Looking to buy a new boat and was hoping you all could help steer me in the right direction. i will be running mostly in the cowlitz but occasionally i would like to use it for sturgeon on the columbia. I'm thinking about the 20.5 willie predator or a northriver. I've been told the north river boats are a lot more bang for the buck than willie.
thanks a bunch.

glowball,

Go to 3 Rivers Marine and talk to Bryan, he'll hook you up with a Alumaweld Super Vee with special factory options for fishing you won't see anywhere else. Great People, Great Service Great Prices! You can't ask for much more.
There phone # is 1.877.661.1575

i'm assuming nobody wants to help me out because you thought i was serious about running the peninsula with a sled. I was just making a point about vandalism. Had it happen to me so I'm holding a grudge against all that take part in it.

glowball - no, that had nothing to do with it, some of us just don't have any experience with Willies or North Rivers to form an opinion. I can tell you I like my 19' Custom Weld, though.

-N.

glowball, I have to agree with your comment from someone about northriver. We looked at Alumaweld but got turned off by their unwillingness to do a few custom things. They both have good web sites.
From looking at them they are both built well and
designed well. I liked the 4 inch wider bottom on the 20 ft NR. You have to go to a 23 with AW to get more than 72 inches. The NR is a bit heavier because of the thicker sides but then you hsave more planing surface with the wider bottom. I doubt a guy would go wrong with eather. Another
thing to keep in mind is that in time you will probably go 4 stroke if you haven't got one now.
We want a 225 and the darn thing weights 600 lbs.
The NR will take it, prop or pump. I have sold myself over the last year or so and got help from the guys on the board. I am biased to NR but you should look at both and go with your own judgement.
It's your money and you are the one that needs to be happy. Good Luck

You can't go wrong with the Predator or a North River, both are great boats. I looked at most of the brands before I bought my Predator and would disagree that you get more from the NR than Willie. I would say your dollar goes about the same distance. However, you definitely get more than you would with an Alumaweld. I checked out 3 Rivers before I bought and found those guys to be very nice and knowledgeable. The price drove me away. Willie is factory direct so you save the middle man margin which easily was thousands. He will deliver to Seattle for $200 or you can pick it up down south. I liked the finished product better as well. Had it for a year with no complaints at all. Great customer service to.

PD

I will agree with Predator Dawg.. I spent 6 months researching, test driving, and touring factories.. and feel that I got the most bang for my buck with the Willie Predator. I was able to add and subtract the optons I wanted.. Mike was right there with any question I had, and he asked me the right questions when we were designing the boat! AW had a package.. and it seemed like it took an act of God to add/subttract from that package.. NR was close, but I got more boat Willie boat for the money NR wanted.
I couldn't be happier with the boat and service I received from Mike and Willie at Willie boats!

Glowball- Good luck on your endevour - Alumaweld has many boats with 72 inch bottoms under 20 ft? I have 18 ft boats in stock with 72 inch bottoms.... And our boats with 82 inch bottoms start at 21 ft... A 20 ft Alumaweld has the exact same side thickness as a 20 ft NR, Osprey or Ranger. We do MANY very custom boat orders. That is one of the benefits of owning an aluminum boat, fab work is easier done than fiberglass. Whatever boat you get, you need to decide what is best for you! Material used, supports under the floor and solid welds along with a custom trailer not just an aftermarket trailer that happens to fit. Once again good luck on your decision!

BNelson
You are getting a crack at my business for the motor. As I told you I will buy from you as long as you are close to others price. I will always buy from a member of this board first unless I'm being taken advantage of. From your comments I guess the Alumaweld folks here in town are just too busy with people willing to take what they want to deliver than a guy who wants what he would like. It's my money and I won't be doing it again so I want it right this time. The NorthRiver has not yet been ordered as I told you. So lets see if you can get the custom work I want. I would like a 21ft SuperVee Pro with an 82 inch bottom with 0.19 thickness and 33 inch sides with 0.125. I will take a 10 or 14 degree deadrise but want a shoe so I can run the pump if I want. My preference is a 14 degree with shoe. That Honda 225 four stroke is a beast at 600 lbs. For the sake of trim I wonder if a forward tank would make more sense than all that fuel at your feet that rushes back coming out of the hole. It would not need to be big, 30-35 gallons is more than enough. If you can do this let me know. Thanks

Glowball-

I have a northriver 19 ft with the 175 sportjet. I couldn't be happier. When I was shopping, my impression was that sticker price was pretty similar for similarly outfitted boats. It's obviously a pretty competitive business. The Northriver seemed to be somewhat better finished, but the key deal for me was the design of the sides, which on my boat seemed better for kids. The NR has a pretty vertical line from the inside of the gunnel to the floor, while the other brands slanted somewhat. This seemed better for small children likely to be leaning up against the side.

They're all going to float, and are likely to fish well. They've all been stealing each other's best ideas for 20 years, so the performance differences are, in my opinion, small.

BigShark,

I would think very hard about not going 4 stroke on the main power. The reasons are weight, size, fuel economy, and new tech. The weight is out of control not to mention the size. How in the world could you mount a 9.9 and 225 4 stroke next to each other and not have them hit? Let alone mount rod holders. Have you ever backtrolled with a 225 or 250? My expierance has been that the motor is so large that you can't see your rod and that is with conventional 2 stroke efi motors. How about fighting fish in the rear of the boat? Try moving with a chinook or large sturgeon on over and around one of these big *******s, its not for rookies. Fuel economy has been another misconspection about these large 4 strokes. That motor in the rpm ranges of 4,500 to 5,000 burns between 14 and 19 gallons per hour. Those numbers are maybe a gallon or 2 better per hour than conventional 2 strokes. Furthermore, the jet manufacturer has not been able to find an impellar to work right in either the yamaha or honda. The reality is the technology is to new let them go on few guide boats and government rigs. See what happens. If it were my money I would have a 200 carb with high flow pump. Parts and service are easy to find and cheaper to fix. As far as boat wants go I would examine the bottoms much more before making a decision. The north river is not a one piece bottom. They weld the pad in the bottom. It's the same bottom they use in the inboards. Watch the boat run and backtroll if you get a chance. They push a pad of water when back trolling and never run truly clean. The design of a variable deadrise in this type of boat has not been perfected. Every manufacture has tried to build this hull and result is that the boats all do the same thing BOW STEER .. The side height request you have is an opiton that AWB needs to offer, however they are not going to change this model year. Your deadrise request also needs closer examination. The jet manufacture specifies that in order for the unit to work properly the bottom needs to be between 6 and 10 degrees. "Deeper vees are are not desirable for the outboard jet, not just because of increased draft and drag, but because the outboard jet needs a flat apron of water about 10" wide leaving the hull on which to set the leading edge of the jet intake, to mimimize air intake and frontal drag. The deadrise should be fairly constant and not to increase to a deep forefoot at the bow. A deep forefoot can cause spinout in sharp cornering and bow steering" The willie boats has done a good job in building a open boat that performs well. However it is a multiple piece bottom with 12 degree deadrise. The other issue with the willie is the side flair. The side hieghts would be negated by the flair. Just some food for thought. hope this helps.

ONSTEP
HMMMMMMMMMMM.....That bow sterring business doesn't sound good! The thing that attacks everyone toward AWB is the one piece bottom.
I never thought of the multi-deadrise bottom starving the pump of water and am greatful for the input on the pump mfg trouble with the motor.
As you say.......too new maybe. Darn, just when I thought I had it right too. It's a lot of money for me and I don't want to be sorry. Do you think there is a chance they will offer more freeboard
in the next model year? I can live with 10 degrees
as I won't be out at bouy 10 when there's a lot of chop. But I have to ask you:Why does AWB use that same multi-deadrise on the MIRAGE model that is so expensive? Thanks

What about a Wooldridge with that tunnel on the bottom of the hull to feed the jet?

-N.

BigShark,

You may not have to compromise anything. Check out this boat in 21ft. The sides are 30, but Jim or Mike can tell you if they can be raised.

As for the motor, if you truely want a sceaming deal, get it out of BC. You'll save thousands. The dealer I know of is a Merc guy, which is one of two brands I would put on a new boat if I was setting it up. E-mail me if you need more info.

Bigshark,

AWB does offer a higher side in the open formula vee series, however I think they will be resistant to build it in a 10 degree boat. The side height was an issue for myself also as I use the boat over the bar from basically July to end of Sept. for the most part. In the columbia itself I don't really ever have a problem or need for higher sides. That goes back to the bottom being 22 by 82" I believe. The boat is much dryer than my 21' by 72". (still a kick ass boat) As far the mirage being a variable deadrise they get away with it because of the inboard. That bottom is much like what the North River Commander (used to be ranger)series uses. ( by the way it is one of the best inboards out there). Essentially the weight of the inboard engine squats the boat low enough in the water that cavitation and bow are negated for the most part. If you look at running pictures of most inboards they all "squat" while on plane.
StorminN,
Wooldridge is using the tunnel to create a shallower running boat. How exactly they mount the pump with relation to the bottom of the boat I'm unsure of. I would imagine that it would be pefectly flat with the bottom. The question I have for Wooldridge is what happens if you have an impact or dent in the tunnel or leading edge of the tunnel? Does this cause cavitiation? Is it a one piece bottom? How do you repair the damage? No question they are the gurus of outboard jets and they build impellars for the manufacturer and provide lots of tech support.

ONSTEP
What do you have thats 22ft with an 82" bottom?
I went to the Tigard store today and found a nice guy full of info. He was not an arrogant used car type and was a good listener. What can be done is an open 21 by 72" Formula Vee with a full lenght shoe.They will do a 14 degree rather than the standard 18 degree deadrise. If I understand your other post correctly, this hull would still bowsteer. But, thought I would ask you anyhow. I love those 33 inch sides.The FV is sure built for stout. What is also a bit of a surprise is the thing prices out less than the NR Seahawk 20 and a lot less than their 21.

Hope you guy's realize that any motor purchased in Canada then sold here does NOT have to be taken care of under warranty by any Merc dealer
here in The lower 48. Some dealers may but most wont. The serial number will be checked and they
(MERC) will decline it.

Big Shark, give me a way to call you, we can get together discuss SI duck clubs, labs, and a 21', 84", 6 degree,and 31" sides.
You can see it in my yard.

My best buddy has a 20 foot koffler with a 200 merc he has been guiding out of for 11 yrs and he just ordered a new one i have rode in it many times I am not sure the dollar cost compared to the others but i know it has been trouble free and has had no problem with any of koffelers workmanship I also know that diamond nback boats will custom build a sled for you and beat everyones price I bought one of his 17 ft drift boats and it has been the best rowing drift boat i have owned and about $2000 less then anyone else around so you might give the boat builders down here in eugene a look see

Tilla
Great idea.I sent you an e-mail with my phone number.

Glowball, I have a 21' North River Ranger w/350PFI. I got the floor expanded to 78" and it makes a big difference in fishing room in the boat. I have nothing but good things to say about NR. They have alot of options that come standard in this boat(now called Commander). Give it a looksy, you wont be disappointed!

Fool