Curtis,
Welcome to the forum. I think you will find that just about everyone you talk to about boats will have a different opinion as to which design is best. When I purchased my most recent boat, I had two kids and a wife that were more interested in being pulled around the lake on a wakeboard or tube. I on the other hand would rather have a boat primarily designed for trolling for kokes with one or two bass/crappie trips each year. Our compromise was a fish/ski 17' Crestliner. This boat is just that, a compromise, as it places the helm towards the middle of the boat to allow for seating in the front. This is fine for the skiing and bass fishing trips, but makes my 17' boat feel more like a 14' boat when we are trolling. The reason is that most of the action takes place in the back of the boat and there is a lot of wasted space in front of the windshield. This will also be true with the boat that you are looking at as well. If you are looking for primarily a trolling vessel, I would look at a helm forward design that keeps all the seating in the back of the boat and limits the area in front of the wind shield to a small space large enough for one person to fish from a pedestal seat if they chose to go bass fishing. My buddy has a 19 foot North River that feels like it is almost twice as big as my boat when we are trolling because of its helm forward design. Once the kids are out of school I will be selling the Crestliner and getting one with a helm forward design. Just my two cents.
Last edited by sawtooth; 03-31-2015 at 07:12 PM.
17 ft. red/white Crestliner
90 hp and 8hp Hondas
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