Owned one for several years back in the early 2000's. It was a great little 16' boat with a 40hp Rude.
Owned one for several years back in the early 2000's. It was a great little 16' boat with a 40hp Rude.
2016 Lowe FM1710 (v-hull, walk-thru windshield, multispecies). Enjoy the hell out of it. Until now when the roads are salted up, docks are out and all I can do it look at it.
2018 Skeeter MX1825 w/175 Yamaha 4-Stroke
80# MK Ultrex w/ I-Pilot
HB Helix 10 SI Mega, HB Helix 9 SI, Helix 9, Garmin 106SV
USAF Ret
2016 Lowe FS 1710
2016 Mercury Pro XS 115
Had a Lowe 175 stinger for nine years and it was a great boat. It moderately performed in all areas and was very reliable. Especially liked the shallow water performance. Just traded for a RT178c and it is a better boat in almost all ways, but I can't say how much better it would be than a new Lowe 178 stinger since I haven't fished one and they have made a lot of changes to the new 178 Lowe stinger. The RT178 performs better in rougher water than the Lowe did. Motor wise I had a 60 mercury on the Lowe and I now have a 75 on the RT. The Ranger goes 9 mile and hour faster than the Lowe did. Contrary to what almost all boat owners think I now can say I would have preferred a 60 hp instead of the 75 to be my motor of choice for the ranger because it would have been less weigh and been a little better in shallow water. I seldom need to go faster than 30mph. I didn't think 95% of the people on this forum could be wrong about appropriate motor size, but I guess shallow water is more important to me than speed. I had a 55# thrust TM on the Lowe and have a 80# thrust on the Ranger, both were perfect for my expectations. I was and am very pleased with both boats. I would have to say the Ranger appears to be more quality than the Lowe, but I haven't owned the Ranger for nine years yet.
Last edited by Sparkkky; 12-17-2017 at 12:34 PM.
2016 Lowe FS 1710
2016 Mercury Pro XS 115
I currently own a Lowe L1448M jon boat.
17' stinger w a 60 merc love it it does have the Lowe bounce but I didn't buy it for speed lol
2023 ranger 198p
2018 Skeeter MX1825 w/175 Yamaha 4-Stroke
80# MK Ultrex w/ I-Pilot
HB Helix 10 SI Mega, HB Helix 9 SI, Helix 9, Garmin 106SV
USAF Ret
I have a stinger 18hp . The only fault I have with the boat is the seats. Have replaced them 3 times already and they are slip again. They said last time I talked to warranty center that they had trouble with the seats for a couple of years and they keep sending the same thing with the same trouble. Last about a year and then the same thing all over. Warranty is very helpful. The only other work it needed was when the live well fell on one side, had to send it back to the plant for repairs.
2012 Lowes HP18 115pro xs 22 lazer II
Elite 5dsi gold on console and Elite 5dsi at front.
Don't forget that most places are closed now to.
2012 Lowes HP18 115pro xs 22 lazer II
Elite 5dsi gold on console and Elite 5dsi at front.
Lowe Stringer 18HP w/ Mercury 115 FS. These are nice boats and don’t get enough credit. IMO the Lowe and Crestliner are very similar to the ranger and triton hulls just more affordable.
Garmin Stiker 7sv and 7cv
2017 Crestliner VT17 - Mercury 60 4S
Add me to the Lowe's owners.
I just bought an '83 Lowe's Sprite 15 w/ 35 Johnson at a bargain.
The old Motorguide has about had it. The cable is in such a bind when retracted.
I'm thinking of a Minn Kota Power drive 45 lb thrust TM or a Water Snake TM. No cable on either of these.
Any ideas ????
I just made a great trade on an almost new trolling motor.
It's a Minn Kota Terrova 24V 45" shaft w/80 thrust.
I may need to add seat belts to my old boat but it was
a great deal I couldn't pass up. If it's too much, I can always put it on my
Bullet.
1756 2007 Lowe with a 50 hp. Mercury 2 cycle.
For my style of fishing (Chick; Dale; Watts Bar & Melton Hill backwaters) it is all I need. Easy to tow and launch. Goes shallow enough yet gets me home. I watch the weather and don't attempt to cross big water in a blow. I don't tournament fish so I can pick my days and times by myself.
Lowe has been in business since about 1971. I have been dealing with them in one way or another since 1989. As a dealer it has been the most trouble free complete line up of boats I have ever sold. The boats are what they are. Solid reliable performing boat. Never had a boat I could not get the hull to perform correct. Its about dealer setup sometimes. They don't always get set just right at the factory.
We are not real fancy or have a name that goes with bass fishing like Ranger. When you really compare Lowe to the competition we stack up just fine.
This sums it up well about Lowe boats. Knock on wood but in 6 years I've had zero problems from the boat, structurally or the electronics. All switches work, all pumps work, I just put gas and oil in it, do yearly maintainence on the outboard and go fishing! I think a lot of times Lowe and tin boats in general get a bad rap because people expect them to ride and perform like a glass boat. I know some of the newer, larger tin boats are closing the gap but it is what it is! I don't expect to part with my 17HP Lowe until I'm just too old to get any use out of it and then I'll likely pass it to a son-in-law. My boat fishes great and cruises at 30 to 33 on very little fuel. It fishes great and has really good storage for a 17' boat. I like that it fits in my garage and is easy to take care of! Right now if I had to choose just one bass boat to keep it would be a hard choice between the utility of the 17HP and the performance of the FX21. I hope I don't have to choose!
2017 FS 1710 with 115 Merc pro xs here. Bought new, it is a boat that will do it all for my family. In the morning i can get out by myself and go fishing, then in the afternoon i can take my family out tubing. It is not a true fishing bout, so i use it the best i can and work with it, It has not stopped me from enjoying it in the least.
me little lowe...