Starcraft/Smokercraft

I’m wondering if anyone on here has any experience with starcraft or smokercraft boats. I know some of the bigger deeper starcrafts are fairly popular with some Erie guys. I looked at both brand’s 18 foot models at a boat show last night, and really liked the layout and overall build of the boat. If anyone has any experience in the Starcraft Titan or Smokercraft Ultima specifically, I’d love to hear. Both seemed like good compromises of a hard core fishing boat for big water, but enough of a “ski” boat for the wife. How do these boats ride in rough water? Can you still take on inland lakes and rivers to fish bass? Price, build, layout, and warranty were all very attractive to me. If I can hear of some good testimonials about these brands, that would probably seal the deal for me. Thanks!

If your not going on big lakes they work ok. All the popular aluminum boats are poorly made but will last a lifetime if not pounded on big water. They ride poorly and are even worse in the wind while on the trolling motor.
If you can get a glass boat for similar money do it.

MnPat1 wrote:

If your not going on big lakes they work ok. All the popular aluminum boats are poorly made but will last a lifetime if not pounded on big water.

You’re sure about that? If so do you have any facts to back that up?

My dad and neighbors all had smokercrafts and sylvans for years. They use unfinished wood for transoms and floors. After 3 transoms and a floor they stopped fixing my dads boat. Aluminum can’t be shaped to ride well like glass can. The boats sit up and catch a lot of wind.

I have fished out of Lund’s and smokers for over 20 years.
Resale is not good.
Buy a glass boat and you will get your money back.

I bought a glass boat three years ago. It rides like a dream. Dry as can be. To top it off it’s still worth what I paid for it.
Go ahead and buy aluminum I don’t care. Just stating facts.

My grandpas boat was a 1980 deep 16′ starcraft. Solid mid size boat. I know he used to take it out on lake Michigan back in the day

Thanks. Would love to buy glass but I don’t think there’s any glass windshield boats that compare in price to aluminum unfortunately. The resale value thing doesn’t make sense to me honestly. I can’t imagine paying that much for something only to get rid of it a few years later. I plan on keeping 20-30 years.

I have a Smokercraft 16′ tiller bought new in 1998, transom and floor are 20 years old and still solid. Also bought a 2017 Starcraft 24′ pontoon. Solid boat. Store indoors or on a covered lift when not using it will last you 20+ years.

I have never been in either a smokercraft or a starcraft. My comment is more directed to the comment there is no well built aluminum boat. That statement is crap. I had a couple lund pro v’s and beat the crap out of them on big water, and never had any issues with either. The resale of them was quite good as well. He is correct though about the ride. Harsh and wet. There is no comparison to the higher quality glass boats as far as dry softer ride. If you are going to run an aluminum boat on big water and want it to last 20-30 years I would look for a tournament designed boat, that is designed for harsh conditions and comes with better components and pumps.

MnPat1 wrote:

If your not going on big lakes they work ok. All the popular aluminum boats are poorly made but will last a lifetime if not pounded on big water. They ride poorly and are even worse in the wind while on the trolling motor.
If you can get a glass boat for similar money do it.

Yeah ok. This entire comment is non sense and I wouldn’t listen to him. Same with his resale value comment

I bought new a 2004 Smokercraft Pro angler 172 with a Johnson/Suzuki 115 4 stroke. Best part of that boat was the motor, the ride was rough but the lay out and fit and finish were good. Sold it in 2008 for what I paid for it.

Houdehni wrote:

Thanks. Would love to buy glass but I don’t think there’s any glass windshield boats that compare in price to aluminum unfortunately. The resale value thing doesn’t make sense to me honestly. I can’t imagine paying that much for something only to get rid of it a few years later. I plan on keeping 20-30 years.

Keep your eyes open.
I bought my glass windshield boat for less than what you will pay for a smokercraft. You can find year old boats at a substantial discount. Good luck in your search.

Pat, did you buy new or used? Definitely open to the new last year’s model clearance approach if the opportunity arises. Mind PM’ing me the dealer and details of your purchase that you had success with?

I bought new but I don’t think I could come close to the deal I got again.

I use to fish Lake Mich all the time and I had an 18 foot Star craft that had a 70 hp motor. I fished in 4 foot waves many times and my dad and his friend had it at Pentwater and they ran into some close to 5 foot he said. Had it for many years and never had a leak or any problems with it. This was in the mid 80’s

I have a 1997 16’ Smoker craft pro tiller with a 40hp Johnson 2 cylinder. I have fished Mille lacs since I bought this boat and, due to ignorance, been caught in some precarious positions. This boat has preformed through thick and thin. Granted I’m not a slow learner so I didn’t get myself into these situations as I moved forward but that boat stuck in there every time. I just bought a 2019 171 pro mag from smoker craft and can’t wait to pick it up. BTB, the 16’ is for sale.

Steve – saw your mention of buying a Pro Angler. I have an older model Pro Mag but think they still make the riveted hull of the same general design. wondered where you ended up having a sonar transducer mounted to avoid the long strakes on the bottom and water turbulence in general. I have both a mega sidescanning transducer to mount as well as a 2d sonar one. There is limited room to mount them with several of those strakes on the bottom. Any advice to offer? Thx! Allan Halls. Milton, Ontario, Can.

I have a 1996 Sylvan Pro Select, bought new. I have maintained it and garage stored. Still runs great. I have never even had to replace a pump or switch.

MnPat1 wrote:

I bought new but I don’t think I could come close to the deal I got again.

Please share the deal you got I’m sure all of us would like to hear.

I owned a Smokercraft 178 Fazer for almost 20 years. I took that boat on countless trips to Lake Michigan, as well as Superior. Fished in rougher water than I care to admit a handful of times. Never once did I wish I was in a fiberglass boat. The transom and the floor was as solis as the day it was new. I have nothing but praises of my old boat, nor would I ever hesitate to buy another!!

I own a 2017 Smoker Craft Ultima and have no complaints. It has been a good family boat and fishing boat for us. If you want you can message me.

MnPat1 wrote:

My dad and neighbors all had smokercrafts and sylvans for years. They use unfinished wood for transoms and floors. After 3 transoms and a floor they stopped fixing my dads boat. Aluminum can’t be shaped to ride well like glass can. The boats sit up and catch a lot of wind.

I have fished out of Lund’s and smokers for over 20 years.
Resale is not good.
Buy a glass boat and you will get your money back.

I bought a glass boat three years ago. It rides like a dream. Dry as can be. To top it off it’s still worth what I paid for it.
Go ahead and buy aluminum I don’t care. Just stating facts.

About the stupidest comment about resale. I guess you haven’t checked out a lund 2003 proV, still running about 15 – 20K lol.

I want to address this issue of hulls “not being able to take big water pounding”.

Yes, if you drive like a total tool, @ssramming around at 40 miles an hour in 3+ footers, it is absolutely true that you will bugger your hull. And you glass guys that think this is only a problem for the lower classes driving tin boats, do this often enough and you’re going to learn the hard way that it applies to you too. Your hull is going to be full of spider cracks and blisters and even through cracks if you hit the bottom hard enough.

Here’s a hit for you if you want your boat to last. Take care of it. Don’t take your driving cues from tournament guys who get a new boat every year.

If you don’t know how to drive a boat on big water and properly drive in both head and following sea conditions, get some driving lessons from someone who knows what they are doing. You don’t see saltwater guys pounding head-on or straight following into big seas at high speed. There’s a reason for that.

To the OP, I’d say that how you take care of ANY boat is going to have the greatest impact on how long it lives. Preventing water and sun damage is the #1 factor. If you can’t store inside, get a good cover made and be sure it drains all water over the side with absolutely no pooling on the cover or inside the boat. ESPECIALLY in the bilge or transom well!

Keep the water on the outside of the boat, treat the hull properly, and if the boat is sound the day you bought it, your chances of keeping it sound are very good regardless of brand.

Grouse

My first boat was a Smokercraft Magnum161. Absolutely loved that boat for fishing the smaller lakes and my kids grew up in that boat. Owned it for over 20 years, moved on to a ProV as the transom rotted out on the 161 and the Yamaha 50 wore out. Loved the ProV also except for trying to track on lakes like Mille Lacs.
Moved on from the ProV to Ranger620. From quality point of view, from my experience, the ProV was every bit as good as the Ranger. The Ranger still has the same problem as with the Lund, screws coming lose. For sure Ranger is a big water boat and tracks incredibly well. A new 620 is on order.
My wife still comments that the 161 was her favorite boat. Now a lot of years have gone by since my 161, so can’t comment on the new ones. But I would definitely check out how the transom is built.

It’s pretty easy to say just drop $65K on a new Ranger 620, but most people simply can’t afford to. I am sure they ride like a dream, but from my perspective, my full windshield Crestliner rides a hell of a lot better than my old 16 foot tiller. I feel comfortable on Mille Lacs/Leech/LOTW in 95% of conditions, and if it’s worse than that I probably wouldn’t be going out in glass or tin.

Related to your actual question OP – I would consider stepping up to the Crestliner/Alumacraft/Lund tier (Lund being the most expensive/highest quality of the 3). I think they can be had at a fairly similar price to what you are looking at, and you are getting better quality/value/resale.

Let me know where you are finding a 620 ranger for $65k. I wish they were in the 60’s

mnfisherman18 wrote:

It’s pretty easy to say just drop $65K on a new Ranger 620, but most people simply can’t afford to. I am sure they ride like a dream, but from my perspective, my full windshield Crestliner rides a hell of a lot better than my old 16 foot tiller. I feel comfortable on Mille Lacs/Leech/LOTW in 95% of conditions, and if it’s worse than that I probably wouldn’t be going out in glass or tin.

Related to your actual question OP – I would consider stepping up to the Crestliner/Alumacraft/Lund tier (Lund being the most expensive/highest quality of the 3). I think they can be had at a fairly similar price to what you are looking at, and you are getting better quality/value/resale.

mojogunter wrote:

Let me know where you are finding a 620 ranger for $65k. I wish they were in the 60’s

Ha agreed, $65K is low and the point still stands.

Co worker of mine has a 15.5 foot tiller Smokercraft (Angler, Sportsman?). I think its about 20 years old. Its got a 25 hp merc on the back and a hand steer minn kota bow mount. I’ve fished in it several times. Not a speed demon or built for rough water but it works pretty good on small to mid size lakes and rivers. The really nice feature of having a smaller boat like this is that he can fit it in his 2-car garage WITH both of his cars in there too.

Owned a 93 sylvan pro select that I sold last year. Been on every type of big lake, LOW, Leech, mille lacs and no problems. Trailered it up to Canada 20 years in a row, 1800 mile round trip. That boat took everything thrown at it and didn’t owe me anything at the end. A young man is new owner now and I am sure the boat is still performing well. Everyone has an opinion but the only one that matters is yours. If the boat feels right to you it probably is.

I only had (1) transducer and mounted it on a transducer board. I marked the rivets with lipstick and then hollowed the spots out. I put it between the ribs but still had some trouble at higher speeds.

I had a 16 foot Lund tyee 1987 that I would run on Rainy in all kinds of weather. 4 days in the water, pounding through some pretty big waves for miles. Pull it out of water after 4 days, open the drain and nothing comes out. Pretty tight for an almost 35 year old hull. I think it’s like anything else. Solidly made but not everyone takes care of theirs the same and, face it, sometimes you just get a bad boat ( or car,truck etc).
For the money and accessories I can’t justify a glass boat. Not that much better in my opinion. Just replaced the 87 with a 2019 Lund impact. We’ll see how she holds up.