Best boat for Powell

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Sorry for your loss.
I think you need to consider the distance you plan to travel, the San Juan is a considerable distance requiring a large fuel capacity found in the 20ft + class boats. For me when looking at my retirement boat this was one of my main considerations, along with a windshield and canopy for protection from the elements. Next it had to fit in my garage as I didn't want to store it anywhere else. That last part ruled out alot of options for me as my garage opening is 6ft 10in. So as much as I wanted a ranger 21fs or Lund pro v they were a little to tall with the full windshield for my storage needs and in the end I gave up a little fuel capacity for the ability to keep my boat at home where I can keep a eye on it everyday. As far as local dealers go, being retired gives you plenty of time to travel to the right boat to fill your needs. I hope you find that ultimate fishing machine to fill your needs
 
Sorry to hear about your loss.
As far as boats go I’m also looking to get a new boat but I’m looking at it a little different.. I live in Colorado and fish high mountain lakes and have been dabbling with Powell but also want to spend some time in the saltwater salmon and halibut fishing. I have a 19’ aluminum Tracker with a 150 Mercury 8hp Mercury kicker and electric trolling motor on the bow. For what I do I would never be without a kicker!!! The boat works well but I probably wouldn’t buy another boat like it, I just don’t love the layout of that style boat.
Duckworth makes a very nice boat that definitely can handle Rough water. In my opinion that is a great all around boat! I like the suspension seats on rough water and the offshore motor mount out the back adds a lot of floor space to the Duckworth style boat, no carpet, spray them out when you’re done with water, welded aluminum, just tough boats With no frills.
My trips to Alaska fishing I do not recall seeing a fiberglass boat? And definitely no tracker, Lund, crestliner boats they just aren’t a rough water boat. Duckworth, north river, alumaweld or custom is what I see there. But that’s just what I like.
 
Thank you all for your kind words and for your thoughts on the choice of a boat. I knew that your collective experience would help me make a choice. This is exactly why I chose this forum to pose my question. With our current pandemic I figure I have some time to explore my options and make a decision. My normal practice has been to rent a house for a week or so in the spring and fall in Page and during the winter in Lake Havasu. Being in my seventies I am not eager to expose myself in restaurants etc. until we hopefully get a vaccine in spring or early summer. So far you have convinced me to pursue the deep V. If I were married I would definitely consider the pontoon, but now I mostly intend to fish. The next choice is between the multi-species and the bass boat. One allows a kicker for security and the other avoids the frustration of what to do with spare rods with different baits. This is actually a very enjoyable process and I thank you for helping me with it.
 
All welded hull Crestliner Fishhawk 1850. In my mind it is the perfect hybrid fishing boat. It performs as a bass boat drafting shallow in 2.5 feet with a super wide deck and not so much freeboard that keeps you from lipping or flipping bass, but it also has enough deadrise and freeboard to perform as well as most deep v style boats. You can put a 115 or 150 on the back (my 115 yamaha 4 stroke does 32 mph with 4 people at powell) and you can hang up to 15hp kicker if you want and with a 31 gallon tank, a couple 5 gallon cans can give you some serious range and it simply handles 95% of the conditions that powell can put together (although that 5% big wind situation is to be avoided...in most styles of boats). Terribly sorry to hear about your loss. A new boat for new adventure is probably the right first step!
 
We like our 1850 Fishhawk for the same reasons. Have a 150 on ours and a little 6 kicker. We take a huge camp - 4 Yeti ice chests, 10x10 Springbar tent, shade canopy (our new one is the Springbar Leisure Port), Springbar cabana for the porta-potty, ground tarps for everything, extra battery for the Swampee (sp?), generator...

Have the 25" transom. I will easily do 40mph with full camp. I do go slower to conserve gas. Personally, I would like a bigger boat.
 
A repeat of previous responses first and foremost : so sorry for your loss. To lay it out online must have been tough.

I might suggest looking into something a little different. Maybe a Seaswirl? I have always though that a 23 footer with the small forward cabin and a kicker would be a good way to go on Powell. Of course not the bass boat, but I have always thought that taking a few months cruise around the lake (of course getting out for night every 14 days to meet the regs lol) would be ideal in a boat like that. That being said, I have a 20 ft. Reinell Fish and ski that has treated me exceedingly well over the last ten years. Good in all but the nastiest weather, plush and comfortable, trolling motor that does well enough. Can handle a lot of weight. Great all around Powell boat, Bimini a must. If I had unlimited resources I might look at a toon as a second boat...but not the case lol. And, towing insurance is cheap, although you May have to pay for the tow up front, and a Sat phone or hub works all over the lake except under cliffs. Even with a kicker it makes sense to have communication and insurance, especially if you are heading out alone. Good luck in your hunt and I would love to fish with you someday.

TR
 
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So sorry for your loss. Sorry also for the duplicates below... We have a FishHawk 1950, and like Dungee loves his, we also love ours. He has the cool and groovy vinyl instead of carpet. I wanted to show you what we've done to ours to make storage better. We boat camp a lot and this gives us even more room to store all of our gear. Plus, I fish generally at the rear and having the extra space from the platform just makes it more comfortable and stable feeling. Like it's been previously mentioned, we love the stability of this boat. It is wider than our previous boat and is so much safer on the water. We don't have a kicker motor but maybe some day we will invest in one. Good luck in finding the boat just right for you!
 
I rented an 18ft pontoon in Oregon last summer. I own an 18ft century center console, the best fishing platform ever! The pontoon stole my heart away...
I don't need to go fast. I'd get a 16ft pontoon with about 40hp. The fishing is Amazing on a pontoon.
 
just plain bill said:
I rented an 18ft pontoon in Oregon last summer. I own an 18ft century center console, the best fishing platform ever! The pontoon stole my heart away...
I don't need to go fast. I'd get a 16ft pontoon with about 40hp. The fishing is Amazing on a pontoon.
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Bill
I sure see a lot of pontoons on Apache and Roosevelt Lakes. And I've seen fish caught from them.
 
K&M said:
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So sorry for your loss. Sorry also for the duplicates below... We have a FishHawk 1950, and like Dungee loves his, we also love ours. He has the cool and groovy vinyl instead of carpet. I wanted to show you what we've done to ours to make storage better. We boat camp a lot and this gives us even more room to store all of our gear. Plus, I fish generally at the rear and having the extra space from the platform just makes it more comfortable and stable feeling. Like it's been previously mentioned, we love the stability of this boat. It is wider than our previous boat and is so much safer on the water. We don't have a kicker motor but maybe some day we will invest in one. Good luck in finding the boat just right for you!
Click to expand...
That is a great idea. So if you fish from the stern you don't use an electric trolling motor?
 
Again, sorry for your loss, cancer is such a terrible disease.

All boats have pluses and minuses. I have a an older version of Dungees boat, A crestliner superhawk. it does a lot of things well. Aluminum boats are light, tow easily, and are durable. But if you are used to the ride of fiberglass, aluminum boats ride pretty harshly. West coast style boats like duckworth and hughescraft are great for trolling, but fishing off the bow is nothing like having a bass boat or multi-species boat. If I was to fish only Lake Powell I would get a Ranger Riata, 20 or 21 foot. Freeboard in the back, walk through windshield, and open bow for fishing up front.
whatever boat you decide on, get a trolling motor up front with spot lock, it is a necessity!!!
 
Dorado said:
Again, sorry for your loss, cancer is such a terrible disease.

All boats have pluses and minuses. I have a an older version of Dungees boat, A crestliner superhawk. it does a lot of things well. Aluminum boats are light, tow easily, and are durable. But if you are used to the ride of fiberglass, aluminum boats ride pretty harshly. West coast style boats like duckworth and hughescraft are great for trolling, but fishing off the bow is nothing like having a bass boat or multi-species boat. If I was to fish only Lake Powell I would get a Ranger Riata, 20 or 21 foot. Freeboard in the back, walk through windshield, and open bow for fishing up front.
whatever boat you decide on, get a trolling motor up front with spot lock, it is a necessity!!!
Click to expand...

This is the right answer, the Riata might be the only boat I’d trade our fish hawk for.
 
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