I finally decided to have my 20 year old Nitro recarpeted. I struggled with the decision to spend the $$$ due to the fact that I'll be 80 next b'day but the stock market has been providing some unexpected discretionary income.  Prior to taking the boat to the shop for the recarpeting/detailing I removed ALL my gear. Rods/reels, 8 tackle bags full of lures (hard and/or soft plastics), 10 x 3700's full of deep cranks, mid cranks, shallow cranks, top water, jerk baits, lipless cranks, hard/soft swim baits, chatter baits, buzz baits, 2 x spinner bait boxes containing about  30 baits each,  terminal tackle (every possible size /style of hook, weights of tungsten, lead, tin alloy, steel), tool box, spare prop, huge anchor that has never been wet, assorted dock lines, fire extinguisher, plug-in spot light used once, spare clothing/rain gear including gloves/hats, about 10 pairs of sunglasses, 3 cans of sunscreen, various fish scents/attractants, 5 PFDs(though I fish alone 95% of the time), a box of fillet knives, cutting board, wet stone, metal mesh gloves(all just in case I ever catch some crappie again), a 3 ring binder of lake maps from Florida to Maine, a collapsable push pole, 2 plastic line boxes(1 mono/flouro, 1 braid), 2 wheel chocks, 2 cycle oil, Stabil, 2 tubes of wheel bearing grease, hydraulic fluid grease gun, jumper cables, electric pump with alligator clips for transferring fuel, 2 Humminbird graphs, prop nut wrench and 1 foot long 2X4 for jamming prop during nut removal or tightening, 2 spare live well pump motors and a 1# plastic coffee can with a small roll of toilet paper. 

Please understand, I had to make this seemingly meaningless list because of its therapeutic benefit for me. "High, I'm Tom and I'm a tackle hoarder."

What an eye opener. I intend to make every effort to scale back when it comes time to reload my newly carpeted boat.

Any suggestions as to how I can exorcise my demons?

Is there someone I can call for support if I find myself weakening in the future? Lol.

I think I now know why my boat with its 150 hp merc would only do 26 mph at 5000 rpm. Subconsciously I new I had a problem cause I used to tell people that if I bought 1 more package of speed worms, I'd have to get a bigger boat.

Thanks for letting me come clean.

5 minutes ago, Nitro 882 said:

8 tackle bags full of lures (hard and/or soft plastics), 10 x 3700's full of deep cranks, mid cranks, shallow cranks, top water, jerk baits, lipless cranks, hard/soft swim baits, chatter baits, buzz baits, 2 x spinner bait boxes containing about  30 baits each

 

My buddy cleaned out his Ranger 522 a few years back.  Over 600lbs of stuff in the compartments.  It was insane.

26 mph you need to have that 150 hp OB tuned, it’s not the overloaded tackle weight!
Sell everything you haven’t used in a few years or store the extra tackle in he garage….if you have space. You know exactly what you have regarding tackle.

You are physically healthy enough to still launch and go fishing enjoy it!

What I am doing is adding BFS rod-reel to my bass fishing and this has rejuvenated my desire to get on the water plus new lures to use.

Tom

that would mess with my OCD.

 

@Nitro 882 ~

Congrats on the unexpected discretionary income and good luck with the recarpet job.

I'd say that you have a wonderful selection of tackle and associated gear.

 

I empty my rig before having it serviced at the end of each season.

Two years ago I snapped a picture of what came out of my Lund.

Since then, there have been slight changes, but not significant ones.

I realize that my tendency towards redundancy may seem excessive.

but it's been a part of my life for many years.

I've 'tried' a few times to work towards lightening the payload.

But everytime I take two things out, I put three things in.

I was losing the battle so I'm going to just stand pat for a while and see how it goes.

A-Jay

thank you for your share...............you are in the right place to get the help you need........quite frankly I don't think you have a problem though....

Too many spinning combo’s and not enough BFS😎

Tom

^ There's never too many spinning rigs.

 

17 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

^ There's never too many spinning rigs.

 

One is enough😎

Nice. Per the handbook my Monkey issued me, all hatches should be full of tackle. 

I hope I never have to empty my boat out, it may take a week and I would still miss some gear I have stashed in some corner somewhere.

Tackle is heavy, soft plastics can add up really quick.  The most important aspect IMO is ensuring the heavier tackle is centered, the balance is even and to keep as much weight as possible off the bow. 

Ive had some medical issues the past few years and getting my bigger boats out has been out of the question.  I have a 1448 and 1752 for duck hunting and running the ICW.  The 17 has a 40 Yamaha and I'll readily admit that I'm afraid to really crank on it.  I get to 30mph in a few seconds, at that point anything that isn't tied down wants to go swimming.

I would think you would be able to get 25mph at 50% thrust.  Get it serviced by a good mechanic and see how it runs then.   

Remember, the one item you take out will be the item you need the most.  Make sure you don't eliminate the toilet paper.

3,000 soft plastics and 375 hard lures would weigh about 125 lbs, that is a lot of lures but about equal to batteries. Gasoline weights about 6 1/2 lbs per gallon 20 gallons another = 130 lbs. another 6 lbs for rods and reels and yes,40 lbs of misc stuff you have the average bass boat gear weight around 300 lbs. 2 passengers around 350 lbs. Nitro 18’ w/150 Merc should run about 50 mph at 5,000 rpm. Running 26 mph something is seriously wrong.

Tom

8 hours ago, Nitro 882 said:

I finally decided to have my 20 year old Nitro recarpeted. I struggled with the decision to spend the $$$ due to the fact that I'll be 80 next b'day but the stock market has been providing some unexpected discretionary income.  Prior to taking the boat to the shop for the recarpeting/detailing I removed ALL my gear. Rods/reels, 8 tackle bags full of lures (hard and/or soft plastics), 10 x 3700's full of deep cranks, mid cranks, shallow cranks, top water, jerk baits, lipless cranks, hard/soft swim baits, chatter baits, buzz baits, 2 x spinner bait boxes containing about  30 baits each,  terminal tackle (every possible size /style of hook, weights of tungsten, lead, tin alloy, steel), tool box, spare prop, huge anchor that has never been wet, assorted dock lines, fire extinguisher, plug-in spot light used once, spare clothing/rain gear including gloves/hats, about 10 pairs of sunglasses, 3 cans of sunscreen, various fish scents/attractants, 5 PFDs(though I fish alone 95% of the time), a box of fillet knives, cutting board, wet stone, metal mesh gloves(all just in case I ever catch some crappie again), a 3 ring binder of lake maps from Florida to Maine, a collapsable push pole, 2 plastic line boxes(1 mono/flouro, 1 braid), 2 wheel chocks, 2 cycle oil, Stabil, 2 tubes of wheel bearing grease, hydraulic fluid grease gun, jumper cables, electric pump with alligator clips for transferring fuel, 2 Humminbird graphs, prop nut wrench and 1 foot long 2X4 for jamming prop during nut removal or tightening, 2 spare live well pump motors and a 1# plastic coffee can with a small roll of toilet paper. 

Please understand, I had to make this seemingly meaningless list because of its therapeutic benefit for me. "High, I'm Tom and I'm a tackle hoarder."

What an eye opener. I intend to make every effort to scale back when it comes time to reload my newly carpeted boat.

Any suggestions as to how I can exorcise my demons?

Is there someone I can call for support if I find myself weakening in the future? Lol.

I think I now know why my boat with its 150 hp merc would only do 26 mph at 5000 rpm. Subconsciously I new I had a problem cause I used to tell people that if I bought 1 more package of speed worms, I'd have to get a bigger boat.

Thanks for letting me come clean.

How long is your Nitro;  about 40 feet?

I organize my tackle, combos and other necessary items like a pantry.  The only items that stay in the boat are my terminal boxes, spinnerbait boxes and Senko bag.  When I plan a trip, I stock the the boat with specifics.  

You didn’t mention any found bags of chips though…

19 hours ago, A-Jay said:

@Nitro 882 ~

Congrats on the unexpected discretionary income and good luck with the recarpet job.

I'd say that you have a wonderful selection of tackle and associated gear.

 

I empty my rig before having it serviced at the end of each season.

Two years ago I snapped a picture of what came out of my Lund.

Since then, there have been slight changes, but not significant ones.

I realize that my tendency towards redundancy may seem excessive.

but it's been a part of my life for many years.

I've 'tried' a few times to work towards lightening the payload.

But everytime I take two things out, I put three things in.

I was losing the battle so I'm going to just stand pat for a while and see how it goes.

A-Jay

 

Thanks to all for the very helpful (and humorous) replies. A-jay, you are my new hero. My "stash" pales in comparison. I really didn't want to eliminate any gear, I really need all my stuff. Never know when you might need a "Johnsons Silver Minnow." 😉 I was just a bit surprised when I laid it all out in my garage.

By the way, I was joking about my boat performance trying to joke about the "load" she was carrying. Bought my Nitro NX 882 w 150hp Merc XR6 new in 2005 and have been very happy with it. Had the usual hard cold starting issues that so many have mentioned but, about 3 years ago, I lucked into a young mechanic who made some adjustment to the oil pump and it has run better than it did when new. Starts like an EFI now and no clouds of smoke like before on start up. I wasn't even aware that an adjustment was possible in that area. What a difference.

Thanks again, guys. I go forward with a clear conscience now knowing that what I had thought of as unnecessary clutter is, actually, the proper amount of "ballast" for a well-trimmed bass boat.