Aluminum Boat Brands

[spincast]

Starcraft fan. On my second. First one I bought used at 10 years old and sold after 4 years. Sold it to a guy I met on OFC, and we stay in touch regularly. He says the same (which is nice to know). For some reason they don't seem to be as strong a seller in Canada as the US, but if you look around on some of the US sites and see how many 20, 30 year old Starcrafts are sill going strong, that speaks for itself imo.

 

PS - I would be waiting till December - Feb time frame to buy now if I were you - with a provision for a sea trial.

[craigdritchie]

Nothing wrong with a Legend, but as others have said, they compete on price by advertising the boat with a smaller engine. By the time you upgrade to a larger engine, the price tends to fall in line with everyone else.

 

What would I buy? Starcraft - hands down. Don't even have a second choice. They're well designed, well built, nothing rattles or vibrates, and they're just about indestructable. The Hydra-Lift hull design on most of the fishing models will go into shallow water for bass, yet still eat big waves i open water. That's why so many of the die-hard walleye guys on Erie use them.

 

Beyond that, Starcraft has been building boats since 1903. You don't stay in any business for 112 years (and counting) by making a crappy product, or by not taking care of your customers.

[Steve]

Starcraft are awesome boats....

 

if it wasnt for the amount of largie fishing I do, i'd buy one in a heart beat....but their high gunnels and lack of casting deck, which is great for big water, is horrible for bass....

 

Lunds have gone down hill over the last five years...a friends rebel fell apart, and it was a 2011.

[porkpie]

I'd take a starcraft as well. I have owned 3 Lunds, 2 used including my current one, and one new one. They've all been really good although at 16 years old, I'm going to have to replace a piece of flooring in the Rebel 16SC i'm running right now. I think thats pretty fair as the rest of the boat is tight and doesn't leak, although its sporting a fair bit of dock rash, no big deal. My 14 footer is a starcraft SF14 and it is a solid little craft that I was doing everything out of before, but now just hunting and smaller waterbodies, can't compare it to its bigger brothers, but quality is still there. The new starcrafts that I've seen make me drool, and If I was spending 25-35k on a new boat, I'd likely buy one and be done with it. I'm not a bass fisherman, so thats not an issue.

[ecmilley]

there's a lot of decent boat brands out there, the old saying of you get what you pay for is true, seen lots of issues with trackers and legends, if not rivets popping paint peeling or welds cracking, not a fan of welded hulls myself take rivets anyday.

Lund is always my top choice for a tinner, top quality aluminum double riveted seams and well thought out storage and ergos about best resale, and good dry ride, alumacraft next in line, starcraft i ve seen all been great, and the sylvan/smokercrafts take a beating and stay leak free, all boats are a trade off somewhere, the widebody stuff from lund, sylvan legend all tend to give you more room with a wider beam and flatter bottom more pounding less cutting all things to consider, ranger has a couple intresting aluminum boats, havn't read anything negative but really only kow a couple guys with them

[2 tone z71]

Alumacraft or a custom all welded will be my next boat hands down

[discophish]

I see a few posts above relating to the Princecraft products. Yes, they have some nice boats, but try getting the attention of their customer service. It is next to impossible. I bought the Xpedition 17 (dual side console) with the Pro XS OptiMax new off the lot. It had immediate issues, and consequently the service we received from Princecraft was terrible. Don't get me wrong, I love the product and its overall quality, but their service ... wow. I have hopes that they are reading this. I am still haunted by the disappointing experiences to this day. I had expressed every issue in a very respectful and professional manner, but they chose to ignore my polite submissions, both phone calls and emails. The issues mainly came down to workmanship; many of the buttons studs for the top where tapped in the wrong locations, electrical problems at the dash, dealership confusions with orders, and instant motor problems (Mercs responsibility not Princecraft). Some issues were isolated at the dealership level, but Princecraft failed on their Customer Satisfaction platform. When their service center tells a customer that they are aware of the problem, but don't currently know how to deal with it, leads me to believe they aren't lending any confidence to their customers. I gave up on Princecraft to a point where I didn't even tell them how I 'honestly' felt about them, and the issues are still outstanding after three years. I don't want to go through that again. You would expect a company of their reputation to be on their game. Not sure what happened, but I hope that I am the only customer who had these experiences. I also hope that they have improved over the last few years, because they do make a great product. Dealing with Merc was great. Princecraft, not so much. Just my 2 cents ...

Edited September 18, 2015 by Disco Phish

[irishfield]

I put our 12' 1958 Reynolds Aluminum in the lake on the 2nd of Sept and pulled it out this afternoon. Not a drop of water after 16 days and during two of them it rained and then evaporated in the 26C temps. Never bailed it. Now I couldn't say that before I reset every rivet in 2005!

 

It's a crap shoot but it seems that the guys have nailed it down pretty good already. My 2007 Lund doesn't leak a drop, has ZERO corrosion and the paint still looks like the day it came out of the factory. It's not a garage queen, it's tied to a dock and in the water for 5+ straight months and then used in late fall (breaking ice if need be) for Musky fishing on a sometimes very mean Georgian Bay (I've shown Terry how to ride 10' swells on the crest!). It runs "dry" through heavy seas, etc but as others have noted the new Lund stuff being built doesn't seem as well produced, although I wouldn't dismiss them as a possibility. I had my head in some 1725's just yesterday helping at the marina. Not sure where I would turn if I was looking current day, but Legend and Tracker would be nowhere on my list.

[fishdawg]

Ranger.

[Fish Farmer]

If you have the money go Kingfisher or Stanley.

[Steve]

Kingfisher are absolutely awesome boats as well...

 

Great big water boats.....

 

Biggest challenge, at least for folks like me, is to find a boat that can do the big water, AND fish the skinny water....

 

That takes some work, and some customization, to find that boat.

[Moosebunk]

Lunds have gone down hill over the last five years...a friends rebel fell apart, and it was a 2011.

 

 

Seriously... Hmph!!!

 

My Rebel is a 2010... good thing it made that cut off I guess as I'd be hard pressed to find one person I personally know that's trailered their boat more days and further than I have mine in the past 6 years. Let alone, put in the hours on the water in pretty well every kind of situation. Not a leak, original paint and pin-striping still looks great, all flooring vinyl and carpet still fully intact, bilge and livewell are the original, never have replaced a fuse, wire, or anything. Even all but one of the snaps for the cover are original and still holding strong in the track.

 

Here it is looking perfect last week on it's second trip to Nipigon this year.

 

 

 

Many boats can and will last, more often than not it's the thought and care they're given that keeps them living longer.

[LeXXington]

I have a legend and yes the base packages are underpowered but it gets you into the water. Glad I purchased the base package at the time.

 

I love my legend, It was purchased in 2004 and still going strong.

 

Now that bad parts.. Rivets and warranty.

 

Lifetime leak proof.. (start laugh track now).. The rivets started leaking at 8 years. Took it it to be repaired lasted 2 years and leaking again. No more warranty check the fine print.

 

~ Good boat for the price

[Steve]

your right bunk....my buddy just simply fished...didn't clean or take much care of his boat...but didn't think he had to...after all, he bought a lund.

 

things that went wrong in his boat....

 

wiring harness crapped out a number of times causing his gauges to fail.

 

seat post screws constantly came loose, causing his seat base to always be wobbly.

 

silly lund track warped, causing the rod holders not to slide freely along them.

 

the material in the seats were really thin, allowing hooks to easily penetrate it....and even after last winter the material started to crack.

 

the stitching in the seats starting coming out.

 

the hoses have cracked, causing water to leak in constantly.

 

those are just a few....but the rivets aren't leaking....just the rest of the boat is crap....

 

to be honest, i'm not sure what maintenance would be needed to keep the above from happening.....

 

but it doesn't leak.....

[manitoubass2]

My good bud got a kingfisher last year and its an amazing boat!

 

No issues but its only a year old.

 

If I had the money id be looking very seriously at a kingfisher.

 

I dont own my own boat right now so i use my dads princecraft allthe time and its a real nice small water boat. Its get pretty uncomfartable in 2-3 waves but what can ya do?

 

On the backlakes its killer, real nice layout, perform awesome. Zero issues after 8 years.

 

But like bunk said its also well taken care of

[fish_fishburn]

I would go with a StarCraft. Really tough boats well designed. Princecraft makes pretty boats but that's about all. My hull cracked open during warranty period and they would not honour it. I say go with rivet construction and leave the welded stuff alone.

[lew]

My hull cracked open during warranty period and they would not honour it.

 

What excuse did they give you for not honoring the warranty ?

[Moosebunk]

Yes Steve, the low-end junky seats would be my "only" complaint as well. Any future Lund purchase and the entire deal would be set in stone when I finally add, "and ohhhh yeah, at no extra cost you're going to put in your top of the line seats with an air-ride pedestal for the captain or, my business goes elsewhere."

 

Boats like vehicles, the home, skidoo, trailer, cottage, etc., are big purchases. Just as much an investment as anything else, and unless you're so totally loaded you can throw money away, you protect all your investments. Those screws two or three times a year all get checked and tightened, especially before and after long road trips. The wiring below the splash well gets cleaned out when the bottom of the boat and bilge gets spray cleaned too. The boat inside and outs gets a couple washes a year, with wax. The carpets scrubbed of blood and dirt and extra mats cleaned too. Boots and shoes covered in sand and mud while camping, get washed before stepping in then wiped on the mat, cause who needs that crap getting below the flooring to hold moisture, mildew and cause corrosion. This and more is all simple stuff, simple as covering the boat when not in use. I know too many guys that wouldn't even consider one of these things to do in a years time... For some though, it's second nature and not even a chore at all. Your boat will thank you as it ages gracefully.

[beertech]

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.

I went to look at them the other day. One thing to consider is the floor and carpeting is one piece. Meaning if you have a leaky hose soft floor ect you will have to gut the whole boat. Lunds princecraft ect come out in sections with screws, main floor where you walk around none of it is barried

[Steve]

you're right drew, count me as one of those guys.

 

i just fish in my boat....

 

i haven't cleaned, vacuumed, or anything since my major overhaul in 2012.

 

put it away in the winter, get it again in March, and just start fishing again.....

 

i'm sure some extra attention would definitely help with longevity.

[2 tone z71]

I try and vacuum the boat after every use..try and wash wax it once a month..the yammy gets detailed more often

[grimsbylander]

Ranger.

Yep.

Edited September 18, 2015 by grimsbylander

[Steve]

yammy gets detailed, lol?

my yammy only gets started.

 

(seriously, what is meant by detailing a yammy?)

[2 tone z71]

yammy gets detailed, lol?

 

my yammy only gets started....

 

(seriously, what is meant by detailing a yammy?)

....lol washed waxed..touched...pampered..greased..trailered lots so gets dirty and bugs on it

[Steve]

sounds like my lundy and yammy needs some tlc......nah, some more slime will suit it better

 

(and yes, don't anyone buy anything used of me...when I'm done, in the garbage they go, lol)