Goldstar225

I screwed my pedal down. Works for me. Next boat will have a recessed pedal.

I've owned two 14'X36" Jon boats that I used for many years, one that I built a front casting deck on. I occasionally used them on larger (25,000 acre) lakes but watched the wind and weather closely.They worked and I never tipped over but if I were to go back to a Jon I would hold out for a 14'X48" or 16'X48" for the additional stability and space. I did have a 12' Jon briefly but IMO it's just too small although many people use them.

I spent many years fishing out of a 14'X36" jon boat. I swore that my next one would have a 48" bottom for stability. Instead I bought an older bass tracker. As others have said, I just can't see a boat that is small and light enough to be hand carried be stable enough to fish from while standing. Can it be done? Yes to some extent but I would also expect an occasional "man overboard drill".

Arkansas also does not title boats, only the trailers. In a private party sale, the seller signs the registration over. Apparently this has led to a problem because this year we have to bring in a photo or pencil scratching of the HIN when we renewed our registration.

life jacket

I owned and fished out of two 14' X 36" jon's in the past. The were long enough for two people to fish out of but I resolved that any jon boat I bought afterwards would have a 48" bottom for stability.

61 weeks until I retire. I'll still have to fish on the weekends occasionally since my grandson is still in school but aside from that, it's my time and schedule!

I'm using a 1987 Tracker. I replaced the wood deck last year, the original wood only lasted 27 years. My next and probably last boat will be a tracker 175 TXW that I'll buy when I retire at the end of 2017. As you can see the presence of wood doesn't concern me. I figure that my son and grandson will fight over the boat when I kick the bucket.

fishnkamp really covered it well for you. For some reason Ranger tends to rate their aluminum boat speeds slightly lower than tracker does for the same or similar sized boats/motors. Maybe it's the hull design or weight of the package. One thing I've noticed, it takes a LOT more horsepower to make a substantial difference in the speeds produced.

Rarely ever get to fish alone. I would catch heck from my grandson if I went fishing without him.

I have a 1987 tracker that still serves me well. In a couple of years I will buy a newer boat, probably another tracker. I've considered and checked out the Ranger 178 and Eagle Talon. Both good boats, the main advantage being the availability of Yamaha motors. I am leaning toward the tracker because of the ride, storage and longevity of my current tracker.

I replaced the carpet in my 28 year old bass tracker (along with some rotted wood decking) last year. That was a pain. Perhaps the worst part was taking the old glue off of the metal surfaces to insure clean contact. Oh, and don't underestimate how much carpet you need. I thought that 21' would be plenty for a 17.5 boat. Not quite, my cut plan didn't work out. Fortunately the boat shop still had some left from the same roll. Hopefully I'll never have to do that again.

From bone dry it takes me about $25-$30 and I'm good for 2-3 days on the water. Back when gas was almost $4.00 a gallon I watched my nephew top off his truck and bass boat for right at $300.00 (but then again his boat is much larger and more powerful than mine.).

I have a Tacoma doublecab 4.0 V-6 w/5 speed auto. It doesn't have the tow package so I'm limited to 3,500 pounds tow capacity. With that being said, it tows my 17 foot Bass tracker better than my previous truck (Silverado crew cab 4.8 V-8). The tow package for the Tacoma only adds about $650.00 to the price of the truck but then the truck is equipped with: Class 3 hitch Higher output alternator Larger battery 7 pin trailer wiring harness with brake controller Anti-sway control Engine oil cooler Transmission cooler 120 volt outlet in the truck bed Tow capacity is bumped to 6,500 pounds

I would definitely go with a 9.9. I have a heavy 14 ft Waco jon boat that I've decked. With my stock 9.9 Johnson and 500 pound load I can get on plane and run approx 15 MPH (by GPS). With just me and fishing gear I'll hit 18 MPH. You will be able to ditch a lot of that battery weight. I use a 12 volt TM with a single 27 series battery and have never ran out of juice on a trip.

Marine Stabil all the time, plus pulling the fuel line and running my engine out of gas before pulling the boat from the water if I won't be fishing within a couple of days. I run a tank treated with seafoam 3-4 times a year.

I have any leaking rivets welded. Just a suggestion, before taking it to the shop put 3-4 inches of water in the hull and get underneath to check for other possible loose and leaking rivets. Mark them with a sharpie. That way you get them all taken care of at one time.

I've carried a variety. S&W L frame .357, Glock 22/23, S&W 642 .38, and a Springfield 1911 in .45 ACP. For the past few months my primary carry has been a Kahr K40 in .40 S&W. Fits my hand like it was make for it and is quite accurate. I still use the 642 as something to "drop in the pocket to go get milk gun".

X2 X3, if something can happen, it'll happen to me.

14' Jon boat with a 20 horse Johnson in 1994.

No experience with it but I've been looking hard at that model myself. I'm interested in your opinion when you get a chance to try it out.

I fished out of one of the a few years back. Compared to the 14' jon boat I had been using it felt very stable. With just me and my gear it ran 28 MPH with a 25 horse (by GPS).

Welding may not cost you very much. I just had 6-8 rivets and a 5" crack welded on my Bass Tracker. Only cost $100.00.

Yeah, it annoys me some but tailgaters bother me more when I'm on my motorcycle.

I've fished a few large lakes in my 14' X 36" jon boat but I was very selective about when I did so.