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The gearwheel on the starter was turning slightly and stopping, but it was not completely revolving, so that was the "buzzing" sound I was hearing. I don't hear well, lol. I sprayed with lubricant and now, it spins revolutions. But, it is not engaging the flywheel. When I turn the starter gearwheel by hand, it travels upward slightly as it turns, and I assume that this is so it can engage with the flywheel teeth. Doesn't look like it is "fitting" correctly in the vertical plane to engage with the flywheel teeth but that doesn't make sense that it would be "off" by a mm or three, because it started fine last time and it hasn't gone anywhere to jostle anything around. I moved the flywheel by hand, it's free.

SOLVED -- see post at bottom of thread = 1997 Basstracker Pro17 ft boat with 40hp Tracker motor... I think Tracker motor is a Mercury... sat up for maybe two years. Yeah, not good. I finally just bought a new cranking battery and it's fully charged but I can't get the motor to turn over at all, it just makes a sound, kind of a buzz I suppose you'd call it. Could it be a loose connection? Should I tap on the solenoid or starter? I have seen some amazing successes by tapping, lol. I have water ears hooked up for water supply when I try to crank. Suggestions?

Mainly this first question... but others below! 1. Need cranking battery for 1997 Basstracker Pro17 ft boat with 40hp Tracker motor. Any idea how to determine what size battery I need? I will likely sell this boat. 2. Also... my much newer xPress boat with 115hp Yamaha... the onboard charger quit charging the cranking battery but kept the others charged. Any tips on figuring that out? It's a gob of wires on that battery! (I charged it with a separate charger.) 3. Also... after charging the battery on the 115hp Yamaha, it reads 12.3v or maybe it was 12.4v. Is this enough? (Sitting up for months.) 4. Also... the old battery on the first mentioned 40hp Tracker... the battery reads zero. Will a battery totally discharge to zero? Seems batteries have always read some voltage on the meter. Been sitting up a long time. Plus, the battery is old, lol. Like, probably 5 or 6 years. TIA!

Bilge pump is only manual and I have def expressed desire to make it automatic, have to change it out I suppose. btw, the 115hp DOES seem to be ‘safe’ which is the reason for ratings, this weathervaning is just an annoyance.

Congrats, a fun project!

Thanks for the info. But once again, the placard on my boat says 115hp rating. I think the previous owner, an amateur tourney angler, wanted this boat (and the jack plate) because he thought he could get to shallower water. Supposedly sold it to buy larger to fish larger lakes some tourneys are on. Who knows, he might have not liked this weathervaning. I can catch plenty fish as is, proved that last season but is certainly a negative in enjoying this otherwise nice boat. Btw, the shape of this boat’s front half is rakish enough that moving weight, methinks it might not submerge the bow very much. Maybe I can find a pic of boat in water.

That is actually a great idea because I have had some perplexing episodes of the boat taking on water. Last year my first season with it, never figured it out. Although… I now think I did figure it out yesterday, first time out this year… the plug hole has a (sloppy) weld bead at its edge and I think if you don’t screw the plug super tight it doesn’t totally seal. So, hopefully nothing in the bilge got saturated. If so, how would you fix that? But unless there is a hole in there, water in the bilge could not do anything but fill the bilge I assume.

Not camo. Placard says max hp is 115. Max weight 1250 (persons, motor, gear). No telling what my weight is… motor, Talon anchor, jackplate, trim. Would you add fuel weight? Fishing gear, doesn’t seem it would be more than 100 lbs. I weigh 240. Another memory creeping back in…that my 17’ bass tracker with 40hp also had this problem and that I ascertained that this must be an aluminum boat problem, that a larger, fiberglass boat has more mass and is more stable using troll motor. edit… 2020 Xpress X17 Pro Package Yamaha 115 HP SHO (135 Hrs) SS Prop Brand New Minn Kota 80# Fortrex w/Downscan SeaDek Decking Humminbird Helix 9 at Console Humminbird Helix 7 at Bow Minn Kota 8’ Talon Aluminum Trailer Fulton F2 trailer jack Hot Foot 6” Atlas Hydraulic Jackplate BayStar Hydraulic Steering Oxygenators in Livewell CO2 Vents on both Livewell Lids Center Seat (3rd Seat) Lighted Storage Boxes .

Yes, I did find that old thread but that isn’t what I recalled. Maybe it was another forum, maybe I dreamed it! Yes I have power trim also jackplate as mentioned in that thread. I do use trim but not jackplate as often. This is close to a deal killer. Will not use livewell and not fill gas tank n see what that does. Will get a pic but even on the trailer it is def rakish!

Is this a common problem? In these days of using troll motors, this is not good design. Bought boat used. Otherwise really like it.

I have a Express Pro17 with 115hp Yamaha 4-stroke and at rest, wow, the bow sits high and stern is low! Looks like it’s ready to take off! My problem is the boat weathervaning in even slight wind. Bow wants to slide with the wind. Is this normal with aluminum boats? Could move batteries to front but what a pain to rewire. Bout all I can think of. I really don’t like this! I thought I had a thread on this a year ago but can’t find it with search.

The hook stories gimme the heebie-jeebies.

Good news is it started like always, just as soon as I turn the key it’s started! Another question. I noticed that I did not see water peeing out of the motor. I let it run longer than I wanted to and then I shut it down. Maybe a minute. Then did it again and ran it a little bit and decided to increase the throttle and that is when I saw water finally coming out. Do you think it just took that long for it to come out, that it is a normal response after sitting a few months? It trickled a bit then finally peed full stream. I assumed all is well n left the launch.

It's mid February and high is 68 tomorrow. Today was about 60 n sunny. Bass will start biting any day. Water temp probably is 51 to 56, my guess. What baits? I hope to go tomorrow. Also would you go at daybreak or afternoon? I have never fished bass early like this. Bass love senko on this lake in spawn months. Jig too but I am no jig expert need to learn lol. Reeds at lake edge is the structure. Lake is low though I am guessing cuz we in severe drouth.

Yep, shouldn't be but it is... not started in six months. 2019 Yamaha 115hp 4 stroke. Any precautions before starting? Has always ran like a top, there are no issues.

Thanks for that. I previously came across something that said it came with 6-lb test. I will test it and then I'll know if it'll work! As for who asked above what the advantage of lighter line would be (to me), it would be because I am catching huge coppernose bluegill right now and we need cast length on 1/64 oz jigs. An improvement from, say, 30-40 feet to 40-50 feet can help such that I don't have to reposition the boat. I have also caught several 3-5 lb bass, believe it or not, fishing for bluegill, lol! I haven't lost a single bass, I've got them all in on 2-4 lb test line. Maybe that means I am fighting them correctly, lol. The last one was hilarious... the fish went UNDER the boat and jumped on the OTHER side. Now, that is a first! That was on a super ultralight rod, bent double, lol.

Thanks, I bought the Zebco 33 micro triggerspin. We'll soon see!

Bought a spincast reel (Zebco 33 micro gold triggerspin) to have in boat mainly for guests and I think it will come with 6 lb test mono. For light fishing, will use lighter line than that. For sure, 3-4 lb test and maybe 2 lb test. I don't prefer to spool the entire reel with the super light line because the casts are, generally, only 40-60 ft. Do you think you could join the two lines and remove, say, 50 yards of the 6-lb line and replace with the lighter line and have it 'hold' and cast ok?

Holy cow, bargain of the century; I can't imagine them selling those for $1. I mean, it seems like $5 or even $10 would find a taker!

I would like to have an underspin spincast reel to go on a quality ultralight spinning rod I have for times when I have a guest who does not have much fishing (casting) experience. Primarily for panfish. Mostly bream, some crappie but it could double for some light bass fishing. But bream is the main thing. Needs to be able to cast very light lures such as 1/64 oz jigs. Cast length is key, need to be able to get good distance. I could add a split shot weight if needed to cast. I catch a lot of big bluegill during spawning season. Use light line. Many days, a bass or two shows up! It doesn't have to be budget model; in fact, I seek a good quality reel. Anyone found a real good underspin? Or is that an oxymoron, lol? I have a Zebco 33 spincast reel (casting reel, not underspin) and I later bought a Zebco Omega Z03 model (casting, not underspin) and it wasn't cheap. I think I paid $70 for the Z03 and, honestly, I don't know that it's any better than the much less expensive 33. Not that the 33 is stellar, but it's adequate. I am hoping for better quality than those if it exists. Reason that I seek higher quality is that sometimes, I might need to use it! (Even when I fish light, I have several rigs out for color/lure variations and also when you break off on a snag, just grab another rig, don't have to retie. Brand doesn't matter. TIA for feedback!

Do you have a favorite color? Do you countdown and how do you know how deep to aim for? I remember from using one decades ago that, yep, you can bomb a spoon, and I do want something that can cast a long ways. Do you use a swivel?

Do you mean casting a spoon? What kind do you like? Why do you like a spoon? I have been catching some big bluegill (on purpose, lol) with a very small spoon. Also some bass on it.

BTW, on Toledo Bend and another lake I fish, I have seen bass schooling like mad just churning the water, and we couldn't get a bite no matter what. It is maddening. Thank goodness, they do, often, bite. I bought a Tail Spin bait at Academy tonight that is kinda like the Little George I mentioned; it is heavy (1/2 oz) and has a spinner on the tail. I figure I can bomb this one. With the Little George, we are able to go deep if we need to cuz it's about like having a silver rock with a spinner tail, lol... it will sink and fast! I also bought a good-looking jerk bait like the Rogue I also mentioned, it's a Yo-Zuri 3DB bait. Oh, and a crazy looking top water made by H2O Xpress called Double Plop. I dunno if it will catch fish but it's cool looking. It caught the fisher. I also bought a mini Rattle Trap, 1/8 oz. I'm ready for action! Like I don't have a hundred baits already, lol.

Say that bass are chasing shad (or minnows), busting the surface. Might be a lone bass but also might be several or even schools. What bait do you throw? If you care to go farther, what rod n reel n line do you use to get there? Sometimes, the cast is going to be really long from your boat! I find that if a bass is busting the surface, I am going to cast there and a good part of the time, I will catch him. Warm months are starting and this activity is increasing. I caught one yesterday on a Blakemore Road Runner, white/chartreuse with silver underspin spinner. That bait can cast quite far. A great bait we used to use on Toledo Bend was a Mann's Little George bait. You can sure throw that one, it's kind of compact and heavy. It has a tail spin, not an underspin. There's all kinds of baits you could throw. When they were schooling bigtime on Toledo Bend and not such long casts, fish that you could get kind of on top of, I liked casting a Redfin, it's like a Rogue lure and also sometimes it worked great to throw a Boy Howdy top water bait, it has a spinner fore and aft. But for length, a heavier bait helps. I bought a reel a couple months back that is supposed to cast a long ways, a Daiwa Tatula Elite baitcast reel. Need to figure out which of my rods to put it on. And which line! I have been catching monster coppernose bluegill, fishing for them on beds. Bass bust all around me and I need to start throwing more to them, it's increasing and I have noticed multiple fish are joining in. I am not sure what these bass are chasing; the lake is full of threadfin shad and also minnows. But I sometimes catch a bass in the bream bed; I assume they are trying to raid the beds. I catch them on tiny jigs meant for bream! Caught two 3-pounders last outing and two weeks ago, caught one that was 4.84 lbs. That was a battle on an ultralight!

I have an Xpress Pro17 with 115hp Yamaha 4-stroke. With me, alone, the boat gets up on plane just fine but with full fuel and another person, it's slow and depending on passenger weight, can be real slow. I can have the passenger move forward to help it plane but with an elderly person, I'd rather not have to do it. This boat has a 6 inch hydraulic jack plate. I have never touched the setting for that, I have just left it at its setting, which is about 1 inch, which is what the former owner said it performed well at and I have certainly fished some skinny water. As for planing, could a solution be found with this jack plate? Seems it would. Other than that, what about a hydrofoil stabilizer -- https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=2200321 Do these help a boat plane better? Do you think they add top end speed or mpg increase? My boat will do 48mph and maybe even faster, according to the former owner and that's fast enough for me but I am curious about the stabilizer gizmo, too.