I am thinking of upgrading to a new 16' aluminum fishing boat. I would like to hear your opinions/suggestions on what brand to buy (Smokercraft, Lund, Fisher, etc.). I have dedided on a motor already, a Yamaha 4 stroke. I am looking to spend about 10K.

Thanks in advance!

i just purchased a 16 ft north river revenge i paid $6100 with 14 gal. tank and three north river seats with ez loader trailer. its all welded with an 82 in. beam two seat boxes and a bow step with storage. also has full length trays on each side.dry weight is 800# and rated to 45hp.i ordered a 40hp honda that im still impatiently waiting for.the quality of boat for the money is amazing when compared to the smokercraft lodge i upgraded from.you can see pictures at the north river site.hope that helps.

Hi Easy,
Have you looked at the duroboats? I am really impressed with mine and I get alot of compliments on it. Mine is 15' with a 25hp. I really like that it doesnt have a riveted hull. And it has a 10 year warrenty. It handles rough water real well to.Check out there web site www.duroboat.com . If you want to check on out Ill show you mine Im not to far from you. Also they are built locally.

Hey, Easy-- I can't speak for the other boats already mentioned, but I've run several that I think you might like. I think the Crestliner brand boat, especially the Angler and Fish Hawk series are about the best out there for ride and performance.

I don't like the Smokercraft boats for a lot of reasons, but the largest is that they, like the Lund, are riveted, and rivets will eventually leak. For aluminum, I believe that welded boats are the way to go. G3 has some decent vee-hull boats that you can buy as a package with a Yamaha. I currently run an Alumaweld Stryker (now I think it's the Super Vee LS or something) but that boat will be beyond your price range unless you can find one used. I really do like the simplicity of a boat built by a NW sled maker because they tend to be strong and pretty basic. You won't find livewells or baitwells, and you won't find carpet on the deck as standard.

If I were looking for a 16 aluminum to do double duty on the Sound as well as lakes my list would look like this: Crestliner, G3, Alumaweld, North River, Lee Shore Marine (out of Port Townsend) Work Skiff, and Alumacraft.

Good luck and have fun shopping,

Keith

Cant go wrong with NorthRiver

Fool

I have a 2001 Lund 17ft prosport witha 115 Yamaha 4 stroke, trailer,Minnkota, charger, rod holders, canvas, Lowrance gps map....the works. I am in this boat 24,000, and am willing to sell it for $15,000. It is in primo condition, except for a few barnacle marks on the outboard lower when I left it in the Marina for a week! I estimate 30 hours on the boat.

Thanks

I will second the vote for Crestliner.
All welded, features that you just don't find in this size boat like rod locker, livewell/fishbox, two concealed storage lockers, dual batteries with perko switch, really wide beam (87"), bilge, running lights and gunnels wide enough for Penn dr mounts.
I have mine with a Suzuki 40 4stroke, fish for 2 days on 6 gal gas and top out at 32mph(gps) .
Rides great on the sound in reasonable weather and fishes 3 with no prob and plenty of room.
If it sounds like an ad, maybe it is.....

Easy Limits

First, you need to tell the board what you intend to use your boat for (like river fishing, ocean fishing, bay fishing, lake fishing, etc. Second, you need to tell us what type of fish you intend to use it for. Then and only then can boat users tell you what may work best for you.

Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

I have been pretty happy with the Bayrunner BR15 I bought in 1982. It's not a river boat, though, it has a full length extruded keel that keeps it from going sideways in a turn or sliding sideways down the face of a swell. Mine has a 25hp tiller, full railing and floorboards.

Bayrunner

Cowlitzfisherman, after 1200 posts by EL you need to have him tell you what he plans on using it for?

I fish every body of water (lakes, reservoirs, duck ponds, kitty pools, the Sound, the Strait, my bathtub, the Green River) except for fast moving rivers, like the Cowlitz. So, I don't need a river boat (sled) with a pump. I do need a boat that can take some wave action and carry a few butts, beer, and tackle.

Easy you need a safe place to keep whatever you get first of all. Then you should think about getting a new boat....just my 2 cents worth though.

I love the Smokercrafts, I cant help it. Must just be a bug.

The slightly bigger ones (17 foot i believe) have that bow mount motor, so you can get the foot pedal thingy goin. I just love playing with those.

Not to helpful, but gotta but in my...well... 1 cents worth

If you are looking for a skiff, I suggest the 15 '6" Klamath. It is wide and dry, welded construction and has a .080 bottom as opposed to Gregor's .063. My old one flew with a 25 hp prop motor and was very seaworthy. I used to trailer it to Port Hardy and fish halibut and salmon out of it - on good days. It kept its value well, I sold it for a few dollars more than I paid for it.

Thanks Goose. I do have the security thing wrapped up.

Keep those boat suggestions/opinions comin'.

Easy,
Did you get a chance to look at the duroboat web site? I think the crestliners are also a very fine boat to as stated by others. But the 16' duro has 3" more depth and has a wider beam (more stable) than the crestliner and is also about 300lbs lighter.(go faster with less hp.) My 15' duro is great for fishing 3 people. I have a 94 qt. cooler for a fish box mounted up in front of the walk thru along with 2 six gal.ga tanks.With the 25 hp I can make it from des moines marina to the mouth of the puyalup in 25 to 30 min. But the 16' duro would be awsume with a 35hp or a 40hp.The duros are also easy to keep clean no carpet (like crestliners do) just floor boards with vinyl.just hose off the fish blood and crab pot goop. Check um out before you buy. By reading your posts at the kinda fishing you do sounds like you would be happy with one. And you could get one for less than 10000$$

Duro, I did check out there web site. Pretty nice configurations. Who sells Duroboats around here?

Hi Easy,
Im at work and the computer here wont let me into the duroboat site. But there is a dealer list on the site. I think there are dealers in everett,olympia,belfar, and afew others. Auburn sports marine was a dealer but not sence they brought in the strippers.

I will check their site again for dealers.

i can give a little input on three of the boats mentioned so far.
1st the duroboat...a great boat in my opinion. my uncle bought one of the first ones that came out (14 footer)and still has it to this day. very seaworthy and handels the water really well.
2nd the smokercraft...also a good boat, my father currently has one now and i've fished out of it many times (15 footer with 25 yami. 4 stroke) has a split set config. really a great boat to fish out of. i am totaly impressed on the way it handels sloppy water.
3rd the klamath...as a kid growing up we had a 14 footer with a 20 merc. on it. was also a great boat. that boat would really go! but, alas we literally wore that boat out! so many days of being on the lower columbia in windy chop put a bunch of hairline cracks around all the seat ribs in the bottom of the boat. can't complaine to much we used that boat every weekend for ten years or more.

any of these three boats would be a great choice. all of them will handel fairly rough conditions and all are great to fish out of. but, if i had my choice i would go with the smokercraft...i know it's a rivited boat but, it's so nice to fish out of and handels the water really well, and i love the high sides.

hope this helps