for those curious regarding crackers, although most of us know about them already, here's a recent thread regarding their quality...i'm not saying anything, however, others sure do!
http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/inde ... 395&st=100Pbotting, regarding "my" ride.
I have the older hull, so i dont have the huge beam width that the new ones do. My boat was designed when the intent was a "high end northern lodge" boat. By that I mean, the casting deck covers 45% of the entire boat. you can fit three full adults on it. one would be the guide, who wouldn't be fishing, but be on the trolling motor...the other two would be fishing...
I know my casting deck on my 17' lund pro guide is bigger than on my buddies 19' ranger bass boat!
As for speeds, as my hull is the narrow one, 89" beam, rather than the 94" plus beam, my hull is only rated for a 50hp tiller. I run the new 60hp tiller yamaha. I can get 31mph on it. Again, 17' with a 60hp. Now the new 17' pro guides have 90hp capacity i believe, if not, for sure 75hp. Bigger and wider.
I would expect similar speeds with the 75hp on the new 17'er compared to my 17'er with my 60hp.
the ride, well, its cold, wet, and tough. it is not a dry, comfortable ride. maybe in a 19' or 20' pro guide, but not in a 17' pro guide.
with that said, i wouldn't trade my boat in for any amount of money. I currently have 8 grand to replace my HULL (not motor or trailer) however, cannot find a suitable replacement that meets my needs...for any amount of money....
beams on boats these days are so wide that you need high horse power tillers to move them....75hp at the minimum.
my boat will allow me to fish 3" of water (yes, 3" of water) for largies through to the great lakes ... not many hulls can do that.
hope this helps....i've put my boat through more than many would put their boat through in their entire lives....and it still floats..... (kinda, lol)