What have you done for your boat lately?

This one was for sale for a while in Sequim, yall might have seen it. Picked it up for 5k. It's a 2005 Tracker Targa 18' with a 115hp Merc. It was a montana boat, sat out all summer and garaged in the winter. Interior was weather beaten and trashed but structurally sound and had been sitting more than it was used.
I had to strip it bare, removed hundreds of lbs of waterlogged foam and built it back up. Still not complete but getting there! Had it out for a test run and boy does it perform..
 

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A little bit of everything, from bass to salmon. I know its not ideal but my last couple boats have been purely fishing rigs. This one will be more family fun, pull a tube, etc. I have this one to sell when I get around to it.
 

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Well, this has been in the works for awhile. Finally pulled the trigger when some factory remanufactured units became available at almost $1000 off new. As luck would have it, my unit got beat up in shipping resulting in grinding noises from the lower unit. Because the nearest authorized service center is an hour and a half away, Minn Kota just sent me a brand new lower unit/shaft assembly and authorized me to replace it under warranty. Big kudos to Minn Kota.

Went with a Group 24 sized PowerQueen 24v 50ah LifePo4 battery. To limit the amount of wire running around on the deck I decided to fit the battery in the front anchor locker which required adding a notch to the hatch cover.

On the classic whaler forums there are multiple people running trolling motors without modifying the railing. Deploying and retrieving with the railing is doable but really a PITA. I'll be cutting a short section out and adding a hinge once those parts get here.

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ffb said:
Well, this has been in the works for awhile. Finally pulled the trigger when some factory remanufactured units became available at almost $1000 off new. As luck would have it, my unit got beat up in shipping resulting in grinding noises from the lower unit. Because the nearest authorized service center is an hour and a half away, Minn Kota just sent me a brand new lower unit/shaft assembly and authorized me to replace it under warranty. Big kudos to Minn Kota.

Went with a Group 24 sized PowerQueen 24v 50ah LifePo4 battery. To limit the amount of wire running around on the deck I decided to fit the battery in the front anchor locker which required adding a notch to the hatch cover.

On the classic whaler forums there are multiple people running trolling motors without modifying the railing. Deploying and retrieving with the railing is doable but really a PITA. I'll be cutting a short section out and adding a hinge once those parts get here.

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Looks great! You're going to love it! Worth every penny.
 
ffb said:
Well, this has been in the works for awhile. Finally pulled the trigger when some factory remanufactured units became available at almost $1000 off new. As luck would have it, my unit got beat up in shipping resulting in grinding noises from the lower unit. Because the nearest authorized service center is an hour and a half away, Minn Kota just sent me a brand new lower unit/shaft assembly and authorized me to replace it under warranty. Big kudos to Minn Kota.

Went with a Group 24 sized PowerQueen 24v 50ah LifePo4 battery. To limit the amount of wire running around on the deck I decided to fit the battery in the front anchor locker which required adding a notch to the hatch cover.

On the classic whaler forums there are multiple people running trolling motors without modifying the railing. Deploying and retrieving with the railing is doable but really a PITA. I'll be cutting a short section out and adding a hinge once those parts get here.

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Love those Power Queen batteries! They also make a group 24 100ah if you find you need more.
 
3 cylinders bored, the other 3 honed, new pistons, bearings cleaned carbs, new water pump, replaced missing oil injection parts $4300. Mechanic says it runs great now. Two things left to do
1. Go get it
2. Get a new CC with 0 interest for 18 months on balance transfers.
 
Bought a "new" one!
Funny how looking at so many boats since October sort of changed my requirements. Well, and some damn car trouble. :(

So with a lower budget as well as some new requirements I feel like I got really lucky and found a good one.

2005 Lowe FM165S with a 50 4stroke EFI with only 271 hours. It was a consignment boat from a respected service shop so they had fixed some minor stuff and changed the oil, filter and plugs.
She's 20 years old, but in great shape. The old guy that owned her just didn't get out much. Did it sit too long during some of it's life? Yep, but considering the shop went through it (and showed me the paperwork) and it did great on the lake test today, even with it being high 20s, I feel pretty comfortable it will give me lots of hours without too much drama. Only time will tell.

She won't win any races, but she'll get fished hard and is just plush enough my wife might actually go along to read in the shade or do sunset cruises.

She purty..
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skyriver said:
Bought a "new" one!
Funny how looking at so many boats since October sort of changed my requirements. Well, and some damn car trouble. :(

So with a lower budget as well as some new requirements I feel like I got really lucky and found a good one.

2005 Lowe FM165S with a 50 4stroke EFI with only 271 hours. It was a consignment boat from a respected service shop so they had fixed some minor stuff and changed the oil, filter and plugs.
She's 20 years old, but in great shape. The old guy that owned her just didn't get out much. Did it sit too long during some of it's life? Yep, but considering the shop went through it (and showed me the paperwork) and it did great on the lake test today, even with it being high 20s, I feel pretty comfortable it will give me lots of hours without too much drama. Only time will tell.

She won't win any races, but she'll get fished hard and is just plush enough my wife might actually go along to read in the shade or do sunset cruises.

She purty..
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Click to expand...
thx for posting. what was the pricing?
 
skyriver said:
Bought a "new" one!
Funny how looking at so many boats since October sort of changed my requirements. Well, and some damn car trouble. :(

So with a lower budget as well as some new requirements I feel like I got really lucky and found a good one.

2005 Lowe FM165S with a 50 4stroke EFI with only 271 hours. It was a consignment boat from a respected service shop so they had fixed some minor stuff and changed the oil, filter and plugs.
She's 20 years old, but in great shape. The old guy that owned her just didn't get out much. Did it sit too long during some of it's life? Yep, but considering the shop went through it (and showed me the paperwork) and it did great on the lake test today, even with it being high 20s, I feel pretty comfortable it will give me lots of hours without too much drama. Only time will tell.

She won't win any races, but she'll get fished hard and is just plush enough my wife might actually go along to read in the shade or do sunset cruises.

She purty..
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have had both a Crestliner and Fisher CC very much like yours, excellent choice!
If not already equipped with one, get yourself an extra tall forward post seat, prefer a normal set vs bass butt pad myself, so much fun to sit and cast while controlling the bow motor, covered lotta territory doing that with mine without ever firing up the main once I got to the first stop.
 
skyriver said:
Bought a "new" one!
Funny how looking at so many boats since October sort of changed my requirements. Well, and some damn car trouble. :(

So with a lower budget as well as some new requirements I feel like I got really lucky and found a good one.

2005 Lowe FM165S with a 50 4stroke EFI with only 271 hours. It was a consignment boat from a respected service shop so they had fixed some minor stuff and changed the oil, filter and plugs.
She's 20 years old, but in great shape. The old guy that owned her just didn't get out much. Did it sit too long during some of it's life? Yep, but considering the shop went through it (and showed me the paperwork) and it did great on the lake test today, even with it being high 20s, I feel pretty comfortable it will give me lots of hours without too much drama. Only time will tell.

She won't win any races, but she'll get fished hard and is just plush enough my wife might actually go along to read in the shade or do sunset cruises.

She purty..
View attachment 139848

View attachment 139849
Click to expand...
Congrats!
 
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