Further North

You're thinking clearly, stick with that. Really good results in the long run. I put off buying the first CMV I found for similar reasons, wound up with the virtually the same boat in better condition for the same money the following spring.

That's because I Wrote it poorly, not 'cuz you didn't get it. If that boat's even a remote possibility, I'd go look at it, but I've got really good self control. ?

Sorry...my reply was confusing - I meant it sure looks tempting. Engine hours...given it's at a dealer, you're likely safe. Boats like this show up sometimes, and the lucky buyer who jumps on them gets a good deal and saves a ton of cash. I bought my CMV 8 years old, with 3 1/2 hours on it...I had to finish the break in...the carpet was still sparkly... It was just a hair less than 30% of the cost of a brand new Crestliner 1850 a buddy picked up on the same day.

It sure do! That "life gets in the way" stuff is a bummer...

Like a lot of things..."it depends". Always worth a call. End of season stock, boat show season...

I hear that! I remember those days. Boat show...and dealer prices...are often below what the website will tell you.

Yep. It's virtually the same as my CMV and two Crestliners above.

That would be a great choice as well. I like the high front and back decks of my CMV...and thus the Lund Pro-V and Crestliner Bass Hawks. I don't like tackle boxes and gear on deck, so I like the ability to store it all under the deck, out of my way and the way these boats are set up allows me to do that.

Not sure you could get into one of the Crestliners for under $30K, but the smaller of the two might be close. https://www.crestliner.com/bass-hawk/1750-bass-hawk/ At 17' 9" with a 95" beam it's going to fish bigger than it sounds (my CMV does, and it's only about 6" longer). The bigger one is more, rated for a 200 HP Motor: https://www.crestliner.com/bass-hawk/1850-bass-hawk/

I can't comment on the boat, but I can agree with this: I had one on a 1990 Lund Pro-V 1800, and that thing would pull the bottom of the lake up if you needed it to. ...one thing you'll want to know: That motor is a thirsty son-of-a-gun. The last year I had it, I took a trip to Canada and spent about $550 in gas. The next year with a Suzuki DF 140 on a Crestliner Pro-Am 1750 I was under $100, and my last few years on Lake of the Woods with Johnson 140 Four Stroke (A Suzuki DF 140 with a Johnson hood on it) on a Crestliner CMV, I've been running somewhere around 165 - 170 miles for the week on about $75 - $80 in gas.

If you can live with vertical rod storage, it's a decent solution. They got in the way of my back cast and I hated them...took them off the same weekend I installed them. Other people use them forever and are fine (lots of saltwater fishermen, jig fishermen and trollers who aren't terribly active casting). Now that I'm throwing flies a good half the time, I'm pretty sure that if I installed vertical rod holders I wouldn't wait until I got home to tear them off...they'd be over the side in the first hour.

Yup. Were we talking glass, it might be a different discussion, but on the aluminum boat side, it's no contest. ...while you're looking, and if you can find a dealer (often the same as Lund Dealers) look at the Crestliner Bass Hawk. Should price out lower than the Lund, built in the same factory by the same people, hull is welded aluminum instead of riveted. I currently have a Crestliner, have owned a Lund Pro-V in the past, would have no problem buying either if something happened to my current boat.

Fully loaded (it's really a floating tackle box, some have called it a small tackle store, so take that into account) 42-ish. Empty, with the kid driving, 1/4 tank of gas...call it 48 MPH. There's an online test somewhere with a boat identical to mine that they claimed 52 MPH. I think they were...um...optimistic on their interpretation of the data... I drove one with a Yamaha 150 4 stroke on it...we were in the high 50s. Suzuki DF 140s tend to be on the low side of claimed HP, Yamaha F150s tend to test high, that's how I accounted for the difference.

If you look at Wisconsin north of Eau Claire, you can see the kinds of water I run on. Add in an annual trip to Lake of the Woods or other big water in Canada and that'll give some perspective on what I use it for. I can't think of a new boat I'd trade the CMV for, but it something happened to it, I'd be in a Lund Pro-V Bass or a Crestliner Bass Hawk before the ink on the insurance check was dry.

As much as I love my CMV (It'll be my last boat unless something dumb happens to it) I have a hard time believing that the 90HP motor on that boat will move it satisfactorilly. I run a Johnson 140 HP 4 stroke, which is really a Suzuki DF 140, and it works great, but if something were to happen to it, I'd bump up to max rating of 150 for a replacement. You'll love the boat, and how it fishes, the storage is great, it runs well in semi-crappy weather, but that 90 would concern me unless I got it on the water and tried it and it met my needs. That it's a 2-stroke is a benefit in my mind as I feel like that'll deliver more torque to get it moving at lower RPMs. Take it for a test ride, if you like it, buy it. It is certainly priced to compensate for the motor - that boat with a 140 or 150 would go for $15 - $16K here.

@Scott FScott, I'd tried the Big Green Popper last night on a St. Croix 10 wt. with a Rio Outbound Short line on it...it was fine, easy to cast as long as I kept line speed up with a double haul. Workable, but I'd not want to have it as my only choice for a day of fishing. Tried it on an 8 wt. tonight, Orvis H3F, Rio Single Handed Spey...no dice. Can't get enough line speed to push that big head through the air. The big hollow ties work just fine, so it's got to be the head...

Scott, I designed those for, and throw them with an 8 wt. They are all synthetic fibers, they are hollow tied, and there is very little material in them. The synthetic material sheds water like a duck's back and they collapse well when you throw them, so little wind resistance. I have a 10 wt. and use it now and then, but I decided (like you) that they are a PITA and I wasn't going to use them much...every since then I target 8 wt. or below with my ties and have been pretty successful. A lot of people tell me, "I should learn to fly fish." I always ask why. I learned to give myself more presentations, more tools in the tool box. I still throw gear about half the time on the water...maybe more.

Most people haven't, so you're far from alone. ...but that's because most people have a concept in their heads about fly fishing as being centered on noodley, lightweight rods and tiny, delicate surface flies. Here's some of my subsurface flies...and I intentionally tie light...some of the flies people are tying for muskies are both bigger and heavier.

Man...that'd take me an hour in and an hour out...

Tonight's fiddling around... ....and one for size...

Depends on the water, but yeah, it sure can be.

Weirdness...post got all fouled up...

That'd work. Middle seat...not so much...

That makes sense. That'd be even more in the way, if I recall my last 14' boat correctly. Have to step over that $%^& thing 30 times a day.

My flip down center seat is useful when we go out to drag the kid around the lake with boards on her feet. The rest of the time it is in the way.