Posts: 656
Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | I have a 2005 Alumacragt Tournament Pro 185 with a Yamaha 90horse 4 stroke tiller and a 15 hourse Yamaha kicker. This is a larger rig than what you're looking at. I had a 92 Lund Angler II that was 16 feet and a 50 horse Yamaha 4 stroke tiller on it. This would be about what you're looking at in your Alumacraft Magnum. Go for the 4 stroke motor you will not regret it. They're quieter, smoother, idle down and burn less gas. They troll very well too. I had the 16 foot Lund on big water. It did the job but was actually a bit small. I had to watch the weather closely, which is always a good idea but I really had to watch it with that boat on big water. On the other hand it is nice for smaller water like you sometimes fish.
I can troll with my 90 horse on the big boat. That is forward trolling/speed trolling cranks,etc for muskies. It will not slow down enough to live bait righ troll for walleyes if that is part of your plan. My old 50 horse 4 stroke was pretty much the same. Not quite slooooow enough for back trolling live bait rigs if that is part of your plan. If you have either a good bow mount electric motor or stern mount electric motor that should take care of the sloooooow live bait/jig fishing. One trick to slow yourself down with while using the big motor is to trim it way up so the prop doesn't bite as much water. For live bait rigging, as seldom as I do that, I have to use my 15 horse kicker and backtroll and even that can be to fast. But for forward trolling your 50 horse 4 stroke will work fine, you should be able to go about 1 mph on upwards to whatever speedtroll you want.
I don't like Merc motors. Sorry that's me. If you like them buy them but you couldn't give me one of them. If you did give me one I'd sell it and buy a Yamaha. Not trying to start a fight but based on my experiences I like the Yamahas.
I love my Alumacraft boat. Granted it's larger than what you're looking at but it is well made. I'm happy with it. I've not kept up with the marketplace so I don't know about current models but at the time I bought mine it was the widest tiller boat on the market, glass or aluminimum. I think the Alumacrafts tend to run wider than the Lunds overall. Go for the widest boat you can, if possible. The added space inside is nice and it rides the water fairly well.
As for trailers, buy the best you can. Consider buying one that is at a higher weight capacity than what you really need. Trailers take a beating. Having a heavier duty trailer can save you money and lost time from roadside breakdowns. If your rig would normally take a 1200 pound trailer, consider getting a 1500 pound trailer instead. Flat tires, burned out hubs, bad wiring harnesses costs fishing time due to repairs that keep you off the water. Don't skimp on the trailer. Heck, if you had to cut back anywhere I'd cut back on the boat itself before I cut back on the motor or the trailer. lol Boats usually don't have much maintenance or break downs but trailers and motors do. |
