My Lund Impact 1875 Sport: A Review of 8 Years of Awesome

I purchased my 2012 Lund Impact 1875 Sport, or “Penelope” as I call her, in the late fall of 2012. Since then I’ve taken her across many New England waters and caught countless fish. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase and thought I’d write an in-depth review of the Lund Impact 1875 sport from the perspective of eight years of ownership.

In this article, I’ll discuss why the Lund Impact lineup is an affordable boat that works great for families with small kids. I’ll discuss its layout, and why I prefer it over the Pro-V. I’ll also answer some questions you often see on fishing forums including whether you should buy the 1775 or 1875 Lund Impact, if you need to opt for the 150 hp motor, and if you should buy a Pro-V instead. Finally, I’ll talk about what maintenance I’ve had to do on this boat over the years and what problems I’ve had.

Why I Bought My Lund Impact

I’ve been fishing since I was a kid and used to go all the time with my dad when I was young. Then, like many boys I suppose, I got more interested in girls than fishing for a few years and put it away until I rekindled the hobby when I was in my mid-20’s and taking my girlfriend (now wife) out on some adventures.

Unfortunately, Dad’s boat (a late 1980s Fisher Hawk) wasn’t anywhere near as big as I remembered it from my youth, and had an alarming habit of sinking frequently, so I decided I needed to stop borrowing dad’s boat and buy one of my own.

As I suspect many of you reading this are doing now, I started researching everything I could about the various boat brands and asking all the same kinds of questions (rivet vs. weld? Should I max out my motor?) that you’re probably asking too.

Having done my due diligence, I decided that I wanted to get a high-quality, riveted boat. I started looking around and going to boat shows and originally thought that a Lund Rebel XL would be the perfect boat for me.

I started calling some dealers and found one that had a Rebel XL in stock about 100 miles away. He told me over the phone that he also had an Impact and I told him it was about $5,000 more than I wanted to spend. He told me it was about $10,000 more boat than I’d get with the Rebel XL. Anyway, I drove up and saw the two side by side and after doing that, there was no comparison. The Impact it was!

My Lund Impact 1875 Sport

I bought my boat from Yankee Boating Center as a year-end clearance, meaning she was still sitting on the dealer’s lot in late fall. You’d never believe me if I told you what I paid for her as the prices have grown astronomically since then, but let’s just say I got a steal by buying a boat just before winter, and I think I’d probably pay about twice as much just 8 years later.

My 2012 Impact 1875 Sport left the marina with the following options:

• 1875 sport meaning it has the full walk-through windshield.
• A 115 Mercury 4-stroke motor (note: it is rated for 150 hp).
• A 24-volt, 80 lb thrust Minnkota Terrova trolling motor.
• The popular cargo net option up front and under the consoles (newer models replace these with sliding drawers, which is an upgrade).
• Aft flip up seating (or the “tanning deck” as my wife called it).
• A complete vinyl floor (read: godsend).

I literally bought what was left on the lot, so I didn’t get to choose my options. Nonetheless, I’ve been very happy with this setup and found it worked well for my family. Let’s talk a bit about why I like these options.

Walk Through Windshield

My Lund Impact is a “sport model,” which means it comes with a walk through windshield. While this does cut down on available fishing space, the first cold, windy day on Lake Champlain convinced me that I prefer it over the single windshield SS.

One downside to a walk through windshield is that it’s one more thing to break. Forums and Facebook are filled with folks who’ve had a rock on the highway ruin their fishing trip. You can mitigate this concern by using your travel cover, but this is impractical if you’re just headed to the lake, as it takes awhile to remove. A better option is purchasing a dedicated windshield cover that goes on and off quickly. A company named Truxedo makes a boat windshield cover that many people vouch for.

24-Volt Trolling Motor on Lund Impact 1875 Sport

I’ve found my 24-volt trolling motor to be perfectly sufficient for this boat. It can propel it close to 3 mph depending on conditions and works fine for trolling. I don’t have a kicker motor on mine so this is all I use to troll.

I have a Minnkota Terrova with the spotlock function, and it works so well I haven’t used my anchor once in eight years. It is, however, getting a bit uppity and I might need to replace it sooner than later. Eight years is a long time for a trolling motor, especially since I fish so many electric-only lakes, so I definitely got my money out of it.

The 80lb thrust and spot lock is sufficient to hold my Lund Impact steady even in strong winds on Lake Champlain. I fish near several dangerous reefs such as one extending across the mouth of much of Bulwagga Bay, so you can trust me that this works well because otherwise I might not be here to tell you!

I have seen a few guys go with a 36-volt system on their Lund Impacts. Given how much I use it, it’s an option I would consider in the future simply because I want to extend its battery life, and a 36-volt would allow me to use lower settings with my light boat. Even so, I have no complaints about the 24-volt and I wouldn’t sit up at night worrying about it if that’s all your dealer has in stock (which is probably so).

Cargo Netting Option

My boat came with cargo nets along both sides of the bow as well as underneath each console. They’re handy places to tuck away gear such as dock line or even some tackle boxes, and I’d buy them again in the bow, but I wouldn’t get them underneath the consoles if I was building a brand new boat.

Rather than under-console cargo netting, I would greatly prefer to have the sliding drawers under the consoles that came out a few model years later. It would be much more convenient to pull out a drawer than to get down on the floor and try to reach stuff tucked far back past the netting.

Aft Flip-Up Seating

I do think the aft flip up seat is absolutely critical. I leave it down 90% of the time and it makes for an expansive casting platform. You have tons of room to maneuver while you fish and don’t have to worry about falling down like you do with some other walleye-style boats. My wife also loves it because it is her personal tanning deck. This is a family-friendly website so we won’t get into the bikini pictures here but suffice it to say, you should get this option for your wife or girlfriend. It’s well worth it.

Should You Buy a 1775 or 1875 Lund Impact?

You can’t go wrong with either option. The reason I went with the 1875 is because it allows you to have three rows of seating. As you can somewhat make out from the photo above, there are two seat bases directly in front of the aft flip-up seating. With the 1875, you can fit two chairs in these while having the seating deployed. In the 1775, you can’t, as the bases are partially covered by the deployed casting platform. With that said, this was on the older (2012 in particular) models and I’m not sure if it applies to the newer ones that have different aft seating options.

Should You Buy a 115 hp or 150 hp Motor for Your Lund Impact?

This debate is constantly raging on forums like walleye central and other places Lund discussions are found. Many dealers stock their inventory with 115 hp motors, and many buyers are leery of purchasing these as they feel they have to “max out” the horsepower for better performance and resale value.

Speed and Power

Well, I don’t know what to tell you on this. Yes, Lund’s website claims about a 12 mph differential on the 1875 Impact between the 115 and 150 hp outboard (source). I can verify that my boat is equipped with a 115 and runs on average 38-42 mph, which is in line with the 40 mph posted on Lund’s site.

Would it be better to go 50 or 52 mph? I mean, I certainly don’t need to. The important question is, do you?

Even maxed out, you aren’t going to catch the true tournament boats like a properly loaded Pro-V, so you’re going to be left in their dust regardless. Because of this, I don’t know that it does much good if you’re trying to be first to a fishing spot.

Likewise, you also probably could get away with towing water skiers or a tube with a 115. There are certainly plenty of 1775 Impacts running around doing just that. I only say “probably” because I haven’t done it myself.

To me, a family fishing boat that can reliably hit 40 mph and keep everyone dry is good enough. Thus, I wasn’t upset that mine had a 115. If I ever had to repower it, I’m not positive I’d bump it to 150. I’ve read you want to consider hydraulic steering at that point, which my boat lacks. Also, why spend more money on something I’ve literally never missed or wanted?

Resale

There are many people who will tell you that maxing out your horsepower will enhance your chances of selling your boat when it’s time to part ways. This is certainly true if the buyer is only interested in a maxed-out boat and motor package, as they won’t look at boats that lack this.

You will attract more buyers and get more money for a used boat with a maxed-out motor, but bear in mind that you have to pay more for this up front.

You also need to consider when you intend to sell the boat. Some pros buy a new fishing boat each year. They would probably want to max out their motor so that they have the best chance of reaching a wide audience and attracting a sale. Other people sell their boat every 10, 15, or even 20 years. At that point, it probably doesn’t matter so much if the motor is the maximum capacity for the boat, as the general condition of it is much more important.

Finally, you have to consider the audience. If you’re thinking about buying a Lund Impact rather than a Pro-V, you are probably a person who appreciates quality, but doesn’t need everything to be the “absolute best.” There are plenty of folks out there who would be just fine buying a used 115 hp motor on these boats.

Problems I’ve Had with My Lund Impact

I really haven’t had many problems with my boat or motor, The few I have had were mostly my fault. This was my first boat and I made a few bonehead mistakes with it such as not tightening my connections enough to the batteries (and even reversing the positive and negative wires once). It’s hard to blame Lund or Mercury for my own independent issues.

I’ve only had a few “true” manufacturer issues that I don’t feel I contributed to. Some that you should be aware of include:

1. The vinyl floor on the inside of my rod lockers peels away;
2. I have oodles of mystery screws rolling around each year;
3. The connectors for one of my cargo nets broke off eventually (year seven).
4. The boat loads terribly on the trailer.
5. There’s no way for water to drain out of the seat bases.

Let’s discuss these in further detail.

Vinyl Issues

My boat came with a complete vinyl floor. While this is wonderful in some respects (it makes cleaning it an absolute breeze) it does get extremely hot. I wouldn’t recommend this if you like to fish barefoot, or bring your dogs along. At the very least, you’ll need to bring a towel or two.

The vinyl on my boat was even wrapped in the storage compartments. These get very hot during the day and whatever glue they used in the factory degraded after a few years. As you can see, this causes the vinyl to peel off. I’m sure it would be an easy enough fix, but I haven’t got around to doing it. This is about the worse “defect” that my boat came with, so I can certainly live with it.

Mystery Screws

It seems like every year a few more “mystery screws” pop out. To the extent I can figure out where they came from, I put them back in, but often I’m left scratching my head. This seems to happen with alarming regularity so I’m a little surprised the boat hasn’t fallen apart.

This is a common occurrence with most boats. Driving up and down across the waves is going to jostle some screws loose over the years. Don’t let it alarm you, but it can take a bit of detective work to figure out where the screw fell from so you can put it back in place.

Cargo Net Connectors Broke

If you secure much with the bow cargo nets, you’re putting pressure on their keeper hooks which will eventually back out. It took about 7 years for this to happen but it did all the same so I thought I’d report it. This is not a big issue but is just one of those things that will go.

Difficulty Loading the Trailer

I trail my boat on a 2012 Shoreland’r trailer that I’m convinced doesn’t fit it that well. It is very challenging to get the boat to load correctly on all but the most perfectly straight ramps. I load the thing several times a week, and all the “sweet spots” in the world” won’t help if the ramp is tilted. It’s possible that I’m amplifying this or doing something wrong, but I’ve owned the boat a number of years and you really have to get things perfect or else it will sit dangerously one-sided along the reverse chine.

In fairness, I do launch at some atrocious ramps that are poorly maintained and have giant submerged potholes. Even so, the load guides that came with my trailer were generally worthless until I had my friend make them twice as large as seen below. Now the boat loads much better and even if it is off a bit, it isn’t dangerously so.

Water in the Seat Bases

Even though my boat came with four seats, I usually leave two at home. I’d rather have more deck space. Unfortunately this means that water can collect in the holes for the seat bases, and these holes don’t drain. All the same it’s an easy enough thing to fix. Pick yourself up a few of these seat base plugs and call it a day.

When to Buy a Lund Impact

Buying a boat is a major financial decision to hide from your wife. Joking of course but not really. Boats go for a ton of money these days and only seem to get more expensive each time I look. Even though the Lund Impact 1875 is supposed to be a “mid-range” model for Lund, they can still command prices well above your average car. If this makes you squeamish, consider reading this article that will help you avoid buyer’s remorse.

As stated above, I got a killer deal by buying in the late fall. I’d recommend that you do the same, if you can. This has been a very popular model for Lund over the years, which can mean that on occasion a dealer will have one or two left in stock.

The downside of all this is that you are unlikely to get “exactly” what you want. If you do find one that is still on the lot, it, like mine, probably has an option that many buyers don’t want. In my case, that was the 115 hp motor. This isn’t a problem for me, but if it is for you, you may need to bite the bullet and purchase one during boat show season instead.

Would I Buy an Impact Again? Or Would I Go With a Pro-V?

I often daydream about what boat I’d buy if you all started buying my book in bulk. I guess the major decision would have to be whether or not I’d buy another Lund Impact, or “upgrade” to the Pro-V. I’ve put a lot of thought into which one of these boats would work better for me in the future. You know, “just in case.”

Pro-V Advantages

There’s no denying that the Pro-V is an amazing boat. It is the flagship of Lund’s lineup and designed to be a true tournament winner. From a fish-ability standpoint, it seems hard to beat it. It also has an emergency ladder that stows into its gunnel rather than taking up space on the stern deck. This means that it would be easier to have both a kicker motor and some sort of shallow water anchor system, like a Minnkota Talon.

Some other advantages include:

• Top speed. A fully loaded Pro-V with its 300hp motor is going to run considerably faster than an Impact.
• Storage. The Pro-V (especially the 1975 and up) has more storage including dry storage than the Impact.
• The Pro-V comes with a better livewell system than the Lund Impact.

Lund Impact Advantages

The Lund Impact is a very practical boat and a great one for familes. It costs significantly less than a Pro-V, which is always a plus. This allows you to either upgrade your electronics, or just have the boat paid off that much sooner, which is always a plus.

One thing I definitely think the Lund Impact 1875 has the edge on the Pro-V over is its layout, especially if you’re fishing with kids. The Pro-V has very wide gunnels whereas the Impact’s are narrow. However, on the interior of the gunnel of the Impact is a storage locker that doubles as a seat. It’s a great place for kids to hang out and fish and I think I’d miss it terribly.

Some other advantages of the Lund Impact:

• Lighter weight – this means it can be towed by more economical vehicles. On the other hand, it is more likely to blow around in the wind.
• The 1875 model allows for three rows of seating at a good price – you can get six seats in and everyone has leg room.
• A better “beginner boat” where not every scratch will leave you crying.

The Verdict

You can’t go wrong with either boat, but unless you’re planning on fishing tournaments or never buying another boat again, I think I’d rather have the several thousand dollars savings and stick with the Lund Impact 1875. It has done absolutely everything I could ever ask it for and never let me down, all at an affordable price.

As an update, I’ve recently written a new article where I really go into a detailed comparison between the Lund Impact and Lund Pro-V. You can find that article here.

Well, folks, that’s it for this time. I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful when considering this boat. As always, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to leave a comment or to email. I’d also like to invite you to join my new Facebook group to be updated on new articles. I’ve thought about how best to reach folks and decided that I hate mailing lists, and Facebook is the way to go. Please consider liking the page so we can keep in touch.

Thanks, and have a great day for fishing,

John Paxton