Need a new boat

[HankR]

Well, I posted earlier about an old Mako that I was thinking of repowering and it turns out the foam is waterlogged. I've decided not to deal with it and donate it to our Maritime Museum as project for them. Now I need to find a new boat for myself. I'm looking for some input on some makes. My primary use will trolling on Lake Champlain for salmon in the spring and fall. There will be some family use as well. Also want to strip it down and take it to the Cape for stripers the end of June and beginning fo July. I really like center consoles. Would be looking for something about 19 or 20 feet in length. That would be big enough for me to feel safe and still easy to trailer. I'm looking at the Key West, Sea Pro and Sea Hunt. My problem is there are no dealers up here so I can't actually look at on in person, only on the internet. I don't want to spring the cash for a Grady or Whaler. Any feedback on these makes or does anyone have any other ideas that I might be able to look at? Gettting anywhere in New England to pick it up isn't much of a problem but much further than that presents some challenges. Thanks for any input you might have.

Hank

[HDale]

Key West: When Hudson's Marine in Salisbury, MA went looking for another line of boats to complement the Makos they sell, they looked at 6-8 brands.

Mako is definitly a premium brand and they wanted a "premium" boat that sold at a lower price than the Makos. Craig Husdon said he toured each factory and settled on Key West as they were the closest built to a Mako (quality, material, design, finish, etc.) of any of the next-level-down line of boats on the market.

Hudson's has been a Mako delaer since Makos first came on the scene, so I would opine that their choice of Key West boats shouldn't be taken lightly. You can call Craig @ 978-462-8192.

Unfortunately, I can't comment on the other brands, but go to this site: http://www.wmi.org/www/boating/boatboard/ and do a search on "Sea Pro" and "Sea Hunt" (just the names, without the quotes ...) as there are many comparisons by others between the 3 brands you mentioned.

[Bob Parsons]

Perhaps this fall you could go to the On the Water Boat Show in Boston. That would give you a chance to see many of these boats up close and personal.

[daveb]

The 20' Key West is a nice boat for the price. It is light as a feather which is good for towing but you pay in the ride which is pretty harsh in a chop. The with a 115 4 stroke it makes a great package..I was surprised but the 115 is plenty of power.

I've never been out in a KW 19' but it looks to be way less boat than the 20.

BTW...just to add to an already confusing decision...an 18' Parker has a better ride than the 20' KW by a mile.

[AlderBrookFarm]

We fished out of a 23' Parker in the Keys and it had a great ride. Although it wasn't perfect for fly fishing it wasn't the worst I've ever fly fished out of either. In some magazine I read I saw that they have a newer model that's designed with flats & fly fishing in mind and if I were looking I would certainly check it out.

[Capt.ChrisLembo]

Check out the pathfinder line. They are very nice for the $.

www.maverickboats.com

Check out the 1900 V
or 2200 V. They have a list of guides you may want to charter and really fish on one for a day. There are some in the Northeast.

[Blackjack]

Why not a 20' Lund Alaskan? Nice and light to trailer, and perfect for lake fishing. I personally have a Maritime Skiff 18' that I really like - also easy to trailer.