Gator Trax Strike...not custom anymore?

[yadkincustomlures]

I've been following the Gator Trax boats for awhile now and they have become my dream boat. Really loved how customizable they are and how great the company is to work with to fine tune it to what you want.

A 19 foot boat is what I prefer. It suits the bodies of water I fish more appropriately. I found a few old posts from 5 or 6 years ago where they made a 19' x 72" strike, the perfect boat for me.

I called today to submit my build sheet and get a price. If everything looked good I fully planned on putting a deposit down soon so I could get on their long build list.

Talked to sales and was told "The strike series only comes in 20, 21, or 22 feet"

I thought they were custom? It says on their website "If you do not find a boat package at any of our dealers to suit your specific needs, we can custom build your hull on an as ordered basis. They are built one at a time, to fit the needs of each customer."

I was very disappointed that Gator Trax wasn't willing to make the boat I had envisioned and wrote it off to "they only come in X size."

On to the next I guess!

[SSN671]

I have the 21'. That decision is totally yours, but you're missing out. is it a garage storage issue?

[SSN671]

[yadkincustomlures]

I have the 21'. That decision is totally yours, but you're missing out. is it a garage storage issue?

No sir, I fish some really tight stuff. I'll attach a pic. I just enjoy the shorter boat. If I could go to an 18 and still have sufficient storage I would, but it seems like the 18's just don't have sufficient room and storage for me. 19 is kind of the sweet spot

IMG_6014.jpg

[SSN671]

I understand.

[SSN671]

They should probably clarify that the offered models/lengths are fully custom. Mine was built precisely to my height/inseam. And everything else i asked for, i got.

[toporanger]

What depths are you fishing and are you running big water? That picture you posted I wouldn't WANT a strike. I would want a GT with the Strike layout. You can get the GT in a mod V or a flatbottom. if I didn't run big water so much I would probably have a GT.

[yadkincustomlures]

I fish anywhere from inches of water to 40 feet of water. Depends on the day. I still do a good bit of "big" water fishing. I have a small jon boat rigged with custom aluminum decks and dry storage for the times I want to get ultra shallow

[SSN671]

Toporanger, mine is getting dropped off at Hydrotec Marine in Mo next week.

[TheKodiakWay]

Talk to Kent Saxon directly. "Sales" told me I couldn't have a few things, and I just about cancelled because of it... but Kent made it happen.
Also, I fished my 21' in plenty of stuff that looked like that.

[toporanger]

The other thing I will point out if you are wanting a strike and fishing tight areas. Im not sure if its just my Strike, but backing up is a pain in the ass. Its hard to turn when in reverse, once you get it turning one way in reverse, trying to get it to turn the other way....good luck. Having said that, it turns on a dime when going forward if you give it a bit of throttle.

Would I love an 18 or 19 foot strike? Yes I would. Would I switch now that I have a 20....Nope. Have you called GatorTrax? I'm sure they would make a 19 for a price :)

[yadkincustomlures]

Yes sir I have called them, did so this morning. I was told a strike can’t be made in 19’ for no other reason than “they don’t come in that size.” But I have seen them post pictures online of a 19x72 strike before.

I think you may be right about the GT being a better fit. Looks like the 18 could be a great all purpose boat. I’m also into catfish jugging and crappie trolling and it would work perfect for both of those things as well.

[TheKodiakWay]

The other thing I will point out if you are wanting a strike and fishing tight areas. Im not sure if its just my Strike, but backing up is a pain in the ass. Its hard to turn when in reverse, once you get it turning one way in reverse, trying to get it to turn the other way....good luck. Having said that, it turns on a dime when going forward if you give it a bit of throttle.

Would I love an 18 or 19 foot strike? Yes I would. Would I switch now that I have a 20....Nope. Have you called GatorTrax? I'm sure they would make a 19 for a price :)

Mines a pain if the motor is up, or trimmed down. If I drop the jackplate, trim up, and get the water going under the boat, it's not half bad.

[yadkincustomlures]

Talked to Kent yesterday. What a great guy to talk to about boats. I would not deal with anyone in sales except him. I am going to go with an 1862 GT with the high sides to make it a "big water" edition. Powered by a 175

[H22BASS250SHO]

It sounds like you are settling for something and not getting what you want. There are plenty of custom boat builders that WILL build the exact boat that you want. The 1862 that you are settling for will be nothing like a Strike series ride. You will spend "custom" money on the 1862. Personally, I wouldn't settle. I settled when I had my GatorTrax built. I wanted the low profile center console bass boat strike series and was told they couldn't do that(ordered in 1st quarter of 2017). I settled for the dual console. Now, they do indeed make a low profile center console bass boat strike series. I'm sure I wouldn't have any problems selling mine and starting over, but in hind sight, I wish I would've held my ground, and either "argued" more or just have another builder make exactly what I wanted. Good luck in your decision.

Talked to Kent yesterday. What a great guy to talk to about boats. I would not deal with anyone in sales except him. I am going to go with an 1862 GT with the high sides to make it a "big water" edition. Powered by a 175

[yadkincustomlures]

What other custom boat manufacturers can build a similar boat to the Strike?

You are correct the strike series will hander rough water much better. But like I said this will be an all purpose boat that does a lot of skinny water fishing. The GT drafts 5" and the strike drafts 13-14"

[yadkincustomlures]

Got the quote back for the 1862 GT. 175 suzuki, pretty standard graphs, power poles, etc.

74k

I will be looking elsewhere. I'm sure its a great boat and the best of the best but I feel I can get a lot more boat for less money

[toporanger]

Wow that's about what I paid for my strike last year.....

[yadkincustomlures]

Getting my feelings hurt pricing things from other manufacturers.

Xpress X19 with 200 SHO, Poles, Garmin 12" bow with livescope and 12" at console, etc........$74,500

Vexus 1980 set up the same with a 150 SHO......72k

[toporanger]

Yeah I went through that also. The one I almost got was the lund 1875 pro V bass. They were within 6k of each other set up very similar.

But really all of the other boats rigged the same weren't much if any cheaper at the time.