just bought my first duck boat . . . it's an excel F4 with a 36 hp prodrive . . . anyone had any experience with either?

Here we go..

Buy first then ask!

I know Im a newbie to MMT and I will say it is very intimidating to me to ask questions here. Especially about Excel boats. I know not everyone likes them but it would be nice to hear from some of the guys who do own them and like them because i am in the market for one as well. I currently own an 86 16ft alumacraft with a 27PD pushing it. I love the setup for how I hunt up here In Iowa. We dont have the flooded timbers or cypress stumps like a lot of u guys do down south. I hunt alot of marshes and smaller rivers that have sandy to rocky bottom as well as many blown down trees. I've down nothing but research Excel boats for goin on a year now. Sometimes its tough for me to decide after all the bad reviews on the boats. But some guys really seem to love them and i was just wondering how those guys use them. Do they run more rivers and channels and what area of the country do they live in and how do they hold up for that area.

A guy i work with recently bought a 1854 swv f4 with a 35 gtr. He usually runs the lowest river around my area and he loves the boat. I'm not sure if he has the .125 or .100 hull but Im pretty sure its .100 hull. He to is a newbie to mud motors. He has told me he's hit logs, not stumps, and his boat has been fine so far. His motor is also all stock so he's really not screaming 30+ mph up the creek.

I guess what im trying to say is I would like to hear more from the actual excel owners please. I know with all the negative talk about excel i would be scared to speak up. No offense to anyone, but it would be nice to hear from some actual Excel owners. Im addictied to theses forums and love researching here. Everyone really seems to know their sh*t but sometimes it seems as though if someone doesn't run what everyone else runs its junk. Sometimes I think we all forget that we are all into the same sport for many of the same reasons. I just think some respect should be awarded for that. Sorry if I sound like a turd but guys come here to get informed not to be sent down a biased path.

Thanks guys!

If it was me living in Iowa, I would be looking at phowler? They make great boats!!!

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Phowler is the other boat that Im lookin at. I've dealt a lot with the guys at Illowa marine. They do have the best service around here hands down. But shallow water marine and m&m marine also have good service too and they sell Excel and gator tail. I guess what ill have to do is just test drive them all and make my own decision or mistake.

Thanks for the help.

Im plenty happy with my Excel. Just saying

My excel 1854swf4 I've had for six months. Already see dings in the bottom and haven't been in that bad of stuff. Layout is for shit. Gun boxs holds two guns at the most. Dont waste ur money on the livewell hookup, it to is a joke. Cant open drybox unless the seat is in one certain position. And dont spin the seat or youll break your transom light. And just saying if you every need something done to fix it go directly to glen. Don't waste your time with the small guys. I'll give you his cell if u ever need it. I wish I'd have gone elsewhere.

I also live in Iowa, and after reading a ton here, and seeing how happy everyone seems to be with their phowler hulls,also talking to Paul(who is very helpful) I'll be going with a phowler hull next spring.
One of the guys I hunt with got an excel/gtr last year from shallow water marine and is very happy with it. He's not nice to boats, and his .100 excel seems to do just fine.

Congrats on the new boat duckman22. Sounds like ull be happy with it! I've heard from some guys about their excels and the ones i talked too like theirs. It's all whether ur happy with It or not. what works for u may not work for others. Good luck this season! ill do my best to chase the ducks from north dakota thru Iowa and kansas to ya!

The customer service is supposed to be the worst part. There are a lot of boats out there that won't handle the abuse most of these people put them through. Take it easy and not haul butt through a stump field and you should me fine. The excels longitudinal runners should be plenty. They run all the way to the front. If you have .100 gauge you might worry but you'll be alright.

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x2^^^ with any thing u spend ur hard earned money on

Keep me posted on how that 36 pd pushes that boat. That kinda what I'd like to have setup to. Either 36 pd or 35 gtr

Excel= shit just like gay= aids. They're junk boats. Mine drafted a shit ton a water and wouldn't plane out with 3 guys and the max hp motor that was recommended fer it. Top it off, my 15' weighed 200#'s more then my 18'er does and they were the same hull thickness. The layout was F'n junk too. Couldn't open the rear lid if ya had the motor tilted in the shallow position. Never again. And that ain't gettin into the excel CS side a stuff. The boat bein a hack a shit is only the beginning. Wait til ya need somethin fer it.

Good luck with yer new ride. You'd have had better luck gettin a whale fer a girlfriend strappin that PD ta her and ridin that wave.

On the other hand you'll love yer PD even though it'd perform way better on a mud boat hull. Got good performance from mine so far and the FPR has saved my ass a few times this year.

Dam tell us how you really feel .lol

Sorry fer confusion. No. I don't run excel after my first fiasco.

^^ I did fer 2 weeks but thy was 7 months ago. Put the PD on and I said forget it.

I may have mentioned that in other threads months ago but I didn't say I'm currently runnin an excel boat now.

I didn't like the boat with the outboard I had on it fer 2 years. Obviously it ain't gonna perform with a MM. I never expected it ta. Again, it drafted 10-12 inches a water and wouldn't plane out with 3 guys and max hp with the outboard.

duckman:
If you are going to get an excel, then go get one. But you are sorting out reviews based on what you want to hear. So dont ask for reviews, then when someone comes back with a bad review call BS. It sounds like the forum you need to be asking this on is the mudbuddy forum if you are only going to listen to good reviews.