Posts: 32944
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I have fished a Magnum on LOTW, Wabigoon, guided on Pelican (3600 acres) and other windswept lakes, and never had an issue with 'bouncing' in one foot waves, and ran the hull easily in real live 2 to 3' seas which is a HUGE wave on a 4000 acre lake.
I have owned several 16' class aluminums. I'd select the Mag every time for ride, fishability, storage, and open floor space. The hull design is a sponsoned V which has absolutely nothing to do with a Tri Hull, features more actual 'V' than most 16' class aluminum, and there's OBVIOUSLY somewhere for the water to go; the hull design is very similar to a Boston Whaler.
The resale on used Magnums is unexcelled. Call any Tuffy dealer and ask them how they like taking in used Mags. Money makers.
That said, 3' to 4' seas and you will probably leave the water, as you would in any of the hulls asked about, hence the reason Tuffy builds the Esox Deep V models. The Magnum is absolutely and positively a drier ride is crosswinds than ANY 16.5' aluminum V and controls FAR better in a strong wind, and NO 16' class aluminum rivals that boat at rest in fishable winds as far as stability at rest. 3 250# anglers can stand on the side tank in any wind on Pelican and the boat is stable and yaws hardly at all. I regularly ran a Magnum into the wind with my electric motor...even whitecaps..and there were zero stability issues.
The Magnum storage compartments are sealed fiberglass laminated compartments that are gasketed and sealed from the top and the bottom and are very large. The side tank livewell is 60" and rear baitwell plenty big enough to carry a limit of walleyes.
As far as rigging, the Mag electronics connections are run from a computer base with accessory 1&2 to the nose of the boat, and 3 & 4 to the rear, all the wires are pre-run, labeled, and controlled from the brain box keypad. Large areas are set aside for mounting, and easy access is provided. The Magnum matched trailer has 14" chrome rims, swing tongue, matched welded bunks, side guides, LED lighting, stern retractable straps, spare and carrier, 1/4" plate step pads, and is custom fit and matched to the boat.
The description of where he intends to use the boat is perfect territory for the Magnum.
Aluminum is absolutely POSITIVELY no more resistant to damage from impact than fiberglass and is, in fact, more susceptible to puncture.
In fact FRP is FAR more resistant to serious damage from impact, and if there IS damage, it's repairable'. Aluminum is not other than a weld, which ain't pretty. I promise you, if you strike a well built fiberglass boat hard enough to 'crack' the FRP, you would destroy an aluminum hull as badly. Set the Magnum up with a keel guard to eliminate constant wear going through the gel coat on the nose portion of the keel, and you are set. You would think from that post Tuffy, Ranger, Yar Craft, Triton, and all the other FRP hulls are eggshells waiting to break. Not even close.
How many really big water cruisers are made of aluminum? Why are most made out of FRP?
Remember, Lund builds high quality glass boats as well.
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