alexofoakton

I have a 3 year old Tracker bass boat. I had to have both bunks replaced recently because they were rotted. In fact, one of them came off and I had a heck of a time trying to jury rig the bunk to the trailer so I could load my boat. I bought the boat used about a year ago and it has been garaged since I bought it. What could cause this kind of rot in only 3 years?

I'm a novice with a bass tracker boat, which I usually launch and load by myself. I've only been to maybe 4 ramps, but in every case my boat basically floated off the trailer and, when loading, floated onto the trailer. The user manual says that power loading is recommended, but I have found it unnecessary. In fact, it is prohibited at most of the ramps I frequent.

I just replaced my Motorguide with a Minn Kota Fortrex 80#. At the dealer, they put in a 50A circuit breaker. However, I notice when I set the variable speed to 90 or so, everything's fine. At the maximum setting of 100, the circuit trips. This has happened several times. In the user manual, they recommend a 60A @ 24V for a 80#, but a 50A at 36V for a 101#. I guess the test for you is to see if it trips. I'm going to have my 50A replaced with a 60A.

Well some of the pictures that people referenced are pretty impressive. Looks like the Fountainhead Bass Club is pretty serious with its tournaments every other weekend. In my case, I have a Tracker bass boat with a 50 hp outboard (can't use) and a 80# minn kota, which gets me to 4-5 mph so I can get about, but wouldn't want to go all the way to the dam. There must be some good areas within 2 miles of the park ramp?

Today I was turned away from Occoquan Park on the Occoquan River due to road repair so I drove up to Fountainhead Park on the Occoquan Reservoir and spent 4 hrs. trying all kinds of techniques and places to catch a bass. No luck. Not even any serious bites. Has anyone caught any bass at Occoquan Reservoir lately and how did you do it?

I'm using a ProSport12 2-bank, onboard charger, which I can also plug in when I store the boat in my garage. This charger is what was already on the boat and it has been adjusted for use with AGM batteries. Before I was charging the night before I went out, but with the Optimas I've switched to charging as soon as I get home and I just leave the charger plugged in all the time.

Thanks for the help although I'm still not sure exactly what voltage I should aim to stay above.

I bought a 3-year old Tracker 170 last fall from a man who was upgrading because he needed more room for his gear when tournament fishing. The boat has a 50 hp Mercury and will do about 34 mph. I payed roughly half of what a new one would cost. I'm very happy with it. I just upgraded to 24V as part of replacing the Motorguide #46 motor with a MinnKota 80#. Recommend this type of upgrade if you are going to fish where outboards are restricted or not allowed.

I just upgraded my bass boat to a Minn Kota 80# trolling motor with 2 optima 12 V (D27M) trolling motor batteries. These babies are expensive so I want to make them last as long as possible. In some cases, I'll be taking this boat where my outboard motor can't be used so there is no onboard recharging. There are two numbers that I would like to know: 1) what is the voltage below which I shouldn't go in order to avoid damaging these batteries? and 2) what is the voltage at which the batteries won't turn the trolling motor?

Thanks again. As soon as I get my bass boat back from the shop, I'm going to try Burke.

Thanks for the advice, but I always assumed that I would launch from the VDIGF ramp because it is free and open 24X7. So, my original question was about only this ramp??

Thanks.

I have a Tracker 17' bass boat, which I would like to use on Burke Lake using the trolling motor only. This boat requires a minimum of 2' of water. The water beyond the ramp looks pretty shallow. Has anyone recently launched a bass boat (not a jon boat) at Burke Lake?

Thanks for the help.

Based on inputs in this forum, I've decided to convert my 2008 Bass Pro Tracker 17' to 24V to replace the 46# Motorguide trolling motor with a Minn Kota 80#. My battery compartment looks pretty full with 2 batteries and a charger. How do I go about adding another battery to get to 24V (where do I put it)? Thanks in advance for a novice question.

Thanks again for the help.

Thanks for the info. Right now I have a 42" shaft I think. Will getting a longer shaft be a problem if I am in shallow water?

I bought a used Bass Tracker 17' last fall, which came with a Mercury 50 hp and a Motorguide 46 12V. I fish on the Potomac River and its feeder tributaries, but would like to also hit some local lakes, but none will allow the 50 hp (in some cases no outboards are permitted). If I upgrade the Motorguide 46 to a bigger Minn Kota, maybe with 24V, will I see a significant improvement in boat speed (e.g., maybe 3 mph to 5-6?).