New 190 Fish and Ski

  11/1/2001 - Serious bass fishermen, especially those who compete in tournaments, have always cringed at the thought of fishing from a fish & ski boat. And little wonder, for these so-called “compromise” boats have traditionally been designed more for skiing or recreational cruising than for angling. While a roomy cockpit with cushy bucket seats and a powerful stereo system may appeal to the skiing and watersports enthusiasts in the family, what avid anglers really want are roomy casting decks, abundant dry storage for rods and tackle, and a performance hull to put them out front of the pack at tournament blastoffs…all of which are sadly lacking in conventional fish & ski boats.

But now Triton Boats, manufacturer of America’s most versatile fiberglass fishing boats, has introduced a totally new kind of dual-purpose boat that’s targeted to serious bass anglers: the 190 FS. This sensational boat puts the “fish” back in fish & ski.

The new 190 FS is 19 feet 1 inch long with a wide 94-inch beam. It rates for outboards up to 200 horsepower, but performs great with engines as small as 115 horsepower. Like all Triton boats, it features wood-free, never-rot composite construction, and carries a lifetime hull warranty.

With Triton’s new 190 FS, the accent is definitely on fishing. Casting decks are unbelievably large for a dual-purpose boat. The low-profile front deck features two giant storage lockers port and starboard; these have extra-wide openings to accept bulky items such as tournament tackle bags, rainsuits, pfd’s and foul-weather gear. A massive center storage locker is designed to hold a complete arsenal of pre-rigged fishing rods, and features Triton’s revolutionary Redi-Rod organizers, allowing the angler to store or remove one rigged rod and reel without tangling in others. Many fish & ski’s either have small, inconvenient floor-mounted rod rockers or none at all; the rod locker in the 190 FS extends all the way under the front deck for maximum accessibility and enhanced storage potential, and will accept rods up to seven feet in length. The roomy rear casting deck contains a 30-gallon livewell with Triton’s proven pro tournament aeration/recirculation system, and a huge rear storage box with a removable molded “favorites” lure tray. The interior of this box is slotted to accept utility 3700-sized tackle boxes. Yet another rear compartment opens to provide convenient access to batteries, oil reservoir and onboard battery charger.

The driver’s console has been designed with particular attention to the tournament fisherman’s needs, and features ergonomic styling for ease of entry/exit, plenty of room for mounting electronics, full instrumentation, and conveniently-placed control functions. That stylish tempered glass walk-through windshield is a lifesaver when making those long runs to your honey holes on cold, rainy mornings. And best of all, Triton’s tournament-proven pad-vee hull design responds instantly to throttle pressure for an awesome hole shot, then lifts beautifully to deliver a soft, dry ride and unprecedented performance.

Surprisingly, even with all these tournament-fishing features, Triton’s new 190 FS doesn’t leave the watersports enthusiasts in your family behind. Its sexy lines rival those of any ski boat on the water, and its roomy cockpit beckons the whole gang to climb aboard for a fun day of skiing or cruising the lake. The interior features two swivel bucket seats up front and a modular lounge seat in the rear; port and starboard sections remove to become pedestal fishing seats -- or, take down the fishing seats so sunbathers can catch rays on the roomy decks. Other ski amenities include a roomy passenger console with locking glove box, AM/FM stereo with cassette and marine-grade speaker system, retractable boarding ladder, and convenient ski rope hatch.

For more information on the 190 FS and other Triton fiberglass and aluminum fishing boats, and for the name of an authorized dealer, visit Triton’s website (www.tritonboats.com) or contact the company at 1-888-8TRITON.