TheRodFather

Whopper Plopper, what the heck is a whopper plopper? TRF

Well, I would hope so...... I try to buy based on value, clearly there are better rods, but for me, there comes a point in time where the law of diminishing returns comes into play. Is a $170 dollar rod better than a $150 rod, probably, will it catch me more fish......doubtful. That's not to say I want to use junk, but like I said, law of diminishing returns. Thanks for the insight everyone, I think I'll give one a try.

Anyone use one yet, any first impressions? I'm thinking of pairing one up with one of my Curado I reels, maybe converting to all Curado rods down the road. I currently use all Curado reels, and rods made by the company that shant be named but rhymes with Halloween Fishing. They are simiilar price points, and so far I have been happy with them other than one that broke out of nowhere while twitching a jerkbait. But was replaced no questions asked. What say the group?

A buddy of mine just bought a brand new Tracker 170 with a heavy 4 stroke jet, total package weight with gear is 1830lb. He is towing with a Honda CRV. It's working, not too sure about longevity though, hard on breaks and trans, like everyone else mentioned.

Where did you get the hinges? Are they screwed into the end grain of the fixed and hatch boards? How do you think it will hold up long term screwed into the end grain that way? I'm doing the front decks on my project as well, and am having a tough time finding hinges like were used by the factory. The factory ones have about a 3/4in flap on one side of the hinge that rivets vertically to the frame of the hatch, then the other side of the hinge is L shaped and screws to the wood hatch from the underside. Ideally, since I will be joining a fixed deck board to a hatch, like your project, I think I would want a hinge that has an L on both sides of the pivot, to stay away from the end grain for a stronger tie in, but I don't know if the cost is going to be worth it?

Yeah, I hear ya. What I was hoping to do was basically map out the parts of the river that I know I can run safely, by going slow and recording waypoints, then next time out, keep the boat on the line created from the waypoints. That way I could run a little faster to the places I know hold fish. This being my first boat, and dealing with a shallow rocky river at that, my stress level is very high whenever I'm underway. Thought maybe this could be a way to lower my stress level I will look into that one, thank you. I wonder if the software would have info on the Susquehanna?

From what I have been reading, all of the consumer grade GPS units have about 3-5 meter accuracy. That seems a bit too much, to risk smacking a rock with the boat or prop. I need a jet I think .

The Garmin Striker 4cv was one I was looking at.

Forgive my ignorance on this matter. I would like to buy a low end FF, since I fish almost exclusively a shallow rocky river I don't feel that I need a high end unit. Side view may be nice but I'm not willing to spend that type of money. I really only want to see depth, temp, and speed/gps is a bonus. The main question I have is, with a GPS unit like the Garmin Striker 4cv, can I slowly idle through shallow areas, marking waypoints that keep enough depth to keep the boat and prop from hitting, then have that route saved so next time (assuming same water levels) I can move faster through those areas with confidence? Is the technology accurate enough to be able to do something like that? If it is, the extra money for GPS is worth it to me, for the time saved, and possible boat damage. Thanks for any help, TRF.

Looking good. There is a limit on total file size upload per post. Make your pictures smaller and you can fit more of them per post. I transferred pictures to "paint", re-sized, saved, then upload to BR.

Plan on the deeper you dig, the more you will find. I'm the type that keeps going until it is all "right". But that is not necessary with sound judgement of the important things, it sounds like all the parts are there for your project, which is in operable condition already. I had to come up with many replacement parts for mine, like switches, breakers, pumps, structural problems, etc. Harbor Freight has good marine shrink tubing, the kind with sealer that comes out when you shrink it, I highly recommend it. Try to comparison shop when you can, since everything with a "marine" attached to it's name is automatically priced 50% or more, but "marine grade" items are not necessary for many parts of the restoration, fittings, tubing, etc. Home Depot has all of the plumbing and fittings you will need. Marine wire is tinned and will not corrode as easily, but is a good bit more money, worth it though, in my opinion, since getting to wiring is going to be a ton of work and ruined carpet, etc, if you would need to ever get to corroded standard wiring. Hopefully your flotation foam and transom are Ok, they added up to the bulk of the work to my restoration. They say buy twice as much carpet as your boat is long, I found that to be pretty close. Mine is 17ft, I bought 30ft of 6ft wide and I have enough left over to cover any new hatches, or "oops moments" that might have occured. I used marine carpet, and Weldwood contact cement (any home store) and didn't even mess with the trowel type carpet glues. I was very happy with my carpet job, although I imagine the trowel type glue would hide the seems in the aluminum where panels are riveted together, where as you can see those type of lap joints under my carpet, but, ehh, I can live with it. I can't even imagine using the trowel glue on the types of shapes that need cut/spliced/wrapped. Dont let the internet fool you, the bond with contact cement is not as instantaneous as forums make it sound. Just don't let the glue set up as long as the instructions say. Let both pieces sit for like 5 minutes instead of 20, then apply, the glue will be soft enough to move things around a bit. Big panels of carpet, like the floor panel, I folded the carpet back on the mid line of the panel, glued from center out and stuck it, then folded the other side and glued that from center out, other smaller panels/surfaces can be done all at once, and the contact cement allows you to go right to folding over and mitering edges, worked like a charm. And try to reuse as many of the factory fasteners as you can, as they should have been stainless steel, if not, replace with SS, again, the home stores carry all you might need, except very large bolts like motor mount bolts, etc. But you should be able to reuse your existing big stuff. Sorry, once I got going there I couldn't stop TRF

how about a dolly that hooks to a lawn tractor?

Just wanted to update any others looking for an answer to this, Minn Kota does have the I-pilot upgrade kit for the 2017 Powerdrive. You have to order it by phone, or as a "service" part on their website. No idea why the kit isn't out there on the internet from third parties. Maybe because the motor is pretty new, or maybe because most 2017 units out there are already I-pilots, and not legacy motors that were out there before I-pilot was introduced? Anywho, I was relieved to hear that, I will definitely be ordering one soon. TRF

I will tomorrow, I was just hoping somebody on BR had an answer and could ease my fears.

I really hope I didn't make a several hundred dollar mistake here. I bought a 2017 Powerdrive V2 70lb (bluetooth) with the intention of stepping up to the I-pilot upgrade down the road. But I am having trouble finding the I pilot upgrade that is compatible with the 2017. All of the kits I see are for 2016 or older Powerdrives. The 2017 powerdrives are sold with I pilot already installed, so I know it can be done, but I didn't opt for that, figuring I would get out on the water, then upgrade when I was ready. Please oh please tell me I didn't screw myself. TRF

No problem, thanks for your hard work and the place to talk fishin Glenn!

I did a couple of parts of my dash with the wrap. I can't say how it will hold up to the sun since tomorrow is her maiden voyage. It came out nice though.

I believe most of the products commonly referred to as "Bondo" are polyester. MarineTex is epoxy, which is a better product for marine use generally speaking epoxy has better bonding strength to the base substrate, and itself, but very expensive. The filler I recommended should be more than adequate for your needs, and won't break the bank, It is formulated for boats as you can see on the can. Especially since your using it above the water line. It is the same stuff as "dynaglass", which is another often used filler and fairing compound on boats. I think they recommend scuffing with 80 grit to give the filler more to grab onto. If you would rather stick with the marine specific products for piece of mind, prepare to pay a lot more.

Marine Tex is a good product with a rock solid reputation. It will be quite expensive though by the looks of how much quantity you need to feather that seam. Bondo with short strand fiberglass fibers in it is very strong and should last much longer. I used it as a filler on my aluminum boat and it adhered to the aluminum perfectly. It would be even better on scuffed fiberglass. The Bondo in your picture is the standard type. The short strand stuff is what you want. http://bondo.com/featured/bondo-glass-fiberglass-reinforced-filler-272.html

I'm pretty sure the 65lb is a BPS exclusive, so maybe they get some kind of discount on bulk orders from Minn Kota? What does your boat weight? What type of waters do you fish? Standard answer for trolling motor size is "get the biggest you can afford". If your boat is light enough and the waters calm enough that 65lb is adequate, then sure, that 5 extra pounds might not be worth the money. $650 is 85% of the cost of the 70lb 65lb is 92% of the power of the 70lb The numbers say the 65 is the better value, unless your fishing conditions require more than 65. Plain as mud.......... TRF

Ok, no problem, thanks for the reply. TRF

As the states, I had a good thread going about my bass boat restoration, with lots of embedded pictures, now just a JPG link comes up for each picture, which doesn't work anyway.....? Any thoughts?

That sounds like the route I was going to take, trowel on the large areas, and contact cement on bends, corners, etc. What specific products did you use?

Very nice job! Can you explain in more detail the steps you took with the carpet install, glue used, tips and tricks, etc? I am at the point now where my roll of carpet is in the mail, but I haven't decided on the type of glue yet, standard marine glue (trowel type), or contact cement, or 3M super adhesive, etc. Again, great job! TRF

Being that I am new to boat ownership, take this with a grain of salt, but I would think the gas mileage and wear and tear on the tow vehicle when jumping up to something twice as heavy would/could be a bigger factor than gas mileage of the boat at the end of the day. Most guys I see driving a big glass boat around, own trucks north of $50,000. Again though, I'm still new to all this.