Went to the dang boat show (so many toys, so little money) and saw a couple of boats that looked interesting and wonder if there are any opinions out there. The boats are a Smokercraft osprey, 17ft and a Harbercraft Nahanni 18ft. Any info on the particular boats or the brands in general would be great.

Thanks

Baddawg

Hey BD,
I have a 95 18 ft. Harbercraft Kingfisher. Good all around boat, I use it both out in the salt and the rivers. It is a deep vee, but we do run a pump on it. One thing I will say is that when we bought it, it was underpowered with the motor that we bought with it (115/80 Johnson jet). We paid for that as the motor fried itself this past fall. The motor was upgraded to a 150/105 Evinrude jet and I am really pleased with the setup. Lot's of power, I've had four guys in it and it does not take forever to get on plane like it did before. For a forward steering w/windshield combo it has lot's of fishing room.
If I knew then what I know today I am not sure I would got the same route. I would probably look for a sled with less of a deadrise (more like 6 - 10 degrees). It's not that I don't like the boat, but like has been said on this board in many other threads there is always trade offs with any boat. The 2 biggest drivers when I bought it was I fish with my Dad a lot (He's 78) so a top and side curtains were a must and cost, I only paid $15,000 for it. The other sleds we were looking at were at least $20,000 or more.
If ya want to go for a fish and check it out let me know and we could set something up. I have been planning on fishing Elliot Bay when the B'Mouth season open in Feb.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

BD,
I had the same problem. Spent one full day last weekend looking, then looking some more. I don't know about the specific Harbercraft model you mentioned, but I've been researching the company and have found a few things. First its my understanding that Harbercraft, Jetcraft and Eagle boats are all under the same ownership. As a result, they are shaking out their lineups and sharing technology. I personally have been looking hard at the Harbercraft boats along with several other brands. The Harbercraft is a lot less expensive than the competition although the number of fisherman options is limited. The biggest problem I'm having is getting good information on how well their open models perform with a jet pump (maybe Jeffhead can shed some light on this). It seems like a pump would work okay because of the flat pad at the stern of the boat. Calling the company was somewhat helpful, but I'd really like to talk to some owners running jetted outboards and talk with a dealer who is experienced in setting boats up with pumps. If you do come across any better information let me know.
James

Jeffhead,
Just curious...what kind of boat would you go with if you could do it over again....both money & performance tradeoffs considered.
JMS

LF,
As far as having the pump on my sled, as I stated in the previous post it was underpowered with 155/80 Johnson. With the 150/105 Evinrude on it now it runs great. Max RPM on an outboard is between 5000 and 5500, with the 115/80 I had to run the sled at 4600-4800 just to keep it up on plane. With the new motor I cruise at 4000 RPM, the new motor sounds like it is just loapin' along where the old one sounded like it was working hard!! Mine is flat across the center of the transom as you stated. This boat was built to use in the salt and I had the pump added cause I wanted to go river runnin' also. It is a nice riding boat, but with the deep vee I cannot go where other sleds with less deadrise can. I feel safe with about a foot of water under me on step and can go in about 10 inches but do have a little pucker factor going on when I do. I can say that I have used the sled in all of the rivers around me (Chehalis, Satsop up to the east fork, Nooch from black creek down, Hump, Cow, and the Nisqually) just have to watch the level gages and know what and where I can go. I like to boondog and the deep vee makes the tracking of ther boat tough at times. I think that it is also harder to backtroll plugs because of that samr reason.
You ask what would I look at now, the Woolridge Sportjet 2000 (with an outboard) and the Alumaweld Intruders appeal to me as far as a forward console model. If I were to look at open sleds I think that it would be between the ThorBuilt and the Alumaweld SuperVee.
Buying boats are like buying stereo speakers, what you like or want will be different than what someone else wants and there are trade offs with every boat. The only real hard and fast piece of advice I can give you is before you buy take whatever you want to buy out with 3 or 4 guys and see how fast it gets up on step and how hard you are working the motor to stay there. I learned the hard way on that issue. If it's not on step within 3 to 4 seconds and is running above 4200 RPM to stay there it don't have enough power. Hope I haven't confused you guys to much.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

[ 01-18-2002: Message edited by: Jeffhead ]

Baddawg, first what do you want to do with it? Just rivers, or lakes and the bay also. How many people do you want to fish out of it? How fast and how much water draw are you hoping for? Is the rain an issue or would you want more room to fish? If you are going outboard spend the extra money and get an SS impeller in the pump. Alum impellers wear out fast if you suck any gravel at all. I have a custom built 17ft Valco scout with 7 degree hull, it can turn real tight! All open with a outboard jet and drift oars. I also had the interior Rhino lined, very warm and quite. I looked at several others but went with Valco because the light weight( wanted speed/low draft) and I only like to take one other person with me, unless I take the kids lake fishing. I added a full alum floor and front casting platform. just some ideas.

The brand is very good. I don't know the specifics about your boat.

If you are looking at boats like smokercraft don't forget Westcoaster. They are made by Valco, are all welded and tough as nails. I know Harvy's Marine in Aloa OR has a 17' one they would like sell. They have had it for quite a while and I am sure would be willing to deal. It has a 70hp pump on it. I have the 15' modle and love it. It rides great, is stable, handles well, and catches fish.

I own the 2000 16' SmokerCraft Osprey. I knew it was the right boat when i saw it. Not too big not too small. Wide, stable sleek lookin. It floats in 8 inches of water with 2 people in it. Front mounted swivel chair and bow mount trolling motor make it great for bassin in the shallowest of water. And it's light enough so i can launch and load by my self easily, which is a HUGE plus when your mono-fishing. Easy to tow up the pass. It has gotten me through 2 great salmon seasons without a hitch. From calm to rough water, it has never had a problem. And for $8700(brand new) with an ezloader long tongue trailer, boat cover, custom top and side curtains, safety kit, PFDs, rope, anchor and 3 seats, i couldn't say no. So i spent the extra money on quality DR's and depthfinders and other "glad i have" goodies. It's a very nice boat for the money. A great ALL arounder.

fff what shop did you buy that 16fter. I have been eyeballin that exact boat for 3 years now and it sells for 9700 (I believe) down in portland @ stevens marina let me know if you could I am always up for saving cash :blunt