1860 cct

Has anybody got one of these boats I am looking at one for fishing the rivers and going out on the flats with. What are the pros and cons of this boat if you have any?
Thanks, Ed

Galvanized trailer is a must. Running a jet? Is the water clean or will that jet get clogged all the time.

I have one I fish the rivers with here in Indiana. This is a great boat,very stable and can run in a foot and ahalf of water. I have had in on St.Clair also with no problems. This boat will beat you up in rough water though if you try to run to fast,but a great boat to fish out of.

I am going to run a 90hp prop motor gets pretty grassy out in the flats down around here so I don't feel like a jet would work well. I am thinking I will put a hydraulic jackplate on it also. What about trolling motor I see the boat only has a 12v supply is a 12v motor plenty for this boat.

I have one with a 90 hp prop 4 stroke. I just have mine on a manual jack plate and really wish I could afford to get a hydraulic. Its just too hard to take off in skinny water with how I have it set for running good in open water.

But I love the boat. Tons of room to walk around on and it handles big waves pretty well too (although you may get some spray on ya). Draft is pretty shallow at stand still. And he's right, it will beat you up a little if you try to drive too fast on rough water, but most aluminum boats of this type will do that, even with the mod V fronts. They draft so shallow that it dosn't take much for the waves to start hitting the flat portion of your hull.

I always liked bigger trolling motors and am currently running a 24v 80lb thrust Terrova. A large 12v would probably do when its not really windy and if you don't have the boat loaded down. But its not hard to switch that up and really not a whole ton more expensive.

Here are my complaints:
Stock livewell is terrible, at least in mine, its like only 11 gallons and is under the front seat. Impossible to keep more than 3 small bass in it. I had to fabricate one from scratch and replaced my main console seat with it, running new pumps, wires, and switches.
The boat could also stand to have a little more storage. Much of the front hull is open and could have been used for more than it was, but I manage. I think the newer ones may come with a weight forward fuel tank, which could be nice, but I'm not sure.

My brother just picked up his 1860 side console with a 90 hp prop 4-stroke from the dealer two weeks ago. So far he loves it. It has a good ride, It's a little rough on choppy water, but hey, it's a jon boat. The new forward fuel tank design and 25+ gallon livewell in the front deck really helps get it on plane and running flat without porpoising at all. They decent storage space in the front deck and under the seats and there's all kinds of room to move around in it. Go with a 24V trolling motor. My brother had an 80 lb. Minn Kota rigged on his and in the wind it needs all 80 lbs. of thrust. The boat is so lightweight with fairly high sides on the hull and a pretty flat bottom so it gets moved around pretty good in wind and current.

The only thing I didn't like is that the livewell and storage box lids just sit directly on the aluminum deck when closed and bang and rattle like hell. We thought the hull was coming apart the first time out on choppy water! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif But we just went to the auto parts store and picked up some black vinyl edge trim and put around the edge of the lids. It took care of the noise and the lids close flush with the deck now instead of sitting 1/4" low. I don't see why G3 wouldn't notice something like that and fix it before ever putting them into the showrooms, but oh well. $10 and about 15 mintues isn't too big of a deal I guess. Maybe I'm just too used to my eagle 175 with the carpet and cushy seats and such. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif

I like the way the side console is set up but i really want the center console for the rivers down here. I have a year before I am going to get serious about purchasing one. See I have a 202 blazer and it is just to risky to take it to the rivers around here due to rocks and other objects in the water and it will be paid for next January and I am going to purchase more than likely a G3 then. I have a 14' stick steer alumacraft now for the river and the family has just gotten to big for us all to go in it(wife, son, dog). Storage is not a real big problem with me all you need down here for the river is a bucket of worms or crickets and a few cane poles and a few packs of plastic worms and a bass rod or 2 for the bass to fish these rivers, and as far as the flats go well I have a super sized tackle box that all my tackle is in for that and I think it will fit well right behind the flip flop seat well. all I will need storage for is like life jackets and such.