Xpress Aluminum Boats

I have been looking at Xpress aluminum boats and saw on your website that you fish from an Xpress aluminum boat. I was wondering if you could give me some information on your boat and what you think about Xpress aluminum boats.

Jay

I have been fishing from Xpress Aluminum Boats for a good while now, and have owned a number of other center console aluminum boats as well, like Delhi, Crestliner and Alumaweld boats. The Xpress HD22 CC that I am fishing from now is my second Xpress.

The first I had was a twenty foot center console modified V with a 90 horsepower Yamaha two stroke outboard. I fished out of this rig for about a year and then upgraded to the HD22CC that I am fishing from now.  My Xpress HD22CC is a 22 foot center console aluminum powered by a 115 four stroke Yamaha outboard and it sits on an aluminum trailer. I think the model numbers have changed and that the new model number is a HD22CCF.

I was fishing from an 18 foot crestliner center console and sold it and bought the 20 foot xpress and thought at the time that it was going to be a big enough for me but realized after using it for a while that I needed a bigger boat. One of the things about choosing boats, especially when you’re a catfish guide is that you can always use more room. After fishing from the twenty footer for a while I decided to upgrade to the 22 foot.

I love the rig that I am fishing from now. It is big and room and is an amazing boat for my style of fishing. It is capable of running in skinny water but also handles rough water out in the big middle of the lake very well also.

There are advantages and disadvantages of aluminum boats and for catfishing the benefits of aluminum far outweigh the benefits of fiberglass for me. Plus there you can typically get a lot more rig when you are buying aluminum boats over fiberglass.

One of the biggest advantages of aluminum over fiberglass is it takes a lot less motor to push an aluminum boat, and less horsepower on an outboard translates to much less money. This makes a huge difference in the price of a boat. My F115 Yamaha four stroke outboard will push this boat as fast as I have any plans of going on the water.

Like any aluminum boat, there are occasional issues like screws falling out etc but this is pretty typical of all aluminum boats, or at least every one that I have ever owned, or really of any boat in general. They all require a minor degree of maintenance and upkeep.

Some of my deciding factors when choosing this boat were:

Ability to run shallow

Ability to handle rough water

Floor space (not having a ton of deck space)

I think I will probably run this one until it cannot go any longer and don’t have any intentions of getting rid of it any time soon. I have not though much about what kind of boat I will buy for my next catfish boat but it will probably be an Xpress aluminum boat.

If your in the market for an Xpress, I highly recommend contacting West Boats in Mesquite Texas. I have purchased both of my boats through them and they have always gone above and beyond to take care of me and make sure I was more than 100% happy with my purchase.  You can visit their website at www.westboats.com or call them at 972-289-7867 and ask for Butch West or Beth West and tell them Chad sent you!

I have included some photos below as well as a video tour of my catfish boat as well. We have a bunch of great articles coming up on catfish boats and may cover some more on Xpress aluminum boats as well.  If I didn’t answer all your questions feel free to contact me through our ask a question page.