new boat

[2011laramie]

looking for a new boat, aluminum 17.5ft fishing boat with 115-130hp.

lund, crestliner, princecraft, alumacraft, smokercraft are what ive been looking at online.

who are some good dealers to talk too and who are some dealers to avoid.

im in red deer but its not a big deal to go a few hundred km to purchase if the boat is right. mostly lookin at leftover 2015s cause of the dollar.

im plannin on going to the edmonton boat show soon

[Ebrand]

I have a 17.5 foot Sylvan.

115 is too small. Get the max hp you can. Especially if you want to ski or tube.

I won't go into where I got mine. The experience was not pleasant.

I am told most dealers are similar. Once they have your money they don't really care about you.

We got a good deal money wise at the boat show years ago. Know your prices and get them to throw lots of stuff in.
A spare prop. Extra lubricants. Travel tarp. Spare tire for the trailer are all valuable things.

Pm me if you want me to tell you where I had my bad experience.
They tried to make things right after I slammed them on here years ago. I agreed to no publicly slam them again. Pm is private.

Good Luck

Eric

[I_forget]

Why not used

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by I_forget

Why not used

Exactly. There must be lots of shiny toys coming onto the used market. I nearly choked when my son told me what some people he knows have paid for "wakeboats". I thought that is what you would pay for a small condominium.

I think some key questions in negotiating from now on will be

1. How long have you been off work?
2. What does your wife do for a living?

Sad really, but that's the market now I suspect.

[Nova]

Originally Posted by I_forget

Why not used

With the current state of our dollar, that's certainly the route I'd go. The present boat show pricing on a 1650 Fish Hawk is 44% more now than it was when I bought mine in 2013. Same dealer and the only difference is a stereo. $10k difference after tax for the same boat.

[deerguy]

Westshore marine in Manitoba for lund. Great prices.

[I-Love-Eyes]

Free Spirit Marine in Edmonton for a Crestliner. We have bought twice from them. Awesome boat and awesome service.
Ask for Thane. They will probably be at the boat show also.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Lund have arguably the best hull design with the IPS2 hull. Alberta dealers have a bad reputation for reason. Look to Sask for much better service.

[Sakotackdriver]

Originally Posted by 2011laramie

looking for a new boat, aluminum 17.5ft fishing boat with 115-130hp.

lund, crestliner, princecraft, alumacraft, smokercraft are what ive been looking at online.

who are some good dealers to talk too and who are some dealers to avoid.

im in red deer but its not a big deal to go a few hundred km to purchase if the boat is right. mostly lookin at leftover 2015s cause of the dollar.

im plannin on going to the edmonton boat show soon

Watch out for the boat shows! They set up boats with small motors and lighter trailers to keep the price low. # 1 rule is take a look at the rating plate on the haul, is the motor the max size allowed? #2 check the rating on the trailer, #3 weight of the boat. # 4 add up the motor & haul weight and add 500 lbs for gear? # 5 will the trailer handel the weight? What ever you do! Get the max rated engine! You will save on fuel and your motor will work half as hard and will last longer.

[Sakotackdriver]

Originally Posted by I-Love-Eyes

Free Spirit Marine in Edmonton for a Crestliner. We have bought twice from them. Awesome boat and awesome service.
Ask for Thane. They will probably be at the boat show also.

I agree Crestliner is a great product. I have a 1950 Sportfish and I love it.

[Sakotackdriver]

Originally Posted by 2011laramie

looking for a new boat, aluminum 17.5ft fishing boat with 115-130hp.

lund, crestliner, princecraft, alumacraft, smokercraft are what ive been looking at online.

who are some good dealers to talk too and who are some dealers to avoid.

im in red deer but its not a big deal to go a few hundred km to purchase if the boat is right. mostly lookin at leftover 2015s cause of the dollar.

im plannin on going to the edmonton boat show soon

Watch out for the boat shows! They set up boats with small motors and lighter trailers to keep the price low. # 1 rule is take a look at the rating plate on the haul, is the motor the max size allowed? #2 check the rating on the trailer, #3 weight of the boat. # 4 add up the motor & haul weight and add 500 lbs for gear? # 5 will the trailer handel the weight? What ever you do! Get the max rated engine! You will save on fuel and your motor will work half as hard and will last longer.

[Rdamours]

Buy Canadian. It looks like the Princecraft boats are really well engineered and made in Canada,

http://www.princecraft.com/ca/en/Abo...t/History.aspx

I rebuilt a 77 18.5 foot StarCraft Holiday out of Minnesota with custom upholstery and paint for a quarter of new but it did take some time otherwise I would have went for one of the Princecraft boats.

[2011laramie]

I have been looking at used, but most stuff if its good disappears so quickly. I missed out on a smokin deal last spring.

[justsomeguy]

Sad reality is there will be lots of toys for sale used this summer.

[Domestique]

Take out a loan for the new boat. Historically low interest rates with a lengthy loan amortization and it's basically free.

[does it ALL outdoors]

All kinds of toys being sold off on kijiji for a lot less then fair value, a buyers market for sure. If the dollar wasn't in the toilet I would say go stateside, they almost give boats away down there and importing them is a simple process but...

[Sakotackdriver]

Originally Posted by Rdamours

Buy Canadian. It looks like the Princecraft boats are really well engineered and made in Canada,

http://www.princecraft.com/ca/en/Abo...t/History.aspx

I rebuilt a 77 18.5 foot StarCraft Holiday out of Minnesota with custom upholstery and paint for a quarter of new but it did take some time otherwise I would have went for one of the Princecraft boats.

If you look up the company who builds high end boats you will see that Crestliner, Princecraft and Lund are Owen by one company. The Crestliner is the top model with all welded construction. The Princecraft is welded and rivets. The Lund is all rivets. They all use the stuff to bow I beam that is the best. Stay away from some of the other brands like Sylvan & Smokercraft! They used to run starboard and portside bracing and in big waves the boat would flex and pop the window snaps.
I sold my Sylvan and bought a Crestliner, I can take on 10 foot waves and the window snaps don't pop and you don't feel like the boat is going to split in half.

[diamond k]

Just a tip to remember that with these used boats please make sure you check for liens and if you buy one make sure the finance company is paid.

Had a friend that got excited and bought a 5 year old boat for a great deal. Problem was the owner did not pay the finance company.

Got really ugly but in the end owners dad paid the finance company paid after a visit from RCMP to the owner.

RCMP told him a story of a guy who's wife sold his boat without asking and dud not pay finance company either and new owner lost the boat with no recourse other than trying to recoup in court.

[tireguy]

Try Boatmart in Red Deer, bought a Alumicraft with a 115hp Etec, only got it out once in Sept but was very pleased. Did lots of looking and went with them, price was right and they treated me very well.

[2011laramie]

Ya im gonna go to boatmart next week and check out a voyager and a competitor.

[Tfng]

I had a good experience buying a new leftover Lund at Nipawin Chrysler Dodge in 2008. I tried to buy locally but the dealer firmly wanted full list price for a two year old leftover which has been stored outside. They told me to pay full price or take a hike, I gladly left that boat in their possession.

I got a great deal in Nipawin and they were good to deal with. They realize if they're selling a leftover it has to be cheaper that current model year. It may be worth a call.

[Yankeejane]

Check out Barry Jays Marine in Edmonton. They're Princecraft and Lund dealer. When I visit a dealer I always make it a habit to check out their parts, and service departments. Kinda lets you know whether they are focused primarily on sales, or all 3 sales/parts/service. I've also found that a lot of the hybrid boat dealerships that deal in other things besides boats tend to focus more on their meal ticket items ie: Rvs, quads, etc. Sometimes seems like boats are a complete after thought. From the way they order them in and what they have on them to their lack of product knowledge about them.

[Baconman]

hey if you are looking for a aluminum boat I would get an all welded hull instead of a riveted one in my opinion there are a few really good makes out there like hewes craft and thunder jet that have really good hull warranty a welded hull costs a bit more but in the long run is worth it

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Exactly. There must be lots of shiny toys coming onto the used market. I nearly choked when my son told me what some people he knows have paid for "wakeboats". I thought that is what you would pay for a small condominium.

I think some key questions in negotiating from now on will be

1. How long have you been off work?
2. What does your wife do for a living?

Sad really, but that's the market now I suspect.

its the market because people made the conscious choice to finance themselves up the arse... All because they felt they deserved something because their friends had one etc... keeping up with the Jones's.

[Cageyc]

I've owned a couple of lunds and now have a crestliner which I couldn't be happier. I really like the welded construction, ride and comfort.i have a 1850 super hawk with a 150 pro xs. Enough power to pull a 3 person tube and fuel efficient. Kelly at spirit marine is good to deal with.

[TROLLER]

Originally Posted by I-Love-Eyes

Free Spirit Marine in Edmonton for a Crestliner. We have bought twice from them. Awesome boat and awesome service.
Ask for Thane. They will probably be at the boat show also.

X2 Great guys to deal with.

if you go with Lund then Riverside Honda cannot beat their pricing on any Lund and they set you up with a Honda motor Cannot remember the name of the town but it is the suburb west of Edmonton. I think St. Albert

[sns2]

Without a doubt, Europa Canopy and Marine in Edmonton. Talk to Darryl the owner. 780-237-9757.

[2011laramie]

gonna go look at an alumacraft voyageur 175 sport and a princecraft sport 172. both are priced in my range but are narrower, so i will go check to see how they feel.

[tireguy]

also consider the Crestliner Vision, same size boat with the option of the Etec 115. I liked both but ultimately went with the Vouager.