Skwerl

A select few here may disagree with me, but IMO plastic boats = teh suk. They are better than bank fishing but not much.

Well it looks like the rules have been changed and the challenge order has been reversed. 2 weeks ago the deal was that you challenged the guy who signed up before you. Looks like I get to play twice since a couple of us jumped the gun and went ahead and played according to the original rules. I've been waiting for two weeks for fivebasslimit to challenge me but now it's reversed and the guy I already challenged now is the one to challenge me?? Cool!

Use a spacer (first thought is a 4x4 cut to length, possibly wrapped with carpet to match the deck) to mount the troller on so it's high enough to clear the lip.

A canoe needs about half the power that a jon boat needs. A 30 was plenty when I had a 14' canoe. I had the bracket to mount it off the side, and I got some wire and made power extensions so I could stick the deep cycle battery all the way up in the nose of the canoe. This kept the front end down and made it much easier to steer, especially in a breeze. I can't remember ever running out of juice on a fully charged battery.

Every time I try to control another person's words or actions, I end up on the losing end. But I still keep trying and I still get frustrated when some twerp won't act the way I think he should act. And as long as I continue this excersize in futility, I will continue to pizz people off and make myself unhappy. I wish you well Ben. And I wrote this post for my own benefit moreso than yours, seems I've stuck my foot in my mouth once again today (on another forum). Your words helped me see my own mistakes. 8-)

Several years ago I had a canoe and then a 10' jon boat (Grumman, solid lil' bhote). Neither had a trailer, I loaded them up in the back of my pickup. I think I still had the 88 F150 with the canoe but then got a 94 Ranger. The jon boat was actually easier because it didn't stick out so far. It was still a 2 man gig throwing it in the truck, but we didn't have to empty everything out of it in order to load it. Just the cooler and trolling battery came out for loading.

Why did I guess that? :-? Good luck with it! 8-) I'll answer this question right after I receive my challenge in the Member's Challenge contest!

Abel, I was looking for my 'can opener' smiley but couldn't find it. I guess you can get the idea from these. Me 'n Madhouse are ready for a lil roadtrip! heeheehee

Hey LBH- You edited or deleted your first post in the 'member challenge' signup thread so GMAN is correct, there aren't any rules posted anywhere. Unless somebody was able to read that post before it vanished, they wouldn't know how this works. Heck, I betcha many of the guys signed up don't know how it's gonna work. It's been almost 2 weeks since I signed up and the person who signed up after me (or was it the guy before me?) still hasn't told me what my challenge is.

It will rot about as fast as a boat dock or the front porch on your house.

I'd love to slobber a lil MOJO on it.

Abel, It isn't the dealer's fault as he isn't the one who manufactured the motor. But it is his responsibility to stand behind his product with less than 10 hours on the ticker. Keep that in mind so you can hold him responsible without getting personal. Get him on your side. You're the one who will spend thousands of dollars over the next several years on more boat stuff. And you're gonna spend it at the dealer who doesn't jerk you around and make you pay for HIS broken boat for 6 weeks without being able to use it. He should be taking your side and standing up to his Mercury rep, not jerking you around. If he won't, then it only proves my point that a 'warranty' is no better than the person who signed it.

They've pretty much designed these things about as weedless as they can get. Efficiency at cutting through weeds will depend mostly on the condition of your prop and how fast you run it. That said, I prefer Minn Kota over Motorguide. They both have their faults and quirks but Minn Kotas hold up better IMO.

Another thing to take into consideration is how other boaters perceive you. Back when I had a jon boat with trolling motor, the ski boats and jet skis would ignore me and blast right by me. Many of them seemed to get a kick out of being able to toss me about with their wake. Now that I have a bigger boat and can laugh at most boat wakes, many of the skiers seem to give me a bit more respect. Especially the kids, They give me that look like I'm gonna tell their parents on them. Living and fishing in the country on isolated lakes is no longer an option for most of us. Boat traffic is a big consideration and it's only going to get heavier. I prefer my pickup truck to a little econobox when on the highway and I prefer a decent size boat to a jon boat when on the water. It's all about who is higher on the food chain.

...and muddy man brings teh funny! ;D

pfunk, that's a thread hijack if I ever saw one. Try a PM. I fish an urban chain of lakes with about 95% developed shoreline. There's only a couple sections where you're not looking in somebody's back windows. There are man made 12' wide canals connecting several of the lakes. When I get there early in the morning I usually see big ol' bass in the canals- usually near the ends but sometimes quite a ways in. One canal in particular, I usually see a bass about 27"-28" right at the mouth on the left side. There's a big clump of cattails right there and she will park against the canal seawall but only a couple feet from thick cover. It's a difficult spot to fish because you can't sneak up on it and boat traffic prevents you from hanging out there too long.

I have a fishing boat but it's not a bass boat. It's a center console bay boat designed for salt or fresh water. Everything on the boat and trailer is designed and built to withstand salt water so I won't have the corrosion issues common with older bass boats. Certain features I love but I also have a couple small tradeoffs. The longest rods I can carry securely (without propping one end up on the seat or front deck) is 6'6". It also drafts a bit deeper than most bass boats but I'll gain some clearance once I install a jackplate. Other than that I'm much happier with this boat than a bass boat.

Which one is it? http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.SubClass?hvarDept=200&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=2&hvarSubCode=1&cmid=MALN_OS_MOTORSACCESSORIES_TROLLINGMOTORS Trolling motors can run from $300-$1200 depending on which one it is. $900 for a 40 lb thrust secondhand trolling motor doesn't sound like much of a deal to me. As far as the 30 year old boat, it's worth as much as somebody is willing to pay him. You've given absolutely no pertinent information so therefore it's your call.

With less than 10 hours on it, I'd be asking for a replacement motor. You paid for a new, working motor and they sold you a bad one. Mercury should eat the cost, making you wait for weeks would pretty much guarantee they would be on my 'black list' for life.

The difference is weight- four cycles are typically much heavier than the same power two cycle. More moving parts, more maintenance, more repairs, messy oil changes, etc. The ONLY reason four cycle outboards are on the market is the governmental EPA laws. The newer two cycles are very clean, quiet and a 10-15 horse motor isn't going to use enough fuel for it to make a difference anyway. I go to a fly-in fish camp in Canada every year. The guy has camps on 15 lakes and each camp has 4-6 boats/ motors for client's use. Every one has a Yamaha two cycle on it. He uses 6, 8 or 9.9 horse depending on the size of the lake. Even with the 9.9, it's almost impossible to burn a 5 gallon tank in a day. Those lil Yamahas are bulletproof.

Sounds like a great deal! But be aware that sitting too long unused can cause issues also. You have engine parts sitting for months with no oil coating, forming surface rust due to changing temperatures and moisture conditions. Plastic water impellers growing old and brittle. I'd suggest a tiny bit of preventative maintenance before running the boat too much. Tune up (plugs, fuel filter, possible carb service), water pump/ impeller and lower unit oil change should be a prerequisite before putting her into service and it won't cost much for the peace of mind.

A bit of a breeze if I turn my head just right... Had that experience today. Slow day on my local lake with the constant drone of weedwhackers, power blowers and train horns. For a while I was wondering why I even bothered trying to 'get away' in the middle of a densely populated urban area. I just kept changing up presentations and locations. Went through about a dozen plastics with only 2 fish landed. Tried to just relax and enjoy the solitude but finally decided to get out of the heat about 2pm.

If you have rocky structure in your lakes/ rivers, you'd probably be better off with aluminum. Here in Florida we have about 7 rocks in the whole state so most boats are fiberglass. When I was in Minnesota there wasn't a fiberglass boat to be seen anywhere. The big name brand up there is 'Lund'. To shop boats, go where people go to sell boats. That's Boat Trader. You can pick up the weekly magazine at your corner convenience store or you can use their online site. Do your homework and look at lots of boats. The more you compare, the better you will know when the 'deal' comes along. You will also be able to get a feel for what features you want. I looked for 3 months before buying my current boat.

Yes, I agree. But as Huskertko stated, many of us are looking more for structure, cover and schools of baitfish. I'm not going to target a fish just because the fishfinder said there was one under the back of the boat 30 seconds ago. But it's much easier to let the machine point out fish with the big indicator so I can tell at a glance what's going on and get a general idea if there are fish in the area. No, I'm not going to scrutinize every little squiggle and try to determine if it's baitfish or grass. Let the machine do that while I fish.

Yes, I'm not into studying the screen and trying to decypher whether or not that little squiggle is a fish.