Steve

Decided to catch up on some sleep today, and took the morning off the water. I'm watching The Next Bite. They are having their Mercury infomercial portion of the show. Pete is interviewing some Mercury rep, and this mercury rep is explaining their "exclusive" mercury tiller handle on their kicker motor. They claim they have the only tiller handle with a kill switch, a trim switch, and the throttle all on the same handle, with the users ability to use all functions with one hand...... yep....it does. so does Yamaha. And the yamaha has the multi function ability to increase or decrease your rpm's with a button.... Why can a company market something as "exclusive" when it is the furthest from exclusive?

Halton Marine Group, in Oakville. John is a old motor expert.

1998 Lund Pro Guide 1700 Canadian Edition hull weight: 676lbs 50hp Yamaha motor weight: 247lbs I run 3 12v batteries as well (add another 220lbs) 1997 Lund Explorer 1600 hull weight: 615lbs 45hp Honda motor weight: 214lbs

Mike, I've seen your success. I'd say you do quite well in that rig. They are great multi species boats! Do you guide out of that boat?

Biggest difference between the explorer and the pro guide is the transom width (pro guide an extra 3") and the casting deck length. Pro Guide casting deck length almost 30" longer. Of course, I'm comparing the 1700 explorer with the 1700 pro guide. I'm not sure what your max hp is on the 1600, but the 1700's were the same at 60hp. By the looks of your 1600, I'm not sure where the livewell is? The 1700 Pro Guide, (I cannot remember the 1700 explorer) has the center livewell at 28 gallons. Other than for the above, VERY CLOSE. And yes, yours is in great condition!

Well, it has a garage... but it spends most of its time on the water...and it certainly has no cover there... the biggest issue is towing in the winter....fishing in the winter....hell, the winter in general.

i'm not sure about the savings. i'm about 60% into a new hull. (the 2012 lund pro guide 1600 HULL ONLY is almost 15K - and this boat is now far superior to that boat. Oh, and my boat is a 1700 model...)

As mentioned earlier in January, I decided to get my boat restored rather than purchasing a new hull. Trailer and motor were ok. Boats these days have lost all their "fishability". By installing "through floor" rod storage (for max 7' rods) they have reduced the space needed for full size livewells. Notice these days boats have two small ones, rather than one good one. Fishing for fish larger than 22" requires a livewell much larger than found on todays boats. My casting deck is also half the size of my boat....boats today have much smaller casting decks. For these two main reasons is why I decided to get my boat restored, rather than buying new. I decided on Ron Banks Marine service to do the job (after TONS of positive comments from folks who either know their work, or have had work done themselves). I was warned about his pricing - yep, it's expensive....but done correctly - the first time! Replaced was 140 rivets, flooring (changing the lund 3/5" non marine ply to 3/4" marine ply). Also all carpet. My "upgrades" were my electronics command centre, rigger mounts, and front trolling motor mount. The price slowly escalated after each visit when I requested more and more upgrades....but it was all worth it in the end! The Drop Off Visit I On my first visit I saw basically a stripped boat, with the 140 rivets changed and completed. All else was simply stripped. All stringers were in tact. Ron commented that my boat had "double supports" compared to lunds of today. My boat was a 1998 Lund Pro Guide CANADIAN EDITION. These were sent to lodges in the north under lease arrangements. My boat was sent to a lodge that quickly went under, so it didn't get much use. The reason I cannot find another one of my boats (i've never seen another in my life - internet, or on the water) is cause most of them were destroyed by heavy resort use. Visit II My second visit was to see it at about 60% completion. The rigger mounts were done, as was most of the electronics. The supports under the floor boards for the seats are second to none. Lund had tiny tin squares cut out for the bolts to go through. Not any more! Its actually embarrasing to see the short cuts taken on factory boat manufacturing.....and this is a lund - can you imagine the short cuts on lesser quality boats.... Boat manufacture's definitely follow the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality. All Finished The finished product was amazing. Oh, and our first outing Thursday evening for the water test.

Nice Cat from this past Sunday. Biggest in quite some time!

my electric is going on three seasons now...and I troll quite a bit.... but my findings and experience on the water has told me not to run in in forward, rather, run it in reverse slowing your outboard down to as slow as u need...which in some cases is less than 0.5mph (bringing kings in on the big pond)

I'm trying to recall the last time Tony went on his "fishing store day trip". He posted his results. Bills Bait (greg) did have the ST41'S (he keeps them somewhat stocked as I have bought some 80 packs from him) as well as the copper tony was looking for, but I do recall not everything Tony was looking for Greg had. It's one of those things....no one can have it all... But over the last four years or so, we have got Greg to order just about get everything required for big water fishing.... He's likely the only "small" shop that actually brings in the excalibur tear drop split rings - best split rings money can buy!

i have the same feature Raf. when the wind is at your back, or the waves are rolling down behind you, you can still be trolling quicker than expected.

i use a minn kota motor in reverse in order to slow my boat down to 1.2mph or less.

I totally agree.

Your right - it is personal. Our "crew" would never ever ever consider an OOS fish a "personal best". Never. Heck, our jury is still open whether a fish caught with a guide should be considered a "personal best". But like you said, each to their own - and that's why it's called "personal best".

I've done it quite a bit Roy, more a few years back, but quite a bit. All in Hamilton Harbour. We have done quite well. However, disadvantages? Well, you generally don't use your funny alarms, pods, buzzers, beepers, and other silly items. You put your bait in the water on your spinning rod, and go fishing. Its identical to grand river catfish fishing.... We generally use niblet corn to chum around the boat...then we fish just off the side...rather than casting it out.... Fun thing to do in the hot summer in the harbour!

my 17' boat weighs 676 lbs. it's a tiller. i have a 50hp 4 stroke. i can get MAX 30mph.... with a standard load, I can get 27-28mph. that hull weighs 1,175lbs. you do the math.

wow - Grimace, typed at the exact same time... I'm quite confident 99% of FISHERMAN have the same feeling....but legend boats aren't marketed for fisherman....just first timers who don't know any better.... taking advantage of the "uninformed"!

Henry, I'm sorry, but what you are offering is DANGEROUS. A first time boat owner may not understand how UNDERPOWERED a 50hp motor on your listed boat would be. If it's rated for a 150hp, and your "salesman" can conciously offer a 50hp motor on it - well, it says a lot about the company. I'm quite confident any respectable dealer would never ever sell a boat with a motor that is only rated at 33% of the max hp. Yes, your correct, a buyer can upgrade. BUT will your salesman explain that it is unsafe to purchase that boat with the "included" motor of 50hp?! Purely dangerous. In my mind equal to a car dealership selling a Yukon truck with breaks for a civic. You can tell them, "just don't break too hard" ... just as likely you'll tell me "it's better than staying on shore" ... but really, is it? The LEAST you should ever rig a boat rated for a 150hp is a 90hp engine. So your "included" price should be with a 90hp, MINIMUM!

merc, well, that is up to each individual. i couldn't justify spending $10K or more for a 'lesser' of a boat.... reducing sizes of casting decks, livewells, while increasing beams for extra horsies.... fisherman want things that enhance fishing... ie, casting decks and livewells.... if I went to the new pro guide, i would have had to massively increase my horsies while at the same time reducing the size of my livewell and casting deck....but i would have had a wider boat.... again, each to their own... i'm happy with my decision.... someone else may have wanted to go with a new boat....

After a long chat and a tour of Ron's facility, as well as the past work he has completed, I left my baby there to be picked up by the end of February. We have agreed to the following: *Re-Rivet all rivets on the bottom of the boat, as well as add new structural rivets in the front. *Repair any stringers required *Replace floatation foam *Replace all wood with new 3/4" marine ply *Replace all carpet with new marine grade carpet (same original colour) *Add custom rigger mounts for each side *Replace all electrical and hoses *Replace the bilge and livewell pumps *Custom paint the interior and exterior of the hull (same matching colours of the original) *Add digital guages for my motor (my old yamaha had analog guages but my new yammy requires digital guages - which I never added) When he threw me the starting price, I was comfortable. I added $2K or so for additional "fun" that will present itself as we go along. His first step is stripping the entire boat down to rivets. I'll then come by to check out the condition of the hull and rivets prior to him stripping the rivets and re-doing. He's even doing all the aluminimum reconditioning (scratches, dents, etc). My baby is going under the knife. Photo's will be taken throughout the entire rebuild, in which I will share accordingly. Thanks for all the candid advice everyone. It has been greatly appreciated. Oh, sinker, his duck boats are retarded! I can't believe what he builds....the 22' model is beyond unbelievable! I really apprecaited his understanding of 12m a year boating....rather than talking like "it shouldn't be done, and if you do, expect damage" which is how most marina's talk (ie, bay city) Ron realizes that it can be done, with the appropriate boat. I'm a happy camper!

Again Dan, you are correct. I would not expect any abuse to be covered by a warranty. Main reason I've never complained about my boat leaking after 11 years of use. I'll let you all know how it goes and what my final decision is.

Sinker you are correct. Dan, I agree with your point 100%. I just hope the digits on this rebuild don't reach "5".... Still have to be logical about the whole thing. I'm now 100% confident I'm going to the right place....I thank you all for that OFC. I'll take lots of "before" and "after" pictures...but I'll likely get to see very little of the "between process".

Thanks for the kind words fella's. I NEED to have the boat back by April 1. SPRING SALMON CANNOT BE MISSED! This will be discussed Saturday morning.

and sorry, yes, I've looked at ALL the new boats...for 16 months actually... in speaking with those that know me, only the Lund Pro Guide would suit my requirements ... strength and durability wise... but as mentioned above, the layout on a 1998 Lund Pro Guide Canadian Edition is vastly superior to the 2012 Lund Pro Guide. As for other brands, I've looked "very" closely at Princecrafts, Lowe's, Crestliners, G3's, Alumicrafts, Starcrafts, Smokercrafts, and even custom boats....