Lowe Fishing Machine Side Console w/Karavan Trailer Review

Castigator

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Feb 8, 2016
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Hello all, new to iboat forum, but it is clearly the premier boating site.

BLUF: Great boat (may have been better with the lighter 4-stroke engine) is nearly ruined by a terrible trailer
Before I start my review, I just want to state my motivation. I?m sure most of us will buy very few brand new boats in our lives; this may be my first and last, but it never seems like there is enough information about these things, so I hope this is helpful.

Fit out: 75 Mercury DFI, 598 HD CI Humminbird, 55lb Minn Kota with iPilot, trolling plate, 6 rod-holder mounts, and convertible deck/seat in back (a must have option), on-board battery charger (Cabelas).

BOAT/Motor: Because the boat on the showroom floor had a 75HP 2-stroke DFI motor, that is the one I got. What I really liked on the showroom floor was the back deck. This boat has a truly insane amount of deck space for a 16.5 boat. We?ve slept on the boat, one in back, and one in front. It has that much room. The boat has great storage spaces, including an excellent rod-locker, mid-boat battery storage underneath rod storage, a cavernous side-storage compartment.
My father-in-law has the same model with a 60HP 4-stroke. If I was I buying one tomorrow, that is the motor I would get. Unless you really need to get there fast, or you really want tow skiers with it (and this probably isn?t the boat for you), then the 75HP or 90HP is, of course, required. But consider this, the 75HP DFI motor weighs the same as the 90 (and the 115 I think) at over 375lbs. The 60HP 4-stroke, less than 280lbs. It has turned out to be 100lbs I just didn?t need. Having said that, the boat cruises at around 30 and will hit 37 or 38 MPH maxed out. I have had no reliability problems yet, but let me get back to you in 10 years.
The boat is uncannily stable, for a V-hull, I don?t understand why. But my Lowe FM 165 has also seen some big, challenging water, and I?ve always made it out a little wet, but no worse for the wear. Of course, the entire boat is carpeted. I don?t understand this; I imagine carpeted fishing boats everywhere covered in fish blood and mucus. I?ve seen some models of the boats that put care into the compartments (trap and drain lines) to keep the water out; Lowe doesn?t do this, and I suppose it is a demerit. In practice, it hasn?t been a big problem, I keep my Lowe covered all the time, with the cover provided when I bought the boat, and I?ll probably have to replace it this year, but it is 4 years old.

The Trailer: The Karavan trailer under the boat is terrible. Let me try to list the ways. First of all, the trailer itself doesn?t extend to the transom of the boat, so modern boat buckles, and really any rear strap down system works poorly, just poor design. The trailer guides/bumpers are a flawed design still being sold today, the rubber bumper has a design the bounces on the retaining clip until you lose your bumper, and I had to remove them. Of course, this means you have to get wet in order to get the boat on the trailer, which isn?t great. I?m told you have to put bearing buddies over the top of Karavan?s weird (grease through axle) design, I have mine double covered, but will probably put them on sooner or later (sooner). Of course, it came with cables instead safety chains for hook up, I changed them out. The winch had no secondary safety chain like I?ve seen on every other boat I?ve ever seen. It didn?t come with a spare tire, of course. And it was equipped with incredibly soft bias ply tires that didn?t last the first season! In short, from the showroom floor, I had to spend something near $500 on the stupid trailer? And really, I just wish, even today, that I had a shorelandr. This season, 4 years in, I?ll have to replace one of the bunks.
One last note on my Lowe FM 165, during my first season, I hit a sandbar going around 23MPH, and I beached the boat. It is a long story for another time. But I fished it the next day, with no apparent damage revealing itself even 3 years later. The boat has taken a beating, and frankly, it has been a real champion.
Regards,
John
 
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