Need advice. Finally buying new aluminum boat 18'

[The scout]

I've owned north river and hewes in18ft and been in alumawelds many times and woolridge also.north river is by far the nicest riding, best finish work, nicest seets.a 115 is just right wether you get a offshore transom or not.offshore transom's are harder to find in a 18fter but worth the extra money.before you buy a hewes or alumaweld,drive a north river you will be sold.

[Hilltop123]

All great boats! But I am going to throw my nomination, in the hat. Boulton Power Boats, makes some great boats. Check them out.....plus they are great to deal with as far as paperwork, when I went to register my boat in Washington. Boulton saved me a boat load in taxes, there are ways around Washington's, confiscatory tax structure.  Well, the savings bought the kicker, fish finder and a few other extras. I don't know if there is a dealer in Washington, back when I bought, I had to go to Oregon, but the drive was worth it. I'm glad I held out buying until I checked Boulton out!  Any questions? Feel free to PM, me.

[mainer78]

There was some wiggle room.. Not a whole hell of a lot though, i was trading in a 14' boat i bought like 10 months earlier...   They threw in some life Jackets, all the coast guard stuff, gave me a deal on some down riggers, and mounted all the stuff i had on the  other boat..   But i do like the Alumaweld.  Plenty of boat for my needs.  Now if i was planning on hitting up some tuna I would go with a 20+' boat with the off shore bracket..  Thats probably 10 years away!!  Unless any of you wanna donate to the fund!!

[Rick]

Whatever you buy,max the HP out. I'd go minimum 115 on an 18'er and 150 minimum on a 20'

You'll never hear a guy say he wishes he had more power. You will hear plenty that complain about not enough.

Don't skimp on the trailer either. Minimum HP and just enough trailer keep boat prices low.

[lazydrifter]

I just bought a new Hewes.  Went to Clemens in N.E. Portland.  Great to deal with. Absolutely no pressure.   Came down a couple grand on the price.  Threw in a few extra's.  If you go Yamaha outboards, check on their 6 year warranty special.  Be careful mounting accessories.  Aluminum reacts against Stainless.  I used alot of nylon washers and some anti-sieze called Tef-Gel to isolate them from each other.  Good luck

[lokidog]

All great boats! But I am going to throw my nomination, in the hat. Boulton Power Boats, makes some great boats. Check them out.....plus they are great to deal with as far as paperwork, when I went to register my boat in Washington. Boulton saved me a boat load in taxes, there are ways around Washington's, confiscatory tax structure.  Well, the savings bought the kicker, fish finder and a few other extras. I don't know if there is a dealer in Washington, back when I bought, I had to go to Oregon, but the drive was worth it. I'm glad I held out buying until I checked Boulton out!  Any questions? Feel free to PM, me.

Some will split the sale of the engine off of the boat and trailer so no sales tax on engine/mounting/hardware and other accessories.

We were considering the 20' ProV with hardtop and 150 from Clemens, they offered it up at $43 with bottom paint and a hardtop extension.  Unfortunately, we could not quite swing  the finances and repowered our Alumaweld.

Whatever you buy,max the HP out. I'd go minimum 115 on an 18'er and 150 minimum on a 20'

You'll never hear a guy say he wishes he had more power. You will hear plenty that complain about not enough.

Don't skimp on the trailer either. Minimum HP and just enough trailer keep boat prices low.

I'll say it, you can have too much power when the increased weight of the engine adversely effects the dynamics of the boat's design.  I have a 21' Trophy with a 150 on it, way too heavy of an engine, though got the job done with some new scuppers and no heavy kicker on the back.      The salesman at Clemens actually agreed with this as well, and they would benefit from an upsell.

[cohoho]

Are you looking new or used?  Are you stuck on 18 foot?  Take a run up to Wooldridge just north of Tukwila in Seattle off 599 to close to not make stop.....    I would also test run all of the final contenders on a nasty days to see what actually rides to your liken.  Saw a an 18ft Wooldridge in the CL ads the other day, it was a pretty good priced too...   

Remember - Everything rides nice on flat water....   And of course - all of them look really good in the showroom....