Deep V Aluminum Boats

[Joseph B.]

I'm looking to buy a boat after 20 years not having one. I owned a deep V aluminum boat and found it to be durable and able to handle various lakes and fishing conditions. After hours on the internet, I'm narrowing my preference to Crestliner, but would appreciate your input to help me with my selection. Thank you for your time and input. Joe

 

 

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ 

No doubt Crestliner makes a quality product with a solid reputation.

I shopped hard for a similar craft recently and decided to go with the Lund Pro-V Bass Boat.

 A little over a year into it and I've been very pleased.

Good Luck with your search.

A-Jay

[NHBull]

I see a lot of crestliners on my lake they have a fan base.

It would not be a wrong decision.

 

I have a Lund dealer 45 minutes away, so I suspect my next one will be a Lund.

[Joseph B.]

I'm looking to buy a boat after 20 years not having one. I owned a deep V aluminum boat and found it to be durable and able to handle various lakes and fishing conditions. After hours on the internet, I'm narrowing my preference to Crestliner, but would appreciate your input to help me with my selection. Thank you for your time and input. Joe

 

 

[A-Jay]

 

A-Jay

[slonezp]

Im a Lund guy. Crestliners are made in the same plant as Lund. Dont think you can go wrong with either. Take a look at the layouts of the different models and see which suits you best. Crestliner has a new bass model for 2018 which os based off the Fishhawk hull. Basically a deep v bass boat similar to the one that @A-Jay owns only smaller

[tcbass]

What are you looking for? A 12' foot run about? A 19' foot console? You need to be a little more descriptive please. How many people will you be fishing out of it, just you? You and the wife? Your family?

[MickD]

My son has a Crestliner and loves it.  I have a Lund and I love it.  Both are high quality boats with good features, excellent build qualtiy, excellent structural feel.  There is one difference of consequence to me, and that is the Crestliner has a welded hull and the Lund has a riveted hull. I used to have a Monark welded hull boat.  Both my son's boat and the Monark would "wander" at speeds just above a troll, like the speed you use going out a long entry to the lake.  My Lund does not do that.  It tracks straight.  I asked a Monark engineer one time why the Monark had no keel and he said the keel is only necessary at low speeds to keep the boat tracking well, and if it tracks well enough, they don't put a keel on it.  These two boats do not track well enough for me.  I think the welded hull gets the keel because it is necessary in the construction of the boat, probably the boat's backbone.  My Lund also has a nicer live well, no post-it has a plug in the bottom and the overflow a screened port in the side of it.

 

One thing I've done when not sure of a big purchase is I insisted on a try-out of the boat/tractor/car/etc before the deal is complete.

[Further North]

I've had one Lund and am on my 2^nd Crestliner.  You can't go wrong with either.

 

When all is said and done, my preference is Crestliner but that was more based on available layouts than any hangup regarding riveted/welded hulls.

 

Prior to the boat A-JAY  has coming out, there simply wasn't a Lund that was set up like my '05 Crestliner CMV...but the 2018 Bass Hawk is a virtual re-incarnation of my boat and I would be delighted with either.

 

I am not a traditional "Deep-V" guy...the standard layout for deep-v boats doesn't fit how I fish:  Small front deck, console (or consoles) then that huge, deep well full of seats instead of a raised deck with storage beneath in back just screams wasted space to me...but a lot of folks love them and they work great for them.

 

I can't stand "stuff" cluttering my decks and I want as much of it as possible out of the way and stored in compartments rather than on deck in tackle boxes, etc.  There's enough rods and nets on my deck as it is...if I had a @#$%*&^ tackle box up there these days, I'd boot it over the railing in the first hour because it was in my way...but that's me.

[A-Jay]

28 minutes ago, Further North said:

I've had one Lund and am on my 2^nd Crestliner.  You can't go wrong with either.

 

When all is said and done, my preference is Crestliner but that was more based on available layouts than any hangup regarding riveted/welded hulls.

 

Prior to the boat A-JAY  has coming out, there simply wasn't a Lund that was set up like my '05 Crestliner CMV...but the 2018 Bass Hawk is a virtual re-incarnation of my boat and I would be delighted with either.

 

I am not a traditional "Deep-V" guy...the standard layout for deep-v boats doesn't fit how I fish:  Small front deck, console (or consoles) then that huge, deep well full of seats instead of a raised deck with storage beneath in back just screams wasted space to me...but a lot of folks love them and they work great for them.

 

I can't stand "stuff" cluttering my decks and I want as much of it as possible out of the way and stored in compartments rather than on deck in tackle boxes, etc.  There's enough rods and nets on my deck as it is...if I had a @#$%*&^ tackle box up there these days, I'd boot it over the railing in the first hour because it was in my way...but that's me.

I wait 10 years for someone to design & actually sell the boat I have.

I refused to purchase something that I knew in advance , wouldn't work for me.

This one certainly does.

A-Jay

[Further North]

35 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I wait 10 years for someone to design & actually sell the boat I have.

I refused to purchase something that I knew in advance , wouldn't work for me.

This one certainly does.

A-Jay

Your boat (in bench seat configuration) restored my faith the boat industry. It was, "My God!  Someone finally woke up and smelled the coffee!"

 

Until about a month ago, had something happened to the CMV, I'd have bought one 2 minutes after walking into the local dealer.  Love the layout, the utility...everything about it ('cept I'd mount an Ulterra, or maybe an Ultrex).

 

Having the Bass Hawk come out would make that a tougher decision, I'd have to at least spend an hour pouring through specs...

[slonezp]

54 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I wait 10 years for someone to design & actually sell the boat I have.

I refused to purchase something that I knew in advance , wouldn't work for me.

This one certainly does.

A-Jay

 

6 minutes ago, Further North said:

Your boat (in bench seat configuration) restored my faith the boat industry. It was, "My God!  Someone finally woke up and smelled the coffee!"

 

Until about a month ago, had something happened to the CMV, I'd have bought one 2 minutes after walking into the local dealer.  Love the layout, the utility...everything about it ('cept I'd mount an Ulterra, or maybe an Ultrex).

 

Having the Bass Hawk come out would make that a tougher decision, I'd have to at least spend an hour pouring through specs...

Way to make a guy feel like dirt guys   

[Further North]

2 minutes ago, slonezp said:

 

Way to make a guy feel like dirt guys   

Right...like there's anything wrong with your boat...

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, slonezp said:

 

Way to make a guy feel like dirt guys   

The import part there was "what works for me"

The Predator won't fit in my garage 

And you know I have a man crush on you and your Big Lund . . . .

A-Jay

[Joseph B.]

Thanks for your input and all good points help me make a sound decision. I considered a Bass boat but have only owned deep V. Thinking that a deep V is better on large northern lakes and more stable and dry, but let me know your thoughts as I have never owned a Bass boat. Thanks !

[12poundbass]

10 hours ago, A-Jay said:

The import part there was "what works for me"

The Predator won't fit in my garage 

And you know I have a man crush on you and your Big Lund . . . .

A-Jay

Be careful what you say to Slone at night, he gets a little frisky. I found that out a week or two ago. He's likes a gremlins, don't feed him after midnight or bad thing will happen! ?

[tcbass]

1 hour ago, Joseph B. said:

Thanks for your input and all good points help me make a sound decision. I considered a Bass boat but have only owned deep V. Thinking that a deep V is better on large northern lakes and more stable and dry, but let me know your thoughts as I have never owned a Bass boat. Thanks !

 

Well, some of the newer bass boats com with a deep v/semi-deep v hull for your lake types.

 

 

I've always wanted a bass boat one I got into bass boats and now one of my biggest regrets. I used to fish 2 people a lot and a bass boat was great, but for some reason I fished 3 people a lot this year and a bass boat wasn't great for that. If you have a 21' footer it might be ok, but I don't like having people up front fishing with me. I've been hooked before by another fisherman and I don't like feeling crowded. 

 

Also, the way you sit in a bass boat takes up about 3' feet of space that isn't take up on a regular boat, so if you have a 19' foot bass boat you really have a 16' foot bass boat which is a waste of space. Another thing is if you get a cheaper boat like mine the seats won't be as comfortable taking bigger waves. I've felt like I was going to break my back on some waves. A multi-species boat can have a nice air-ride cushioned seat. I think you can get them on higher end bass boats too now.

 

I think a deep multi-species will also have a lot more storage but could be wrong, I know A-Jay's boat has a ton of storage but I also think it has more of a deep-v hull.

 

My old man always said the two best days of your boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it, so no problem, my next boat will be a multi-species.

 

 

[slonezp]

13 hours ago, A-Jay said:

The import part there was "what works for me"

The Predator won't fit in my garage 

And you know I have a man crush on you and your Big Lund . . . .

A-Jay

The voices in my head are telling me to sell the old girl. Thinking about moving into an Impact.

[A-Jay]

5 hours ago, slonezp said:

The voices in my head are telling me to sell the old girl. Thinking about moving into an Impact.

What do think it will go ($) with a maxed motor & electronics ?

A-Jay

[slonezp]

19 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

What do think it will go ($) with a maxed motor & electronics ?

A-Jay

Just pondering right now. I probably won't do it, but you never know. My fishing habits have changed from 90/10 bass versus panfish to about 50/50 bass versus panfish. My son is still talking about moving to Nashville so it will just be me and most of the time with my dad on occasion. I looked at the Ranger and Alumacraft deep v's this past weekend. Sat behind the helm of a Ranger 1780(I think). It felt awkward not having the aircraft carrier sized deck in front of me. It's a nicer layout than the Alumacrafts which I really didn't care for. Lund by far has the nicest layout. If I do anything it won't be until the boat show season.

 

Sent you a PM

[Joseph B.]

Yes I hear you. Multi species it is for me because I chase fish all over the mid West and northern states/Canada. I'm going to go with what I had in a deep V and see what happens. Thanks for your no bull input and what you said rings true with me.

 

 

[tcbass]

1 hour ago, Joseph B. said:

Yes I hear you. Multi species it is for me because I chase fish all over the mid West and northern states/Canada. I'm going to go with what I had in a deep V and see what happens. Thanks for your no bull input and what you said rings true with me.

 

 

 

Glad we could help. Good luck. Tell us what you get!

[Joseph B.]

Well I bought a used (1998) Smoker Craft deep V, 172 Salmon fishing boat, one owner, rigged for fishing/trolling. Has a 2015 Mercury 115 h.p. 4 stroke with only 30 hrs. on it, newer trailer. Boat is clean, good condition. I plan to upgrade to a bigger/better bow mounted electric trolling motor, and maybe get a kicker motor too. I haven't purchased trolling motors or any new boat accessories for almost 20 years, so let me know what you like/recommend for electronics and trolling motor especially. Thanks!

[Elkins45]

This may be a useless post but it won't const you much time to skip over it if you like.

 

I bought a used G3 167V last winter. It's 10 years old but looked like it had just come off the showroom floor. I've put more wear on it in one season than the previous owner in 10 years. It's a riveted boat (I think all the new ones are welded) but I have nothing but good things to say about it in terms of quality. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem very responsive with idle speed steering--and what I mean by that is that I have a heck of a time lining it up to drive it onto the trailer. Yeah, I'm sure it's the boat's fault...

 

All this was to say that G3 makes a pretty nice V hull, or at least they did.

 

[Quarry Man]

how much did you get them for?