The other day I saw an ad in Craigslist for a Crestliner 17' fishing boat. The seller went to great lengths to extoll the virtues of Crestliner's design versus other aluminum hull boats such as Lund, Smokercraft, etc. Does anyone out there know if, in fact, Crestliners are really superior to the others?
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Well, mine had a reverse chine, which, (I guess), isn't easy to make on an aluminum boat. Otherwise the design was quite plain and without the complex contures of my current fiberglass Ranger.
As this was my one and only aluminum boat, I can't comment as to how they stack up against the competition. The ride was quite a bit wetter compared to fiberglass.
Crestliner has been around a long time and makes a great boat but in my opinion so does Starcraft, Lowe, Smokercraft, etc. I think most of the tinny brands are on an even plane. People seem to feel that Lund's are the cream of the crop though. I've have no experience with them though so I can neither confirm nor deny.
I would say Crestliner and Lund on are on the same level, they are very good boats and probably are a little better than most but any major brand is going to be pretty good.
I have a 27 year old Sea-Nymph that is still a dry hull.
I have a 28 year old Crestliner 21 foot I/O and love it. Does not leak a drop and handles very well. I think most aluminum boat will last longer and use less fuel than Fiberglass.
If you boat in rough water then I would make sure and get a welded boat not rivets. Lund is one of the best boats with Rivets but they are very heavy compared to most Aluminum boats.
Ride on aluminum boats will normally be rougher than on fiberglass because they are lighter and go more over the wave than thru the wave.
Of course hull design makes a big difference. Reverse Chines makes for a dryer ride at speed as spray shoot out to the side instead of up into the air.
Crestliner has changed a lot over time and newer boat no longer have much reverse chine. Also since they were bought out I do not feel many are good for big water/ Ocean boats. As an example I do not belive they even make a close bow boat today and none are Self Bailing. Yes you can get a soft cover for the front or have a hard cover made but you never want to see green water on the bow of todays Crestliner.
Still Crestliner has a lifetime hull warranty on older boat and I think 20 on newer boats.
My boat I use inland and in the Pacific Ocean in sea up to 8 foot every 8 seconds. Been out in 9 foot swells every 6 seconds but not much fun and came in 2 hours early do to wife getting Sick but did not go back out.
Only problem I have had with my 1980 model was the Stainless Steels bolts on the inside of the boat had galvanized nuts on the back side. After about 10 years started to see some rust. When went to a boat show that had a Factory Rep at the booth I suggested to him they should use Stainless Steel nuts also. He said hang on a minute and went in the back and brought out a note book. Said write down your Name and Address and we will send you some. Sure enough after about 2 weeks I got 2 boxes of 100 Stainless Steel Nylon Lock nuts of the size needed. That was more than I expected on a 10 year old boat.
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Have some fun and enjoy the Great Outdoors.
Love to fish out of Bodega Bay, California.
I have a 2004 18' crestliner, just a plain jane fishing boat.
I only had a 9.9 merc on it when I first bought it, it ran 14mph with 2 of us +fishing gear on board. Just this week put a 50hp merc on it hoping to get it wet this weekend. VERY happy with it. as others have said, comparable to the Lund.
Crestliner, Lund and Alumacraft are about the top three selling boats in the upper midwest. Lund, Alumacraft, Smokercraft, Mirrocraft, Sylvan and a host of others are riveted boats while the Crestliner has a welded structure. In the past, Crestliner has had some issues with the quality and durability of its welds. A friend of mine had one that went back several times for repairs. All of those boats, even though there is a significant difference in price, are sound designs. The reveted vs welded debate will go on but from experience, I've never had a leaky riveted boat. It works well on airplanes and it works well on boats.
Crestliner has been around a long time and makes a great boat but in my opinion so does Starcraft, Lowe, Smokercraft, etc. I think most of the tinny brands are on an even plane. People seem to feel that Lund's are the cream of the crop though. I've have no experience with them though so I can neither confirm nor deny.
I don't feel Creestliner 's design is superior. They are all pretty good boats as ezmobee said. They are all just normal gauge aluminum. Lund makes a really nice quality boat. I prefer the welded heavy gauge or plate aluminum boats. It is hard to go wrong with any of them. Just be aware of the differences between glass and metal boats.
I have second Aluminum boat that was my first personal boat. It is a 1967 14 foot Klamath Delux. It all rivets and I used it for everything, fishing, frogging, duck hunting, going to the lake or river to swim and have fun.
It leaks around rivets. Rivets you can get to both sides on can be tightened and stop the leak but too many you can not get too on the inside so can not tighten. So on a hot sunny day over 100 degrees not a big deal but on a cold foggy day will have 1 inch of water in it by the end of the day. Installed a bilge pump to pump it out. If riveted boat do not leak then there a lot of scam companies selling different types of sealears for rivets that should be taken to court.
Klamath now welds all their boats. Many boat have switched from rivets to welded but I know of no boat brand that went from welded to rivets.
Having said that there are a lot of good Aluminum boats with rivets. Lund the first that comes to mind but so much heavier that I would not buy.
Starcraft Islander still has rivets but two buddies I fish along side with down in the Ocean pull the plug after every trip and drain water out.
My Crestliner I only pull the plug when cleaning the bilge.
Still I would take any Aluminum over Fiberglass
__________________
Have some fun and enjoy the Great Outdoors.
Love to fish out of Bodega Bay, California.
My 68 alumacraft doesnt leak a drop. Ill agree with everyone, but add the fact that im sure the seller is doing his usual sell. the guy I bought mine from repeated over and over how well built the boat was and how nice it rode. all I was concerned with was weather or not it leaked.
If you boat in rough water then I would make sure and get a welded boat not rivets. Lund is one of the best boats with Rivets but they are very heavy compared to most Aluminum boats...
Ride on aluminum boats will normally be rougher than on fiberglass because they are lighter and go more over the wave than thru the wave...
Still Crestliner has a lifetime hull warranty on older boat and I think 20 on newer boats.
Just a few words on select comments of Boatist's reply...
I toured the factories of Lund, Crestliner and Alumacraft last fall before deciding on a brand. (All of them are located in Minnesota). The Crestliner is fully welded, and it is the heaviest of the three. Alumacraft and Lund have welding in their keels, but are primarily riveted. All three brands have good merits.
Lund and Crestliner are owned by Brunswick and, therefore, use Mercury as their standard motors. Alumacraft is independent, so owners are free to rig their boats any way they want.
The ride on aluminum boats is much improved over what is was many years ago.
Check carefully on warranty terms. They are subject to change.
The top selling new aluminum boats are Tracker, Alumacraft, Lund and Crestliner in that order. Like everyone else has said, they are all good brands. For me, however, the trick was to find the easiest to sell *used* aluminum boat, which in our neck of the woods turns out to be Lund. It might be entirely different where you live.
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2008 Lund 1750 Fisherman
2008 Merc 115hp 4-stroke EFI
2008 Shorelandr' Trailer
And two wonderful golden retrievers
The other day I saw an ad in Craigslist for a Crestliner 17' fishing boat. The seller went to great lengths to extoll the virtues of Crestliner's design versus other aluminum hull boats such as Lund, Smokercraft, etc. Does anyone out there know if, in fact, Crestliners are really superior to the others?
As an aside, if the boat is a 1997 Crestliner 1750 Sportfish (or some variation on this) and the ad looks something like this one
i have owned both lund and crestliner and have had them both pretty far apart. in my opinion the crestliner is a much better built and fit boat than the lund. little details seem to be better finished on the crestliner. that being said i currently own a lund and do not feel like i have to dump it just to own another crestliner. i will agree about the chines and dry ride in the crestliner. the only way you got wet was if it was raining it threw the water so far to the side. the down side was with rake of the bow there was not enough hull in the water when sitting still so it was the worst drift fishing boat i have ever owned. you drifted down the lake like a pendelum swinging from side to side. the traditional V-hull of the lund drifts much better because of more hull in the water. i think boat manufacturers today are much like all manufacturers. you need to look at specfic models not just the brand. nikon, ford, GM, who ever make some great products and they also make some junk. i think the days are gone of just picking a brand and saying everything that they make is good.
Aluminum Hull Boats
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