14 foot aluminum boat reviews

[Matt112]

I'm looking at purchasing a 14 foot aluminum fishing boat this year and I am just curious about what the recommended brand to go with would be. It will be used almost exclusively for fishing on a small inland lake on flat water. Usually will be holding one or two people while on the water. I am planning on putting a 9.9hp motor on the back. If anyone has any tips with regards to brands they would suggest I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[roffey]

Welcome Matt, there will be a few questions from the group here. First, are you getting new or used. If used the condition of the boat is everything, even before year and make. It does not take long to abuse a boat beyond repair. We would need a budget as well. Lots of nice small boats out there that would be in most budgets.

 

[fishin98]

Since I do not know what your budget is, or where you are located It will be a hard to recommend a brand. I have a Alumacraft Lunker V14, I am currently redoing.
I would think you would look for something that is fairly wide and deep. Do yourself a favor, do not get a old narrow, low sided car topper. Craig's List would be a good start to look. You should be able to find a fairly decent boat and trailer for around $1000-2000. Lund,Alumacraft,Mirrorcraft.StarCraft,Smokercraft, Fisher and Lowe are good brands.

 

[Texasmark]

I never had a bad aluminum boat; riveted or welded, regardless of brand or age.

 

[keninaz]

I have had several over the years, mainly 12' models. This time I upgraded for a bit more room to a Lowe 1467 WT. This 14 footer has side seats rather than bench and floor boards which make it a bit nicer although heavier. The boat comes in without equipment at 350# but it has a lot of free board and rides nice.
Just a tip however if you get a heavier boat I like I did. I bought a 9.9 Mercury to use with it and I found with my particular load that the 9.9 was a bit underpowered. I planed out around 8+ MPH and hit 12-13 MPH is all. I wanted a bit more performance and I have put my almost new 9.9 up for sale as I now have a 20 HP Mercury. The boat is rated up to a 30 HP motor by the way. Yes the motor costs more and I will lose out in the end when the 9.9 is sold but that is after all life and we only get one chance at it.

 

[gm280]

Matt112, I have no idea if this would be your first boat or not. But I would certainly look for something used and maybe a boat, motor and trailer combo. Search the local papers and craigslist and find something used and then fix it the way you want it. That way you don't spend tons of money and get to see how things work as well. That would be my suggestion. Once you get the feel for boating (if this is your first boat) then later on you can upgrade or buy something with better understanding of things. JMHO!

 

[bonz_d]

I'm looking at purchasing a 14 foot aluminum fishing boat this year and I am just curious about what the recommended brand to go with would be. It will be used almost exclusively for fishing on a small inland lake on flat water. Usually will be holding one or two people while on the water. I am planning on putting a 9.9hp motor on the back. If anyone has any tips with regards to brands they would suggest I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Welcome aboard Mat,

The intended use you state leaves it pretty wide open to about anything you'll find. In this size boat there really isn't much to compare between brands other than cost and any plain wrapped 14' boat will do what you're looking for. A boat with a V bow will ride a little softer than a square bow Jon boat when you get some chop on the water. On flat water a flat bottom square chine Jon will be a bit less tipsy than a flat bottom rounded chine boat.

My opinion on the top 3 brands in this category would be Lund, Alumacraft and G3 if looking new.

 

[fhhuber]

About all I see that size and smaller around here is Alumacraft

A friend of mine has a 14 ft X 48. Very solid construction. Its a few years old and he's had no issues. He uses it a lot. 25 Yamaha 4-stroke on it.

 

[robert graham]

Check web sites for Sea Ark Boats and Xpress Boats...both all welded and well built. Sea Ark uses generally .125 inch thick aluminum for hulls and Xpress uses generally .100 inch thick aluminum for hulls.....Most aluminum jon boats will last for decades unless just totally abused....

 

[Texasmark]

About all I see that size and smaller around here is Alumacraft

A friend of mine has a 14 ft X 48. Very solid construction. Its a few years old and he's had no issues. He uses it a lot. 25 Yamaha 4-stroke on it.

If all you see are Alumacraft, you are in good company, bar none. Popular in my circles before the advent of the fiber glass bass boat.

 

[airshot]

I would look for the widest and deepest 14' you could find. Alumacraft, starcraft, lund, northwood, just a few names to consider....Wide and deep is always better and I would definetly go with a v bottom unless you will always be in calm water. Modified jon boats are great (v bows) but more expensive the a v bottom skiff. I have had a 14' mirrocraft and a 14' starcraft and both were wide and deep and great little boats. Had an 18hp on one and a 15hp on the other, should have gone with the 20 hp at least.

 

[Texasmark]

I would look for the widest and deepest 14' you could find. Alumacraft, starcraft, lund, northwood, just a few names to consider....Wide and deep is always better and I would definetly go with a v bottom unless you will always be in calm water. Modified jon boats are great (v bows) but more expensive the a v bottom skiff. I have had a 14' mirrocraft and a 14' starcraft and both were wide and deep and great little boats. Had an 18hp on one and a 15hp on the other, should have gone with the 20 hp at least.

The widest and deepest I had was a 14' Mirrorcraft semi-v. I added a side mounted (aft of center) alum console I found used and a trolling motor and things at the bow seat. Found a extremely well maintained Merc Mark 30 with remotes. That little Merc on that boat made a really nice small water bass fishing boat that had a good clip to it. Can't believe the engine was of the '50's vintage and here it was in the '80's time frame and I didn't have to do a thing to it and didn't have to give an arm and a leg for it. One of those rare instances. Built a frame out of used electrical tubing and made a camo slip cover whereby I could drive out to a spot, dump my dekes, cover up and just sit there amongst them and wait for the quackers. Sold it to a couple of local policemen and used the money to pay down on a real (Ranger) bass boat.

 

[scout-j-m]

Why are you leaning towards the 9.9hp? Size restriction on the lake or just because they are cheaper new? I mention new because a lot of places, used 9.9hp 2-strokes are typically more expensive than used 20 or 25hp due to to local lake hp restrictions.

I am also about to pull the trigger on a new aluminum rig to fish the the 10 hp restricted lakes near me. I'm about 90% set on an Alumacraft 1648 NCS flatbottom. I settled on it due to the fact that it had a 35hp max hp rating, 4 person capacity, had the open floor plan, and was relatively light weight being riveted. I think the 1448 would probably be a better option for a 9.9hp but it has person capacity of only 3 and a hp rating of 25hp. Those are big for me because a) I already a 35hp to use until I save up for a new 9.9hp and b) because I'd like the option to fish up to 4 because I have 2 year old twin boys so that will allow me to take them as well as my dad or brother along in a few years when they get old enough.

I know a few people with Alumacraft Mod V 1648s paired with 9.9hp 2-stroke Tohatsus which run about 15 mph with two people. I'm hoping the newer 9.8hp 4-strokes perform similar.

BTW, I prefer the flatbottom jon over the mod v jon. Comparing a 1648 or 1448 mod v to the same flatbottom model you see that the flat has a much larger front deck as well as perfectly flat floor. It is also slightly more stable especially when fishing solo from the front deck or have more than one person towards the front.