Hey Gang it's been a while since I've been on this sight. A few things in my world have changed. I bought a new to me 1990 Norris Craft 19XLvee. If your not from Tennessee chances are you've never heard of a Norris Craft. Its a low production handcrafted performance hull that looks pretty similar to a older Bullet. I'm currently off the coast of Guyana or I'd post a picture of it. I'm still working on oilfield supply vessels, but I no longer work out of Port Fourchon in Louisiana. Until last hitch I was working out of Trinidad working 56 days on and 56 days off. So I got a lot of fishing done this summer with my Dad. We fished, Lake Eufaula, Lake Seminole, Chattahoochee, Choctawhatchee, Apalachicola, Blackwater, and Escambia Rivers. We also fished a bunch of smaller lakes in the Blackwater State forest. We've caught our share but never really had many big days. I did manage to pull an 8.5 pounder off a bed earlier this year. She got her picture taken and released with in seconds of her taking the black grape Zoom lizard.

   The new boat is a beast. It's surprisingly fast considering it has a '95 Mercury 150 XRi of power. Slick water it scoot along around 65, choppy water she's another animal. Once it gets fully up on the pad I've had it to 74. She needs a little more power to run in the 70's consistently. My dad and I were fishing the Escambia river on morning and the temperature dropped and the black clouds started rolling in. I said unless he wanted to get wet we needed to head for the landing. When we hit the Main river the wind was blowing straight in our face and there was about a foot of chop. The Norris Craft loves the chop and the head wind seemed to help. As my dad caught the cooler lid that flew open he asked how fast are we running. GPS said 74 that with us both in the 270 pound class, a full live well and pretty close to a full tank of fuel. Had about 8 miles of running out of a full tank. With a 200 she'll really scoot or at least fast enough for me. The only time she gets squirrelly is if i let off the power without trimming down first. Then she hook to the right a bit. I'm pretty happy with the performance I'm getting out of a 31 year old boat. That was so well made that except for a few scratches form use shines like a new penny.  Later fella's I gotta get back to work.

Sounds like a really great ride..  

Good to hear from ya! I’ve ridden in a few Norris craft with 150 Johnson fast strike, it was crazy fast. One of them was a fish n ski that was heavy as can be and would still go at least 65. Those Johnson 150 motors might as well be in racecars! They flat go. They also drink gas about as fast as anything I’ve ever seen. With the amount of fuel that runs though those motors, I bet they are as clean as can be inside. 

47 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Good to hear from ya! I’ve ridden in a few Norris craft with 150 Johnson fast strike, it was crazy fast. One of them was a fish n ski that was heavy as can be and would still go at least 65. Those Johnson 150 motors might as well be in racecars! They flat go. They also drink gas about as fast as anything I’ve ever seen. With the amount of fuel that runs though those motors, I bet they are as clean as can be inside. 

Now that I own one I'm hunt for one of the closed bow ski boats. I need another fast boat in my life. I don't want to worry about adding weight and squeezing every mph outta this one. I'm just going to work on electronics and a spot lock trolling motor. Priced one of those lately? Crazy high. I bought several small river boats over the years. Not one of them cost me as much as the new trolling motors. Reviews online for Minn Kotta are scary, the Garmin is HUGE the Lowrance Ghost seems to have the best reviews. I don't fish tournaments anymore so I don't have the firsthand knowledge to just cough up 3 grand for a new trolling motor that has bad reviews. As for electronics I'm thinking Garmin Eco map 7" whatever the model is for side scan at the helm and down imaging up front. Maybe I'll find a 225 Proxs while I'm hunting. I have a line on a 260 Merc the model with the horn for an air intake. Thats a bit more than I want not to mention how fuel hungry those beasts where.   

2 minutes ago, Hi-Powered Red Neck said:

Now that I own one I'm hunt for one of the closed bow ski boats. I need another fast boat in my life. I don't want to worry about adding weight and squeezing every mph outta this one. I'm just going to work on electronics and a spot lock trolling motor. Priced one of those lately? Crazy high. I bought several small river boats over the years. Not one of them cost me as much as the new trolling motors. Reviews online for Minn Kotta are scary, the Garmin is HUGE the Lowrance Ghost seems to have the best reviews. I don't fish tournaments anymore so I don't have the firsthand knowledge to just cough up 3 grand for a new trolling motor that has bad reviews. As for electronics I'm thinking Garmin Eco map 7" whatever the model is for side scan at the helm and down imaging up front. Maybe I'll find a 225 Proxs while I'm hunting. I have a line on a 260 Merc the model with the horn for an air intake. Thats a bit more than I want not to mention how fuel hungry those beasts where.   

I still know the owner of that fish and ski with 150, one buddy sold it to another. It’s a 1982 model

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I still know the owner of that fish and ski with 150, one buddy sold it to another. It’s a 1982 model

I saw one posted for sale not to long ago. I want a closed bow. They are scarce maybe I'll get lucky. Besides I doubt seriously my better half would go for it. But you never know she surprised me the other day when I told her I found another 454 for my K5, so I could pull the race motor out and actually enjoy my trail truck again. She ask how much while rolling her eyes. I told her 3 grand. She actually said go for it. So stranger things have happened. She was scared of the Glasstream going 50 but she's Fine in the Norris Craft running 65+. All I need is her full support and its on. lol

1 minute ago, Hi-Powered Red Neck said:

I saw one posted for sale not to long ago. I want a closed bow. They are scarce maybe I'll get lucky. Besides I doubt seriously my better half would go for it. But you never know she surprised me the other day when I told her I found another 454 for my K5, so I could pull the race motor out and actually enjoy my trail truck again. She ask how much while rolling her eyes. I told her 3 grand. She actually said go for it. So stranger things have happened. She was scared of the Glasstream going 50 but she's Fine in the Norris Craft running 65+. All I need is her full support and its on. lol

I’ve never seen a closed bow Norris craft but if they exist, there’s one around here somewhere with trees growing through it 

 

that 82 fish n ski just had dual console and a tiny little windshield on each side. Then a long ski type seat on top of each storage compartment right in front of the windshields 

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve never seen a closed bow Norris craft but if they exist, there’s one around here somewhere with trees growing through it 

 

that 82 fish n ski just had dual console and a tiny little windshield on each side. Then a long ski type seat on top of each storage compartment right in front of the windshields 

I've seen a couple in pictures. Theres a Norris Craft owners group on Facebook. I actually called Norris Craft and talked to, or more to the point listen to one of the owners. He talked about my boat like he remembered it personally. Gave me the entire history of the model and said welcome to the Family. If it ever needs anything he would fix me right up. He also told me he could change up the interior lay out to something more modern but it would slow it down a bit. Seems the 19XLvee is a really fast boat with the right power. And that he built one years ago that he hung twin 260's on the back of. So my transom can hold what ever I want to put on it. He also said that the 280 promax was the best power for it. That would put in the mid 90's with out any problems. He also said the 280 was best engines Mercury ever built. It was at least a 30 minute conversation. lol

4 minutes ago, Hi-Powered Red Neck said:

I've seen a couple in pictures. Theres a Norris Craft owners group on Facebook. I actually called Norris Craft and talked to, or more to the point listen to one of the owners. He talked about my boat like he remembered it personally. Gave me the entire history of the model and said welcome to the Family. If it ever needs anything he would fix me right up. He also told me he could change up the interior lay out to something more modern but it would slow it down a bit. Seems the 19XLvee is a really fast boat with the right power. And that he built one years ago that he hung twin 260's on the back of. So my transom can hold what ever I want to put on it. He also said that the 280 promax was the best power for it. That would put in the mid 90's with out any problems. He also said the 280 was best engines Mercury ever built. It was at least a 30 minute conversation. lol

Sheesh, I don’t even  like going 90 on dry land 

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Sheesh, I don’t even  like going 90 on dry land 

Me neither!!

 

 

10 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

Me neither!!

 

 

Dude!!! I think I know that spot. I’ve parked right there and walked down to fish at that dam many times . I’ve also trailered across there many times to fish in NC (but I pull into the pull offs when I see cars like that behind me )

1 hour ago, Big Rick said:

Me neither!!

 

 

Thats a beautiful car!!!!

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Dude!!! I think I know that spot. I’ve parked right there and walked down to fish at that dam many times . I’ve also trailered across there many times to fish in NC (but I pull into the pull offs when I see cars like that behind me )

That's the north end of the Dragon's Tail. A bucket list item for me. Finally got it done. Over 300 curves in 11 miles. Fun!

37 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

That's the north end of the Dragon's Tail. A bucket list item for me. Finally got it done. Over 300 curves in 11 miles. Fun!

Just as I thought, that’s calderwood dam in the background. I got my biggest largemouth in the lake below that dam and my biggest smallmouth (avatar pic) in the next one downstreaM 

 

I’ve trailered those 300 curves two ways many times 

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Just as I thought, that’s calderwood dam in the background. I got my biggest largemouth in the lake below that dam and my biggest smallmouth (avatar pic) in the next one downstreaM 

 

I’ve trailered those 300 curves two ways many times 

I was there on 12/15 and met a couple of trucks with boats. It's definitely a drive that requires all your faculties to get through without a wrinkle in your rig. 

2 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

I was there on 12/15 and met a couple of trucks with boats. It's definitely a drive that requires all your faculties to get through without a wrinkle in your rig. 

Hopefully they pulled over for you haha. Lord knows I do, I can barely get up to 25 mph through there. I swear two bat mobiles ripped by me at Mach 3 earlier this fall 

 

holler at me next time your in my neck of the woods! I’ll take ya fishin as long as you don’t make me ride in that car across the dragon 

57 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Hopefully they pulled over for you haha. Lord knows I do, I can barely get up to 25 mph through there. I swear two bat mobiles ripped by me at Mach 3 earlier this fall 

 

holler at me next time your in my neck of the woods! I’ll take ya fishin as long as you don’t make me ride in that car across the dragon 

Deal!  You definitely live in God's Country! A ton of beautiful lakes teeming with fish in some of the most beautiful country in the USA. While I still prefer the cypress filled lakes of NE Louisiana where I grew up, I would enjoy sampling your waters!

 

And, I didn't drive the Dragon like an idiot. I like my car too much. My average speed was about 30-35. No desire to wrap myself around a tree. Nothing to prove here! 

7 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

Deal!  You definitely live in God's Country! A ton of beautiful lakes teeming with fish in some of the most beautiful country in the USA. While I still prefer the cypress filled lakes of NE Louisiana where I grew up, I would enjoy sampling your waters!

 

And, I didn't drive the Dragon like an idiot. I like my car too much. My average speed was about 30-35. No desire to wrap myself around a tree. Nothing to prove here! 

Smart man, I see at least two ambulances go by there every time I fish. And unfortunately life star choppers sometimes, there are frequent fatalities. 
 

also, I know what you mean about cypress swamps, they are my favorite too……

 

 

 

@Hi-Powered Red Neck, Curious, how are you going to fish from a boat with an enclosed bow? 

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Hopefully they pulled over for you haha. Lord knows I do, I can barely get up to 25 mph through there. I swear two bat mobiles ripped by me at Mach 3 earlier this fall 

 

holler at me next time your in my neck of the woods! I’ll take ya fishin as long as you don’t make me ride in that car across the dragon 

I did the Dragon in 2019 on a 1978 Yamaha xs750s. Rode it twice each way. My best time was 22 minutes. Not bad for an old coot on an old scoot. 

Just for kicks, I looked up the (unofficial) record for riding the Dragon in a motorcycle. Best recorded time I could find was 11 min and a couple of seconds. Done on a Honda Goldwing, by a professional bike racer. That must have been a butt clencher of a ride.