Re: Mostly Fishing, but some Wakeboarding
Hey Newonthewater,
I have an '07 Lowe FS 165 aluminum boat with a 90 horse Mercury. It's a 16 ft boat with dual consol and walkthrough windshield. I use it 50% fishing, 25% wakeboarding and 25% general partying. I bought it new with a ski pylon, swim platform, trolling motor, GPS and locator and some other toys. For fishing it is top notch, wakeboarding it is good. I normally board behind my buddy's Nautique, but when head "up north" on weekends we take my boat for fishing and boarding. For wakeboarding, I say it is good, since it will not, nor would I expect it to, tow like an inboard with a V8. It does have ample power to pull up a 200 lbs wakeboarder and maintain speed with no problems. To make wake I fill up the livewell, put a 150 lbs fat sac in the bow, fill a 750 lbs fat sac 1/3 to 1/2 up at the stern, and have three people and a golden retreiver on board (plus rider). I can adjust the rear fat sac accordingly to the number of people, dogs, or beer on board. The wake is steeper than on a ski boat and with a softer top. With this wake I can easily jump both wakes and land in the flats with a 65' rope. Total height on jumps is a little less than what we can get on the Nautique (but hey, it's made specifically for that purpose). As for advantages, with the V bottom my boat cuts through waves effortlessly that would pound the ski boat. This helps on tight turns to retreive a downed boarder when you have to cross your own wake, or if you have to cross rough water on a big lake to get to the glass.
If you want a fish 'n ski I would look at either an aluminum or fiberglass boat and stick with an outboard. I/O's (mercruiser, OMC, volvo, etc) are less versitle, need more maintainence, and take up valuable space in the boat's interior. I know two people who have a Nitro 190 fish 'n ski fiberglass boat and they love it for skiing and tubing. The fiberglass boats tend to be based off of bass boats and the aluminum based off of walleye boats. I'd say look at your fishing style to determine fiberglass or aluminum.
I would highly recommend the Lowe FS 185 with a 150 horse motor for your purposes. It should be even better than my boat for what your looking for. I don't know any 20' aluminums out there, but I like I said I fit four people, fat sacs, and a golden just fine in my tiny 16. - Overload
