It seems I vaguely remember looking at this, and talking to one of the prominent Alumaweld dealers in Portland. I found other dealers quoted me 21' boats by TJ & other well known brands for not much more than there 20' version. The key is be patient and look for a sale. I went with a 21' boat after getting multiple bids in writing.

 

I had a 22ft intruder with offshore bracket and a 150hp 4stroke... great boat!

the 18 degree vee cuts through chop and waves with ease.

My only complaint about that boat was fishing in big crowds... think bouy 10, washington side, above the bridge... drop in first light, make your first long pass. pick everything up, turn around, head back to bridge to repeat. Now you have 50 other boats doing the same thing and they are all putting out a ton of wakes. That 18degree vee was very tippy in boat chop... side rods were up and down a lot and not really fishing.

as far as tracking goes, the intruder was fine without any of the curtains up. I had a duraframe top and rarely had the curtains on and it tracked fine. if the curtains were on, and it was windy, it was a sailboat.

PM me if you want more info or have more specific questions.

 

I had a 2004, 20' Intruder with the outboard bracket with a 150 4-stroke Yami, and a T-8 Yami kicker. It was a great boat!!! I bought it new, and had it for 12 years. I fished it from Westport and B-10, the Straits, Puget Sound, and all of Eastern Wa. Kicker was transom mounted (which I prefer). Boat had 2 folding bench seats, and (2) Bentley "air ride" front seats. I had a hard frame - soft top built for it. Rogue tandem axle trailer was excellent as well.

 

I had an 2006 20 ft Intruder with a 150 Opti on an offshore bracket. Great boat, fished it for 11 years. I had a duraframe top which was great on anchor and rain. The downside is that that top is a sail. I ended up taking the top off for the Buoy 10 season and it made a big difference in how the boat handled. You will work harder trolling this boat in the wind and boat wake but once you get on to it you will be able to fish it fine but you will have to pay attention. The top comes off easily. 4 small bolts and rig the lights on quick connect. Never had an issue with how it handled rough water.

 

i sold my 18 foot intruder and looked at a new one and went for a hewes as they are better set up for fishing and have way more standard features then alumaweld. and cost less and seem to have better resale value. and was able to get a yamaha instead of the black motor.

 

Had a 20ft Intruder with the old style bracket and an Optimax 200. Nice boat, plenty of room. I would also look at Thunderjet and NW Jet. Trolling with these type of boats is easier if you raise the big motor. Alumaweld's kicker cut out is awesome. Wonder why others don't do this.

 

I looked at the Intruder a few years ago and ended up buying a 20 ft Blackhawk with the Merc Four Stroke 150. I may have gone with the Intruder but it simply didn't fit in the space I had to store it. Ugh!

The kicker cutout works nicely in the Blackhawk. The Intruder has a higher transom, so the handle has to be raised on the kicker to swing it around. Probably would be awesome with a TR-1.

I'm not sure that the 150 is the right motor for the Intruder. They are great motors, but that is a bigger, heavier boat with a larger payload capacity. Maybe it's adequate, but I would seriously look at more horsepower.

Last word of advice: If you are ordering a boat, get the trolling motor mounted on the Port side. My one regret about my boat.

 

Last word of advice: If you are ordering a boat, get the trolling motor mounted on the Port side. My one regret about my boat.

Thanks for all the responses. Is the port side mounting a balance issue? Do you have a lean with kicker on the starboard side?

 

I drive the kicker with my left hand. With the motor on the starboard, I'm up against the gunnel. My weight, kicker weight, and the battery were all in that back corner. Yes, the boat lists. If I have passengers, I can move them to the other side. I moved the battery and that helped a little.

With the kicker to port, I would sit closer to the middle of the boat. Not only is the balance better, but then I could see up the center line of the boat instead of trying to see around passengers.

 

I have a 20' Intruder, but it's an inboard. I don't have any issues with the starboard side kicker, but I have more weight on the stern. It's an 18 degree hull, so it doesn't track well at low speeds. 8 mph seems to be the magic number where it stops wandering and stays where it's pointed.

IMHO, the must haves: :twocents:

Mine doesn't have a port side wiper, which has turned out to be a much bigger bummer than I thought it would be.

Suspension seats- a $1200 upgrade for the pair (in 2011) but well worth it on the Columbia.

The hull is rated for 225HP, and IMHO, it needs all of it. But that's just me.

Get a tandem axle trailer. A lot of dealers will price a package with a single to make it cheaper. I don't think Stevens would do that, but you never know.

I realize it's easier to buy and finance the whole package in one place but if I did it again, I'd get a different kicker than the Merc. I have the 9.9PK, and it's a cantankerous pile of crap. And there's been many moments when I wished I had a 15HP instead of the 10.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot the side/tray carpet. I don't like it, but some do. Once again, something I'd do different.

OK, proselytizing over. :twocents:

 

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot the side/tray carpet. I don't like it, but some do.

Why don't you like it?

 

Why don't you like it?

It gets dirty, moldy and is a PITA to clean. Plus I have a carpeted doghouse and that gets even nastier.
If I babied the boat and was really anal about it, it wouldn't be a big deal. But it's a fishing boat, not a cocktail barge. Plus I'm a slob. Crab pots, bait, blood, mud, sand, salt water and seaweed go everywhere, and I'm like " Ok, I'll clean it up tomorrow.......maybe."

On the plus side, the carpet keeps reels from banging against the hull and quiets down the stuff rattling around in the trays, so it's not all bad.

 

I agree about the power... that 150hp on my 22ft intruder made ~29knots top speed. Would have been nice to have a 200hp, but that jump would required either a 2-stroke or a verado or a different brand motor.

 

200 Optimax with an aluminum prop hit 50 per GPS and the smartcraft gauge. You take a bit of a hit with the 82" bottom and 18deg vee. Wanted to try a stainless prop but sold it before I could get one. It should make a difference. BTW, if you dont plan on charging through rough water I really liked my Tjet. Nice and stable but it didn't ride as nice as the Intruder in that windy Columbia chop.

 

Mine is an 05 but the 14 degree hull. 150 optimax. Will go 40 plus and very quick out of the hole. Love the top, many ways to configure it. Love the width of the boat.



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weren't the older Intruder's narrower, and later built quite a bit wider, while the narrower version pretty much became the blackhawk? would definately get bigger than a 150 for the intruder

 

a 200 is about right for the 20 footer.

 

2004 they went "wide body". My 2004 20' plus 2' bracket (loaded boat, 3 bodies and gear) and 150 4-stroke and T8 went 40-41mph with aluminum prop..

 

150 optimax, 41 mph, 19 pitch. 490 lbs. rear doesn’t sink down much.


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