Seabolt

Pulling the weight of either won't be the issue....it's stoping it that may be a problem. I've towed my boat with my wife's Volvo before with no issues other then gas being sucked out fast. Stoping on the other hand, took about 25 yards longer then it should have with a proper tow vehicle. I have an 18 foot with 13 batteries in it, at 63lbs each and a 135lb electric motor. I promise, if you are towing a bass boat it won't be heavier then that.

I normally have good luck sitting a little further from the shore then normal and throwing at cold running creeks flowing into the lake. The rains will deffinately hurt if not kill your water clearity so make sure you bring the chartruese. If that doesn't work try weightless plastics on wood near deep water and if you can skip the worm UNDER the wood so it drops to a place on the tree where the rain wouldn't have hit as hard. Either way, it's never a good situation but tough conditions make you a better fisherman. That's never been true for me but I've heard it a ton of times. Actually tough times make me want to start bowling.

Kudos on talking him down but that still seems expensive as hell. I just bought (and then turned around and sold) a 1999 G3 175 Pro with carpet a 70HP Yammy, 46# foot TM, and the works. The boat was ready to drop into the water and fish and I only paid $3500. Look on NADA...that will give you a rough "what's it wrth price" It just seems expensive....I think I would pass...but that's just me. Good luck

I fish out of an 18 foot Alumacraft with Rhino Lining on every surface about 70%. I also just finished my boat and selected to do carpet rather then a lining system. The Rhino Lining is great for grip, last forever, and relatively inexpensive. However, it will scratch the crap out of you rods and reels, tear your knees apart if you eer kneel on the boat, get insanely hot on clear warm days, and any oil canning an aluminum boat is doing is amplified due to the material being thickened(sort of). The carpet is expensive, a pain to take off and put on, and doesn't last much more then 4 years of heavy fishing. It's also easy on your rods and reels, easy on your knees, eats up the heat to the touch, and hides any oil canning effect. Personally, fishing from both, ALOT, I went carpet. As a matter of fact the person who's boat I use with the lining, is going carpet at the end of the season. My $0.02

Thanks for all the comments. She's a bit slow compared to some I've seen but comfortable and holds a line well too. When you throw 13 60 lb batteries in a boat they typically are weighted poorly and give to one side.

G3 1860 Side Console 60 Volt Ray Motor 80# Maxxum Pro Minn Kota 2 - Lowrance 522C The 3 compartments (nearest console) hold 8 6volt batteries The rear compartment (used to be gas tank) hold 4 6 volt batteries and 3 12 volts for TM and electronics It tops out at about 7 MPH and was built to be used in electric only reservoirs outside of Baltimore MD. http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0793.jpg http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0794.jpg http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0795.jpg http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0796.jpg http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0797.jpg http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/ddseabolt/IMG_0798.jpg

I fish in a reservoir outsideof Baltimore a good amount (Liberty Reservoir). Lately I can't catch anything worth talking about. 1 or 2 fish here and there but nothing big or abundant. Big for this lake would be 3 lbs or more with keepers being 12 inch plus. I used to drop Senkos under wood and they would get hit on the way down, throw jigs along rip rap, ribbon tails on humps. Lately nothing is working. The lake is down a good 8 feet but that happened weeks ago and isn't much as the lake is deep. So basically it's a very rocky lake with little to no grass and the ledges and shores are super drops. 5 foots from the shore and you are in over 20 feet of water on most of the lake. Large Striped Bass and some Walleye. I've tried shallow, deep, fast, slow, hard baits, plactics, new places, and places were I almost always catch fish. What am I doing wrong and what works for you all on steep drops from shore. The confidence I used to have in this lake is long gone but even my go to baits can barely produce 2 fish a day. Water is clear (6 - 8 foot) and temp is around 78- 80 degrees and reaches depths of 110 foot. :'(

2ND that....lovin the chompers stick baits and really anything they are making right now. It makes me sick to smell them but they are nice.

Any way to copy a Navionic Platinum Hotmaps Chip? I ave 2 GPS units and really don't feellike dropping another $200.

The flat bottom will give you more stability but not much. The flat bottom won't take chop very well and if you are using a smaller HP motor the V will displae the water better and have less drag (as previously stated). 14 Foot boats you are only talking about inches of width so the stability difference would be minimal.

I am about to install a new Minn Kota 80# Maxxum Pro with universal transducer and I am also replacing my bow mount Lowrance with a 520c. My questions iscan I just get away with buying the 520c without a transducer. Since the Minn Kota has the built in Transducer and I have the cable to attach to the correct Lowrance shouldn't I NOT need a transducer? Thanks

I have one and love it....the 812 You can't beet a loomis.

I use Flouro on my spinning reels almost exclusively. In fact the only time I use mono on spinning reels is if bass are suspending on ledges in the mid to late summer. The mono will slow down the fall since it's bouyant. I have never once had even a tiny issue using flouro on spinning reels. I actually very rarely use mono. And braid only for pitching or flipping matted grass. 6 - 10 lb Berkley Transition (Gold) or Professional Grade 100% Flouro is on almost every reel I have 99% of the time. Other then top water I'm not a huge mono fan. The only time I get any line twist is with an unweighted stick bait but even taht isn't hard to correct.

I would take photos and lots of them but toss it back. That carries a certain "I'm the man" air about it.

Hit Hopkins cove (last cove before the d**n) and the strecth or shore before you hit it. Hopkins is very grassy and very close to deep water. Water clearity will play a huge factor but in good conditions with nice clearity it's a small mouth factory with most being decent size, some hitting 3lb or maybe a 4lb in there. A big problem with Conowingo is the floating or submerged trees. Yes trees not branches or drift wood but whole trees sometimes. Just be careful though and you'll be fine.

I'm in a club in my area that has outings on electric only water. Top speed is barely 7.5 MPH with 60volt (and some72) electric motors. If I can get an extra .5 MPH it'sworth it here. These boats don't plane they plow. That's why I was wondering if it would help my situation.

Does a hydrofoil speed every boat up no matter the engine size? Common sense would tell me yes since they displace the water out instead of allowing any to escape up. But I'm not sure.

should the factory paint be removed or can you just prime over it on a brand new boat? Never touched water. Just looking for a different look the green.

I know Lowe's and HD sell junk but what kind of rivet do I need? The only rivets I see everywher look like little swords and I don'tseehow they will hold the door to the hinge. Is there a double ended rivet?

I am painting my jon boat and need to remove the doors of the storage and live well. They are curretly riveted in and would (I imagine) need to be reattched with rivets to close flush. Has anyone done this before and is it difficult? I was told by a buddy that you have to drill them out and that will be the most difficult part but I have to be careul with the bit I use as to not go too large. As far as reattching rivets, I have a rivet gun and have the correct sizes but it seems like I just pull the trigger on the rivet gun. Any other things or tricks I should know?

Not sure about TX but in MD you have to have that plate on the trailer. That was the most important thing for MD. The trailer needs to be inspected at which time they will check that plate, the brakes (if any), the bearings, and the lights as well as the ball conection. My plate was able to be read but I was told that alot of people have to go to a Trophy maker and have them print up a plate with the information on it and attache it to the trailer. It actually was a huge pain in the butt but again that was MD everything with the MVA here is a pain in the butt. Once the trailer passed inspection I had to go to the DMV and show them the inspection certificate, pay taxes on the sale price of the trailer, and pay registration fees for the state. I'm not sure what help this would be, but that's what MD makes you do.

I like to throw cranks along the edge of deep ledges. If the ledge is 12 foot deep I'll throw 14 - 16 foot deep crank and try to run it along the edge of the ledge just below the lip. In my experience and in the lakes I fish the fish will suspend a few feet under the drop of the ledge and ambush anything silly enough to come over it or along it. I'll deffinately catch more skipping under trees but the quality is better on the ledges or underwater brush piles. I'll skip plastics under strees sometimes but I get just as many small fish as I do large if not more.

I feel your pain. They are barely loading the rod and hard hits are few and far between. It's pretty sad when the rock bass ae hitting harder then the smallies. It's speeding up my fishing too. I have to keep avery tight line to feel the tension and it's dragging the line through the strike zone too fast.

+1 to that. Lots of action on the lure too. Ragetails always work well for me.

My 18 foot aluminum takes on a good amount of water each outing too. I docked it on a trailer and filled the hull with water and didn't get a leak anywhere. I was told it could be a hose too but without changing each one it could be VERY difficult to find. Your theory of water rushing in when slowing down could be true though. The marina I deal with, just replaced my impeller and I asked them and they said it could be a bad seal in my airator or bilge and when getting hit by wake they could be letting in water. I'm in the same boat. I am taking it this weekend back to have them check for me. I'll let you know what I find, as it may help.