Bought a fishing boat

[Hatchdog]

Last year we bought a fiberglass deck boat that we had a lot of fun with but it wasn’t very conducive to fishing. We decided we wanted to get more serious with fishing as we are surrounded by lakes and reservoirs, particularly what is called Lake Roosevelt which is the reservoir created by Grand Coulee Dam. This is a quality fishery for large trout, Kokanne, spiny ray species and Sturgeon. The Spokane Indian Tribe has net pens where they raise Triploid trout that don’t spawn so grow to huge sizes. I understand they are feeding them shrimp and the trout are very tasty.

We wanted a fish/ski boat that would mostly serve the two of us (and the dog of course) for fishing and cruising but would also work out to take the grandkids tubing or the family out boating for the day. It’s a pretty limited market out there for these types of boats but I found that Lowe, Lund and Crestliner made boats that fit the bill. Of course in these strange times of limited availability and increased demand the inventory out there is almost non-existent. Not a Lowe or a Crestliner to be found here locally and very limited looking at Washington State and North Idaho. We did find a Lund right across the border in Hayden Idaho that was perfect but of course being a Lund it was very expensive. So we decided to buy the Lund and sealed the deal last week. We take delivery on the 26th waiting for them to rig the boat with the accessories we added for fishing.

It’s a Lund Crossover 1775, just under 18’. Came with a Merc 115 Pro HS which is a higher reving (6300) motor that provides a better top end speed. Supposed to be a better hole shot too. Has the full canvas with sides which will be nice in colder weather. Seats seven but six will be more practical. We added two downriggers, a fish finder and an electric trolling motor. In the summer we will need to go deep 100-300 ft to find the fish so the downriggers will help with that.

I just sold the boat we bought last year and got all my money back other that the sales tax. Sold in one day and I had to pull my Craigslist add as I was getting lots of inquiry’s.

Here’s a picture of the boat while it was still on the dealers floor. I’ll post more when I get it home.

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This is an advertisement from a local guide who fishes Lake Roosevelt where we plan to spend a good deal of time. It give an idea of the fish available. These are Kokanee and holy cow are they big. Even the little ones give a good fight.

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[BigAl52]

Nice boat Hatch. When you are old like me those outboards make more sense. None of that winterization of V-8's stuck in a hole where you need to be double jointed

[JEBar]

outstanding .... truly outstanding.... Lund makes several really good lines of boats .... if I ever buy another boat, a Lund would be my first choice

[BrokenolMarine]

We keep thinking about a boat, but the kayaks meet our needs for now. When the time comes, I'll be looking for a clear deck to allow for fly casting.

[Ernie]

That's a beauty. Congratulations on a nice Lund.

[Jdl447]

Very nice boat. Popular boats on Erie.

[Vaquero]

Congrats on the new rig, looks like a nice one.
Should bring lots of enjoyment.
+1 on what Al said.

RP

[BrokenolMarine]

Sorry, I too think it looks great. When we were younger we looked at ski boats we could fish from. These days we'd be looking at more of a flats style boat to stand an cast from.

[BigAl52]

Hey Hatch. Whats the warranty like on the Merc?

[Hatchdog]

Nice boat Hatch. When you are old like me those outboards make more sense. None of that winterization of V-8's stuck in a hole where you need to be double jointed

Hey Al, I hear you. Last fall when I needed to winterize my IO I took it to the shop and paid $350 to have it done. I used to do my own but I decided I’m too old to crawl around in a bilge servicing a motor and not being able to even see what I’m doing. I’m looking forward to having an outboard (first one other than little ones) and being able to service it while standing on the ground or at least sitting on a low stool to drain the lower unit. The Merc has a three year warranty and the boat has a lifetime hull warranty. Of course the dealer wanted to sell us an extended but we declined.

BOM, yeah, the boat came with a ski pylon which will be great to pull the grandkids around but I have no desire to get on the other end of the tow rope. This boat has fishing platforms on both the front and the rear and the seats can be moved to these locations for casting. I think it’s going to be pretty stable for standing due to the hull design but certainly not as stable as a flat bottom. I expect we will do mostly trolling on the Columbia but we do have five days reserved at what is called Banks Lake. This is a huge reservoir created by pumping water from just behind Grand Coulee Dam and the water is used for irrigation. This lake has a big population of bass, crappie, perch and other spiny ray’s so we’ll probably do some shoreline casting there.

[Hatchdog]

Well today is the big day, we will be picking up the boat here in a few hours. Dealer will take it to the local lake for a trial run and then if all is good we will bring it home. Can’t wait to start reading all the owners manuals. I will post some pics later.

[BrokenolMarine]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

[Bake]

The two best days for a boat owner, are the day you buy it, and the day you sell the dam thing I'm thinking about the fifth one at this time. What the hell is wrong with me ? ? ?

[JEBar]

congrats and I'm really looking forward to your coming post as you become more familiar with your new boat

[Hatchdog]

The two best days for a boat owner, are the day you buy it, and the day you sell the dam thing I'm thinking about the fifth one at this time. What the hell is wrong with me ? ? ?

Truer words have never been spoken and they apply to more than just boats. Especially horses, ask me how I know . (Sorry Ranchroper)

Fifth one? I say go for it as this is my wife’s and my fifth boat. First aluminum boat with a big outboard so it will be a learning experience as all our others were Fiberglas with inboard/outboards. I won’t miss bending over into a bilge at all!

Got home late so only took this pic but will take more today as I “play” with it.

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[Hatchdog]

Got out yesterday and “played” with the boat and took the following pics. I have lots to learn especially with the fish finder. This will be my first experience with the finder, down riggers and the electric motor. Figures I would buy a boat in the April where Spokane might be setting an all time record for low temp.

Yesterday I played with the canvas, there is one more piece not shown in the pics that completes the top to the stern. This piece is for moorage/storage only and can’t be used while running the boat. It does not have a drop curtain to keep the heat in the cockpit but with the side curtains I think we will be fine. I can put my Mr. Buddy propane heater in it if needed.

We have ordered two bucket seats for the cockpit locations which will be installed on the pedestals already in place as they are the “air-ride” type that provide some shock absorber comfort while underway. We ordered one more standard pedestal and one of the original seats will be mounted on it. This will give us two seats for comfort and two seats for fishing from the front and rear platforms. We will end up with an extra seat that I’ll probably put on Craigslist and try to sell.

As with many motors I’ll have to go thru a break-in period and both limit and vary the rpm’s for the first 10 hours. This will give me lots of opportunity to learn the fish finder. The guy who did the test ride with me told me the transducer gets very hot and needs the lake water to keep it cool. Sure glad he did as I would have turned it on here at home and cooked it. I understand I can put the fish finder in a mode that does not engage the transducer where I can experiment with the different screens and do some set up tasks.

I put the rear sundeck cushions in place (an expensive option that I would not have selected) and the front cushions (standard) in place to see how they look. The front cushions will be handy when we have more than four in the boat.

Here’s some pics from yesterday.

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[JEBar]

very nice looking rig and beyond that, one really well setup for comfort on the water

[Sir Henry]

Nice looking boat and it looks good in your garage.

[BigAl52]

If you catch the fish Hatch I will eat them. Nice rig.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Nice boat! But don't you need a restored Jolly Roger Berkeley jet with a 454 (ours had a lowly 396) Chevy to barefoot ski and run rapids an such. Complement the Lund nicely.

-Ed-