Boat Reccomendations?

[SwampDog]

I recently had to give the boat I've been using back to it's owner. She had an out of state job and has now decided she wants her boat back.

So what I'm asking is for any reccomendation's for a great crappie fishing boat? In other words which type of boat do you all have or reccomend?

I was thinking along the lines of the Alumacraft MV AW 1650 CC.
Or the G3 17' PF.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.


Chad

[Kenny]

Hey Swamp...I think you are going about this all wrong..you said "SHE" wanted her boat back. Any woman that owns a boat can't be all bad,,instead of buying a boat why not just marry her instead and get a free boat (hers) in the deal? And if you just happen to be already married...just change occupations and become an over the road trucker and have 2 families..happens all the time.

[Mrs. Crappie Stalker]

We have a 2001 Xpress X21 that we LOVE. I believe their parent company is Alumaweld. We bought it from a fella in Mississippi last year and got a good deal. I think he was sick to see it go. It's probably more boat than we actually need, but it can handle just about anything. It rides way better than our old fiberglass boat.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

Chad--i Own A 17 1/2 Ft Polarcraft.i"ve Had It Two Years Now And Its Agreat Boat!i Put It Places That I Never Dreamed Of Putting My Former Bass Boat!its Made Tough..i Use It On An Average Of 5 Days Aweek,with Very Little Upkeep. It Rides Well,has Plenty Of Room For 2 Or 3 To Fish,and With My 35 Hp Johnson Is Economical To Use! Good Luck An Good Fishin To Ya!!! Dennis

[King Crappie]

chad.... I own a alumacraft magnum v-17.5 big boat for all kinds of fishing.. I fish rivers so its big enough for that but yet small enough to fish ponds and backwater.. Also plenty of room to spider rig... Hope that helps ya a little.. tight lines Todd

[CrappieOutlaw]

Never owned an xpress, but have rode in a couple.........i didnt think an aluminium boat could ride that nice, plenty fast too. Only thing that I would have liked to see in those is a small livewell in the front. For the money sure seem like great boats.........

[SwampDog]

Kenny>>> As you stated I am already married. I was babysitting my wife's best freind's boat. If that makes any sense. She started traveling with Wally-World and has just redcently decided to move back our way's... Anyway's.

Thanks to all that have posted.. My wife and I are going boat shopping today and hopefully I will find one that I like.

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

I have a 2001 17' Ranger Cherokee. It has a 25hp 4-stroke Yamaha on it. 3 livewells and a lot storage. Minn kota trolling motor. Garmin depth finder that reads off the back of the boat. Bottom line that reads off the front. It is the third boat that I have owned and, by far the best boat I have had to this date. It will only go about 23mph. Someday I will have a boat with a Big motor. It sure is nice for those lakes that have a 25hp limit on them though

[Moose1am]

Don't overlook the Fishermarine Aluminum Boats. I have had mine for 25 years now and it's still going strong. That speaks volumes on how well they make their boats. Todays boats are all welded and I believe that they use heavier gauge aluminum. Mine is 0.080 gauge. The new ones are going with 0.100 gauge. So the new ones should be stronger and they have much better front end designes these days. My boat is heavy and full of long and lat stringers that help hold it together. The carpet on the boat has worn well. Only the very front of the boat needed to be replaced and they used a thin 20 gauge alumnium sheet to make the pattern and glued the carpet on to the thin aluminum, trimmed the carpet to the pattern after the glue dried and then scewed the entire thing down on the front heavy gauge alumunim deck pannels. I know how it's made as I replaced the old carpet with some new carpet recently. The only wood on the boat that I can find is under the seats and around the livewell and each door covering the four hatches has some marine plywood inside them. The doors are wrapped around all four edges with aluminum "U" channel and the channel is welded together at the ends. Each corner has a "V" notch on the U channel to make the bend. So they look good.

I would definatly look at the Fishermarine brand again if I go for a new aluminum boat. I may not buy another one but I will definately look at them and compare them to the other brands as it's a boat that has served me well.

It's been keep outside covered with boat covers made custom for my boat over the years. Hear recently I have been using the boat covers that Wal-mart Sells as they are much cheaper and I got tired of paying 350 bucks for a cover that only lasted for 2 or 3 years before it started to rip. The first boat cover I got from Vessels trim shop in Evansville, IN back in 1978 and it lasted for 5 years and was very thick material. Then they started using a much thinner canvas material and I stopped bying covers from them as the price didn't come down that much. I found that for 100 bucks I could get the thinner walmart canvas covers to last me two or maybe three years.

Here lately I have had the boat in my garage (unheated but dry)

www.fishermarine.com

[Tn_countryboy]

I recently had to give the boat I've been using back to it's owner. She had an out of state job and has now decided she wants her boat back.

So what I'm asking is for any reccomendation's for a great crappie fishing boat? In other words which type of boat do you all have or reccomend?

I was thinking along the lines of the Alumacraft MV AW 1650 CC.
Or the G3 17' PF.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.


Chad

I too have a Fisher marine welded all aluminum boat. It's a Ten yr old deep V 17SC with a 115 Mariner which pushes it at around 45mph. It will float in a foot of water and if it floats I can run the Mariner ( it cools) if I have to... I Love this boat, it's stable and will take big water or a small cove. The only thing I would change if I had to replace it would be to hang a 4 stroke on the back. And I don't have to worry about rotten wood. It's plenty tough too.... I've made a couple of mistakes that would have broken a glass boat. and all I got were a couple of small dents and a couple of small broken brace welds on the inside. I beached it on a rock in Lake Huron. Happy Hunting and Good luck I hope you find a good replacement.