Aluminum Boat Brands

[grimsbylander]

At the risk of starting a peeing contest...I've got a question. Are the new Legend boats any good? My boss is looking to buy a boat. He wants aluminum, 18'-20' feet, 150hp range, occasional fisherman, two young boys so some waterskiing.. That's the basic criteria. Surprisingly, a used boat is tough to find. I found a couple 20 XCalibre Legends in the $25K - $30K range but I'm not sure of their quality, resale value, etc. If he wanted a Ranger I'd be more help! LOL

Personally, I'd play it safe and find a Lund or Crestliner but that's because I know little about the newer aluminum boats. Opinions? Thanks

Dave

[Gerritt]

Legends are ok boats.... Be careful of there packages.... Usually they are wayyyy underpowered.

 

Princecraft, creastliner, Lund etc are all nice boat. Some models come in a fish n' ski platform... I would gravitate towards these

 

G

[Fish Farmer]

Princecraft beware, I owned 4, You can call me a slow learner. Had a 17.6 Pro Platinum, had it riveted 4 times. till I sold it. You'd be surprised at the workman ship under the floor.

Aluminum started to powder corrode and paint blisterd.

Boat is OK in calm waters but not a good boat for Great lakes. Bottom is to flat, they pound. Have a Lund now and what a difference in noise and ride, must have more insulation.

Just look at the bow of a princecraft, no boat contact to the water till about 4' back.

Pretty Boat, "nice hair do"

Edited September 17, 2015 by Fish Farmer

[mike rousseau]

Buddy just had his legend split open a few weeks back...

 

On a positive note... it sounds like their customer service is good... They did a quick fix so he has a boat for the rest of the season then they're shipping it to be gutted and repaired properly this winter...

[Lape0019]

Legend is not a terrible boat but there are certainly better ones out there. Their resale value is where it hurts the most.

 

Legend is about as bad as Tracker when it comes to their packages (I can say this because I have a tracker...) The put a small motor on it to meet a price point and then you go off and are truly unhappy with your boat.

 

If you were to build the legend with the Max HP rating of the boat and compare it to the price of a Lund, you will see the prices are very similar. As always, try to get as close to the Max HP the hull was designed for and you will be happy.

 

If I were to buy a deep v boat, the two I gravitate to are Lund and Crestliner. There are other boats out there of the same quality but these are the best boats I have to choose from in my area.

[MrSimon]

From what I've seen, Legend is kind of middle of the pack.

 

I'm a really big fan of Alumacraft. I feel you can get Lund level quality at slightly better prices. I also like G3 boats, but they are hard to find the further North you go.

 

Even if it seems that a used boat is hard to find .... it can really be worth it to keep looking. With some patience, you can usually find a set up you like at a LOT less than brand new prices.

[AKRISONER]

after riding around in my friend's smokercraft, ill never buy one...the thing feels like you are getting in a car crash with every ripple you hit.

Edited September 17, 2015 by AKRISONER

[Craigson]

Legends are guaranteed for life. 0.100 gauge hull.

[Cosmos]

Alumacraft would be my choice any day. Lund is second.

[John Bacon]

Legend doesn't actually make boats. They outsource the manufacturing to other companies (usually Smokercraft). I think they may do a little of their own trim work; but they do not manufacture their own hulls. I don't think that they are too bad of a boat; but usually way under powered. Before buying a Legend check to see what the same boat would cost from the original manufacturer.

 

Trackers are often nicknamed "crackers" because many people have had issues with hulls cracking.

 

I am happy so far with my 2008 Princecraft Holiday DLX so far. Princecraft is made in Canada so there may be a price advantage compared to U.S. made boats once the 2016 prices comeout.

[lew]

 

 

Trackers are often nicknamed "crackers" because many people have had issues with hulls crackin

 

I was up on Nipissing last month and the OPP towed a Tracker into our camp after the guy hit a rock. Busted the bottom of the boat wide open like a pop can but it stayed afloat with no trouble. I was actually impressed with how well if floated with the gunnels still well above water even after the boat was towed about 5 miles

 

I'd imagine any boat would have split the same though after hitting that rock.

 

Felt sorry for the folks that owned that boat though, they'd only just bought it brand new a week before and had just put it in the water for the 1st time 3 days before the crash.

[Gerritt]

Hopefully insured for the replacement cost Lew..... Sad indeed.

[landry]

IMO

1. Alumacraft

2. Lund

3. Crestliner (I own one and it's been great)

Last place - Tracker

Max or darn close to max HP

[lew]

Hopefully insured for the replacement cost Lew..... Sad indeed.

 

Yeah, he insured it before they headed north but your right Gerritt, it was really sad, I talked to him and his wife quite a bit afterwards and they were really upset about it all, brand new boat destroyed and a vacation they'd waited all year for ruined.

[dave524]

I personally prefer , especially if it is to be used on big water, a few of the Starcraft lineup. I would not own a light gauge ( under .125 inch thickness) welded aluminum boat.

[Old Ironmaker]

1st choice StarCraft because I own one and it's tougher than all hell. We fish Erie and it does well for an aluminum out there in 1 meter waves. She gets up on plane very well.

2nd Crestliner, they look solid

3rd Lund

Tracker, never.

 

If someone gave me a Tracker I'd take the engine off and give what they call a boat away to someone I don't particularly like very well. We were looking at them at Bass Pro in NOTL. Man what a piece of crap. There were actually welds that looked like an apprentice did after learning to weld on-line. Actually had passes that were not closed, and these are the boats they choose to be shown. It had rained and the storage compartments had an inch of water in them. Sorry Legend owners but facts are facts.

[Cast-Away]

I have owned a Legend since 2001 and got a great end of season deal on it having been watching for a deal. I bought at the time after a lot of research for two years and found most boats other than Lund to be of a similar quality at that time in the size I was looking for. It was 17' to 18' with 75hp to 90hp. Lund was out of my price range so they were off the table. In the end I picked the Legend because it had the best interior layout at the time for my taste.

 

Having owned the boat for 14 years now, I would not buy another one unless the quality has improved from what I currently have. Many of the screws in and around the dashboard and cockpit area have either come loose or fallen out many times and had to get put back in by me. I replaced what I could with nuts, bolts and lockwashers. Now in the last two years the decals are starting to curl up and fall off on the outside of the hull and they are no longer made. Bare metal is showing because the entire hull was not painted before the decals were applied. To me that is a shortcut. Some of the paint on the back of the transom is now bubbling up as well.

 

If I did it all over again, I would only buy a Lund. I go on GBay a fair bit and a decent deep V is a must.

[Raf]

starcraft, alumacraft and lund would be at the top of my list from what i've seen.

 

i own a mirrocraft.

[lew]

My last boat was a 1650 Crestliner which I bought new in '99.

 

I drove it for about 9 years then sold it to a buddy who's still driving it today and it's still in great shape.

[MrSimon]

While I do agree there is a difference in hull quality across brands .... I personally only care if the hull is dry, has the layout/size I want, and is inexpensive. I think buying a new hull is a waste of money.

 

The motor on the other hand ... I'll gladly pay up for a quality motor that runs great and is the max allowable HP.

 

Motor problems are WAY WAY more prevalent on the water than hull problems.

[DRIFTER_016]

I purchased my boat through Legend in the spring of 1991 and am very happy with it. Even after 24 years!!!

As has been said, they do not manufacture their own boats but re badge other manufacturers units.

Mine is actually a Fisher SV-18 GT. I made sure to upsize the motor when I purchased it.

Probably the best thing about my boat is the floor. It is carpeted aluminium so there is no plywood to rot like there is on most boats out there.

The only wood on my boat is the core of the transom and two teak trim pieces on the gunnel and splashwell.

[captpierre]

Chatted with a CO on Nippising years ago after being checked.

He had a worn 19 ft Crestliner and Yammy combo.

Said they beat it up pretty good in the big water.

No problems.

Says a lot to me.

[Dan668]

Alumacraft, Starcraft, Princecraft, Crestliner, all make good hulls. A friend owns a legend, no issues, just be sure to upsize the motor closer to max. I currently have a newer Lund, but its had its fair share of issues mainly related to the hull and finishing itself surprisingly. Not sure if this is common amongst the others within the past 5 years but kind of disappointing considering the cost of these rigs.

[grimsbylander]

This is great info guys. Very much appreciated! Finding a boat will be the tricky part now. He'll buy in the fall with no issues so that's good.

[Sinker]

Im a starcraft fan. Ive had mine for 20 years with no issues at all with the hull. Doesnt leak a drop.

 

S.