G3 Boats HP 180 Series Has My Vote!
July 1st, 2008Back in January I bought a brand new 2007 G3 HP 180 bass boat, with a Yamaha 150 HP outboard. I had owned a Tracker Pro Team 18 for the previous 13 years. That boat had a 90 HP Mercury outboard.
During these past few months I have had the opportunity to take the HP 180 out and fish from it, both in tournaments and for recreation. I have to tell you… I love this boat!
To start with, it has an awesome 90 inch beam. This is plenty wide for just about any angler or situation. The hull is a high-performance design, thus the “HP” moniker.
While boat shopping, I did some serious homework, comparing a few different brands and models, looking at standard features, available upgrades, etc. the G3 HP boats, specifically the HP 180, came out leaps and bounds ahead of Tracker and any other company that I looked at.
G3 has an excellent reputation for their customer service. They’re ranked as one of the top companies in the country, not just for boats, but overall 
So far, my experiences with them have been very positive.
As for the local end of it, I bought the boat from Reynolds Marine, in Lyme, CT. They’re a family-owned business that has been around since the mid 1800s! So far, my experience with Reynolds has been great! They worked with me on the initial deal and have been there to answer any questions I might have had after the sale. As I write this, the boat is at Reynolds for the first service (15 hours). They’ll be changing the spark plugs, changing the lower end oil, etc. I also have a few small warranty issues for them to check out too. When I dropped the boat off yesterday, they took my list of concerns and promised they would address them, no matter how big or small.
Now back to the boat.
This boat, with the 150 HP Yamaha, gets up and goes! With me alone, I have had it up to around 60 MPH. That is plenty fast for lakes here in the southern RI area where I live.
More important than just speed is the fact that it handles like a dream. The hull is a pad-style hull, which makes it handle turns in a very crisp manner. It doesn’t slide or mis-behave. It just turns when it’s supposed to. The boat cam equipped with hydraulic steering, right from the factory. I can literally let go of the steering wheel while cruising at 50+ MPH. Now, I am not advocating letting go of your steering wheel, but the fact that I CAN let go of it is incredible and speaks volumes for the hydraulic steering.
On top of things like the hydraulic steering, the boat is completely loaded with tournament-angler-induced features, like dual livewells. dual rod lockers, tons of storage, an onboard cooler, onboard battery charger, and the list goes on.
To say that I am happy with my G3 HP 180 would be an understatement.
To read my ongoing review of the HP 180, be sure to check out my review thread at the Northeastbass.com forums, here.
So, the next time you’re in the market for a new boat, be sure to check out the G3 boats. I think you’ll like what you see.
Now, go bag a hawg!
Curt <><