Gambler boats?

[Square1]

I was wondering if any of you run Gamblers and have any input as to how the ride is? I know they're speed demons but is the ride acceptable in rough water or will it just pound the crap out of you? Would the ride be comparable with a Bullet 20XD or a Triton Tr20 or Tr20X?

I spoke to someone who owns one and all he could tell me is it's fast.

Thanks

[5bass]

I have a Gambler and am buying another one soon. I think the Gamblers ride better than Bullets and compare well with the Tritons. The Tritons are heavier and have deeper sides which helps alot in big waves. The new Triton X2 has some features that make the ride alot better (different hulls, special seats) but aside from that, I dont think the Triton is as superior of a boat as everyone thinks.

In 3 or 4 foot swells, every brand of boat will have a rough ride. I bet if you bought a Gambler, you'd never buy any other brand of boat. No matter what the ride was like.

[michbass]

They ride fast  ;D  Just rode in one for a tournament on lake st.clair. It was a rough ride, more so than any champ or ranger I have been in. I love the front deck you can land a plane on it, the back deck was tight. Not to talk bad but I dont think there design lends itself to bodies of water like the Great lakes due to being such a light boat. It was a 10year old boat though and others ones might be different. They have the best lines in the business though.

[5bass]

Rangers and Champs are much heavier than the Gamblers, thus plowing thru bigger waves.....Gamblers tend to 'jump' waves, making for a rough ride. But I can honestly say I'd own nothing else but a Gambler unless I was buying a boat to fish the Great Lakes exclusively....then I might just buy a deep side walleye boat.

[RobDar]

Gamblers are nice boats. I think the ride issue is more of finessing the driving a little.

...and how often do you really fish in big water? I mean it is nice to know that your boat can swing it ( which a Gambler can)...but how often does it really happen? At least near me I may get stuck out on 3'+ swells maybe 3 or 4 times a year. This year not at all...hardly a day with water over 1' this year.

Of course if you fish the great lakes or something you have other considerations.

[5bass]

Another thing that may help your decision is that Gamblers are not built with any wood, its all fiberglass composite material. You wont have any 'soft' spots on the decks after years of use and you dont have to worry about any wood rotting in your boat. If you can find a Gambler to look at before you make your choice, get in it and crawl around. Sit in the drivers seat. You will immediately notice that you sit IN a Gambler. You sit ON the other boats. Take a look at how well the boats are put together. Of all the other boats I've owned, seen, rode in, none were as well built as a Gambler. I am selling mine right now only because I want a new one. Its a 1992 and it is still a rock solid boat.

And Gamblers are actually pretty rare....I asked a fellow Gambler owner about production #'s and he says that there are only about 100 made per year and over half of those boats are custom ordered boats. The guy I talked with lives near the factory and orders a new Gambler about every 6 months. I believe the last boat he sold only had 25 -30 hours on it. Some of you may know who I'm talking about. Thats just something else that separates the Gamblers from the 'cookie cutter' boats. Most Gamblers are actual custom boats.

Get on Boat Trader online. Go to the boat search and type in Gambler. You will probably see between 30 and 40 Gamblers for sale on there but realize that 10 -15 of those ads will either be old or a dealership that doesnt have any of them left. (believe me, I've called them-Ad will say Call for price) So in all, private sales of Gamblers are maybe 25 worldwide on Boat Trader.

Then type in Triton or Ranger or Skeeter and see how many come up. I bet you can find 300 or more Tritons at any given time, same with Ranger, maybe a little less with Skeeter.

I'm not knocking other boats at all because you can catch fish from any of them, I'm just partial to Gamblers if you couldnt tell. They are great boats.

[michbass]

 They are a sexy boat

[Olebiker]

I went to their web site, www.gamblerboats.com, and looked at pictures.  Where does your co-angler put his stuff?  

[5bass]

The co-angler doesnt help with the monthly payment so to answer your question, wherever he can.  ;D  

The guy who regularly fishes with me will take his monstrous sized tackle bag and sit it under his seat on the back deck and put the strap around the post so it doesnt fly off while we're running. He puts his rods down under the console and they ride up the side of the seat beside him. Under the consoles goes way back under there. Plenty of room for rods, extra clothes, etc....

It's a little tight at times but you have to sacrifice here to gain there. Most of the G-Boats are dual console as you'll notice. I have been looking for a single console that suits me but those are very scarce.

[Square1]

Thank you very much for the responses gentlemen.