Smoker Craft 171 Pro Angler XL Review

A good family boat is all about balance. Dad wants to fish, mom wants comfort, and the kids want to be pulled around on a tube. The boat has to be small enough to tow with a mid-sized vehicle, but big enough to handle the entire family at once. And above all else, it has to be affordable. Building boats that balance these needs takes a lot of ingenuity, and just a little bit of magic.

Fortunately, the engineers at Smoker Craft seem to have had a bit of magic up their sleeves when they designed the 171 Pro Angler XL. It’s big enough to seat seven, yet small enough to fit in the average garage. It’s equipped to run with the best at the weekend tournament, yet equally at home pulling a skier. You don’t need a huge vehicle to pull it to the lake, or a huge bank account to take it home. Magic? Perhaps. Let’s take a closer look.

The 171 Pro Angler XL rides on Smoker Craft’s Hydra-Lift reverse chine hull, giving it solid performance with even less than maximum power.

The Pro Angler 171 XL uses a traditional single-console design with a raised bow casting deck, which makes the most of the boat’s 17-foot, three-inch length and full eight-foot beam. From the dock you can easily see that the boat retains its width all the way forward of the console. Not only does this provide a substantial amount of interior space, it’s a major factor in its sparkling driving performance.

Step aboard and you can’t help but notice its huge elevated bow casting deck. There’s plenty of room up front for a couple of anglers to cast in comfort, without fear of getting tangled or hooking each other in the hat. An elevated bow pad provides a secure platform for mounting an electric motor, keeping it out of the way, while below the deck level you’ll find concealed dry storage and a 15-gallon live well. There’s also a large in-floor rod locker that accommodates eight rods in individual tubes.

Located in the bow deck is a large rod locker, capable of accommodating eight rods in individual tubes.

Where the bow deck is finished in a heavy-duty marine carpet, the main cockpit floor is surfaced in hard-wearing vinyl, a practical choice for a boat that will be repeatedly loaded with coolers, tackle boxes and other heavy gear. Snap-in carpet is available as an option, for those who prefer it.

The helm console is no-nonsense, with a large tachometer to left, and a speedometer with integral volt meter and fuel gauge to right.

The helm console is no-nonsense, with a large tachometer to left, a speedometer with integral volt meter and fuel gauge to right, and pop-outs mounted to center for two additional gauges. To the right of the padded, black-on-chrome wheel is a large flat area that’s ideal for mounting additional electronics. The stereo control head sits below and to the left of the steering wheel, while metal toggle switches to the lower right control the nav lights, horn, bilge pump and live well pumps. A 12-volt accessory plug, and MP3 input for the stereo, are also included.

The 25-gallon live well mounted in the stern cam be divided in a tournament, and includes an integrated minnow bucket.

The stern end of the 171 Pro Angler XL is left open, for maximum versatility. A large carpeted raised casting deck spans the transom, concealing the crank battery and a second, 25 gallon live well.

The 171 Pro Angler XL rides on Smoker Craft’s Hydra-Lift reverse chine hull, giving it solid performance with even less than maximum power.

Our review boat was rigged with a Yamaha F115 four-stroke, even though the boat’s maximum power rating is a full 150 horses. But the svelte, 377-pound F115 is a particularly good match for the 171 Pro Angler XL, weighing a full 103 pounds less than the bigger F150. The lighter weight more than offsets the 35 fewer ponies, snapping the Smoker Craft onto plane promptly and pushing it to about 30 mph in about seven seconds. At wide-open throttle, the boat will approach 45 mph, which is plenty fast in a 17-foot hull.

The spacious bow casting platform conceals under-deck storage and a 15-gallon aerated live well.

The 171 Pro Angler XL rides on Smoker Craft’s Hydra-Lift reverse chine hull, a proven design that delivers a smooth, dry ride and sports car-like handling. It’s a stable platform, agile in turns and fast to accelerate – the kind of ride that quickly inspires confidence, even among less experienced drivers. The ride is dry, quiet, and thanks in part to the wide beam, particularly responsive – all while using surprisingly little fuel.

A secondary rod locker concealed in the port gunnel securely stores four more rods.

Smoker Craft’s new 171 Pro Angler XL lives up to the company’s heritage of building high quality boats that do many different things equally well. With its ability to carry the whole family in comfort, it’s a versatile family runabout that’s still right at home competing in a weekend fishing tournament.

Smoker Craft 171 Pro Angler XL

Length: 17’ 3”

Beam: 96”

Dry weight: 1,350 lbs.

Fuel capacity: 24 gals.

Passenger capacity: 7

Maximum Power: 150 hp

Power as reviewed: Yamaha F115

Information:

www.smokercraft.com