tnriverluver

I'm in West Tenn and for the first time in my 52 years living here pretty much every body of water is frozen solid. The Tn river is probably still flowing but hitting big floating chunks of ice are not my idea of fun on the water.

Make sure to hold on to something before going from #4 speed to #5. Like posted above it will throw you out of the boat. On all MK's now with 5 speeds it is a huge jump from #4 to #5. Kinda like hitting Turbo boost mode!

Most people use the toggle bolts. I used the expanding hex fasteners. Toggles are the best solution unless you have access to the underside of the seat. Then nuts and bolts can be used. Screws will not hold these bases since there is still guite a bit of sideways pressures from the 2-3 inches of seat post sticking up. I am talking these just in case.

Regular pedistal bases will work fine on metal seats as long as you don't use a pole on them to sit higher and fish. I have several mounted in my Tracker 1542 and these boats are made of very thin aluminum. Makes removing or swapping seats as easy as any other bass boat. If you think later you might want them elevated then the seats will need to be reinforced with either some thicker aluminum or plywood first. And yes the seat clamps suck. I have several that are still brand new I would let you have for free if you were close.

There are much better products than JBWeld for this type repair. Go over to Tinboats.net and search or ask and you will get many answers. I have used and keep on hand some Locktite epoxy than is specifically for aluminum boats and is water proof. It can even be applied in the water. Loctite Marine Epoxy and it can usually be found at Home Depot or Lowes. Here is another good product in this video as an example.

Try re-bucking the rivets if they are easily accessible. The tools to do it are cheap and it is a permanent fix versus a patch.

I had a similar recall when I bought my 20hp 4 stroke in Jan, 2012. I had not even run my motor yet when Merc sent me a notice having something to do with some crankcase bolts that might not have been torqued to spec. My local shop had mine in and out in 3 hours and this required pulling the power head to get access to those bolts.

Gut feeling tells me this boat is fine. I personally in my 40 years of boating have never test driven a boat, new or used. This guy has his boat priced about right and seems to take care of his stuff. Other than taking it to a mechanic and having it checked over (and I have never even done this) I would buy this one with confidence. You can usually get a feel from talking to the seller whether or not he is trying to screw you or if in this guys case he is trying to sell his boat instead of trade it in before his new boat arrives.

Sorry but I have to. Find a better place to live!

There is always a way.

What he said!

I run ST trailer tires on my camper and enclosed trailer. However I have a 1990 Alumacraft Angler that has a 70 series trailer tire that is no longer made in that size. 13in. I had to end up putting a set of Kelly car tires on it that at least had a better weight rating than the old trailer tires. Only Kelly and one Chinese manufacturer now make the size tire (too cold to go look at what the size is LOL) and because of very close fender clearances almost nothing else will work. I now run Maxxis 8008R 's on most all my other trailers. They seem to be a step above most other trailer tires nowadays. The boat had a set of Goodyear Eagle trailer tires on it when I bought it that looked to have been on for the entire 22 years of it's life at that point.

Walmart group 29 runs my MK45 Edge all day non stop trolling crankbaits for crappie on speeds 3-5 depending on the wind. Never even seems to be close to running down and it is 4-5 Y/O now. I have 3 group 29's in my different boats and a group 27 in my camper. I am very happy with all of them especially for the price and ease of warranty should I need it. Never had one go bad yet and the oldest is 6 y/o. I always charge them immediately when I get home. I use a single group 29 to run my 1542 tracker with 20hp 4 stroke merc and 40lb MK. plus 3 Lowrance units. Works without issue also. Mine are the Everstart brand.

Nice!!!! Now shut up and fish!!!!

I have Lowrance Elite transducers mounted on my MK 40 transom mount motor (bow mounted) and on my MK45 Edge bow mount and used the Lowrance adapter. Fits the motors like a glove and they are protected by the motor;s skeg which is a big advantage with MK's. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lowrance-DSI-Trolling-Motor-Transducer-Bracket/1168104.uts?productVariantId=2878961&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03142084&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=4C552FC4-6BB6-E111-8DC4-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=38095830191&mr:keyword&mr:match&mr:filter=57965722271&gclid=CPGe5Y_x1bsCFSdp7Aod4h4A1w&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you go look at the Lowe look at the capacities plate and see what the max HP rating is on that boat. A 2003 Stinger 170 has a Max of 115, but that is a slightly different boat from the 175W and will make a difference.

The Lowe has a completely different hull design from the newer Trackers and they are generally made of a heavier gauge aluminum (although not sure in this case) meaning they are also heavier. 90% of the Tracker 175 are probably sold with a 60hp so the 50 wouldn't be a huge step down. For acceptable performance you generally want to stay above 50% of the boats max HP rating. The 50 would be at 66% of the 75 Hp max.

When I got back into fishing 3 years ago after a 10 year hiatus, I purchased 2 nice Frabil nets with the collapsible handles thinking if the Pro's use them they must be good. BIG MIstake!!! After catching a catfish on a crank bait and netting it, the tangled mess and treble hooks stuck all into that net, I ended up having to destroy the hooks to get the bait back out of the net. It is a mesh that looks similar to the mesh on your life jacket in your picture, I ended ordering some more new nets from WallyWorld with the old green mono filament net with collapsible handles. No tangled messes since.

I normally am a huge Lowe fan, but that boat will be way under powered for that model. The Tracker will be a smoother ride but will also be some what under powered. I believe that year and model Lowe were rated for 90 hp and the Tracker for 75 hp max. Although I am not a big fan of Tracker even though I own one, I would go Tracker in this case if everything checked out OK. I have a customer with that same Tracker with a 25hp and he is still able to get it to plane and runs the Tn river with 2 people. Just not very fast lol

I have owned mine. Stratos 201 Pro XLDC. It was great fun and all but now I am happier fishing out of my aluminum flat bottom and my alumacraft bass boat.or even my little 8 ft Bass Hunter. These small boats can take me places the big Stratos just couldn't get to and I catch way more fish out of them. Only real advantage was fishing big rough waters or needing to make a long run in a hurry. I don't tournament fish any more so the long runs aren't an issue.

If you are a football fan and like rooting for your home team because they are winners, DON'T MOVE TO TENNESSEE

I run my trolling motor, 3 Lowrance Elite units, and also serves as my cranking battery for a 20 hp Merc all on a single group 29 Walmart battery in my flatbottom. No issues of any kind.

Put one of the adhesive mounts on a tackle box and set it back behind you a little and up on a hill if possible. I don't like the head straps myself. They are not very comfortable after wearing them a while.

I have yet to ever have a bad experience on EBay and I have bought boats. boat motors, motorcycles, etc that required truck freight for shipping. If the seller has a lot of positive feedback I don't hesitate buying from them.