Conference vicki::boats

    Yes pro-line is a good boat. In the early days they did get some
    bad press when they basically copied the Grady White walk around
    cuddy. Lately I have read some very good reviews. I looked them
    over at the boat show and seemed like a very solid fishing boat.
    They lack some of the finer finish work of the Grady but that does
    not matter when you are out in 5 footers. Steve Joyce just bought
    the the 25 so he will have first hand knowledge in about a month.
    Also just one comment. Wet does not mean a bad boat. First off
    most of the fishing boats that are called wet are only wet when
    run in some snotty sea's which many other boats would not even
    belong in. Also some of the finast fishing hulls have been called
    wet, the bertram 31 comes to mind.
    
    Capt. Codfish
                                  

Some friends of mine in Ft Myers, Fla have a 23' ProLine which they
love EXCEPT the their outboard hangs off a bracket and it appears
the unusual load on the transom somewhere along the line has caused
the transom to separate from the hull slightly.  Pro-Line is trying
to fix it, but so far the attempts have not been very successful.
And my friend is not happy about having his boat in the shop...

As I said they think the boat is great in every other way...
Perhaps they just got one that slipped by...

Al

    
    There's a guy by the name of Joe Alexander that owns a 23 ft Proline
    cuddy that he's been fishing out of for a year or so.  As a matter
    of fact it is described in 3.156.  He's building a new house and
    may sell his boat depending on the outcome of selling some of his
    land, the bank, etc.. Anyway, he'd be a good person to ask about
    the boats performance, quality, set-up, handling, and so forth.
    He can be reached at BTO::ALEXANDER.
    
    P.S. He's taken me out in it a number of times and I think it's
    a great boat.  I own a 19 ft Wellcraft cuddy with a 175 V6 which
    is the same engine he has in his boat but with a four barrel. We
    get about the same speed out of the boats even though the Pro-line
    is a much bigger boat. (40 plus MPH).  I think the Pro-lines hull
    design attributes to the good speed for the size of the boat.

    We own a 1986 20' ProLine powered by a 135 Merc.  It definitely
    could be considered a wet boat.  Yes, when the seas are running
    4 to 6 feet, you will get damp.  However, we have family who owns
    a 22' Whaler and I would much rather my ProLine to the Whaler. 
    The ride is much smoother and seems to trim out quicker.  The Whaler
    slaps the waves where the Modified V hull of the ProLine cuts them.
    
    If you would like to talk, feel free to send mail.
    
    				Dana
    

    I just sold my 23 walkaround cuddy last fall. She was a 1981 with
    a 170 I/O. I considered the boat a good buy for the money and
    reasonably dry in most conditions. I have run upto 55 miles off
    the coast of jersey and have always been pleased with the performance.
    If I ever go back to a larger boat it will probibly be another pro-line
    with outboards. The newer models have much more things fishermen
    are looking for in boats,(i.e fish wells,live bait wells, more storage
    ). I also toured the pro-line factory in Cristal River, Fl where
    they are built and was very pleased with what I saw. If I can help
    you in any way please send me mail. Doug Cottrell::EBDBDA HJO,
    7N7 HOLMDEL,NEW JERSEY. 8-342-1991
     

  I have a friend in Ft. Myers, FL that loves his Pro-line with one exception. 
He hung his outboards off brackets and apparently in transporting the boat on
the trailer, the weight of the engines caused a separation of the transom from
the hull.  Pro-line has tried a couple times to repair the problem, but it
persists.  The way he talks about this boat I suspect he would not hesistate to
buy another one, but he is pretty disgusted with this transom problem.  I think
he'll probably wind up with a new boat out of the deal, but that is pure
conjecture on my part. 

Al

    
      Well I think it's time for a report. We bought the Proline in
    .0 and it's now in the water. We launched it Sunday and went for
    a bit of a shakedown cruise. 
    
    		THE BOAT RIDES AND HANDLES GREAT!
      If you remember we had some stiff winds blowing Sunday (20-30kts)
    For anyone who may know this area on the Cape, the boat is kept in
    Prince's Cove in Marstons Mills. We rode out through the bays and
    into Nantucket Sound. The waves went from 1-2' near the shore to
    5-8' a mile out. The boat rode VERY well. No pounding, nice and
    solid, and the hydraulic steering felt great! The boat made 34kts
    without much trouble and this was with the top up, four people on
    board and 90 gals of gas! The 2.5L SeaDrive performed very well.
    It made a nice slow trolling speed and steering control at trolling
    was good. Everything checked out, now we just need some decent weather to
    get those Stripers!
    
    					Kenny

    Well it's 4 years since the last reply to this note.  ProLine has
    been doing a lot of advertising lately.  I'm attracted to their
    designs which are basically fishing boats with somewhat more
    "family cruise" compromises than your Grady/Mako/etc (bigger cabins,
    more cockpit seating etc).
    
    But at prices 25-35% or more underneath Grady-White et al, I'm
    suspicious as to what corners have been cut....
    

    
      My father still has his 23' P{roline walkaround. He's really pleased
    with it and so am I. It seems very well built (Good, smooth glass) and
    it doesn't seem 'flimsy' as I have gotten the feeling from some boats.
    It is a rather plain boat, set up as you have seen, mostly for fishing
    with comfort like cushions and carpets and 'trim' there, but definitely 
    secondary. I also have to wonder how much of GW's price is because of 
    their name?
    
    					Kenny

    
    This reminds me of a rather funny story.  I hit a rock and did 
    
    some decent damage. The repair facility, a local marina, had 
    
    given an estimate, the mechanic said  "we'll put in for better
    
    parts that you have"  The adjuster had no problem and agreed.
    
    After the job was done, the mechanic said that there wern't any
    
    better parts than what was there.
    
    I own a Silverton, its not a Bertram or a Hatteras, and yes they
    
    may have some nicer things, but they paid for them.
    
    Pro-Line has been around for awhile, Grady White seems to be 
    
    at the higher end of the price structure. I would say the only
    
    difference is price.  On the other hand, generally when a boat
    
    mfgr. gets a bad rep. justifiably, they don't usually survive.
    
    You probably will find differences between them, but measure
    
    the $'s difference, bet they won't be worth the extra $'s.
    
    
    Let us know,
    
    JIm