is deceptively ample--much more room than I would have expected for that floor plan. Some guys will knock the boat for not have the livewell of a Tuffy or a Ranger, but I call BS on that. With muskies, the Kahuna is the livewell. Sure it might be nice to have a larger livewell that a guy could ice for a fish in trouble in warmer water--but then you better carry O2 additive, because just cooling the water doesn't oxygenate it by itself--not quickly anyway. So far the Warrior is my leading candidate, as it's a trolling (and research) machine! I want to tour the factory this week though, and look at a 193 in person. At 19'3", it might be large enough for me, but it does have a full foot less room in the cockpit, compared to the V203 (20'3") we rode in. My wife really liked the boat too, although she liked the Ranger and Skeeter a lot as well. Price is second only to the Tuffy.
3) Ranger 620. What can I say...it's a Ranger. I will say that it's about the most expensive rig I looked at--but probably as easy to sell as anything, at least in this area. But the cockpit is not really trolling-friendly for me. But other than that, there really isn't much to complain about--and the new hulls will pretty much go through anything, although I've found them to be a bit rough in rough water. But I don't go fast on Green Bay, so I don't really consider that a problem. I would be thrilled to own one, no doubt.
4) Skeeter MX 2025. Very nice floor plan, with a doubt. Better cockpit for me than a Ranger. Gel coat is very close in quality to the Ranger, and about the same as the Warrior from what I've seen. I haven't ridden in one yet, but from what guys who have are telling me, it's a great rig. Looking closely at the hull though, I don't think it's the "big water" boat that the others in my list are. I might be wrong about that, but the hull just looks shallower to me, and I'm not sure but it looks to me that the dead-rise isn't as steep. The price is a bit less than Ranger (not much), but more than the Warrior. The storage is better than the Warrior though--at least on the (larger) front deck. The other boat to look at in the Skeeter line is the WX 2100, as you can still find them very reasonably-priced as new "hold over" boats, as that model was discontinued this year. I'd like to take a ride in the 2100, but so far it hasn't worked out in my schedule. The WX 1900 is a nice rig too, but at 18'9" it's a bit short for me--and I didn't like the console. It would be a challenge to mount two large electronic units there, which is a big deal for me.
5) Yar Craft 209. By all accounts a great hull, but I've never even laid eyes on one in person. Joe Okada is supposed to give me a call in a day or two so I can get out into the bay with him after the smallie tournament this weekend. I'm really looking forward to that, as I've heard it's an awesome rig. The cost is about the same as the Ranger, but I think that I will like the floor plan. That boat reminds me of the Warrior actually.
6) Lund 197GL/208GL. Nice boats, but I've never ridden in one. The 197 has far too little cockpit for me though, so I'd need the 208...but that's about the same money as a Ranger, if not more. They say the boats are a great ride, and I have no doubt. But I've ruled these boats out, because I think there are better boats out there for my needs...at substantially less money. I love Lund though, so I really have nothing bad to say about them.
So those are the boats I am really considering, although I think I've ruled-out the Skeeter 2025 as well as the Lund rigs. The 2025 is great boat no doubt--but it's more of a caster's boat, and I'm more of a troller due to this bum foot I have. It's just hard to be nimble with a 3-4 pound plastic brace locking your ankle at 90 degrees. But the Warrior's gunwale height and outwards cant is perfect for me for casting from the back cockpit floor. The bow is the smallest of any of the boats I've mentioned, but this is actually not a bad thing for me. It's certainly big enough to fish from if you want to, but they've really built that boat for big-water trollers. So truth be told, I think it's going to be hard to beat the Warrior I rode in last week. It's an amazing rig and every person I've spoken to who is associated with that company has been A-1 first class. I can't wait to visit the factory.
But really all of the boats I've looked at are great rigs, and I'd be very lucky to own any one of them...and in reality I could make any of them work for me. But since I have pretty much resigned myself to not using this rig until *next* year anyway, the pressure is off in that sense. So I want to look at as many of these as I can and pick the one that will work best for me.
There you go--there's my "short" answer on the progress made so far. If you have a few hours, we can get more in-depth on these rigs!
TB |
