Crestliner equipment Questions

[analyzer]

I just bought a new crestliner 1850 sportfish and have a couple of questions.

First off, I'm a little disappointed with the knowledge of the person who gave me the walk around on my boat. He didn't seem very knowledgeable about my particular boat.

Anyway, the 1850 has a convertible bow, with an extra tall pedestal which comes up through a split floor. I have four air ride pedestal seats and they do not fit on the front pedestal. What am I suppose to do to the existing pedestal to fit it on the front bow pedestal? The walk-around guy didn't go over it with me, and it does not seem to be in the crestliner manual.

The walk around guy also mentioned he wouldn't trailer the boat a long distance with the full cover on it. He said it's likely to get loose in the wind and tear. Is that true or just an isolated case? What the hells the point in having a cover if I can't cover my boat for the road trip.

I also didn't realize you can't get the side cupboards open with the bench flipped down. I originally thought I wouldn't like the Alumicraft because you always had to flip those seats up to get at the live well; and with the crestliner, I thought if I were fishing I would always have the bench down anyway, so I would have direct access to the live well. But now I find I can't get to the side doors if the bench is down. Seems like a bad design.

I sure hope I don't have to get out a screw driver every time I want to put one of the seats on the front pedestal. This boat will be going back to the dealership faster than you can &*^*%(*^*%^(*.

I also have a VERY difficult time trying to pull the pin on my hinged tongue. Is that normal?

I'm wishin' I'd gone Alumicraft more n more already.

Please help.

Thanks.

[Iceseeker]

Is this alarm also on a Crestliner Fish Hawk with a OptiMAx 115? was not aware of any alarms.

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[TUMBLEWEED]

Well, I got the boat back from the shop
a day after it was brought back in for
the problems noted in my last post. The
service department was very quick, doing the
"repairs" in just one day. It sat out in the driveway until last Friday, when I decided
to get it wet again. I dragged it to work
and was planning on going after my shift
was over.

Wouldn't you know, that when I got ready to go, that I found a small puddle of
hydraulic fluid under my dash again!!!
I shoulda guessed this was gonna happen
since all they did was "tighten" the
fitting #@#$$#@!! I took it out anyways
and was pleased to hit 50mph
on some of my later passes while wrapping
up some more break in runs. I still have
yet to go full out at full trim!! So at
least the Mercury crew has lived up to
the deal.

I brought it back in, and now they have
to replace the whole hydraulic helm
(Which they did not have in stock) Not
sure of a time they expect to have my
boat back to me?? I will check with them today. This whole problem would have gone undetected had I not changed out the
locator it came with, for one of my own.
I would encourage anyone who has a new
Crestliner boat with hydrualic steering,
to poke your head under your dash and look closely at the two fittings behind the steering wheel. Hopefully you are not in
the same boat(pun intended)!!

[Slim Pickens]

I purchased the 1850 w/135 merc last year, at the dealer in shakopee and the salesperson was a post, and the guy who walks you through the boat should be the one selling as well. I got the bunk trailer(love it)except for the surge brakes. the rod lockers are something to be desired. But, we all have to realize that we got thisboat for a reason otherwise we would have went strictly w/a fishing boat. the snap cover trailers excellent,the 24v with on board charging is great. I will recommend getting the remote control for the minkota, it is an awsome feature. after you wash the boat use pledge to wipe down the boat it helps with water spots.

[Sportfish1850]

Analyzer:

Let me know your design and method of attachment of that PVC tubing to the back of the fold down bench for rod holders (which I assume are just for keeping the rods in a safe place while motoring between fishing spots). I've been toying with the same idea but never really figured out how to attach it perfectly. Tried velcro on the back of a PVC pipe as a prototype but the carpet won't snag the velcro hooks. Didn't think I wanted to put screws through the back board of the seat and have the wife or kids sit on it, lean back and shout "OUUUUCH, something stabbed me" and look back and see a puncture in the seat. So I'd be interested in your design.

Got the same boat myself new this year and its my first boat in 10 years since getting rid of an ancient glastron tri-hull that cost me more to maintain weekly than I bought it for :-) After 2 seasons with it back in 1990, I decided I either needed to get rid of it or go broke. So I can really appreciate the Sportfish 1850 now after owning a clunker years ago.

Good tips in this post for us first time or nearly first time owners on loading and unloading the boat. Thanks guys.

I totally agree with a check list you go over twice before leaving the garage or dropping the boat in the water. Already got to the lake once without boat keys and vowed to make that list the next day ;-( Its funny now, but wasn't then. Thank god it was only a 30 minute haul. About 50 copies of my list now hang in the garage on a clip board on a nail. Half the items are at the house tasks, half are at the ramp tasks.

I followd the same break in routine you did and it was a boring couple of hours but the twins game was on the radio and the sun was shining and it beat the heck out of work right ? When we finished the two hours my son and I hit a crappie bay on the other side for the lake for an hour before sunset and we caught a dozen of them plus my son(he's 11) had his light action rod double over on a strike which produced a 3 lb 1oz large mouth as weighed on my new Rapala digital scale. The look on his face after his 5 minute battle to land that fish on 4lb test line on an ultra light rod set up for sunnies and crappies, then quickly photograping and releasing that nice bass made the money and anxiety about buying the boat and post purchase anxiety seem all worth it. He's never caught anything other than pan fish and 1 lb bass so to him, this was the monster of his life ;-) Two weeks later he's still talking about it.

Gonna be great when he nails his first Northern and Walleye this summer.

[This message has been edited by Sportfish1850 (edited 04-28-2004).]

[dnoz]

I purchased my Crestliner from Crystal Pierz in Crystal although the sale was fine. The service at that location has been horrible. The motor was overheating and the mechanic told me I was driving in weeds which was casuing the problem. He actually mentioned unhooking the sensor. I got so mad that I called Johnson which called the dealership right away. I then tried bringing my boat to the Forest Lake location for service and they were worse which I didn't think was possible. I was finally sent up to the Crystal Pierz St Cloud location and they have been excellent for service. Although they sell Lund out of that location they have fixed my Crestliner. It is a drive for me to take my boat to St Cloud but it is worth it to have competent people working on it. Which I cannot say for the other two locations.

[Dusty]

I bought My Sportfish at R&R Marine too. I paid a litlle more but the service is outstanding. I never need an sppointment and its normally done the same day.

[Slim Pickens]

R&R recieves high marks when it comes to service, though I have not had to go in for a problem I did look into a lot of dealers before my purchase of the 1850 last year. Also always keep a set of keys in the truck so you have them always.
I also would like some tips on alternate rod holding methods.
Anybody else had some Quirks with the Surge breaks on the eagle trailer.

[TUMBLEWEED]

I got some fast service time from the R&R
crew down in Shakopee. I turned in the boat
to them late Friday afternoon. As I said
before, a part was needed from Little Falls
(hydraulic Helm). They called me Monday at 6pm to pick it up. I did a quick check
when I picked it up, but didn't find any
fluid. This might be fixed now. I will give
them a high mark on the speediness of
getting the problem resolved.

[TUMBLEWEED]

I have a Royce trailer with the surge on it.
What kind of problems you are seeing?? My
only problem is I currently have a 4 pin
connector on my truck, and I have a 5 pin
on the trailer (for the surge). I have to disconnect the surge brakes to back up
as the fifth pin is for the back-up lites
which disengage the surge for backing up.
There is a quick disconnect that makes this
easy to do for now, until I get around to
putting in the 5 pin connector...

[MT Net]

Gee, this must be the Crestliner Forum.

We're also looking into a Crestliner, either the 1850 Sportfish, or the 1800 Superhawk. Anyone have any recommendations of one over the other?

Analyzer, do you have any photos of how and where you mounted your rod holders. I plan on doing the same thing next spring, when we get our new Crestliner.

[Slim Pickens]

I have the 7-5 connector for my truck, but the brakes always engage when going back on an incline. so the thought of using the over ride pin is a hassel(lazy?,maybe...). I'm heading to the cabin tomorrow(leech) and hope to put it in for the 1st time this year.

[analyzer]

feedback on the prop pitch (1850 sf with 140 suzuki 4 stk):

After trashing the 13 1/4 x 23 the dealer set me up with (it ran 4500 rpms and 38 mph at WOT), I switched to a 13 1/4 x 21 pitch and it's running 5900 rpm and 43 mph(boat speedometer), WOT, 3/4 tank, 400 lbs of people/gear ... aluminum hustler prop. I'm satisfied with these results but am curious what happens when I change the first number from a 13 1/4 to a 14. I want to try a 14 x 19.

As far as rod holders go, if you're talking about the ram rod 2000 rod holders that I flush mounted in the gunnels, I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I live in Oakdale, NE of the twin cities and would be happy to show anyone how it looks or let you use the hole-saw-drill attachment. Be careful though, you can easily cut your wiring on the starboard side, especially back by the rear light mount. I went trolling just for giggles on the river to see how the rod holders held up under pressure and they were fine. I just screwed them in with stainless screws, no backup nut. I'll let you know how it holds up the first time I have a serious fish hits (or big rock). It would have been very difficult to get under there and back up bolts in the rear of the boat.

As for the rod "racks", I'm still playing with that one. I purchased two of these racks that are made by Berkley; they're 9" x 13" and are 3 separate 9" pieces of pvc attached together. They are just slightly too tall to attach to the middle of the back of the bench, and if I trimmed the motor all the way up it would hit. If I attach them to the back of the bench towards the sides, then they may get in the way of the rear seat holes, when I flip the bench forward. I'll probably opt to mount them on the side panels to the very rear of the boat. They look good back there and would allow me to store my rods when I'm moving and give me a place to store the net.
I thought about mounting them on the insides of the walk way between the windshields, but then I wouldn't be able to close the middle window when the rods are there, and it's already very narrow through there.

Did I mention, I saw this guy had this rack that held 6-8 rods that plugs into the seat base. He said he got it at cabellas for $50. It looked a little like a candleabra (spelling?)... it had about a 12 inch pedestal with 6 or 8 tubes attached at the top, like some sort of fancy multi grenade launcher. The pedestal fit in the seat bases just like the seat pedestals. I thought it was pretty cool.

Someone was asking about positioning of the licence numbers/letters. I went just below the pin striping and it looks fine. Nelson marine has fancy lettering that fades from black to tan, blue to white, green to white, whatever, and looks great. The set I bought was kind of expensive at $21, but had 4 sets of letters and numbers, so I have backups if and when they wear off.

If any of you guys are looking for a nice 7-5 converter. I bought mine at Radco. The wiring is rubber coated and spring-coiled so it won't drag on the ground. The coiling stretches a couple of feet. They sell it for $25, but I think it's worth it.

Ice seeker, I have no idea about your optimax. I was just reading the owners manual for the suzuki and it gives you a double beep when the hours indicate it's ready for an oil change. You have to manually reset it to get rid of the beep. You pull out the emergency shut off clip and pull the switch 3 times in 10 seconds to reset the system.

BTW, if you want some good laughs, go to strangecosmos.com... There's some pictures of guys trailering boats that didn't work out so well.

I'll let you know if I come up with something better for rod storage... I'm still working on it. I guy could almost put up the bimini top, without the canvas and store the rods horizontally overhead, but then I couldn't cast...

[analyzer]

Tumbleweed, I remember reading a method of turning your 4 sideways and hooking it a certain way into the 5, just for back up purposes. IF you don't have a copy of your manual, I could find it and quote it for you.

[analyzer]

Ya know tumbleweed, the guys at R&R tried to tell me I'd be much happier with the 150 opti max and hydraulic steering, than my 140 suzuki. I can't complain about the suzuki, but it sounds like you're getting 8-10 mph more out of the merc. I suppose I saved a couple G though.

If any of you guys are going up that way, I'm going to URL 5/21-23 and 6/4-6/6. I don't know where we're staying the first weekend, but the second, I'll be at Hudecs.

[TUMBLEWEED]

MT Net, I like my SportFish for what it
is (a dual role boat). If I was doing
more fishing than sking and tubing, I would
seriously check out the FishHawk. It has
a bigger front deck, more rod locker space and other "Fisher" friendly options. If
you want a sporty,luxury boat that converts
quickly into a fishing boat I think the
SportFish is your ticket.

FYI, I am running a 14" prop 19 degree.
The holeshot is incredible(good thing
for all the oh s#$% handles). It will get up and go right now. There is a drawback tho.
It is easy to cavitate the Opti if you
are not at a certain trim level. It also
cavitates when doing high speed turns. I can
compensate by a slight throttle back or
doing a trim setting that I know works at
that particular event (holeshot,or turns).

I am going to get a 21 degree Trophy prop
next, and will report back when I have
evaluated it's effectiveness.