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Posts: 18
| Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can give me some advice on four potential packages that I'm looking into. I recently moved out to Ottawa from British Columbia and had to sell my old boat before coming out. I'd like to find a boat that I can use for all types of presentations (trolling, downrigging, casting, back trolling, etc.) and for the diverse number of species out here, including Muskie. I was lucky enough to catch a 37 inch fish on my first trip on the Ottawa River (had great assistance from a guide!) and I can really see that becoming a passion for me. Anyway, here are the four options I'm considering:
1) Lund 1675 Pro Guide with a Merc 75hp 4 Stroke Big Tiller
2) Lund 1725 Pro Guide with a Merc 75hp 4 Stroke Big Tiller
3) Alumacraft 165 Navigator with a 75hp E-TEC tiller.
4) Alumacraft 165 Competitor with a 70hp Yamaha 4 Stroke tiller.
I think that the 1725 Pro Guide will "just" fit in my garage, hence the reason it's the only 17 footer on the list. The 175 Alumacrafts will be a few inches too long so they are out.
All four packages are within a $3,500 range, with the Competitor being the lowest, then the Navigator, then the 1625 and finally the 1725. The Navigator is a full $2,000 less than the 1675. All of the prices are pretty much for a base package without any options at this point. I don't suspect I'll add all that much except for a bow mount and vinyl flooring. I still have my Humminbird from my old boat that I'll install. I'm trying to keep it down to a "bare bones" type boat as I'm already at the upper limit of what I want to spend. I want a tiller primarily because of the extra room it affords in a boat this size and for maximum fishability. I'll be using the boat all over the place, including Georgian Bay and some of the other larger bodies of water on days it is reasonable to do so (I spent allot of time on some big water back in BC so I do know the limitations of a 16-17 footer).
Right now I'm sort of leaning towards the 165 Navigator/E-TEC combo. This is the engine I wanted for a number of reasons and I think this would likely be the best performing combo of the 4 that I'm considering. I like the Pro Guides but they are at least a couple grand more than the Alumacrafts and they have that 400lb Merc hanging off the back, which I'd like to avoid if I could. Swapping out the Merc for an E-TEC or Yamaha is going to add another 2K to those packages so doing that would really make them quite a bit more than the Alumacrafts.
I'm also not sure about how the two Alumacraft packages stack up. I like the slightly larger beam of the Navigator and I think the 75 E-TEC would be quite a bit stronger than the F70 on a "similar" hull just given the displacement advantage. I have nothing against the Yami (had an F50 on a previous boat and it was great), but on a boat these sizes, I'd like the get the most I could performance wise. I do like the VTS option on the Yamaha tiller though.
Do any of you have any of these packages or would you be able to share your thoughts or opinions? I've tried to do as much non biased research as I can and it sure seems like Alumacraft and Lund are close enough to each other that it could come down to dollars or pure personal preference. A couple grand is a fair amount to me right now and if I can swing the Alumacraft and get the engine I want for less, it just seems like the best option, unless there is something that REALLY makes the Lund stand out. Coming from BC where Alumacraft didn't really have a presence, I'm just not experienced with what they have to offer, their quality, etc. It seems great from everything I've read, but I thought I'd post this up and get some feedback.
Thanks in advance for any info you can share! | |
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