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Posts: 91
| I've begun to look for another boat, and wanted to ask you all for suggestions on what to look for and suggestions for " manufacture types" of boats. I mainly fish for muskies, so I want a large area to cast from both bow and stern. At least a 7'beam, and 16 - 20' in length. Also looking for a decent size gas motor at least 50 hp, and a 24 volt trolling motor. I'm also interested in buying a used boat. What suggestions would you have for me, to look for in purchasing my next boat? Thanks again. |
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Posts: 1023
| I love my crestliner fishhawk 1650. The front deck is very big and the beam is quite wide for a 16 footer. The back deck is very small though. It has great storage too - for a 16'. I just upgraded to a 24v TM. 12 v didn't cut it. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | last year i bought a tuffy esox magnum and it was a great decision. based on your short description, it fits what you describe too. i love this boat! and especially the value for the money. |
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Posts: 529
Location: Not Where I Want To Be | I agree with jonnysled on the Tuffy esox magnum . It might be my next boat to keep in the Northwoods |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | What kind of water do you mostly fish? Big water takes big boat, and 16'-20' is night and day. They're not in the same class.
How much care and TLC are you willing to put in? All boats require work, but tin boats don't require polishing, waxing and can bounce off rocks and stumps easier.
Do you fish alone? I ask because storage and room become a consideration. I fish alone, so I don't need as much storage or room as a guy who fishes with a buddy all the time. My boat is short on storage, but long on room. But considerations like single or dual console, bass boat or multi species interior....
How much work do you want to put into it initially. If a boat looks like it'll take "X" amount of work, it'll actually take "XXX" amount of work to get it like you want. |
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Posts: 91
| I do most of my fishing with buddies of mine from my Muskie Club, so space is big! As far as putting time into taking care of my boat, if I'm making that big an investment, I'm certainly going to maintain it, starting with keeping it garaged.
As far as water size that I fish, the lakes I fish locally range from 100 -2500 acres, so I'd kind of like something to handle all. Ideally, I'd like to buy something new and top of the line, but as we all know, the economy sort of put a hold on that.
I'm looking in the range of about $5000. - $10,000 for this boat. So, I thought I'd start looking and asking around.
If someone has any suggestions ( and I have scoured Boats.com ) I would certainly be interested! Thanks again. |
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Posts: 494
Location: midwest | What type of tow vehicle will you be using? That can limit your choices as well. 2500 acres is not that large of a body of water, most boats with a decent beam in the 16-17 foot range would work well. I noticed you wrote "buddies" , would you be fishing 3 out of the boat at times? |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Agreed. 2500 acres isn't that large of a lake. By "large" I'm thinking Mille Lacs, LSC, Erie...that's big water. Water that can blow up on you and you find yourself in a small craft advisory. For what you describe, a 16-18' boat would typically be plenty. The only reason to go larger would be room.
If you're thinking of aluminum vs. glass, think about each boat's strengths and weaknesses. Glass will handle better, and usually won't get blown around in the wind like a metal boat will. But at the same time, a glass boat doesn't exactly bounce off rocks and stumps with the relative ease that a tin boat does.
And buying used is the way to go, economy or not. You get alot more boat when buying used, and there are some awesome deals to be had. It's a buyer's market. Just remember to find your budget, and then buy just below that. The boat will cost you money on top of purchase price. No two ways about it. It'll need something, or at the very least, just running them gets expensive...gas, oil, fuel filters, trailer tires, registration, etc. And don't forget good boat insurrance. You have to have boat insurrance. |
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Posts: 620
Location: Seymour, WI | Here is a thread I started last yr.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=40...
Lots of great info in there.
Grass,
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Posts: 1317
Location: Lebanon,Mo | Here are a couple pics. of my G3 V172 with 40hp tiller.More room than you will ever use.17'2" X 92" beam,ton of storage with two rod lockers.
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 1boat.JPG (72KB - 127 downloads)
2boat.JPG (65KB - 125 downloads)
3boat.JPG (51KB - 135 downloads)
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Posts: 90
| If it were me shopping in that price range, there are 2 on the boat ads forum here on Muskiefirst, that I would take a serious look at. The first is a 1750 crestliner with a 115 Merc, looks like a nice clean boat and I don't think there is a better aluminum boat out there for your needs. The other is a 2001 Tuffy Osprey with a 115 Yamaha on it. Again, awesome boat. Both are priced at $9500 and are worth a look.
Edited by JeffPaasch 3/11/2009 9:20 PM
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Posts: 91
| Missourimuskyhunter...Sweet Ride you've got there! However, I don't think your boat would fall in my price range. A friend of mine has a G3 , and have fished from it, and do agree, there is a lot of area to cast from and do like it. Definately one I would consider as well as a Tuffy Rampage Magnum, ,although, that price range is begining to reach my ceiling.
All great advice...thanks everyone, you've all been very helpful. And now the search!!! |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | For small waters there is no need for a deep v. A bassboat is much easier to fish out of. A stratos 176xt starts at $13500 brand new. There are some great deals on used boats also. I found my boat online. |
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