I've been looking the Lowe Angler series of aluminum boats for fishing lakes
and light duty sal****er. For each length model the choice is either
console or tiller steering. What are benefits and advantages does one have
over the other? This is going to be my first boat purchase and your
insights would be greatly appreciated.

TIA...bg


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I've been looking the Lowe Angler series of aluminum boats for fishing lakes
and light duty sal****er. For each length model the choice is either
console or tiller steering. What are benefits and advantages does one have
over the other? This is going to be my first boat purchase and your
insights would be greatly appreciated.

TIA...bg


Biggest difference will be in comfort/convenience vs. fishing room.

A console steered boat has some shelter from the wind and water, which are
valuable if you fish in rough condiitions. The only thing more uncomfortable
than sitting and fishing on a very cold day is driving across the lake at 35
mph on a very cold day.

With a console, you also get a convenient arrangement of controls where
everything is within half an arm's length. You also get better weight
distribution with more weight toward the front of the boat; the overall
performance of the boat may be be a bit better, although the weight of the
console eats some of that up.

A tiller steered boat offers maximum useful space. There's nothing in the
middle of the boat (like a console) to snag your line on. You can have more
people fishing from the boat without feeling as crowded. It's a simpler boat
to maintain, with no steering or trim systems, and all other wiring systems
simplified since everything is right there in the back of the boat.

Here's the bad news: Whichever you get, you will probably be sorely reminded
of the advantages of the other style when you are needing those features.

Here's the good news: You'll probably own both types in your boating lifetime.

Here's more bad news: When you have moved from one to the other, you'll miss
the old one, too.

No boat is perfect. Analyze it, pick one, go fishing.



-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site