Princecraft Super Pro 186 FnP
Princecraft's Super Pro 186 FnP blends fishing and skiing together so well, it's scary
By Michael Verdon
November 1, 2003
Monster-hunting isn't one of the officially recommended uses for
Princecraft's Super Pro 186 FnP, but there you are on Lac Memphremagog, spanning the border of
Vermont and Quebec, hoping to catch a glimpse of the local version of the Loch Ness monster. A
smaller clone of Nessie by all accounts, Memphre the sea serpent is every bit as dinosaur-like and
evasive as his famous Scottish cousin. 'Sightings' have been common for 300 years ' there are even
images from a purported video on www.memphre.com ' and the original Indian inhabitants warned
settlers against swimming in the lake for fear of becoming a Memphre munchie.' The odds of you
seeing the slippery sea serpent (with three humps, say some of the observers) are slim to none, you
figure, especially with the tiny lure you're using for small-mouth bass. But the odds of landing a
fish are pretty high, given the lake's reputation. That's just fine by you, since bass-fishing is
within the job description of the FnP (short for Fish and Promenade, Princecraft's version of a
Fish 'n Ski).
You spend two full days on the 36-mile-long lake, enjoying it to the fullest on the Super
Pro 186 FnP Special Edition. It's a quiet, scenic northern lake (Memphremagog is Indian for
'beautiful waters'), filled with channels and tiny bays, and ringed by forests and green mountains.
U.S. anglers trailer their boats through moose crossing zones in the Northeast Kingdom's mountains
to Newport, at the southern end of the lake in Vermont, and Canadian fishermen come from all over
to fish the northern end.
The lake's known for its trout and salmon, but it's also a great spot for large- and
small-mouth bass, according to Real Larose, a member of Princecraft's pro fishing team, who fishes
the lake as often as he can. You run into Larose on his Super Pro 178 DLX Special Edition,
practicing for a bass tournament. 'Small-mouths are good all over, but if you go into Fitch Bay,
which is warmer and weedier than the main lake, you'll find very good large-mouth bass,' he says.
You ask him if he's seen a 20-foot sea serpent. He laughs, but he's not dismissing Memphre
outright: 'Not yet,' he says. 'I always keep an eye out for him. The lake is 250 feet deep at some
points, so you never know.' He fires up his 130-hp OptiMax and disappears into a side channel on
the near-empty lake.' There couldn't be a bigger contrast than your 18-foot fish 'n ski and
Larose's battlewagon, with its forward and rear casting platforms, eight-rod lockable compartment,
and two livewells. But the 186, a multi-species design, can fish and do a bit more.
The Special Edition label on the 186 includes some standard features that turn it into a
decent weekend warrior. The Lowrance X-51 fish-finder, 17-gallon livewell and removable bow casting
deck should convince even diehard anglers that this boat can hunt down salmon or walleye.
But the beauty of this 186 is its ability to convert into a family fun machine. Fish 'n Ski,
or Ski 'n Fish. Sometimes the word that goes first gives you an idea of what it's really designed
for ' and just as often the second word's glued on for marketing purposes. The 186 is a crossover
boat, with benefits (and a few drawbacks) for both pursuits.
As a fishing boat, you like the design of the removable casting platform. It sits on the
foredeck, solid and carpeted, with a pedestal chair (that also fits into a slot just behind the
helm seat, so it doesn't have to be stored) in the center, and three compartments on different
sides. It's comfortable up front for long bouts of fishing, with tough rubber footpads on the point
of the bow to prevent slippage, and the trolling motor plug's tucked away nicely inside the front
gunwale. (A carpeted trolling-motor pad is optional ' as is the trolling motor.)
The 8-inch-by-23-inch port compartment lifts up to reveal the 17-gallon livewell, with a
center partition. Seventeen gallons is just about all you'd want on a boat this size, and is good
for holding both bait and the catch of the day. The downside is that the overflow drains all the
way back to the bilge pump in the engine compartment, just inches from the bottom of the
sterndrive. A through-hull drain would be better here, so there'd be no chance of flooding the
engine compartment if the livewell somehow goes haywire. On the starboard side is an ice locker,
and in front, the anchor locker. There's also space for the trolling motor battery. The bow is the
place to be on the boat if you're fishing.
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But it converts to family use in a
New York minute. The casting platform slides out easily with the push of the spring-assisted latch,
and then fits into a groove in the floor that uses a drinkholder as the base ' it looks odd, but it
works. Stuff in the standard bow cushions over the carpet-covered wooden seats ' and voila '
there's a decent seating area for guests. An option Princecraft might want to add is a cushion for
the casting platform to turn the whole area into a sunpad.
Aft of the sturdy, tinted black-framed windshields, the 186 is definitely a family boat ' in fact, most hardcore fishermen wouldn't like the sterndrive engine box and rear jump seats taking up precious space in the cockpit, and would instead opt for the Super Pro 186 outboard version. But the ample seating is ideal for a family of five or six (the boat's rated for eight) if you go with the rule that no kids ride up front. Back-to-back companion seats fold down into a sleeper, a very relaxing feature (though the unpainted, marine-grade plywood under the seat stands out like a sore thumb next to the boat's excellent fit and finish). As noted, there are two corner jump seats on both sides of the engine box, and the bow pedestal seat goes behind the helm chair. The jump seats, 17 inches wide by 12 inches high, seem low-slung for an adult, though they'd be fine for kids. That's definitely true for the helm seat, 17 inches wide and 19 inches deep. It'd be way too tight for the hours an adult driver will undoubtedly spend towing the kids around. Any helm chair on a family boat really ought to be a super-sized one, even where it might look like an overstuffed chair, like in the 186's case, with its narrow 7-foot-10-inch beam. The 186's a pleasure to drive, as you discover during the two days. And it's a looker, too ' with the sleek, black profile, surrounding a beige and red stripe. You can see why Princecraft uses the word 'Promenade' instead of 'Ski,' because the boat turns heads at the dock. At the waterline, the unpainted aluminum hull bottom (2.5 mm thick) has rivets in it, which gives it kind of a hip, industrial look. When you factor in looks with performance, this is definitely not your grandfather's aluminum boat. The deep-V hull, with 15 degrees of deadrise and reverse chines at the transom, carves up the smooth waters like a sushi knife, with little pounding in a chop. Thanks to 5052-H36 marine grade aluminum alloy and 17 internal ribs, the bottom is sturdy (and soundproof) so there's no slap-slap-slap echo or tinny sound like you typically hear on aluminum boats; the 1.8-mm-thick hull sides carry a high-gloss Acrythane finish that looks like a good fiberglass gel coat at a distance. The overall impression is that this is a solid, well-finished boat, right down to the Prince-craft logos sewn into the upholstery of the color-coordinated seats. Standard power on the 186 Special Edition is a 220-hp, 4.3L MerCruiser with Alpha drive. It gives the boat get-up-and-go, and a decent top end of 48.7 mph. Yet even with the boat's high horsepower, it doesn't feel overpowered. Anything smaller might not let the boat live up to its potential. It's a lot of fun to drive, coming on plane in 5.6 seconds and carving its way through the chop. This is definitely a performance-oriented runabout, a faux fiberglass bowrider with an aluminum skin. The double swim platform and stainless-steel ski-tow eye on the transom make it a strong boat for watersports.' Visibility from the helm is great ' as are the SmartCraft gauges, which help you keep your finger on the pulse of the motor. The gauges are a handy feature, with a traditional analog dial and a detailed digital readout below that monitors 11 functions and includes a trolling setting. It works well, beeping when the oil drops below safety level. Access to the engine is good, with the fluid fills right where they ought to be ' directly in your face. However, the thin plastic hoses running from the air intake grates look flimsy compared to the rest of the design. You don't get a chance to test the ski side of the 186, but the potential is there. There are two etched-in swim platforms on either side of the sterndrive, and another 18-inch-by-15-inch platform with ladder on the starboard side that looks watersports friendly. Storing a wakeboard or even a slalom ski on board might not be that easy, but using one is. The standard CD player adds another element to the Promenade aspect of the 186, though if it's cranked too high, there's no way Memphre will come around. |
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