2013 Aluma Gator 2060 - new schtuff

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bulldog

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After my two previous boats leaving me unfullfilled I decided to bite the bullet and make a dream of mine come true. In February this year my brother and I placed an order for a new boat. We looked around a lot at all the different brands of inboard jets and it always came back to either a Riverpro or a Gator. We kept going back and forth and finally went with the Gator. It was a tough choice that seriously came down to a coin flip. I wanted the Riverpro and he wanted the Gator.

On Saturday morning I picked up my 2013 Aluma Gator 2060. I had some custom options added to the base model and really made the boat my dream boat. It is powered by a fuel injected small block Vortec 350 with 325 hp at the crank coupled to an American Turbine pump. I had the bottom reinforced with 1/4" piece of aluminum in an area near the intake and down the middle that is 24"x8' for when I hit something. I had an 8' rod locker/gun box added, one large live well, and one cooler. The floor is perforated aluminum and the rest of the boat is spray in bed liner. I fish and run the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and gumbo mud stains the crap out of carpet. I wanted to have a boat that I can jump in to covered in mud then when I am on my way home I can stop at a self wash power car wash and rinse it out and that is exactly what I ended up with. The spray in bed liner is silver with metal flake in it and grips extremely well even when wet. The only areas with carpet are the inside of the rod locker and one storage compartment. I had manual trim added and a Hot Foot.

As far as performance, this boat absolutely rips. I topped it out for a short time today and with 4 guys, 20+ gallons of gas, guns and a full cooler I got 56 mph out if her. I have to have 10 hours on the motor before it is considered broken in so I think I might get 58 out if her with a light load when she is broken in. It does not matter though, I cruise at 47ish at 3500 rpms and it does not seem to drink too much gas like that. I do have to run at least 91 octane so it gets expensive quick. She jumps out of the hole and gets on plane in about 40', maybe. If you are running 20 mph and floor it, you reach 50+ mph in seconds.

My wife keeps saying that I don't seem excited and I'm pretty calm about the whole thing but honestly I'm just speechless. I'm so happy and the whole thing is just overwhelming. I work long hours and I work very hard and to be able to afford this boat is amazing to me. Really a dream come true and it is very humbling.

Future plans are to add all the stuff I have been buying for the last few months ASAP. Trolling motor and batteries, anchor rein, stereo, 3 bank charger, fish finders, and after the warranty period is up on the motor I plan on building the motor and adding a turbo to it. Why you ask, why the hell not?! I will more than likely never get rid of this beast so go big or go home.

I should note that Randy at Gator is the man. He was kind and very easy to work with. I expect the customer service to continue should I have any issues.

Pics to come tomorrow.
 
Here are some pics of the build and some other randoms.
 

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Thanks guys. I worked a little tonight to mount the trolling motor, stereo, and anchor rein. Measure 46 times cut once. It feels weird drilling and cutting on a brand new boat but I'm only making it better. Pics to come later in the week when it is all complete.
 
Hey Bulldog we ordered our boats at the same time ,remember I had you make some decals for a black Riverpro.Congrats we will have to get together one day.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=318277#p318277 said:
SPACECOWBOY » Today, 03:58[/url]"]Hey Bulldog we ordered our boats at the same time ,remember I had you make some decals for a black Riverpro.Congrats we will have to get together one day.

Yes sir, I remember. I'm stacked with work and travel until the beginning of July but after that I would love to meet up and run some water. I would really like to see our two boats next to each other and compare all the details and performance. I absolutely love RiverPros.
 
I spent some time on the front deck the last couple nights. I had to get the front graph mounted, the trolling motor mounted and the achor rein mounted. I had the graph left over from a previous build and it still works so I figured why not. I found the trolling motor on Craigslist for $300 and picked it up about a month or two ago. It is a Motorguide 78 lb thrust 24 volt and has minimal hours on it. Pretty good deal. and Finally I got the anchor rein off of Ebay for $30 shipped. The anchor rein is awesome and I recommend anyone that ties their boat up or uses an anchor to look in to one. I think there is 40' of rope on a retractable spool. All you see is the little cleat on top of the deck, the rest hides below the deck. All the new Rangers have them. To get the rope out you just twist the cleat, then pull the rope and tighten the cleat back up and it hold strong. Awesome little invention.

I also mounted two speakers on the engine hatch. Two more will go in the front deck and the head unit will hopefully be in tonight. The plastic covers will be painted to match the decking at some point. They look gaudy and I don't care for the white but for now they will work just fine.
 

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Thanks guys!

I took it on its first fishing trip Saturday morning and got the big Skunk. My uncle did manage to catch a nice stick bass AND my seat with a top water popper and put a nice little hole. Man did we laugh about that. Can't take old people anywhere I tell ya. It was either laugh or toss him in the water and he's a good guy so we decided to laugh after that awkward look at each other. But I did get him back when he did not put his sunglasses on and they flew off his head and in to the drink.

We managed to get one spot bass in the boat but all in all the fishery we were at has gone way down hill since last time I was there. We fished Rockford Beach on the Big river. As we were heading back to the ramp we saw about 8 boats fishing and 3 more putting in so there's the answer to the decline in the fishery. Really sucks but it will rebound at some point. I will give it another try some time but not any time soon I don't think.

I also learned that I need a butt seat for the front. The boat did not come with one and let me tell you it was not enjoyable at all standing there fighting to balance.
 
Bulldog I heard you at 6:30 sat mourning I'm the house on the hill when your on river . The only good fishing on that sections at the dam you have to go around the tree that's down.You have a Gator now ,mash that sucker trough there!
 
I hope the boat sounds good!

I made it around the tree and barely touched rocks. I am very surprised how shallow the boat will run. It is nice. It will not be long until you won't be able to make it around that tree. Possibly by next weekend. Someone needs to make some cuts with a chainsaw and it will be good to go. My uncle was saying "you should slow down, John, you should really slow down" as I hammered it around that tree. After we made that he had the same confidence I have in what the boat will do.

I'll be getting ahold of you after the 4th of July for a fishing trip. Too busy until then.
 
I wanted to make a note on the reverse gate on the American Turbine pump that came on my Gator. It is trash, absolute junk. It is better than nothing but it really is almost as good as nothing. The reverse thrust almost does not exist and if you put it in reverse and give it some gas, the water will absolutely soak the driver and passenger. Everything is set up just like it should be, I triple checked, it is just a horrible design. They make a better one but pricing is in the $350 range. I'm going to have to buy one just for safety's sake but I am less than pleased about the stock gate. Besides not having any reverse pulling power and soaking the people in the boat, if any sort of rock or even large sand gets in between the gate and the nozzle, you have to clean it out before you shift from reverse to drive.

Ill get off my soap box now.
 

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