tcbass

2 loose wires?

Had a 2014 Stratos inspected and the only problem was that the lights on the speedometer and trim guage on the dash didn't work. I'm hoping it's a bulb issue rather than a wiring issue. I searched but couldn't find what type of bulb is correct and also where to get the bulb. Anyone know what bulbs a 2014 Stratos instrument uses?

I know one guy who puts mouse poison in footlong pvc pipes on all sides of his pole barn. That way the mice eat the poison and don't go inside his barn to die. He changes it out as needed. The long pvc keeps dogs from getting to it. My mom put the poison inside and we found a lot of dead mice inside. Gross.

I will be storing my boat in my pole-barn in the winter. I'm assuming if the barn burned down or something it would be covered under my homeowners policy. I know a lot of you have boats that don't know what winter is, so this isn't for you. lol. I figure if I ever had to move the boat when it was winter out like if I moved to a new house it would be covered under my truck's policy. For those of you that have to winterize your boats at your residences, do you take the regular boat insurance off it when it's stored?

Took a 2014 Stratos with a same year Evinrude E-Tec 115 horse on a test drive before purchasing and it smoked a bit when it first ran. Not dark smoke, fairly white smoke. The guys kid went fishing the week before with it, so it's not like it just came out of winterizing. My friend said its not uncommon for 2 strokes to smoke but I have a 2000 Mercury 115 horse and it doesn't smoke. I've researched that if it's cold out it can be steam, however, it was 83' degrees out today and this was when we were idling after coming off of plane. Is is this a potential problem? My 2 friends who both have newer E-Tecs said theirs never smoke. We are taking it in tomorrow for an inspection prior to purchasing. The motor still has 4 years on the warranty. The first and only owner has never done anything to it as he said E-Tecs are maintenance free the first 3 years.

One poster above said NADA is usually high but you're the second person I've heard say low. Like you said, maybe regional. How much low usually in your experience, a couple hundred, thousand? How old was your boat when you bought it?

Are NADA prices usually higher or lower?

See any options like starter wearing out or transom rotting?

Cool. Have you ever had to make a claim?

Do do they cover on the water and trailering? Or do you need regular insurance for trailering?

Who lowered their prices, Boat US or Allstate?

That covers collision on the water, not collision when trailering?

As most of you have seen I am most likely buying a new used bass boat pending a test drive and inspection. It's an expensive boat to me. I want the best boat insurance for it. I was also wondering if boat insurance can cover catastrophic incidents like hitting a rock and destroying the lower unit or the outboard starter blowing up. I'm in MN and not looking for small local companies in different states. I'm looking for a good large company such as Progressive, American Family, Geico, or a small local company in MN that does well. 1.) What are the best insurance companies for boats? 2.) Do any insurance companies cover catastrophic incidents like hitting a rock and wrecking your lower unit or having your outboard starter blow up for no reason?

Does installing Talons void the warranty on Evinrudes too? What about voiding hull warranties?

Yep. This is an older thread.

Buying a used, single owner, 2014 Stratos with a 115 Envinrude E-Tec. Motor still has 4 years of warranty on it and I believe the hull also has a warranty, all are transferable. My friend says that since the boat is so new and under warranty having a dealership inspect the boat before buying it isn't that big of a deal if the boat looks like it was taken care of. This boat appears to have been taken great care of and the motor looks brand new. It appears to be a case of bought the boat and had to work all the time to pay it off and thus didn't use it much. It was always stored in a garage. Apparently the motor has never been touched, not even the lower unit oil changed in 3 years because with E-Tecs the first 3 years you do no maintenance. I couldn't believe that but did some research and found out that it was true. This year is the first year that it should be serviced. I still want to do a compression and leak test on the motor and was figuring that this year I would pay a dealership to winterize it (something I normally do myself) and also give the boat a thorough inspection and do a leak and compression test while they are working on the motor. This also covers me since a dealership is the 1st person to service that motor if anything goes wrong and if the compression or leak test find anything wrong, it's under warranty. We are going for a test ride before I pick up the boat so my friend who knows more about boats and I should get a good look at anything else. I'm hesitant to not do the full inspection before I buy it but the boat seems in great shape and it still has warranties attached. One other thing, when I asked if he was willing to have an inspection done on the boat he was like, "No problem, we can meet at Frankies (a well known dealership)." This makes me think that he knows that nothing is wrong with the boat, otherwise he would have been hesitant to bring the boat to the dealership for an inspection. I'm thinking that going without an inspection is ok in this case. 1.) Would you have a dealership do an inspection before you buy this boat? 2.) Do you always have a dealership/marina do a boat inspection for every used boat you buy? 3.) What does a Boat Inspection entail?

Hmmm...scoundrels! So, the 115 is mid range for the 185VLO, while it could have a minimum of like 90, and a max of 140?

Get a spare whole seat for when that one wears out or get only get a spare back?

This one. Hope I got a good deal.

It is the max horsepower for that boat. There will be 3 of us in the boat, so that should be a good test. I will check the livewell. He never used it, said he's allergic to fish.

Thanks, that's the type of answer I was looking for.

Why is 17' ok for aluminum and 18' for fiberglass? Design? I just bought an 18' actually. Wanted a 19' or bigger but in central MN there are not a ton of bass boats and the few over 18' are circa 2000, while the one I just got is 2014.

You are correct. He reposted it at $20,500 when it was $19,500. He said that his kid couldn't make it happen. I went and looked at it. Clean boat, almost no wear and tear. Some sunfade, but that's going to happen. Boat has been stored inside a garage it's entire life and he's the sole owner. He bought it 3 years ago for around $27,500. And the above poster was right, I NADA'd the wrong boat. I did a model that was 1 foot shorter. I couldn't get him to budge off of $19,500. So, I agreed to pay $19,500 for it. He said he had 2 other interested parties who would buy it and in this case I believed him because the boats not a steal, but I think it at least seems like a fair deal. Last thing is a friend of mine who knows boats and I are going to take it for a test drive before I take ownership. Here's the correct info: Did I get a good deal?

When did most bass boats go to not using wood? I just bought a 2014 Stratos. I'm assuming that wouldn't have wood in the transom.

I was told that Ranger is the only bass boat that doesn't use wood in it's transom (I'm assuming wood is used for the floors on all bass boats) and that other boats use wood in the transom. Is that true?