Further North

Yep. Same here. We tend to think about how fast we're going when we're moving, or on highways or bigger roads. I run 73 - 77 on divided highways unless I'm pulling the boat. It's the in-town stuff, idling at stop lights, stuck in traffic, waiting for Agatha Cottontop to make a left turn or figure out the traffic circle that adds hours with no or low forward motion that drops the average. Zeros drop average MPH in a hurry.

Do most people average 40 to 50 MPH? Probably more like 35 given that most people live in cities and towns and it takes more engine hours to drive slow than fast. Edit: I just checked my car - 7,277 miles, 191.3 hours...that's 38.03 MPH...and I live out in the country, easily half my mileage (probably more) is at more than 60 MPH.

Johnson 4 stroke (Suzuki DF 140). I change oil and lower unit lube once a year, when I put it away if it's still warm enough, or in the spring. Plugs - 3/4/5 years? Depends. It's a 4 stroke. I don't change the plugs in my car very often...hundreds and hundreds of hours...I pull 'em, look at 'em...they go back in if they look good. Water pump and impeller: 2-3 years. I don't run shallow, dirty water often...mostly clear deeper water. Motor is an '05, <300 hours. I don't troll, and mostly fish lakes around 2,000 acres...a spot to spot run is maybe 3 minutes, fish on the trolling motor most of the day. My longest runs of the year are on Canadian lakes where I might have a week full of days where I might pile up 5 hours a day. If I blew up my current motor, a new 2-stroke like the Evinrude E-Tec G2 would get a hard look, along with another Suzuki, Yamaha, Merc...did I miss any?

Great idea. Almost zero impact on space/storage and solves the problem.

Pretty slick.

I have 360° too...almost never use it. Seems to be for folks who sit still. I can't do that... They don't make a jack plate that'll let me run on our skinny water around here, but that's good info regardless. I'll keep thinking about it.

Oh, heck yeah! ...even the old XHS 9 HDSI 180 T is $270. Add $40 for the splitter, tax and shipping...a push, at least, dollar wise, and in this case the improved oomph from the jack plate is a no-brainer. I looked at the dual transducer set up when Jason Halfen suggested it for my rig, two boats ago...and rejected it based on cost, and having to worry about two transducers on the transom (I'd already crushed one backing into a BAMF rock drifting backwards downriver in the Chippewa River). The bigger question is: Why in the heck doesn't @A-Jay have MEGA? That's simply unacceptable! I'm calling the Smallmouth Bass police, Humminbird, the NAACP, INTERPOL, the Canadian Mounties and the SPCA!

Life is tough. Soldier on. ?

Looks like you can get a manual jack plate for around $310, a Helix SI MEGA transducer is $350 before tax and shipping...and you'd need a splitter...that's another $40...

Jason Halfen recommends that approach. I'm pretty sure he had his Ranger set up that way.

Yeah...the angles on mine are all sorta weird the way everything goes together. By the time I get the motor up enough to clear obstructions it's pretty close to worthless as a rudder.

It is...to a point. I like leaving the motor down as much as I can when I'm moving with the trolling motor because it acts like a rudder. Without the big motor down acting as a rudder, my boat handles like a drunken rhinoceros on a wet clay river bank. I've looked and I feel like if I could raise it straight up (or closer to straight up) I could at least keep enough of the skeg in the water (On the same line as the bottom of the keel) and at least maintain some semblance of a "rudder". Tipping it out of the water doesn't work well.

I knew you'd have thought it through and would have good reasoning, thanks. I also don't ever run skinny water on plane, but have always bee interested in the idea of a powered jack plate to get the motor up out if the way if I'm fishing skinny water on the trolling motor, or like you, with a pole (which I don't use often, the Ulterra will run pretty shallow). Any performance benefits to the powered jack plate for me would be incidental to that...and like you, I don't need the weight and expense. My SI runs really clean on this rig, even without a set back for the motor, so I don't have to worry about that.

2 things I'm curious about, why the Jack plate...and why manual?

Even more reason to get it checked out, IMO. You have a connection here, so can have a reasonable discussion about things going into the opportunity. I'd take a better look at everything, that's a heck of a rig. I agree, to a point. A well maintained, properly stored boat can be virtually "New Old Stock" like mine was. Sounds like this one might be close. As long as a buyer doesn't find it important to have all "the latest stuff", they can be a great fit, as long as confidence in the equipment is high, and it meets the buyer's needs...som attention needs to paid to that last bit, because any of us, faced with what looks like a great opportunity, can let a great deal blind us to what we're really looking for. Also great advice. I had all of those things dealt with before I took delivery of my boat.

I'm not anywhere near knowledgeable enough to make a suggestion, maybe someone else will chime in.

Any chance you have the opposite problem to what I describe here: Might be worth a look.

I know a lot of folks with Optis from that time frame that have been running them forever... ...but...this is a case where the low hours might have me a bit worried. That's weird... Bottom line: Get it checked out. Base your offer on that. No way I'd skip a boat in the condition you describe, with hours that low without at least taking the step of getting it checked out. You could be looking at a heck of a nice rig there and for me, it'd be silly to pass based some bad motors eighteen years ago. Perhaps factor in getting it updated to be proactive into any offer you might make.

Thanks - That was the third link on the Google search I just did.

When I bought my boat 4 years ago, I assumed that the tight hitch and the fact that it squeaked sometimes was due to the fact that it was virtually new. By "tight" I mean that I have to stand on, or kick, the torque lock to get it to close. Four years later, it still needs to be forced into place, and despite regular greasing, squeals like crazy when the joint turns. I'm thinking there's a simple adjustment in there that'll fix this, but don't know enough about the hardware to just dive in and guess. Thoughts?

This is exactly why I moved from transom savers to the MyWedge. Broken transom savers are telling you something: Shocks from the trailer are getting transferred right up that aarm to you lower unit...

NADA is pretty close to worthless where I live, particularly on a high demand boat. Another thing NADA is worthless for is the seasonal fluctuations in boat prices that are particularly volatile in the spring, and at the end of the season. The best thing you can do is learn and understand your market, where you live, and any seasonal impact. The boat version of real estate's "Location, location, location" is "Condition, Condition, condition". I bought my boat 8 years old, but it had 3.5 hours on the motor and other than some dust related to storage, was effectively brand new. The carpet was still sparkly and the bilge was clean enough to eat out of. I had zero problems paying a bit above market for it. This is the best advice you'll get. Unless you're a pro (and the fact your asking the question you asked suggests you're not), get it checked out.

Perfect. If that doesn't work, be direct.

Yup. Toss it in, get it on top of a pad...twitch it off...BAM! I do the same, but use a smaller hook.

Any light weight, loose fitting, button up non-cotton shirt from Simms, Columbia, etc. Sleeves that roll up and button. Vented back. Light colors. Built in insect repellent (Buzz Off, etc.) is a bonus, and really works well.