3dees

I bought a new boat in March. the best I could do on my own was 7.5. my dealer had a friend at a local bank and got my loan for 6.1 for 10 years. I will pay it off in 5. debt is not for everyone, but if you can afford it, why not? I could have paid cash but I did'nt want to take 25.000 out of my savings that might be needed for something more important. as long as you can handle the payments comfortably. most boat loans are simple interest so you can over pay with no penalty.

I fish quit often on a power plant lake with underwater humps. si/di is great, but they are not going to help me find these humps. nor would a map. a hand held would do it but he asked for one or the other. a si/di unit will not be of any use getting me out of some of the backwaters of the Mississippi river. gps for me.

right now the powerpole seems to be the better of the two. talons have had some problems with the brackets but the newer ones seem to be working. the thing I like about the talon is it's self contained. no pump or hoses to mount in the boat.

I have the MG oem bolts on my 6 month old boat and I have to tighten the screws after every trip.

my Crestliner VT19 w/ 115 Opti max. upgraded to 24v MG, 3 bank charger, and bow and console electronics. my first tin after 35 years of glass.

just got back from fishing the Mississippi river at LaCrosse Wi. the launch is on the Minn. side. an officer was there checking boats for weeds, mussels, etc. gave me a sticker for the trailer stating that the boat has been checked. did'nt know this, but he told me it's illegal to trailer a boat in Minn. with the boat plug in. never asked for a licence.

jigman is right about the G3 and express, but they are a lot more expensive. I went with a Crestliner which is the same boat as the Triton and could'nt be happier. moer expensive than the Tracker but not nearly as much as the other two. as with anything else, you get what you pay for.

I would go with the Crestliner, but being a Crestliner owner I may be biased. that boat has a larger 24v tm which you will be happy for, and a larger ob and the 4 stroke will go forever on a tank of gas. lund is a great boat but needs work. imo, the trackers, although a good buy, is not in the same class with Crestliner now or at resale time.

no one can answer what prop. what numbers are you getting now? what prop do you have? put the jp on and you will have to test everything again. it's going to take a bit of work if your looking for absolute top speed or handling. jack plates are usually a good thing, but if not set up correctly it can be a waste of money. sometimes just a prop change will make a difference. I had a 1998 Stratos 295 Pro Elite with a 200 hp rude and no jp. boat ran about 68mph and was so easy to drive. traded it for a 2003 Stratos 295 Pro XL with a 200 optimax with a 8" jp. I had to learn to drive that boat cause it would chine walk like crazy. took me quit a while before I finally got it set in.

as others have said, a jp will help if set up correctly. I'm thinking of adding one to my 19' tin. 99% of the time your stock cables should be ok for a 5 or 6" plate.you may also have to change props.

I have fished the Mississippi river for 40 years from glass bass boats with no problems. this spring I purchased my first aluminum. Crestliner VT19. boat is enough for any river. one advantage is I can get into backwater areas that I could'nt with my glass boats. for any large river, either type of bass boat would be fine. if going with a deep multi species type boat, there are going to be places ( backwaters ) that you may have problems, but I see both types fishing all parts of the river.

sounds great. and with a higher price, now I REALLY can't afford one, lol.

I have always moved the pedal to the side I was fishing so I never wanted one. I just bought a new boat with the well built in. can't believe how I ever managed without one. I have severe back problem and now I feel 100% better after a day on the boat. never thought I would say this but I would never have a boat without one again.

try e-bay. I found Crestliner decals in all sizes. Stratos should be easier. some sellers will have any size you want.

don't think you will be happy with a 140hp. motor will just work harder to push that boat. I had a Stratos 295 pro xl with a 200 opti and got 72mph gps. get a used opti. starts like a car. no choking. turn key start. I downed sized to a 115 opti on my tin. I think the 2 strokes have more low end and they are great on gas. I would'nt go less than a 175hp on that boat. don't overlook the Yamaha hpdi. strong running engine. the only problem is finding shops that will service them. your never far from a merc dealer.

wow, this is weird. took my youngest grandson for his first big fish trip on the Mississippi river at La Crosse Wi. last weekend. on our last day he was trying to remove a crankbait from a small no. pike. the fish shook and drove a hook deep into his finger. could'nt get it out and his father took him to the local hospital. the part that sucked was it was my fish. he just wanted to help grampa out. we decided to just go home even tho he wanted to go back on the water.

that's a class II hitch. I would not pull that boat with it. IMO they are good for PWC's and only small aluminum boats. your rig will probably be pushing the limits of that hitch. what is the truck's towing capacity? if it's 3500 lbs or more and your only going short distances you may be ok. usually they have the same models with class II and class III hitches.

just my opinion, but I would'nt buy the Stratos. I had a 1999 Stratos 295 Pro Elite and a 2004 295 Pro xl and loved them. Stratos has gone with the way Tracker sells boats. the 176 is rated for 70hp. under powered imo. for that amount you can get much more boat and motor. keep looking. I would take the Stinger over the Stratos. it may be new, but it's still a 2009. you'll be taking a big hit on resale as soon as you leave the dealer.

for 15.00 I would just go with the MK.

I use grey for sunny days and brown for cloudy. If I had to choose only one I would go with the brown. I refuse to pay 200.00 for sunglasses. I use Solar Bats and I'm happy, but they are not prescription. if I had to wear glasses on the boat I would look into cacoons.

do you really think that Bill Dance catches all those pigs in a half hour. wonder why he never catches dinks? it all about editing. he probably fishes a few days to make that 30 min. show. as for weighing the fish. who cares. I know what a 3 or 4 pounder looks like. don't need to know the exact weight. and no, I don't think there is a guy under the water putting a hook in the fishes mouth.

I have used them a lot before the mapping software, and still like to use them at home before I head to a lake. I have found many "hot spots" not on the map, but thats ok. the marked spots are pounded by everyone else. I use a waterproof marker to write info on the maps. looks like a mess but it has more info than any mapping software.

what are you looking for? your first post listed tin boats. the last had glass and the last Skeeter is a far different boat. I had glass boats for 35 years. my new boat is a 19' Crestliner aluminum with a 115 Optimax. I gave up the speed and rough water handling, and not a lot of the bling, but I'm more than happy. glass boats have advantages over tins, but tins also have some. I can pull my boat with my Ford Edge as this boat is half the weight of my last two Stratos's. I'll fish backwater areas that I would never dare with my "pretty" fiberglass. less maintenence costs. as for the tins, Express and G3 are probably two of the best tin boats out there, but they are much more expensive. I upgraded the tm, charger, engine, and electronics and it was still 5000.00 less than an Express without any upgrades. I also recieved a military discount on my purchase. Crestliner and Triton aluminum bassboats are the same. Trackers are good boats and will be a bit cheaper. the Stinger should be a great boat also.

we have all launched our boats for the first time. don't let anything cause you to rush. I have been launching alone for many years. it's not really hard. everything already said here is right on. one tip I would offer is to get a rope about 25'. hook one end to the bow eye and the other to something towards the front of the trailer. when your boat floats off the trailer you can just pull it to the dock or shore. as stritr said, try doing this after everyone has launched. if you need help, just ask. most fishermen are willing to give you a hand.

great looking ride. can't go wrong with a champ.