backpain...

I would maybe put a floor in between the seats, but a deck would probably make it too tipsy.

Personally, I would try to sell it and put the money toward a larger boat. In the end you would be much happier.

OH NO i AM ALMOST IN DEPENDS!! For me though I have always had to take it easy. I had a ruptured disk that required surgury at 20. I had to make sure to have a comfy seat while fishing and alternate between standing and sitting frequently. Also a no go for jumping out of the boat. I recently put on a foot controled TM because I couldn't reach down and do the steering anymore. I am certainly not looking forward to the depends club!

I used one on the front of my boat using the existing transom mount. I sammiched' the hull on the bow with a piece of 1x3 I had laying around. It worked like a charm.

Amen brother Yes the boater has more invested, so he should control more. But the non-boater has investments as well. After reading some of these responses (I have never fished a federation tourney) does the boater actually have to give up the front of the boat for half the day?! IMHO that would be horrible to give up the bow of your boat to someone. As a non-boater I wouldn't want the stress or responsibility of the front of someone's boat. But I do however think that spot decisions should be shared though not neccessarily 50/50.

I am pretty new to the whole thing, but where I fish in SE Pennsylvania most of the lakes don't have any reliable topo maps that I have been able to find. So I am spending as much time on the water as I can with a park map in hand and my nose to the depthfinder, marking the areas where I find the best bottom irregularities and points. In essense I am making my own topo map. In the end it probably won't be super accurate, but for my purposes it will be even better than a commercial one (for me) because I have the map view etched in my mind with the on the water view from the same point and time. I will be able to associate what I see on the map with my on the water experiences. This is something I would reccomend if this new lake is somewhere you plan on spending alot of time in the future. The lake I am doing this on now I would consider my "home lake".

I bought a few rods from the seller as well. They ship them fast and they arrive in good shape. I bought two diawa "sweepfire" rods, and they hold up ok. They have alot of flex to them. The action is pretty slow yet a bit stiffer than an ugly stick. I am not sure about the D-Turbo. Good luck!

I hail from Philly.

You can also make your on openings and lanes if you have some serious heavy tackle. Just make sure you use a lure that you don't mind losing. Then revisit the spot later on. The smaller critters and plant parts displaced from the disruption will be fodder for other organisms and the food chain takes over from there attracting larger predators.

Was this information given by a competator?

My dad this summer caught a 5lber in a local PA state park lake. It looked as if it lost one of its eyes long before. It was the largest fish I have ever seen pulled out of the lake. She was doing just fine with one eye

I measured from the tops of the existing benches, gunalls, and transom. I figured that the manufacturers standards for level were good enough for me. Turned out pretty good, I have never noticed anything out of level.

Here is mine!

I call Philly home, and just got back into things this past summer. I fish the Delaware river mostly, but plan to hit the Skuke this year. I am also going to hit Raystown for a week this summer as well as Treasure Lake in Clearfield county.

She is finished! Here are some pics when I am using her for live bait fishing for stripers/catfish. I will add some later with the trolling motor on and set up for bassin'. All in all I couldn't be more please with how it came out, it was 100% easier to fish from and I noticed no loss of freeboard, or speed with the extra weight.

Keep at it! That is how it works sometimes, but in the end after tackling things one at a time you will be finished. It will be then that you will be SO GLAD that you put the time in to do it!

Here are some pics of my boat finished on our first trip out with her on the Delaware River. My wife, son and I went out to just get out and drown some blood worms hoping a few early bird stripers were in the river. I will add some pics to this later with the trolling motor on, and setup more for bassin'. If you are interested, the build thread is here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1199596126/10 All in all I couldn't be more please with how it came out, it was 100% easier to fish from and I noticed no loss of freeboard, or speed with the extra weight.

I am making a livewell out of a cooler and one of these. You can use it to fill, recirculate, pass-through and empty. As far as the weight issue... I would only be able to make a guess I didn't weight everything before I added it but I would estimate between 80-100lbs for mine because I used 1/2" ply and 2x3's because the stupid stores in Philly only sell treated 2x2's and the 3/8" plywood had more curves than Marylin Monroe.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1199596126/0 Here is my boat, a little differnet type of approach than some.

I have not kept a fish in years because I personally don't care to go through all of the trouble of cleaning and cooking them (my wife doesn't cook or eat fish). This coming season however, I fully intend on keeping a few for my mom who has asked if I would. I have absolutely no problem with keeping fish for the table so long as it is done ethically and legally. Anyone who gives you a hard time needs to work harder on fishing than complaining.

Congrats on your new boat!! Isn't it an awesome yet overwhelming feeling of both freedom as well as frustration?! I know the feelings well, I got my first boat last year. My best advise to offer is to glean every little ounce of knowledge you can from every trip and tip others give you, and don't get discouraged!! The trailering is goint to take time to get used to, but you will and it will be old hat. As far as boat control I learned last year not to try to fight the wind, find somewhere on the lake that you can either use it to blow you in the direction it is going or work the boat directly into it. This might mean that you won't get to fish the spot you may have wanted to, BUT in my experience at least you get to fish instead of fight the trolling motor all day. Another thing that helps is to rig up some sort of a rudder in the back that will keep the rear of the boat from swinging side to side in the wind, I just put my gas motor down and locked it facing straight ahead and it did wonders with the tracking of the baot. Good luck this season!!!!

I know all kinds of people like that, I don't bother a great deal with argueing. I tell them to each his own, I personally don't understand how people can go and sit for two to four hours watching/listening to fat ladies singing, but millions love opera.

As a fairly new boater, I spend alot of time on the boating forum.

I would like to see pics of that!!

The costs add up FAST, so make sure you do the legwork before you commit. I bought my boat last spring for $1200. In PA you have to pay sales tax on both the boat and trailer, as well as register both, fees came to 225$ if I recall. If you are buyiing used you also have to consider the mandatory equipment for your state, again I had to buy life jackets, anchor/rode, dock lines, fire extinguisher, nav lights, and a whistle or horn. All told that racked up another 200$ or so. Not to mention I had to get a hitch for my vehicle to pull the thing, and wire it for the lights, another 200$. So in MY case, I ended up needing about $600-$700 more than the purchase price. Every case is different, some people sell the boats with the coast guard package of gear etc. But be sure to plan according to the laws of your state or you might have the coolest yard ornament!