Isn't that a similar boat to what Steve Douglas used to have? Thought his old one was also a North River.

I fished out of a Lund 1700 Fisherman for several years and absolutely loved it. It is known for taking on rough water and it was a smooth ride even on those windy days. They are hard to find here in Texas but if you can find one then might give it a look and consider it.

I saw a new name to add to the list the other day. Anyone ever heard of a Kamath? They are made out in the northwest. They are supposed to be a lighter weight boat but the hull os .080 aluminum instead of the .125 you see on most other welded aluminum boats. That seems pretty thin to me. The layout looks nice. Forward helm and deep gunnels, their big boat is a 19' with a 90 HP. Seems kinda Whimpey to me. Curious if anyone has heard of them. Saw a used one for sale in Fort Worth...

How do those deep V hulls stand up to the fools in the wake boats, that have to go where the water is the calmest, to destroy it and cause huge wakes? Especially taking them across the length of the boat.

z289sec - when I’m anchored and get one of their waves from the side it does rock back and forth pretty good. From the front or back you won’t notice it as much. The center console I’m in now is about the same.

Time for a rant...
I have been looking around the interweb to see what other opinions there are about catfish boats. I always like to see if there is another perspective that I haven't thought about. If you search catfishing boats you get a lot of things like "here are the top 10 catfish boats for 2021"... Two lists I saw today were virtually the same. They are:

Sea Ark Pro Cat
G3 Sportsman
Tracker Pro 160
Xpress Xplorer
Lund Renegade
Excel Catfish Pro
Angler Quest
Crestliner Retriever
Lowe 20 Catfish

I noticed that they call it a top 10 list and then they only list 9...

My thing is most of these boats are basically the same. They are built off of a jon boat. Flat bottom, 15 degree deadrise hull...
of the boats listed above all of them but the pontoon are the same hull. Why is it that everybody thinks these are the best catfish boats? I have fished on the Pro Cat. It is a great platform when you're set up but it rides like a buckboard wagon.

I would fish out of El Gato's war machine anytime over any of these boats and frankly, I would fish out of any deep V hull over them. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, maybe it's because I had back surgery and I am trying to reduce the pounding I take from fishing. I like the high gunnels with kids in the boat, I like the room in the back of a forward helm and most of all I like a windshield for those long cold runs on a winter day.

Maybe I'm just in the minority on this but I don't get these flat bottom boats...

I am with you Tim. Out of the ones you listed above the only 1 I have fished out of was a Pro Cat 240 and it had a great lay out and it had a full windshield which was nice, but the wind was only 10-15mph the day I fished on it on Twok and it was very bumpy. The driver and front passenger chair had a shock seat on them but it was still rough. They would make an awesome river boat but for big lakes I think something with a V and some weight would be my choice.

My Blazer has a pretty good V on it but the boat is light so it still bounces around pretty good, plus my forward console makes it rougher for the driver. But I sure do like all the space I have.

To add, not only do the deep V’s offer a smoother ride, the high gunnels offer a level of safety and protection missing on the flat boats. Twice last year I stumbled and managed to grab the side, but yeah, I’m an old guy.

My perfect boat?

I was looking at the Mako 18LTS as I like the center console designs, and I like the fact that the backrest swings over so you can face the back of the boat. I then came to realize though I don’t think there is enough room between the seat and the transom to fit your legs.

I like the Deep V hull’s. My boat has one but is a smaller side console model. I would want one with a full windshield like Tims but that’s more forward if poss, leaving more room in the cockpit, with a full width stern fishing deck that’s not too deep, and 17 to 18 feet in length.

Everything is a compromise of course, and while bigger is nice, I like the fact the smaller boats are easy to handle and get on the trailer.

Don't let the loading - unloading from the trailer cause you to cut off a couple of feet of good space off the boat.

I fully understand fighting a boat trying to get it back on the trailer in the wind, especially by yourself! Duckboats especially... more than once in younger years I have just put it on how ever and then picked it up and moved back end around on dry ground... BUT now in older years, my back and rest of my body are paying for a lot of my BULL headed actions! LOL

But - have some trailer work done and add some rear upright outboard rollers... will not hurt the boat, and makes it much easier to load. If bunk boards have good angle and rollers are set right, then nose is in the front roller, it can not be out of place! Just pull it on, crank it down and always right. Uprights also make it easy to see how deep the trailer is in the water, etc. Amount of money we spend on boats (and gear...), a few bucks to help the trailer is the cheap part.

Will admit that I am spoiled now, having the boat hanging in the dock. LOL

Ken

You said it Ken! Having the boat in the water and having to just drop the Hydro-Hoist is a blessing compared to trailering it, storing it, loading it, unloading it... And I too am paying the price for what I did to my body in my younger years. A lot of people made a lot of money off of my back. Now I can't even jump out of a boat onto the shore without falling on my a$$. Just ask El Gato...

I am also trying to figure out an easy way for my wife to get in and out of my boat. She has knee problems and it is very difficult for her to get on and off. She would go out with me more if that wasn't an issue. She wants me to get a pontoon boat but I have resisted that. If I can't figure out a good solution, I may have no alternative but to go with a pontoon.

I’ve had my boat both at the marina and my house. Given the option I prefer it at my house. I can keep the boat pressure washed and it stays loaded with rods and gear at all times and ready to fish. I like to be able to go over all my equipment the night before I fish so that i am fully prepared in the morning. I live 1 mile from the lake and can leave my house and be on the water in 15 minutes flat. We also travel fish year round so having it at the house allows me to hook up the boat the night before and have it ready to roll out in the morning. When we had the boat at the marina we travel fished a lot less and going to other lakes is something I love to do.

Trailering a boat for me is easy as I have been doing it every week for 30 yrs. Gotta have upright outboard rear rollers like Ken said. Makes trailering easy even for a big boat like mine in the wind. In and out of the water in 5 minutes.

When exiting a boat on shore you guys gotta realize your not 20 yrs old anymore! You can’t just jump down out of a boat 4 or 5 feet when your our age. Instead of jumping from the deck you gotta sit your butt down and hop off. When Tim jumped off my boat and hit the ground I felt tremors like an earthquake! That guy is a giant!

Tim, invest in a dock boarding ramp for your wife. They are aluminum and some have a handrail. EZ-Board makes one that folds down.

[quote=Catfish Tim]You said it Ken! Having the boat in the water and having to just drop the Hydro-Hoist is a blessing compared to trailering it, storing it, loading it, unloading it... And I too am paying the price for what I did to my body in my younger years. A lot of people made a lot of money off of my back. Now I can't even jump out of a boat onto the shore without falling on my a$$. Just ask El Gato...

I am also trying to figure out an easy way for my wife to get in and out of my boat. She has knee problems and it is very difficult for her to get on and off. She would go out with me more if that wasn't an issue. She wants me to get a pontoon boat but I have resisted that. If I can't figure out a good solution, I may have no alternative but to go with a pontoon.[/quote

Not sure if Easy Step Systems would work or not with wife's knee issues, but it might be worth a look. I'm strongly considering them for my trailer.

I trailered a 22.5' tri-toon everywhere, every weekend for 4-5 years. You get good at it, doesn't matter what boat it is, you get good at loading/unloading your boat. Never let loading/unloading dictate the boat you get. Only way trailering should dictate type/style/size of a boat is if you don't have a tow vehicle to handle it.

I showed this to my wife and she said THAT'S IT! That's what we need! I think it will do exactly what we need... I started searching the terms you guys threw out there. This is the EZ Board by Wet Steps...

Thats a great idea!

The next boat will get fitted with those for sure.

Thanks, Ken.

One investment I have made Is to fit steps on my trailer.



Around $500 and worth every penny for this old guy.

Easy peasy!



The next boat is going to have one fitted.

One advantage of small boats is you can swim for it fairly easily if you forget to tie it to the trailer. Dont ask me how I know this...