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I can't give you the specifics on Yamaha's plan but normally, most vehicle or boat motor service plans don't give you any sort of free normal maintenance coverage unless you buy the upgraded plan which is often major $$'s. Something to think about if you're considering a 4 stroke since those require "factory trained" mechanics to perform the maintenance for your warranty and/or service plan to be valid. I've bought Ext. plans for several vehicles over the years and some home electronics. If I added up all the dollars I saved using those plans they would come up waaaay short of what I initially spent of the plan. The manufacturers sell those for one reason, they make big money on them since the odds of them having to pay off are slim. If you've got the money to afford that "piece of mind" I say go for it. If not, my experience over the years is they're a waste of money, most vehicles and boat engines are being made good enough these days to outlast their factory warranty by a long shot before any sort of major failure occurs. By the way, I've worked in the consumer electronics repair field for 30 years and about the only thing I'd buy a plan on these days is a Plasma, LCD or DLP big screen TV. It's one of the few things that your odds are good that you'll actually get your money back on the plan.

I'm with you, I'm pretty fond of my 19' Champoin with NO payments!! Ding Ding! ;D I've had my day with payments on both new and used boats. I'll take either without a payment. 8-)

Nice looking rig. Plenty of front and rear deck space even for a 17 footer. 8-)

I'm not sure about feedback or interferance but the biggest problem with electronics on tm batteries is the on cycles of the TM. When you hit the on button on the TM it can drop the battery voltage far enough below 12volts to cause all kinds of havoc with Fishfinders. Not damage mind you but the units could shut off or lock up and you'll have to cycle them on/off/on to get them back going again.

: You come to a message board to ask advice because you don't have the slightest idea what you're doing and then attack those more experienced because it's not what you want to hear. The sad part about his response, yours and one other, is my concern is merely getting the guy to have someone go out and test drive the boat for him since he has no prior experience driving a bassboat (his words). How in the hell is he going to know if that boat is running right, setup right, or the right boat for him if he doesn't even know how to run a high performance bassboat in the first place?

The infamous Champion 221- with twin Yammie Vmax 200's. The boat was on the cover of Bass n Walleye boats. Just for fun though. I'd hate to pay the fuel bill on that thing everyweekend but It sure be a head turner. Other wise I'm pretty happy with my current boat and will be happier with a Hydrotec stage II kit on it.

Most boat ins. companies I've ever dealt with will cover a boat like a Gambler, Allison, Bullit or a Blazer. Will the premium be higher, of course just like the premium will be higher if you're insuring a Mustang GT vs a Ford Taurus.

OK sonny boy. Let's get this straight. Your initial questions come off as coming from someone who doesn't have the slightest idea what he's doing. And you want to take off in a boat capable of the speed this boat is capable of? Have you thought about other people on the lake when you, some noob who has zero experience driving a bassboat, suddenly gets out in front of others who do know what they're doing? I asked what boat experience you had because it's obvious from your questions that you don't have the slightest idea about anything pertaining to a bassboat. I took the time to tell you, a complete noob, to get someone who does know about driving performance bassboats to go along with you and test drive the boat just to see if you're capable of handling the boat, I took the time to point out a known idiocyncrisy of Triton boats and that if the boat is in the hands of a complete noob like yourself, can become dangerous. Pre- Madonna? Buddy, get screwed. I gave you solid, sound advice without being negative, I'm not a cheerleader. I'm thinking about myself and other experienced boaters who don't want to have to deal with a moron who went out and bought a 70+ mph bassboat and doesn't have a clue on how to drive it. Rant over.

;D Ok son. You're initial questions threw me off. Most of them sound like they're coming from a complete Noob, who hasn't a clue about buying a bassboat but you obviously aren't that at all. You've obviously owned plenty and have got plenty of hours behind the wheel of a performance bassboat, sorry. Plenty of experience in a plane huh? That pilots license may come in handy if that boat gets out of shape on ya at WOT! ;D

Fivebasslimit is the guy to ask about Gamblers.

My statement had nothing to do with outboard motor reliability. What experience do you have driving a high performance bassboat capable of 70+ mph?

BTW, most manufacturers DON'T allow for internet pricing of boats in order to protect their dealership network. Tracker marine is one of the few since they basically have a no haggle pricing structure. As for brands, any of the top brands make a fine, reliable boat, the same goes with the motors. You need to get out to some dealerships and start getting some prices and realize you can work with them on price. While I said you can get an entry level boat at $23 grand, you probably won't be getting any electronics with it nor will you have much choice in color or about anything else. Many of the things you think should come with the boat like an automatic bilge pump, are options on entry level boats. If I was going to tell you the best rough water boat I'd suggest looking into Champion. Take a look at the 187CX. Rated for a 175 but a 150 will push it just fine. Have you considered used?

You should be able to get into an entry level model from one of the name brands (not Ranger) for around $23 grand with a Vmax or a Merc XR6 (do they still sell the XR6?). BTW, don't get confused by Nitro, they advertise their boats on the cheap by grossly underpowering them. I'm betting you'll be pushing every bit of $25k if you drop a 150hp motor on the back of their 18 footer. I'd suggest Champion only because of their famous rough water ride. Another good boat in rough water you may not have looked at is Charger. They've been in business for years and build a great rough water running boat. Not real quick but certainly a nicely laid out fishing boat with really nice, well thought out storage and with the ability to smooth out a tough lake like the Big O. Just because you're running that lake, I'd shy away from an aluminum. There's no comparison in the ride between fiberglass and aluminum when the waters getting tuff.

Why do I have a feeling we'll be hearing from you on this very board in the near future when you buy this boat. ;D

Does that mean beware of buying a used boat that has not been run much? It means if you only run your boat a couple times a year you can have fuel system problems if the gas isn't stabilized properly. If a boat has just sat for long periods of time, like a couple years, then you have to worry about the viability of rubber gaskets, o rings, seals, etc. Or even condensation that may have occured in the motor that has resulted in rust. That's if you're speaking of an older motor or one that's been stored outside.

Get rid of the cuddy and get yourself a 20' fish and ski. It will serve your purpose for skiing and tubing nicely and will make a far better fishing platform than your current boat.

Triton has a selection of SW dual purpose boats as well. No carpeting and SW friendly hardware.

Chine Walk: Severe side-to-side rolling of the boat. It actually means to roll from chine to chine but it is also used for less severe rolling, although always severe enough to scare or cause a loss of control. Essentially, this is a characteristic of high speed V-bottom boats, where the boat is balancing on the pad or very bottom, further aggravated by the drag of the lower unit. Chinewalking must be compensated for by steering input from the driver. Note: As a general rule, a properly setup bass boat will chinewalk less than one that has not been setup properly.

I'd need a new seat, underwear, and a water hose if I was running like that. I'm not kidding either.

I've got a 1987 Yammie ProV 150, Aside from normal maintenance my motor has never broke down like you talk about. In fact, I've spent less than half of the $4000 in 16 years of ownership. An OB motor is only as good as the person who's running it. Don't take care of maintenance and it'll fail, don't use it enough and just let it sit and it'll give you problems, over-rev the engine for too long because of improper boat setup or poor driving habits and it'll break down. You'll find most people DON'T have that many problems with OB motors.

After hearing so much about the Avalanche, I decided to check this boat out. Price wise, I don't see that much difference in the price of a 18 ft avalanche from an entry level, pure fiberglass model from most of the major manufacturers. They both come in around the low 20's. Of course, the Avalanche is being advertised with a vastly underpowered OB. When you slap a 150hp Optimax on the back (still 25hp below recommended), you're pushing $26-27 grand. I can easily get into a pretty nice fiberglass 18 footer for the same price. You're also limited to colors. As for the Avalanche, they're mating an aluminum hull with a fiberglass cap. I'm wondering what the longterm reliability and maintenance will be on this type of boat beings it's so new. It's also too early to tell if there'll be problems down the road with the mating of the two completely different materials. As for the weight, as already listed, there's no advantage to the Avalanche like you'd think. It's also too early to tell what kind of resale value you'll have down the road with the thing considering this type of boat is so new. BPS boats, regardless of branding, already don't hold their value real well. I'd hate to see some sort of longer term problem with this aluminum to fiberglass mating make these boats impossible to resell down the road. I definitely give the better resale value to the fiberglass boat right now. My other issue is with BPS and tracker marine itself. I usually don't bash Nitro boats or any of the other brands they sell like Tahoe but I do know from first hand experience a couple friends have had with a Tahoe amd a Nitro boat, that I'd NEVER own a NITRO boat, EVER. Besides ones experience with getting a shoddily put together "brand new" Tahoe boat, their customer service is beyond bad. In his first season his boat was into the shop numerous times for repairs, some of the repairs were for damage done by the service department. The other friend with the Nitro had to make numerous trips to Springfield, many times because the work wasn't done right in the first place. Not a good deal when you live 250 miles away. There's a reason there used to be a complaint forum specifically for Nitro boats. If you'd like to hear the full story pM me. It's pretty unbelievable.

Cmon RW, Flippen IS in the middle of nowhere. ;D

I think I'd be trading your FW OB in on a SW version if it isn't. Going to a SW TM is another good idea. The other big problem is the carpeting. That Nitro 898 (I think thats the model) has the optional snap in carpet. One of the big problems with cleaning FW boats out is the carpet. I can tell you it's hard enough to get sand, silt and other gunk completely out of carpet after fresh water use, I just can't imagine trying to keep a SW junk out of carpeting. Nothing like hooking up a power washer and just spraying down the inside of the boat.

Having a corroded up boat a couple years down the road. Yep, just flush out the motor. That's all it should take. Just ignore that crusty looking stuff forming on any ungalvanized surface, under the dash, on the trolling motor, metal fittings and clamps in the bilge area, steering mechanism, deck-to-hull screws, light fittings on the deck or in compartments, hinges, compartment lockers, on the bunkboard brackets, trailer wheels, trailer coupler, trailer lights, trailer frame, winch, etc, etc, etc. No problemo. ;D

Didn't the fishfinder come with a quick disconnect plug?