If you had $15k for a boat....

[ichan]

hey fishfinder17, did u check out that princecraft 177 on kijiji?

[Moosebunk]

Humming hawing about moving "The Bomber"... Your $15 could work. lol.

 

Too small for you though... Boat shopping is fun times.

[FishFinder17]

hey fishfinder17, did u check out that princecraft 177 on kijiji?

 

 

Yes I did. That 115 E-tec looks nice and boat seems to be in good shape.

 

I've sent the guy a note to get some more info. I would still prefer a walkthrough but it is a nice boat. Thanks very much for sharing, somehow I didn't see this one when doing my own kijiji search.

 

FF17

Edited February 25, 2017 by FishFinder17

[FishFinder17]

Humming hawing about moving "The Bomber"... Your $15 could work. lol.

 

Too small for you though... Boat shopping is fun times.

 

haha if you're willing to move a boat for 15 bucks I'm all ears....

[bobkayla]

If you see a Tracker run away as fast as you can they are garbage cans.Lund and StarCraft are my favorite boats. I would take a Crestliner but I am not a fan of welded hulls. Whatever you choose it all about the condition of the boat. For 15K you are looking at a 15 year old boat for what you want, maybe older. People with good boats generally keep them. I saw plenty of junk when I was looking.

Oh the tracker bashes on here,,,,,I bought my 17.5 in 2011,,,,absolutely not a single problem

Love the boat

[Sinker]

I have a buddy selling a 19ft proline CC with 125 merc for $15G. Beautiful boat.

[G.mech]

Sent you a pm with some info my old boat, take a look...

[FishFinder17]

I have a buddy selling a 19ft proline CC with 125 merc for $15G. Beautiful boat.

 

I think I've seen this one on Kijiji..2001?

 

Really nice boat but not really the style I'm looking for.

[FishFinder17]

Sent you a pm with some info my old boat, take a look...

 

Thanks vey much G.mech...just sent you a reply

[FishFinder17]

Hi OFC,

 

Still on the hunt for a new fishing rig but have some good options so far. I sold my other boat for a little less than I had hoped but now that it's gone I can get serious about finding a new one.

 

Quick question about trolling motors, minn kota in particular. One of the boats I'm seriously considering would require a new trolling motor and I'm not sure what I would go with. I had a powerdrive v2 55lb on my old tracker and it was great so I'm considering the Terrova (70lb or bigger) but should I spend the extra bucks and get ipilot? Or could I save it and get the ipilot add-on later on? Any thoughts on the universal sonar and would I need a newer humminbird GPS to use ipilot properly?

 

Lots of questions but everyone here has been a big help so far, hope you don't mind me asking for a little more.

 

Thanks,

 

FF17

[Moosebunk]

Nobody really "needs" I-Pilot.

 

Running a 16 foot Rebel XL / 60hp after awhile found that the PD55 wasn't cutting it for a few things. Most of the time fine tho!

 

The Terrova 80 24V with AP / US for this boat had solid balls to get it around and I'd think it fine on a heavier 17 consoled boat too. Save the few extra bucks and put it into your sonar.

[Pigeontroller]

Another vote for the MK Terrova 24v 80#, moves my 16'er around beautifully.

[grimsbylander]

Personally, all I want is spot-lock. But hey, we're all different. As far as the lbs and volts, that gets decided after you find a boat. The weight of the boat only plays a part in determining how strong a motor you need. A boat with a high gunnel, or fishing current or big water will require a stronger motor. Also, if you're on the pedal a lot (like me) having the extra motor or even 36V is a bonus.

[MSBruno]

Autopilot is amazing. Will never buy another trolling motor without it.

[DRIFTER_016]

I have an older Power drive V1 Autopilot with universal sonar 24 volt 80# on my 18#er and it's great.

I added the Co-Pilot wireless module and it's pretty much all I use now.

Don't think I've used the foot pedal since I added that.

I would really love iPilot just for the virtual anchor when jigging.

[John Bacon]

Quick question about trolling motors, minn kota in particular. One of the boats I'm seriously considering would require a new trolling motor and I'm not sure what I would go with. I had a powerdrive v2 55lb on my old tracker and it was great so I'm considering the Terrova (70lb or bigger) but should I spend the extra bucks and get ipilot? Or could I save it and get the ipilot add-on later on? Any thoughts on the universal sonar and would I need a newer humminbird GPS to use ipilot properly?

 

What type of fishing do you do? If you are weaving around stumps while you cast for bass, then a cable steer motor will give you better control than a power steer model. If you tend to troll or fish deeper open water then the autopilot does offer a lot of advantages.

 

I wouldn't want to own a power steer motor that didn't have some type of autopilot. As mentioned, a cable steer motor gives much better control; but autopilot provides a lot of benefits that (depending on what type of fishing you do) may outway the better control offered by a cable steer motor.

 

Personally, I troll a lot and use my bow mount to steer the boat. So, for me it was a decision between MK iPilot and MG Xi5. But everybody's needs are different.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2017 by JohnBacon

[porkpie]

A GPS enabled trolling motor is the best money I've ever spent on my boat, no exceptions. If I had to, I'd fish with a greyscale sonar and a hand held GPS for marking spots before I'd give up the trolling motor. I've used my foot pedal maybe twice since I got the motor.

[Sinker]

A GPS enabled trolling motor is the best money I've ever spent on my boat, no exceptions. If I had to, I'd fish with a greyscale sonar and a hand held GPS for marking spots before I'd give up the trolling motor. I've used my foot pedal maybe twice since I got the motor.

I agree. Most important tool on my boat!

[grimsbylander]

There seems to be two camps... the guys that fish the point or weedline and the guys that fish the detail on the point or weedline. I want great electronics and I'll operate the electric all day to get it. I don't troll either.

[FishFinder17]

All good points, thanks guys.

 

The whole idea behind buying a bigger boat is to have the option to fish bigger water, so the ipilot seems to make a lot of sense. The majority of the time would be spent covering weedlines, humps, drop-offs etc for pike but would be nice to be prepared for any kind of fishing.

 

Appreciate the advice

 

FF17

[porkpie]

There is a lot you can do with the GPS feature. From controlling trolling speed, locking down your heading, utilizing spot lock, setting your speed and heading to control a drift in heavier winds and the list goes on. Very versatile, and once you use one you would never regret having spent the money. Two of my most frugal buddies both went straight out and bought them after fishing on my boat and seeing the possibilities.

[FishFinder17]

There is a lot you can do with the GPS feature. From controlling trolling speed, locking down your heading, utilizing spot lock, setting your speed and heading to control a drift in heavier winds and the list goes on. Very versatile, and once you use one you would never regret having spent the money. Two of my most frugal buddies both went straight out and bought them after fishing on my boat and seeing the possibilities.

 

 

Thanks porkpie, good to know. I'm sure I would do the same thing if I saw one in action...I'm now pretty set on buying one based on all of the "can't live without it" comments.

[Lape0019]

If you look your Powerdrive, you will love a Terrova. It is leaps and bounds better than either Powerdrive (original or V2). I say this from experience using all three.

 

Stow, deploy is easier on the Terrova, the 80lb had a bigger housing and offers a few more features.

 

Now, there is the Terrova with I pilot and a terrova with I pilot link. The link can be attached to a hummingbird fishfinder. I say this because you asked. IMO, we do not yet have the support (lakemaster charts) to use the link Properly. You can make your own maps using autochart live but that takes a lot of time. IMO, until Lakemaster charts are available for our lakes or you are willing to spend hours charting a river, the link is not a good value for us Canadians.

 

I would suggest buying the Terrova with I pilot and US2. I use the US2 once in a while but it is nice to have.

[FishFinder17]

If you look your Powerdrive, you will love a Terrova. It is leaps and bounds better than either Powerdrive (original or V2). I say this from experience using all three.

 

Stow, deploy is easier on the Terrova, the 80lb had a bigger housing and offers a few more features.

 

Now, there is the Terrova with I pilot and a terrova with I pilot link. The link can be attached to a hummingbird fishfinder. I say this because you asked. IMO, we do not yet have the support (lakemaster charts) to use the link Properly. You can make your own maps using autochart live but that takes a lot of time. IMO, until Lakemaster charts are available for our lakes or you are willing to spend hours charting a river, the link is not a good value for us Canadians.

 

I would suggest buying the Terrova with I pilot and US2. I use the US2 once in a while but it is nice to have.

 

Thanks Lape thats really good insight. I read somewhere online that the US2 isn't that great as it doesn't support side imaging, is that correct?

 

I really like the ipilot feature but I also have a few other things I would need to purchase so will have to see what fits in the overall budget. Worst case I could always buy the add on afterwards.

 

Thanks again

 

FF17

[DRIFTER_016]

The built in transducer is just a regular olde fashioned 200khz one.