# Opinions on Thunder Jet boats



## rlbyfd (Jan 21, 2014)

Looking for opinions on Thunder Jet, Hewes or Stanley Boats. 
I was looking at some of the heavy duty, all welded, aluminum boats yesterday and was pretty impressed. Has anyone owned one or spent time on one? Looking for some feedback? Thanks in advance.


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## HookedUp (Dec 31, 2010)

I spent some time in a weldcraft. I have nothing but good things to say about them. All welded boats a very popular out west. They make lunds and starcrafts fell like bath tub toys. Do some googling about all welded boats lots of good information about them.


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## 386xf (Nov 30, 2010)

rlbyfd said:


> Looking for opinions on Thunder Jet, Hewes or Stanley Boats.
> I was looking at some of the heavy duty, all welded, aluminum boats yesterday and was pretty impressed. Has anyone owned one or spent time on one? Looking for some feedback? Thanks in advance.


PM sent


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## MiSwamphunter (Jan 13, 2017)

rlbyfd said:


> Looking for opinions on Thunder Jet, Hewes or Stanley Boats.
> I was looking at some of the heavy duty, all welded, aluminum boats yesterday and was pretty impressed. Has anyone owned one or spent time on one? Looking for some feedback? Thanks in advance.


Hello Rick, yes I too had a 02 18' Lund fisherman bought new and after what seems like a common problem with the transom and nothing but stonewalling and no help from lund I decided to try something different. I looked at Hewescraft, Kingfisher, and Thunder Jet, all three available in Grand Rapids Mi now at two dealers, Camp & Cruise and Lynden Sports Center. I settled on the 2017 Thunder Jet 20' Luxor OBOS outboard offshore model with 150hp and 9.9 kicker at Camp & Cruise last spring You should try to go to one of the big shows they are at or visit the two dealers they are only about 10 mi apart. We use it primarily on Saginaw Bay trolling and perching. I was extremely impressed when I started looking at these boats they are built like a battle ship.The hull aluminum is .200 thick and all the transom is .250 Forget about someone leaning on the windshield and breaking something they have grab handles on them! The canvas top keeps you dry and out of the sun which the wife really likes and is also heavyduty. This boat handles Saginaw Bay much better than the Lund did but there are some trade offs you have to get used to I compare it to driving a dump truck compared to a sports car. But it is a lot bigger and heavier than I was used to for 15 yrs. There are some models that may be more like your Lund but I wanted the bigger, deeper more heavy duty style and love it so far, also keep in mind these boats don't come quite as refined as a Lund for fishing here, I installed a minnkota terrova, live well timer, and now adding trim tabs and cable steering link for the kicker. I also really like the extend transom it makes a lot more room in the boat. Hope this helps and good luck, keep us posted if you pull the trigger


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

Pros - Built like tanks and should outlast any other style aluminum boat (even thinner gauge welded boats like Crestliner or Starweld). The forward helm construction is awesome for having a huge open area behind the windshield that is great for big water trolling. Helm forward construction also offers a drier ride as the spray source is further to the rear of the driver.

Cons - Heavy gauge aluminum construction means for the same size boat, they will weigh a lot more than standard aluminum construction, and likely glass boats too. If your towing vehicle is rated for 10,000 pounds this will be a non-issue, but if you are pulling with an SUV rated at 4,000-5,000 the extra weight might be a concern. Because of the weight, these boats will require max horsepower to get adequate performance, which on other types of boats you at least have an option to save some money on a less than max engine. Also, these boats tend to be no-frills type of constructions, so if you are looking for lots of storage compartments, livewells, etc, then you might be disappointed. Many of these builders use the helm forward design that is much more rough on the driver than boat layouts with the helm further rearwards.

My cons list looks longer than the pros list, but that was not my intent. There are definite trade-offs depending on what you are looking for in boat, and one person's pro is another person's con depending on situation.


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## gotskunked (Nov 4, 2009)

I am also interested in this style boat and wondered about putting a bow mount electric on one. I have seen this before, but is there enough room on tthe bow to stand up there comfortably and fish and operate an electric motor?


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## rlbyfd (Jan 21, 2014)

You can definitely put a bow mount trolling motor on. The front is tight but fishable. If you have the Ipilot you don’t need to be in the bow. The boats are not as heavy as you would think. Heavier than the Lund type or cheap fiberglass boats but lighter than a Grady white. As soon as the weather breaks I’m going for a test drive. I agree about the storage. These boats are definitely utilitarian. 
If your looking for a 20 year boat, the heavy duty aluminum is the way to go. If your trading in or upgrading within 10-12 years, it won’t matter. Just my 2 cents


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

Thunder Jet is owned by Brunswick now. You can read other threads on here to determine if you feel that is good or bad.


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## rlbyfd (Jan 21, 2014)

I did notice they were purchased by Brunswick. I believe the purchase was in the past couple years. I’ve heard some think it’s good and others say it’s not. Can you elaborate on any info you have? These decisions are always tough with the amount of money involved. The boats still seem to be built like tanks. Any info is appreciated. Thanks


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

I see a lot of negative posts on places like this, and even more on Walleye Central talking about things like the last good Lunds ever built were the pre-Brunswick ones. I think a lot of the bashing comes from overall resistance to any change with a beloved brand, and some of it due to the elimination of certain features of models that someone just loved, but went away in subsequent model years because the cost of the feature was not helping to sell the boats in the showroom. Brunswick has be a very successful and profitable company in the recreational marine industry for a long time when many other companies have gone out of business. Remember Genmar and OMC? Try tracking down what corporate entity is the actual parent company of someone like Polar Kraft and look at how many times it has been renamed or changed hands in its history. The truth is most of our favorite fishing boat companies are barely profitable and could disappear the next time there is a recession, or at least go bankrupt, transfer hands again, and emerge as a new company with the only continuity being the trademarked brand name painted on the side of the hull.

It is true that Brunswick has taken cost out of all their boat brands, and some thing of this as cheapening the product and not building them as well as they used to. What those same people don't realize is the entire recreational boat market is doing this in an attempt to stay profitable and stay afloat. Ranger has been maybe the one exception that even Brunswick couldn't take enough cost out of them when they owned them to make it profitable but still be what people expect from a Ranger. Now that Tracker (Johnnie Morris, the king of cheap boats) owns Ranger, I would expect some changes eventually because all that cash that Johnnie needed to buy Cabela's isn't going to come from selling Rangers at a loss.

I would guess that Brunswick wanted to get into the heavy gauge aluminum boat market as dabbling with boats like the Crestliner Commander or Lund Sport Angler weren't selling as well as they hoped, and then they looked for a manufacturer to acquire that wasn't in healthy financial shape to make buying relatively cheap. Assuming this is true, the big question would be if they weren't profitable because the boats designs were too expensive and thus need to be cheapened up, or if their issues were limited to how they were running the business and manufacturing operations.

One definite positive for a boat line being part of a large company like Brunswick is that the company should be around for a long time should you ever have warranty items to get fixed. It's easy to say that if a boat is built well enough, it shouldn't ever need warranty work, but even the best of the best can still make mistakes here or there. 

I don't know if this answers your question well enough, but it should at least give you a better understanding of the business side of recreational marine market.


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

If I were looking at this type of boat I would really take a look at a Crestliner Commander. If you look at the specs they are no light weight!


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## 386xf (Nov 30, 2010)

gotskunked said:


> I am also interested in this style boat and wondered about putting a bow mount electric on one. I have seen this before, but is there enough room on tthe bow to stand up there comfortably and fish and operate an electric motor?


Yes just may have to get the 72” shaft.


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## rieverr (Dec 7, 2010)

I have a 20 ft Wooldridge super sport drifter, wide, tows great with a 1/2 ton , I put a prop on it in the summer fish anywhere you want, anytime of the year !! 150 merc does 45mph with the prop , 30 with the jet, all the room you need


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## MiSwamphunter (Jan 13, 2017)

Bow mount is no problem once you cut the hole to get access under the mounting deck area, I did not have it but I have seen some with the access already there. This is a 72" terovva on a 20' offshore model Luxor. Used primarily on Saginaw Bay never came out of the water in the waves.


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## Decoy Hound (Apr 21, 2018)

I’m definitely happy with my Alumaweld, I went from a fiberglass boat to this and I’m very satisfied!


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