alumacraft boat questions

I have been looking at a 2018 Alumacraft Pro 185. I like the way the boat is set up. I am considering this boat because you can get a lot of boat and motor for a few thousand less than G3, Ranger, and Triton. I do have a few concerns so if any of you own a boat like this, can you please respond. When I opened the compartment lids the bottom of the storage compartments had about 2 or 3 inches of water in the bottom. I asked the guy why because it looked like the inside rise lip would have kept rain out. He said a normal rain would not cause that but it came a very heavy rain the day before. He did say however they had to send one back due to water getting inside like that but they fixed it. I just wonder if this is a common issue and if it does it every time it rains or only like he said when it's a heavy rain. Also the compartment lids seem very tight and hard to open and close. Do any of you have this issue? The console did not seem as secure to me as it should be. Overall though the boat looks solid. It looks better built to me than the higher priced G3. The trailer looked more sturdy. I just wonder if those issues are worth the difference in the price. Can any of you who might own one give me your pros and cons? Also if you have owned one and also owned one of the other brands, let me know which one you felt was better. Thanks in advance.

I love mine, no problems. AlumaCraft makes a tough boat!

If the trailer tongue is raised and drain plug left out, there shouldn't be any pooling water. But if the trailer tongue is left down on pretty much any boat, water will pool.


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Ive been rained on pretty good and my compartments stay dry including my center rod compartment, but i also have a deep v competitor. I will say i am not familiar with the pro's. Last trip to lake wateree, sc i had 10 inches of water in my hull when i loaded boat and pulled drain plug, no water in compartment. I do get some condensation though here in the south and never a bad idea to let them air out when sitting in the garage.

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Originally Posted by trypman1

I love mine, no problems. AlumaCraft makes a tough boat!

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I agree. My Alumacraft crappie Jon will outlive me.

I have the dominator 175, we have been caught in a couple really hard downpours and had no leakage at all into the compartments.




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I was considering that same boat but at 6'2 and 280 pounds decided that the console area was a little cramped on me. I looked at Triton and Ranger aluminum and also noticed wet storage compartments. I bought a Tidewater 1910 which has dry compartments. If I had to do it over I would also consider the Vexus aluminum boats. They look pretty sweet.

mustfish I looked at the Vexus boats and I love them. However they are a little high priced. I have been told they are pretty much a renamed Ranger. I have no clue about that though.

With the same Suzuki and no options the alumacraft comes up to a grand more on the boat builder, than the Vexus 189 and it includes a basic TM and charger. Is the alumacraft dealer giving some big discounts?


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Enjoy your boat hunting. Looking for the right one is half the fun.

I think the boat builder is mainly MSRP. I do not know though. The dealer was asking 22 thousand for the Alumacraft with a 115 Yamaha

The 185 I was looking at was $24k with 115 Yamaha, 7" Helix on console and 5" Helix up front. Alumacraft is a solid boat and sounds like a fair price.

I've owned 3 Alumacraft boats. We still have all of them. I took a 7 foot rouge wave over the transom in a walleye tournament that hit me above the knees and all the way to the rod locker. No water in any compartment.

I've never had any water in my compartments on the Fishermen 165, the Competitor, or the Dominator. Maybe the Pro isn't quite as "Pro" as they think it is.

What size boat? I have a 115 on the Dominator and wish it was the max 150. Actually, the Competitor has a 140 Suzuki and I would recommend that first as it is 62lbs lighter than the 150 which equals better fuel economy as well as power to weight ratio.

I would say that boat has storage issues. Just my two cents but I would NEVER buy a boat from a dealer when it sat outside without being covered. It is one thing for me to get it wet, but having it wet before I buy it and me knowing is a different story!

Is that the Pro or the Tournament pro?

The max hp for the Pro is 115. The tournament pro is a deep V.

It is not the deep V

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

Is that the Pro or the Tournament pro?

The max hp for the Pro is 115. The tournament pro is a deep V.

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Just as an FYI, Alumacraft was recently purchased by BRP (the Canadian owner of Ski-Doo).

To give you some background on WHY I like this company.

In 1998, Dave Benbow (a 24 year worker for Alumacraft) purchased the company. Himself and his family continued to run the company whilst other boat manufacturers where having issues and were sold to private equity firms. Mr. Benbow passed in 2010 and his family continued to operate the company until 2012. At the time, the family was looking for a partner that would continue his legacy in the fishing and boating industry. UNLIKE other companies such as Ranger, Triton, Stratus, Four Winns, Grady White, Scarab (the list goes on and on) that ran in to severe finacial issues during the recession and were sold to holdings companies, Alumacraft was looking for an "investment" company to purchase them and NOT a company to take over due to financial issues. In fact, they were one of the LAST companies to be privately owned and operated in the boating industry. Lund and Crestliner had faced issues themselves and had previously been sold.

In 2012, The Corinthian Capital Group purchased Alumacraft from the Benbow family. From around 2008 to 2016, boat companies were bought, sold, and traded like stock chips from one company to another. Management groups were brought in to help streamline processes and create profitable products. The Corinthian Capital Group however did NOT sell Alumacraft simply because, the company had zero issues to start and they were actually making money (unlike many of the holdings companies that purchased loads of boat companies). All employees and management stayed in tack when the company was sold to them. Something that could not be said for nearly all of the other companies facing finacial issues.

In 2018, BRP purchased Alumacraft from the Corinthian Capital Group. To give you an idea of why this purchase is significant, BRP had been involved in the "boat traiding" business during that timeframe of 2008 to 2016. Their group owned grumman, 4 winns, Grady white, scarab, Ranger, Triton, and Stratus. ALL of those companies were sold by BRP. So, for BRP to sell ALL of these companies and then purchase Alumacraft should say something about the financial impact of the company. Look no further than what has happened to Ranger, Triton, and Stratus (all the same company) since it was sold to (unnamed person...). If you don't know, within days of the sale, several top Ranger officials (many having been with the company for more than 40 years) left the company! Of course, if you know any insider information (I know plenty) then you would also know that ALL of those individuals went to VEXUS. Different story for a different day.

THE REASON I bring all of this up? Currently you are looking at boats that were built under the Corinthian Capital Group reign. You "might" find some pretty good deals very soon as Alumacraft/BRP want to roll out their new boats with their NEW motor partner! Again, for those that don't know, BRP owns Evinrude. My suspicsion is that any boat purchased direct from the company, or sent from the company with a motor will come hung with an Evinrude. Boats order by a dealer with no motor option will then be installed by whatever they service and sell. That is just my thought but it would make sense on BRP's part.

So, if you are currently looking at a 2016 or a 2017, at a dealer that ordered this boat (with motor installed) you might be getting a pretty good price break compared to the same boat under the 2018 badging! Food for thought.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

Just as an FYI, Alumacraft was recently purchased by BRP (the Canadian owner of Ski-Doo).

To give you some background on WHY I like this company.

In 1998, Dave Benbow (a 24 year worker for Alumacraft) purchased the company. Himself and his family continued to run the company whilst other boat manufacturers where having issues and were sold to private equity firms. Mr. Benbow passed in 2010 and his family continued to operate the company until 2012. At the time, the family was looking for a partner that would continue his legacy in the fishing and boating industry. UNLIKE other companies such as Ranger, Triton, Stratus, Four Winns, Grady White, Scarab (the list goes on and on) that ran in to severe finacial issues during the recession and were sold to holdings companies, Alumacraft was looking for an "investment" company to purchase them and NOT a company to take over due to financial issues. In fact, they were one of the LAST companies to be privately owned and operated in the boating industry. Lund and Crestliner had faced issues themselves and had previously been sold.

In 2012, The Corinthian Capital Group purchased Alumacraft from the Benbow family. From around 2008 to 2016, boat companies were bought, sold, and traded like stock chips from one company to another. Management groups were brought in to help streamline processes and create profitable products. The Corinthian Capital Group however did NOT sell Alumacraft simply because, the company had zero issues to start and they were actually making money (unlike many of the holdings companies that purchased loads of boat companies). All employees and management stayed in tack when the company was sold to them. Something that could not be said for nearly all of the other companies facing finacial issues.

In 2018, BRP purchased Alumacraft from the Corinthian Capital Group. To give you an idea of why this purchase is significant, BRP had been involved in the "boat traiding" business during that timeframe of 2008 to 2016. Their group owned grumman, 4 winns, Grady white, scarab, Ranger, Triton, and Stratus. ALL of those companies were sold by BRP. So, for BRP to sell ALL of these companies and then purchase Alumacraft should say something about the financial impact of the company. Look no further than what has happened to Ranger, Triton, and Stratus (all the same company) since it was sold to (unnamed person...). If you don't know, within days of the sale, several top Ranger officials (many having been with the company for more than 40 years) left the company! Of course, if you know any insider information (I know plenty) then you would also know that ALL of those individuals went to VEXUS. Different story for a different day.

THE REASON I bring all of this up? Currently you are looking at boats that were built under the Corinthian Capital Group reign. You "might" find some pretty good deals very soon as Alumacraft/BRP want to roll out their new boats with their NEW motor partner! Again, for those that don't know, BRP owns Evinrude. My suspicsion is that any boat purchased direct from the company, or sent from the company with a motor will come hung with an Evinrude. Boats order by a dealer with no motor option will then be installed by whatever they service and sell. That is just my thought but it would make sense on BRP's part.

So, if you are currently looking at a 2016 or a 2017, at a dealer that ordered this boat (with motor installed) you might be getting a pretty good price break compared to the same boat under the 2018 badging! Food for thought.

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Great info, my boat is a 2012 so maybe was not relevant after reading this information. Was not aware of the sell off of other companies either, this can really impact the quality of the boats and thus the reputation down the line. I think i will hold onto mine for a while but will have to look into what to purchase next in a few years. What used to be great boats may not be the case at the point of time in the future.

I have a 2009 Pro 175, only once since I bought the boat new in 2011 have I had water in compartments. Yes all my lids open hard. I also have had to pull gas tonk to repair rear livewell, remove front livewell to replace elbow on bottom. Both time boat filles with water

I was aware that Alumacraft was bought by BRP. I have heard some dealers stopped selling Alumacraft when that sale took place. I was also aware that Ranger folks started the Vexus brand 'Which by the way are good looking boats" I did not know however about all the other information and reasonings. The boat I was looking at was listed as the 2018 pro craft 180. That included a Yamaha 115 that was not yet on the boat.

Many of the dealers stopped selling NOT because they wanted too BUT because Alumacraft didn't want them! They had tge opportunity to weed out bad eggs and did so. They won't even allow many of those places to service warranty work either.

Quality has suffered in a lot of companies after the sales. I would check out that same boat at another dealer. Something isn't right with it.

The problem is they are few and far between. No other dealer close to me that carries them.

Are you a "diy" person? If so, buy a Hull, make it how YOU want it. There are several companies out their that do this also.

Something like this? Custom Fabrication - FishOn Fabrications

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Originally Posted by crappieseeker

The problem is they are few and far between. No other dealer close to me that carries them.

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When I bought my boat, there was one Lund dealer about an hour away and another about four hours away. I bought from the one that was further away and have no regrets. The questions I've had and things I've needed have been handled very well by the dealership.

The further dealership was very responsive and easy to deal with from the beginning, and still is. The closer one always seemed bothered to even answer simple questions.

Seeker:

Where are you located? I have a few connections that I might be able to throw your way. The reason I suggest looking at another identicle model is that you will be able to compare. Sometimes, in an essembly line, mistakes are made. Sometimes, it is a bad design. Looking at an identicle model at another dealer will help you know for sure. I would hate to have you pull the trigger on this boat and then find out it was the boat itself with issues and not the specific model!

In the end, use your gut. If you cannot find another dealer close to you, you basically have two options. Deal with the issues as you know them and purchase the boat, or walk away. Sometimes it is hard because they seem like such a great deal. Usually however, you can always find the reasons why. As much as I love Alumacraft boats, if I couldn't look at another one and compare it, and I were in your shoes, I would walk away. The things you described would make it to where you are NOT going to be happy with the end product.