2009 1850 Fish Hawk

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
I'm very stuck on buying this boat. I want the walk thru wind shield and 150 merc. opti.. I was quoted $27,000 at the mpls. boat show, sounds fair. I want to know more about this boat. Spicifics like can you hear the aluminum hull pop in and out in rough water like the lund 1800 pro v, are the welds better now, I've seen and heard a lot about bad welders. I'm a tool and die foreman I'm going to notice things like that. Also want to try tempest stainless prop what pitch will give me the best top end, staying within safe rpm operating range.

Tom Mpls MN
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

As for the prop, without any base line data to go by, you cannot predict which one or which pitch is best since we have no idea what the loading or your use of the boat will be. The best prop is one that allows the engine to operate at or very near the upper end of the manufacturers wide open throttle rpm band with what you consider to be an average load. Until you install a prop (work with the dealer on a test set setup) you can only guess at what will be best. The dealer should be able to at least get you in the ballpark. Then play with engine height before selecting the final prop. Lastly, remember that unless you stay with the same prop manufacture throughout the process you may experience widely different results when you change style and pitch. As for the hull -- they are probably as good as anything elese on the water. Some things you'll like, some you won't.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

to answer your questions, take a test ride. i would not buy boat with out one first, new or used.
 

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Maybe about 400 lbs. in people and gear. thanks for the info. I know in most cases you get what you pay for, and it ultimatly comes down to what you are personaly comfortable with. I just wanted to know if somebody was having a bad experience with this boat. Like I said I want to buy it. I would be pretty bummed out if I wasn't happy with this boat for some reason.
thanks again.
 

jevery

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Messages
538
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Fish Hawk is a Crestliner, Right? Will this be your first aluminum boat?
 

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

fish hawk is a crestliner and this will be my first alum. boat this big, but I have fished out of other like boats. Also I am looking for a dust cover that is quick and easy. I had one for my 87 hydrostream vegas xt it was light weight and packable w/ an elastic trim no ropes or ties.
 

jevery

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Messages
538
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

I bought a new 2006 1700 Crestliner Serenity a few years ago ? My first aluminum boat after having owned a few fiberglass boats.

Boat6.jpg


I thought I would be more prone to get in amongst the timber in an aluminum boat as I absolutely hate to gouge a nice fiberglass hull on stumps and timber. Some of my observations in comparing this aluminum hull to the fiberglass hulls I?ve owned. Ride is noticeably rougher and wetter ? I think due to the lack of complex hull curvatures inherent in aluminum design constraints. Hull did not pop. Boat was significantly more prone to roll laterally with weight shifts, (both underway and at rest), as the hull was more ?barrel? shaped that most fiberglass fishing hulls. I sold the boat ? Not necessarily because of these issues, but because I found it a little to small for comfort with my family aboard. I did however go back to fiberglass. That being said, I understand that in your part of the world that aluminum is the norm for fishing boats and the Crestliner did perform the job it was designed for with competence. The welds on my were OK and without any failures, but were not necessarily pretty ? Some looked a little sloppy. I think Crestliner quality is on par with the upper end competition such a Lund and Smoker Craft, though admittedly I have little time in aluminum boats ? Only what I?ve seen a boat shows. Here in Oklahoma fiberglass prevails. Once while loading a fellow angler teased me a little about my ?Yankee? fishing boat.
 

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Nice boat, it is understandable that your boat felt small, in boats a couple of inches might as well be a mile. I've been in both the 1700 and 1850 on the show floor theres mosly more space in the cockpit and a little more in the bow but width is pretty close maybe 1/2 inch or so. My fiberglass was nice but like you had mentioned one scratch and it feels like the whole thing is ruined.
 

Navy Jr.

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
738
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

We looked at Crestliner as well, but passed due to the poor dealer network then in place in the Twin Cities area (Crestliner is now being sold by different dealers). Nice boat, really. I toured their factory in Little Falls back in 2007. Pretty impressive.

The price sounds really good for an 18 1/2 footer, but it all depends on what else they threw in with it. Electronics? Trolling motor? Canvas? Boat options?

If you're curious, we ended up with a 2008 Lund 1750 Fisherman last year, also ordered at the Mnpls Boat Show. I believe the only weld is down the keel where they mate the port and starboard halves of the hull together. The rest is riveted. (My concern about welded boats like Crestliner is how they uphold to the extreme temperature variations of MN, the additional weight added to the boat, and concerns some have raised about the quality of repairs made to welds).

Our particular boat has what Lund calls the "IPS2" hull design, one that allows the boat to remain dry and track nicely in turns. Quite impressive. The 1750 has enough room to fit two people and a dog comfortably. The 1850 Fisherman is huge in comparison, but it wouldn't fit in our garage.:( Besides, I was pretty much limited to Merc motors and wanted a normally aspirated 4-stroke (versus Verado), so couldn't go higher than 115hp.

Lund boats also come with an industry-leading warranty. If it isn't too late, perhaps you could look at Lunds, as well. I imagine they're dealing on them, too.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

And don't overlook Alumacraft. They are closer to Lund than Crestliner in design and performance.
 

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Two more dealers that I know of pickd up crestliner in the twin cities, but CP lost them. Silvertip what do you mean, "performance" ?
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Performance does not only mean speed -- it means smoothness in rough water, dryness in rough water and at speed, durability, fit, finish, and quality of materials. And yes, hull design can and does affect speed. The water patrol on the big body of water I frequent has the boat you are looking at and are disappointed in it's handling do to extreme venting at speed when turning. Most newer boats of that size have nearly 8 foot beams which is great for interior space but think about what happens in a banking turn. The wider the boat the more the prop has a tendency to rotate upware (not tilting - but rather rotating upward laterally) so ventilation occurs. A friend of mine also has this boat and has the same problem. Props can help this but the general avoidance technique is to trim down in a turn. Hull design can minimize this issue. Here is a picture of my daughter and son-in-laws Crestliner that illustrates the damp ride at certain speeds. The picture illustrates the spray that curls up over the side. Check right below the windshield and you can see the spray curling.

P1010053.jpg
 

wall I

Cadet
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
9
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Thank you, thats exactly the type of information I'm looking for. Local dealer will let me experiment with different props before buying one. I noticed great improvement in an 18 foot lund Mr. Pike powered by yamaha 150 4 stroke.
We went from 21 pitch to 19 (alum. to stainless I know that makes a difference to). About 4-5 mph more on gps, but most of that cavitation went away. About the same spray at slower speeds as your picture. Thats why I want the windsheild. Got to keep wife happy. She makes more money than I do, thats how we can even begin to afford this stuff.
 

Navy Jr.

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
738
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Wow, that picture is really surprising. Almost looks like it might be trimmed in a little too tight.

And, yes, due to its 93" beam, I too trim down our Lund a skoshe when making turns.

Regarding Alumacraft, my bad for not mentioning it as well as Lund. They also make a fine boat (yep, I visited their factory in St. Peter, too).

One big advantage Alumacraft has over others is you can get it with any motor you want. The company isn't owned by Brunswick like Lund and Crestliner. Truth be known, we almost pulled the trigger on ordering a 2008 Alumacraft Trophy 175 at the boat show. Managed to get the Lund for just a little more, but with more goodies on board, a snap-on canvas travel cover, and a much better trailer. And Lund offered a couple of choices of interior colors, including sandstone, while Alumacraft only offered gray. Still, the Trophy 175 was a serious contender, especially because of the ability to choose your own power. I think the beam was also an inch wider.

They are all good boats. For what we were looking for we ranked them 1) Lund, 2) Alumacraft, and 3) Crestliner. They were all close. Tough decision.
 

Boatist

Rear Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2002
Messages
4,552
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

I have a 1980 Crestliner and love it. I have looked at all the Aluminum boats at boats shows since 1967 and have not found a better boat than Crestliner. I looked at Lund and think they are fine boats also but still living in the dark ages and still useing Rivets.
Crestliner has made a lot of changes over time and I feel the best models were before they were sold. Today I think most the of the recent changes have been to cut cost and not to improve the ride or hull desgin. About 15 or so years back Crestliner had a much more agressive reverse chim. This deflected the spray more down at planeing speeds. Today they do not even make a hull for offshore or anything over 22 feet. Open bow design is fine for protected inland water as it gives you a little more people room but give much less storage than their older boats. The open bow in a boat that is not self bailing to me makes it more risky to take out in the ocean. One wave on the bow and could be in big trouble.

As far as quality and warranty I do not feel anyone is bettery than Crestliner. On My 1980 boat I found one thing that I did not like. All the bolts and screws are Stainless steel but on my 1980 the nuts behind the panels were Galvinized. Over time and in saltwater they will start to rust. In my case after I had my boat about 10 years I was at a boat show and was talking to the factory Rep and told him my back up nuts were Galvinized and a few showed signs of rust. He said hang on a minute and went and got a note book an ask me to right down my name and boat model which I did. About a month later I got 5 boxes of Nylon Lock Stainless Steel nuts that fit all the size bolts in my boat. 100 nuts in each box.
The boat in the picture pulling a tube is far below planning speed like most boat pulling kids on a tube. When that boat reaches planing speed around 18 MPH the boat will raise way up in the water and the spray will come off the bottom of the boat instead of the sides and ride very dry.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Dark ages using rivets????? I wonder why airplanes aren't fully welded!! Crestliner has had welding issues so serious that hulls had to be returned to the factory to repair. There is absolutely nothing wrong with riveted hulls.
 

Navy Jr.

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
738
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

Dark ages using rivets????? I wonder why airplanes aren't fully welded!! Crestliner has had welding issues so serious that hulls had to be returned to the factory to repair. There is absolutely nothing wrong with riveted hulls.

I think the welded vs riveted issue is pretty well covered in numerous threads elsewhere in this forum, so hopefully we won't be digging it up again here.

And, yes, after looking a little closer, I tend to agree that the boat pictured above simply isn't up to planing speed yet. You can almost see the hole at the far left. I've seen lots of full-console Crestliners on plane, and all of them looked like they were running pretty dry with their hulls well out of the water and the spray not occurring until near even with the helm or just aft of the helm.
 

cranksbait

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
39
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

I have personally not been in a Crestliner so I do not have much info to give you. I looked at them breifly, but the closest dealer was too far away, and now closed.

A buddy has a Fishhawk 1600 SS. He likes it, hense the reason I looked. I ended up getting a Lund Explorer 1675 SS. When we fish at the cottage against each other. I notice that the Lund is more stable standing and driving. I know my boat has more storage.

I can tell you that my Lund does not pop or make noise when travelling, it is a very quiet smooth ride. You can also put whatever you want on the back of your boat. I have a 75 E-tec on mine, I bought it last fall.
 

Norm M

Recruit
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
5
Re: 2009 1850 Fish Hawk

I own a 2008 1850 Crestliner Sport Fish with an 175 merc Verado, the boat rides and handles like a dream, it is not a wet ride at all it is very dry, it cuts thru waves nicely. I think the proper prop for your boat would be a 19 pitch Merc Tempest prop. I looked at alot of boats and asked alot of questions before buying it, I love the boat

Regards,
Norm
 
Top