I am looking to get a boat after not having one for the past 8 years. Last boat was a 1652 Seaark SC with a 2-stroke Merc 50. Fun boat for basic hunting and fishing needs but did not handle bigger water very well.

This new boat needs to fit in my garage first and foremost. All in, it can't be wider than 91" or longer than 22' for boat, motor and trailer.
Looking for an aluminum boat thinking deep V for bigger water. Reservoirs around the DFW area.
Something comfortable for 4 people. 17-18 ft.
Primarily a fun boat ( pulling a skier or a tube) but would fish out of it occasionally as well.

Lund, Lowe and G3 are the brands that's come to mind. The Lund Rebel XS looks like it may fit my wish list.
Any educated advice on this particular boat or others that fit my spec?
Any motors to avoid?

You might want to check out the Gregors. Welded construction and tough as nails.

Hutch, do yourself a favor. Go over to Bass Pro Shop and buy a new 17-18ft Tracker. powdr

Duckwater. Ocean 17

He had a sea ark before...that tracker is going to feel like a pop can

A lightweight aluminum boat will be great for everything except water skiing. Get the biggest, deepest, strongest one you can afford, something capable of getting through the rough stuff. I'd look for a clean, used one; save thousand$.

Something more like...

Might have a hard time finding what you want. Lund rebel has the width that you want but 115 for motor.3 people in the boat then add a skier. Might not be enough for ski and tube. Especially if the kids are older.
The boats with bigger motors like 175hp there wider than your looking for.

Maybe Glastron gtsf180 with a 150hp on her?

The Duckwater boats look like tanks but not really what I'm looking for.

Buying used is not out of the question. Problem is that the aluminum boats seem to not hit the market very often.
I have no problem finding Skeeters, Rangers and other glass bass boats.

Widen your search area; they tow easily enough.

Had a 18 ft Bayrunner did not like it, would dip a gunnell and corkscrew in bigger water scary. Talked to a guy this weekend his 20 ft Bayrunner did the same.

Have a 20 ft Koffler Baybee and love it.

SeArk is now making a deeper V bottom as well

Their bay extreme

I bought a Hewescraft. This a 16 ft with a yamaha 70 4 stroke. Very deep, wide and economical to run. I have had it up to about 37 mph with 2 of us on flat water. [/url]Hewescraft2 by Brant Lindquist, on Flickr[/img]

Check out Smoker Craft Phantom.
I was looking at a 222 last Monday. Really nice boat.

http://www.smokercraft.com/sites/sm...headers/222PhantomOS_2.jpg?itok=VVq8SoAK

http://www.smokercraft.com/showroom/north-american-angler/phantom/222-offshore

They make them down to 18'

I went from a 16 foot lund rebel tiller 40 mariner two stroke to a lund 1775 impact duel console 115 merc 4 stroke.

Its my wifes boat because I prefer tiller....

Its a great boat, but those big 4 strokes are not as snappy. Consider a two stroke for skiing...
The deep V hull and console really make a dry rider. Go with longer boats if you want 4 behind the console. I wanted a 17 foot & 90 HP, but there is no room for 4 people behind the console and the back seats are against the driver. Be realistic on how often you have 4 in there though because my boat is oversized for my needs 98% of the time.

Another shocker.. the trailer width is concern, but the height of the motor barely gets in under my garage door.

Buy what resells well in your area and thats why I stay with Lunds in MN. Crestliners are nice if you want a welded hull.

Folding trailer hitches help a lot too.

Good luck and tell us what you decide.

All good points.
I realize the trailer width has to be considered.

Swing away tongue is a no brainier and seems to be fairly common down here.

I've got two young kids so probably another 6-8 years of 3 to 4 in the boat at any given time.

Haven't looked at crest liner yet. Googling that one momentarily.

Could just get a big-ass jet ski for fun and bum a ride on the neighbors boat when I want to go fishing.

Doubt that would do.

Was joking of course.

The garage door width is my limiting factor. WhenI built the house, I added 3 feet to the depth of the third bay so I could grow into a larger boat. Couldn't make the opening wider.

Convenient covered boat storage around here would run about $2k /year. My garage is "free".

If you wanted it mostly for skiing you'd want something like this.
https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/boa/5691837960.html

Classic Prostar 190. Great ski boat but you better have a gas pump on the lake. Cousins had one with a 454 and 4 barrel Holley carbs. You could pull 6 skiers but you wouldn't be doing it long before you had to fill up.

SS

Nice boat but I am not that serious about skiing.

RHutch,

I picked up a Lund 1850 Impact XS this spring and so far I really like it. Mine has the 150 Merc 4 stroke on it and I have no issues pulling skiers and tubes with three kids on them. It is also laid out well for fishing. I have 6 seats in mine (4 pedestal and 2 rear jump seats) and last Sunday I loaded up with three adults and three kids and did a 8 mile run across the lake. Top speed was 45 mph with the stock prop, full fuel tank, my 9.9 ProKicker, and all my fishing gear. If I run it by myself I can get 48.5 mph in calm conditions. I have been really impressed with the Merc 150 4S motor. Starts beautifully, good on fuel, quiet. The ProKicker has been less of a joy since it is carbed. Suzuki makes an EFI kicker (which isn't available here in Canada yet) that would be my choice in the future.

I looked long and hard at boats this past winter. I liked the Lund Tyee but it was more money and had higher sides, which meant the wind would push me around more. I would also have had to go to the 1900 model to have enough room in the cockpit. I liked the layout of the Crossover boats and figured that was what I would go with, however the in floor rod locker/ski locker wasn't the best for dry storage of the rods and I didn't like the open side storage that it had. The Alumacraft Edge seemed small inside for the size, and I truly hated the livewell location under the rear jump seat. It might work for bass, but try getting a 36" Northern out through a 12" hole under a seat.

Someone on Walleye Central suggested that I look at the 1850 Impact XS and I'm glad I did. Had the rear seat config I liked in the Crossover, the ski pole for pulling the kids around, and the nicer rod locker for my fishing stuff. It was a new model for 2015 so not very well known yet. I liked the layout better than the regular Impact model (hated the rear flip bench since it needed to be down over the pedestal seat holes in order to access the livewell, so you could only fish with it down and the seats moved) and the quality of materials seemed higher than the Rebel series had.

Hope that helps.

SS

ETA: Here is a link to the thread with pictures of mine. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...20/Picked_up_my_new_boat...#Post11098820

That Tyee seems about right.