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without too much bias, can you guys tell me how stable allisons are as far as fishing goes. also what are they like fishing in the wind? i know they are light and probably draft more in the wind than all the "slow" boats, but i can't imagine it being any different than my 18 ft astro. and i have been pretty pleased with how it fishes in the wind. also, what would be the smallest motor one could put on a bassport 21 2+2 and still do 80mph? thanks
I can only speak to the 2+2, but my boat is fairly stable. I can tell when my partner shifts his weight from one side of the rear deck to the other but it is not like it's gonna flip me out of the boat. Is it a floating dock? No. Is it tippy? No. It's somewhere in the middle.
I don't seem to have a problem with the wind because the 21's have so much keel in the water when you're on the front deck that you don't blow all over the lake.
As far as having enough engine to do 80, I'd say either a 200 or 225. Depending on how you prop a 225, you could have an 80 mph or an 85 mph boat. If you tournament fish, I'd recommend at least the 225. On the other hand, Darris has photos of a BasSport Pro tooling along with a 175.
Hopefully, you'll get some more feedback on this board for the other models. These guys are good at sharing feedback and being honest about their rides.
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great info. thanks http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif
Duane pretty much sumed it up.
Darris and I had a 2 + 2 in 2002 that was on the cover of B&WE magazine, it had a 200 xs for power, it ran 82 mph with John Tiger & Darris onboard but as Duane stated a 225 would be best for tournament fishing.
I don't think it will be an everyday tournament loaded 80mph boat with just a 200 on it unless you weigh 82 pounds. With the advent of ethanol in fuel the motors don't quite perform like they used to. There are three bassport pro's in Chattanooga area where I live. Mine has a 250XS and it is an 85mph boat tournament loaded in 90 degree humid air. There is another one with a 225 sporty running 78-80 in the same weather. The 2+2 is supposed to be a couple mph faster though. As far as fishability I disagree with Duane. In the past three years I have had a Ranger Z-20, a stratos 200XL, and a Legend Alpha 199 and I think this boat fishes much better than any of them. It rivals the Ranger in stability of fishing platform and its much easier to troll around carefully to flip docks, etc. By the time I got my ranger to move I couldn't stop it. As far as the wind blowing them around, it doesn't happen. Deep keel combined with a boat that sits way down in the water when you are standing on the front deck. I have never seen a boat that fished more level or closer to the water lever.
I don't usually make these kinds of posts but this is by far the best boat I have ever owned. The only problem is the POS Garmin that comes in the console. I replaced mine with a 787c2 and love it now.
Lance
The 21' is as stable as any bass boat on the market. It really is the fishermans allison.
The 2002/2003 are narrower than a traditional bassboat (especially the 02) and have a deeper keel line than most, so they are not quite as stable but the narrow beam and deep keel makes for an awesome ride. I have an 03 and it fishes great for the way I fish (run and gun). If you fish by yourself most of the time, an 02 is a fine platform but if you fish with a partner an 03 is probably a better choice.
I fish with a couple guys with 2+2's. One with a 175 runs 68-69 with a fishing load. The other with a 225XS will easily run 85-86 with a 2 man load goin' fishin even on the hottest of days.
Prior to this BasSport, I had a Champ 210 and a Basscat Puma (and a whole bunch more but those are the most recent). This BasSport PRO is in a whole different league!
I fished a tourney on Saturday and I was asking my partner some things about the Allison like how he liked it compared to the last boat I had. He reminded me of a few things I'd forgotten.
More rear storage: he said everything he brings fits into one rear deck storage box. That wasn't the case on the other boat. He brings a small cooler, a two sided hard plastic tackle box, and a small bag for rain suits, etc. Lots more room: he said he's got more room to move inside the boat. Ride: he said the 2+2 has a better ride than the other boat and that it doesn't feel like he's doing 80. Wind protection: he said that the wind doesn't hit him in the face anymore. Dry ride: he reminded me that there's never been any water splashed up on him in any conditions.
Come to think of it, the boat has never had one single item (other than the Merc) that needed any type of warranty repair. Can't say that for any of the boats I've owned in the past. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif
i have been a fan of both the champs and the cats for a while, but i now have 4 kids, 2 of which are young boys that love to fish with dad. so trying to make the compromise between tournament fishing and family fun/fishing is a tough one. last year was when i first heard of the 2+2 and i fell in love just looking at it and reading about it. i do enjoy a fast ride and the ability to get to a hole fast, but if an allison is any harder to drive than my current boat, i don't want anything to do with it. that being said i have yet to find one that is even close. i have also become more interested in allisons since realizing their fuel effeciency. anything that can save gas is worth it's weight in gold to me. i'm still at least a year away from buying another "new to me" boat, but besides actually riding in one, i've pretty much made up my mind on a 2+2. i just have to find one used. thanks for all of the great answers everyone. i really appreciate it. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/smile.gif
I have a friend with a 2+2 and a 250xs on it. I asked him why the 4 seater instead of the 2 seater, his responce was he has a family and they all fish and swim from the boat. I have seen him on the lake with his wife, 2 kids and a dog. They all fit very nicely. It is the only performance boat that I know of which could be considered a family boat and still be fast and fishable. He also fishes team tournaments and loves it. I drove it one day in choppy water and had no seat time. Being a performance hull, I feel it is much more difficult to drive than a cookie cutter brand. My previous boats were a 193 Ranger and a Cobra 201d which took no talant to drive. Learning to drive the Allison or any other performance boat takes seat time.
Good luck with your decision. It fits my friends need perfectly.
i understand it takes seat time with an allison, but my current boat is a '93 Astro F-18 w/ a warmed up 175 merc efi. it is a dog!! i have spoken with several people that say it is one of the hardest to drive. one guy told me if i could master driving it that i wouldn't have a problem with any other boat. in short, the alli would have to be pretty rough for me to be discouraged. thanks for the info. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif wow! this boat would be for sale 30 min from my house
Modified by bigeastro at 7:09 PM 7/29/2008
Modified by bigeastro at 8:19 AM 7/30/2008
Linky no worky.................
You cannot compare driving an Astro to that of an Allison. If you get one, take your time and start off slow.
Rob is correct, it will take time to "unlearn" your current driving habits and learn how to drive an efficient hull. bigeastero, I sent you an IM, don't know if you got it.
sorry bout the link. it's the same boat from a few threads down. with the 300xs.
im sent duane
Don't worry about the driving. It gets pretty easy with seat time. A good prop helps. Mine with a pro et is very easy to drive. The boats won't accept a prop that has stern lift. Too much stern lift = swimming lesson.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bigeastro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i do enjoy a fast ride and the ability to get to a hole fast, but if an allison is any harder to drive than my current boat, i don't want anything to do with it. </TD></TR></TABLE>
An allison (set up properly) is not difficult to drive, just very different. Most of the cookie cutters are point and shoot. Those that do get up on the pad typically require large corrections.....sawing the wheel. When you get an allison set up right, it does require steering input to keep it balanced but the allison is much more responsive than other hulls, so it takes tiny inputs to keep it balanced. If you saw the wheel, you are over-correcting and in most cases make it worse.
Now...with that said, set up is critical. One that is not set up properly is a bear to drive.
I think an allison is actually easier to drive. It actually needs fewer corrections and less input if it's setup right. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chad202 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I think an allison is actually easier to drive. It actually needs fewer corrections and less input if it's setup right. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif </TD></TR></TABLE>
easier than what? cookie cutter boats?, my boat (F-18 Astro)?
Any V-bottom boat that runs over 75mph.