Very close to pulling the trigger. New 180cc with 115 Yamaha. Thought I would see if anyone has experience/ opinions on these boats. Thanks in advance for any feed back. Chris
Karma is 360 degrees
Some got to win, some got to lose…
Tidewaters are decent boats. I test rode one last year as I was really interested in them. The question you need to answer is…what are you going to be using the boat for mainly? Does it fit your budget and do what you want and are you happy with it? If so get it. Me I didn’t really like the ride and they didn’t let me do but a 10 min test drive. Sportsman on the other hand, handed over the keys to a new 25 footer for Labor day weekend and told me to have fun. I ended up getting a Fountain but when I go to buy me a bay boat. I will def grab a sportsman.
2005 Fountain 32CC with that Verado power
I bought the 2200 Carolina Bay a year ago and have been very pleased with it.I went with a Yamaha 200 for power and I wouldn’t recommend going any lower.Went with a Garmin 741xs GPS/Sounder,a Power Pole and a Minn Kota trolling motor.So far so good.The only negative is the front casting deck is a pretty big step up for a shorter person,but they corrected that on the new models by putting a lower step there to step up on.I bought a cheap folding step from Wal mart for about $20 ant that solved the problem.
I’m happy.
If you haven’t bought anything yet, then check out the blue wave evolution 1902. Really nice boat that rides good and is fast with a lot of nicer features for the money.
Before I got my 17 Whaler, I was shopping hard looking at this model and the 186CC Key West. They seem to be a cheaper version of a Key West or Pioneer 180 Sportfish, and I was not a fan of the low transom for the size of the boat. For that much weight and size I much preferred a 25" transom and larger HP like on the KW.
But if you don’t mind the 20" transom for what you plan to do with it, it’s not bad for the price. I would strongly consider the cost difference on a Pioneer though. It will hold its value and may not be much more money than the Tidewater.
“Wailord”
1979 17’ Montauk
90 Johnson
Wilderness Ride 115