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As the quality and features of the aluminum bass boats have gone up so has the price. These days, it's real easy to spend 20 grand on a pro style aluminum boat. I'm afraid that their growing popularity and increasing cost of aluminum itself is only going to send the prices higher. There's alot to like about them. They weigh less so they're easier to tow behind a mid sized vehicle, they are durable and require less maintence and some of them actually look incredible. Ten years ago I couldn't have imagined a 19 ft, wide beam aluminum bass boat with a 175 on the back but that is todays reality. I like the G3's myself but would certainly take a look at Xpress and Polar Kraft just to get a feel for pricing/features. I just bought a 1998 17 ft Skeeter Aluminum with a Yamaha outboard. It's by no stretch of the imagination a new G3 but it was close enough and at a fraction of the price. I'm hoping it's going to get the job done for a couple of years.

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i purchased a g3 silver eagle 2 years ago and love it.the boat is 17 feet long with 70hp yamaha.I never owned a fiberglass boat but im told they are a dryer ride.my g3 is lite enough for me to push it into my garage myself. the storage is great and so is the ride.good luck

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The G3 boats have a solid reputation as good boats.  The new ones come with Yamaha outboards which are very good motors.  I was at the dealership a couple months ago talking to the salesman, and he said to me that the new aluminum boats have really come up in starting price the past few years.  One major factor is that the cost of aluminum is going up, and another is the fact that the boats are being made bigger in 2006 to accomodate the 4-stroke engines (which are also more expensive than 2-strokes).  All of this adds up to the price of a new aluminum boat approaching some of the fiberglass boats.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just bought a 2005 G3 Eagle 165 (16') with a 25 hp Yamaha 4-stroke for the regulated hp lakes in my area.  I picked it up on Halloween and haven't been able to leave it at home very often.  I absolutely love it.  It has most of the amenities you would expect from a larger fiberglass rig.  Once I figure out how to put a bed in it, I may never come home.

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  • Super User

If I was going to buy aluminum I'd buy a G3.  Well made and thoughtfully laid out. They're made in Lebanon Missouri right across the interstate from Tracker marines Aluminum plant and next to Lowes and Landau's.  

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My "pretty much favorite partner" (who is NOT so pretty, BTW) has a Skeeter- labeled G3 with a 90 hp. I find it to be more than adequate but he cusses it regularly.

Mostly, his gripes are what he deems to be sloppy manufacture and shortcuts.

Still, as the backseater, I'm pretty OK with the rig.

So soon as I win the Lotto, he gets MY choice of boat and motor, either a Puma or a Legend LE-21 with a 225 OptiPop XS OR E-Tec. Any day now. Any day!

I'd recommend you do some serious research and in-person eyeballing on any brand before you buy. If you really don't know what to look for/beware of, get an "expert" whom you trust to go with you.

Make a checklist of features AND (above all) quality "indicators" before you go and  use that to determine your choice.

And...welded hull ONLY, unless you can afford the Tracker Avalanche...great tin boat!

F. Rod

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bouight a new G3 Eagle 165 with a 50 HP Yamaha 4 stroke. I like it alot and I love the 4 stroke, it is so so quite and runs good to. My only grip is with the trailer, the toung jerks up and down when going down the road. But the boat is great.

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The trailer might have an adjustable axle; sounds like your axle might be too far forward, placing too much weight at the rear of the trailer. Talk to the dealer, and see if it's adjustable. I'll bet it is. That "jerking up and down" is unweighting the rear end of your vehicle. Besides beating your shocks and springs to death, it can mess up your braking, especially ABS braking, in an emergency stop.

You want to be at a balance point where you can easily lift the trailer, but it won't be weighted so far back that it bounces like it's doing.

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I bought a leftover '04 Silver Eagle 175 last spring. It came with a Yamaha 50 2-Stroke. I simply love this boat! I put it through it's paces last summer fishing tournaments and have no real complaints. The only issue I ran across was the poorly stapled seat trim around the seats. It's almost as if G3 stapled this on with a standard stapler. Poor design if I must say. I went back with a real staplegun and reattached the trim and no problems with it coming loose from the seats now.

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