Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Aluminum boat advice

Lowe Stinger 175C
I'm looking for an aluminum fishing boat in the 20K price range. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this one, or suggestions of other brands that would be somewhat comparable.

I’m looking at boats as well but lightly used ...waiting to see if there will be some fire sales coming up with this pandemic.

My son bought his from this company. He got the XT series. They custom built it to his specs.
https://xtremeboats.com/

My advice would be go welded rather than rivets. And 4 stroke at minimum of 80% of the max horsepower rating

I've had a Lowe 1448 Big Jon with a 25HP Johnson since 1999 back when it was owned by OMC. The whole package has been very good and I'd buy another Lowe but I'd choose a different dealer....

My Dad still has his 1972 12' Lowe-line(pre Lowe) boat and while he had to reset some rivets and had some welding done to the transom it still works good.

There's no perfect boat for every situation so I'd get one that matches the majority of what you will use it for and then plan to rent or hire a guide for the others. Having a good place to store it is important too.

hewescraft river runner is a lot of boat, and you can find used ones pretty right and put on a motor of your choosing

My 17ft Sea nymph has a 60hp Merc. 4 stroke , the hull is rated for 75hp. my top speed is 34 mph at 4500ft elevation.

Evidently fills the bill for what you want, but it's not my cup of tea. It will probably end up costing you like $24 grand with the proper moter, which would be the biggest it's rated for. IME you should get nothing less.

I have had a Lowe bay 20 for a bit more than a year and it has been a great boat so far. I have had only very minor issues with anything boat related. Doing the research the Lowe I bought had 25% thicker aluminum and quite a bit more foam as compared to the closest competitor (Ranger).

On the bigger lakes here when the wind gets up, squarer hull boats beat the hell out of you and soak you. Now I haven't been in one for many years so don't know if the technology has improved this, but I wouldn't buy a new boat that wasn't deep V. Lowe makes those also and make good boats.

Kent

I've had my Lowe 1648 with a 35 horse Honda for 25 years. Absolutely no issues with either.
It has always planed out, no matter what I've piled in it.
The only downside to a Jon boat is that it wants to be on top of every wave and gives a rough ride unless it is loaded down pretty good.
I put a deck in it between the middle seat and the bow, level with the seat. That helped the ride quite a bit.

Depends on what water you want to fish with it and what you'll be fishing for.

If this boat fits your bill then by all means dive in. I had that exact boat (a 2011) with a 2012 Merc 4 stroke 20 HP for five years and loved it. A lot of local lakes have a 25 horse max so I didn't go with anything bigger. The only issue I had was the electronic tilt solenoid went out on it twice under warranty and was replaced.

I changed my style of fishing (from bass to walleye) and started fishing bigger water so I went to a much bigger v-hull with a full windshield. My buddy bought my Lowe and is running it now.

Guy on my crew at work has a Lowe Stinger with a 115 Mercury Optimax. He is very happy with it. Says it runs in the low 60s with just him in the boat.

Hard to offer advice if you do't say what kind of water you're going to be on.

That would work! I don’t think we have a local dealer for them however.

IMO full walk-through windshield is the only way to go, even in the heat of the summer. Literally, whatever floats your boat, but if I were going aluminum, I'd get a semi or deep v. Stinger is a glorified jon boat and would be okay for rivers or very small lakes only IMO. But the OP didn't ask and for what it is, Lowe at least makes a medium-quality boat.

I sold a 1995 Lowe 1650 yesterday. It was a good boat. I just want something newer.

Small lakes and rivers. Fishing for panfish and bass. Occasionally pulling someone on an inner tube.

You really think a 75 hp is worth the extra 4 grand over a 60? Why? This is the sort of info I am looking for. Thanks.