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| Hello to all . Nice, friendly forum you seem to have here.
I'm looking at a Tournament 180 for fishing (70%) and family fun (30%) . It's equiped with a Merc 150 XR6 . I've talked to a fellow at Starcraft who informed me that these are from a Procraft/Astro hull (from the days when Starcraft and Procraft fell under the Brunswick umbrella) . He said that the hull has a rather large "delta pad" that gives it a lot of lift to get up on plane fast and minimize the amount of hull in the water. All good, however, he said to be careful about turning sharply at all while on plane because it's hell when the boat falls off that pad . ( he said some claimed it felt like the boat wanted to flip over).
Does anyone have any first hand (or second hand for that matter) experience with this boat ? Any input is appreciated on this or any other subject about the boat .
Btw, I believe the Fisher FX DV 18 is also the same hull ( I guess Tracker got the molds when they bought Procraft). Anyone with experience with that boat .
Thanks,
Duane |
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Member
Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | i had a 97 tp 180 in the past and was fortunate enough to find a 98 , i believe the last year buit.. as for bang for the buck, you cant beat it ! in my opinion .. i would love to run out and buy a new ranger 620 at 50 grand or a used one at 25-30 but if your looking to stay around 15,000 or less.. go get it... never had trouble with the boat being unstable . i have put many hours in this hull and works great.. good live wells and system is simple ... keep some weight in the storage up front and it tracks great for trolling and the such... im happy with the ones i have owned . you can still buy a full walk threw windshield for it if you want . i have been in some deep #### in mine and always got me home safe. plenty of fuel. send me a note if you have any questions. brad |
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| Bradley-
Thanks for the reply. I tried to PM you but couldn't (not a member) . I sent you an e-mail instead . Hope you don't mind a bunch of questions...
Feel free to reply here or through e-mail .
Thanks,
Duane |
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| I had one, and as previously mentioned, it is a good bargain boat. Everything functioned, but fit and finish left a bit to be desired. For example, the trim under the consoles, where your feet go kept coming off. You had to go through and retighten screws every so often, little stuff like that.
The boat rode well, we hit a huge wave once and went airborne. The wife and I were both surprised at how soft it landed. My previous boat was a 17 Alumacraft with a full windshield. The Starcraft was a foot longer and nearly a foot wider, so it rode quite a bit better than the Alumacraft. My next boat was a Ranger 619 with a full windshield, and that was a vast improvement over the Starcraft. (Can you tell I prefer a full windshield?)
The one thing that really bothered me was that one of the rocker switches for the livewells quit working. I went to several Starcraft dealers and no one could find a replacement switch. I may be anal, but I did not want one switch different than all the rest. Luckily I was able to get the switch functioning again.
If I had $12 or $13 grand to spend on a walleye boat, I would certainly buy another used Tournament Pro or similar (Ranger 690, etc) before I would buy something brand new. For that price range new, you are going to get what? A 16 foot aluminum with a 40 hp? The Starcraft will give you a larger, better, big water boat that you can use on Bago, Green Bay, Erie, etc. If you are going to be restricted to smaller lakes, a smaller, newer boat may be a better option. |
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| I also wanted to address your question about turning fast. I never had an issue with that. As a matter of fact, I did a very bone head move one day...I was running wide open across Poygan a few years back when I noticed that my container of crawlers was about to fly out of the boat. I tried to grab them, but they were just out of reach, so I let go of the steering wheel momentarily. Of course when I did that, the boat immediately spun as hard as it could to the right, smashing me against the other side of the boat, then throwing me to the floor. The boat was spinning as tight of a circle as it could, going wide open. I immediately jumped up and pulled back the throttle. But I never felt like the boat was going to flip over.
Now I see how people can fall out of thier boat and drown. I could have been knocked out and drowned quite easily. I was not wearing a life jacket and I did not have my kill switch hooked to me. I guess it just wasn't my time. |
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| TP180 -
You mentioned that you had a Ranger w/full windshield after the Starcraft... without regard to the windshield, how was the ride of the Starcraft compared to the Ranger ? How did it handle bigger water in comparison ? What was top speed like on each ?
Thanks for the info,
Duane
BTW, the Starcraft I'm looking at DOES have a full walk thru windshield. |
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Member
Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | look you cant compare the starcraft to ranger my fishing buddy has an 2006 620 we do get wet in it without the walk threw but you have more boat out in front to throw water into the air. the ride difference is huge.. the ranger im guessing is 1000 lbs heavier and a 225 keeps it moving well ,, top speed my TP180 goes 53 topped out on the gps forget the factory speedo that says 58 thats at about 5600 rpm with a 21 pitch 3 blade. i prefer a 5 blade for all around rough water and water sports. still will do 50-51 with a 175 hp.. id love to pull the pin on a new one but mine works fine . wish it had a little more flash like the fisher but oh well.. its a fish catching machin. i had flash years back in a skeeter that i had to grit my teeth every time i hit hard as i split it twice down the middle .. they have beefed them up too since , but the tp180 can take anything my back and kidneys can take ,, great boat for the price. buy the ranger if you can justify the cash first choice but bang for the buck again the tp180 will be great at 10-15 grand less used... i thaught about selling mine .. had an offer for 15 k but then when i looked at what it would take to step up to a boat i knew id be happy in for the next 7 years or so , its to big of a jump. cant get much of an upgrade without spending 25 k |
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| Duane,
The Ranger rode quite a bit better and handled big water quite a bit better than the Starcraft. The Ranger was also a foot longer and heavier than the Starcraft. so it tended to go through the waves, while the Starcraft went over the waves, and rode more like an aluminum boat.
I don't recall top speeds. I am not a tourament fisherman or a speed demon, so I am not raising my motor, getting custom made props etc for optimum performance. My fishing partner is my wife, so I rarely run wide open.
As Bradley said, the Starcraft is a good bargain boat. I would not consider it to be a high end boat. Years ago, Bayliner had an inexpensive package boat with a Force outboard and an Escort trailer. Sylan also makes a glass boat. Based on my experience, I would rate the Starcraft above the Bayliner/Sylvan level of quality, but not at the level of the high end glass boats.
If I had $12 - $15k to spend, I would certainly consider another TP180. If I had $25 - $45k to spend, I would be looking at a used Ranger. That is just my personal preference. There are certainly other quality boats out there - Lund, Skeeter, Triton, Warrior, etc.
I use my boats for 99% fishing. If you go to the Otter Street weigh in, you may even see a few of the Starcrafts still fishing touraments. |
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Member
Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | thinking about selling mine.. its a 98 with 175 efi and 9.9 4stroke kicker. panther lift and tr-1 throttle controle , electric start for kickker. has modest electronics and a wash out deck with drop in carpet. bow mount and rod holders. running into some DR.bills and it may have to go. have an offer for 12,000 but if i had to raplace the boat it would be tuff to stay under 15k its a good reliable rig? am i asking too much at 15,000? thanks |
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| if your best offer is 12k, and it's been shopped, seems 15k might be too much.
regards,
xxl |
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Member
Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | no no no,, i dont have it listed anywhere.... its just a guy i kind of know that has been shopping for boats and is frustraitd because a 17 footer with a 90 hp is 10 grand and cant even pull his kids on a big innertoob.. asked me if i would take 12k for mine.. im not sure where to start if i do list it , thats the question? |
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| seems if you think it's worth 15k, you should list for 15k and see if you get any offers. if you do not get any offers, then 15k is probably too much
regards,
xxl |
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| I just bought a 96 tp 180 with a full windshield. I would like to know what prop you are running and do you have a problem with porposing at mid throttle. Mine needs to be rerigged and I would like to get it set-up right.
Thanks,
RKG |
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Member
Posts: 591
Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | i would suggest a 4 blade 19 mount your two deep cycle battaries all the way to the front one in each of the two front storage compartments , good to go .. |
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