Further North

I thought I wanted rod tubes in my center rod locker...until I tried to put them in myself and realized a few things: They really limit the number of rods I can store. It's a PITA to get the rods on the bottom out. Since the back of my rod locker is solid and does not lift out...I have to bend the rods to get them in and out. Rod tubes create a strict maximum on rod length...where without them I can angle a slightly longer rod to one side to get it in. ...So I use sleeves custom made for each rod with the raw material purchased from Amazon and some heavy duty shrink tubing. Takes about 5 minutes to make one. All that said...I completely get why some folks like the built in tubes. Way more organized.

Wasn't saying it did. I said lighter rods tend to be higher quality within a given maker's range. Lighter materials cost more, and tend to be used in a maker's higher end rods...since higher end rod buyers tend to expect higher quality, the rods tend to be built with greater attention to detail, fit and finish etc. Are there exceptions? Sure. But in the big picture, it's a solid bet. It's a tendency not a rock solid fact. If you've got more detail to explain, please help me understand what you're getting at.

That's why I put "tend" and "should" in italics. If you look at a single maker's rods,the lighter ones tend to show up nearer the top end, and be more expensive, and be of higher quality. Move to another manufacturer, and you start from scratch...don't compare weights across makers. ...also: swing weight will be different from actual weight. Much harder to measure, but probably more important.

Lighter rods tend to be higher quality. It's not an absolute, and like anything else, you need to do your due diligence regarding individual maker quality. ...but within any high quality maker's line of rods, lighter should indicate higher quality.

I've forgotten. There was one for sale not far from here last fall (down near Stevens Point) thought it would have been a good starter boat for someone. It was an 18 footer, set up with a 150...I thought I'd saved pictures, but I can't find them.

Yeah, I'd forgotten that - what did their layout look like? The one I recall was sorta just like their normal rig with a bigger back deck...but that could easily be an attack of CRS.

The interesting thing about this is that there was a series of Crestliners in the early 2000s (culminating in the CMV) that was exactly what you discuss above. Size and layout were very similar to a lot of current bass boats. Why they didn't sell better is beyond me. I'm really, really pleased to see them coming back (in the form of the new Lund Pro-V Bass) with all the improvements that the intervening years have brought us.

I like the idea...I used corrugated plastic in a similar application...I attached it with heavy duty Velcro...I leave the lures on the plastic until they dry, then pull off the whole strip and drop the lures in their boxes. I also hung some of the same at the edge of the boat.

What is the source for the initial speed claims? There was an online report that my boat, rigged exactly as I have it set up, would run in the low 50s. The only way that's going to happen is with 3 gallons of gas in the tank, completely empty otherwise and a skinny 10 year old as a driver. I got about 4 MPH out of mine by raising the motor to the last hole, but still short of the low 50s. You are right about speeds indicating efficiency...but I'd try to validate that speed claim first. Steps to take - figure out what RPM you are running (your tach is likely off at least a bit) and make sure that is near the max RPMs for the motor...it's better to be a little short of red-line than over, for obvious reasons.

It'll take some hunting around locally, but someone has it.

Not sure - I bought my wire in pretty big spools at Farm & Fleet, so I'd have a hard time assigning a cost for just what I used on this boat. Let's go at it this way: Breakers are ~$40 MSRP on Minn Kota's site, A plug and receptacle are about another $30...so we're at $70 there...so it looks like you're paying $50 each for the wires...that seems spendy...I checked Farm and Fleet's website, they are selling 6 gauge wire for $0.89/foot...with a 17 foot boat, let's say you need 25 ft. of each...that'd be $44.50 for two pieces of wire...looks like they're pretty proud of their wire at about twice that.

I'm trying to figure out what it is you are asking...But I'll take a shot at helping out: the wiring for your trolling motor is pretty easy stuff. You need: Two batteries, you'll wire them in series. You need two pretty beefy wires to run power from where ever you have the batteries to the trolling motor. Not sure what you mean by "...positive and negative wires..." any heavy wire the gauge recommended or a little heavier will work just fine. You need one short "jumper" wire (again, pretty heavy duty, I use a battery cable). Some way to fasten the batteries down. At it's simplest, that'll work. Most people will add: A plug to disconnect the trolling motor (get one rated for your set up - 24 volt in your case). You can get these about anywhere, marina, on-line sellers, etc. A breaker to protect the motor. (Order from Minn Kota, favorite outdoors store like BAss Pro or Cabela's or your local boat dealer) A charger (you'd need a two bank if you just want to charge the trolling motor, a three bank if you want to charge the main battery at the same time (that's the way most people rig it). Same sources as above...I like Minn Kota's chargers, others like different brands, they all work great. The best way to run the wires is to fasten them securely to your existing wires and pull them through - you can avoid opening up the boat too much if you can get away with that. Make your connections solid - solder the wire to wire connections isn't the worst idea if you can, otherwise good solid crimps, shrink wrap and silicone tape work great. Make sure that where your wires run they are supported so that they don't rub against things that can wear away the insulation. I hope all that helps.

That's impressive.

I went 180° in the other direction - wanted a dual console after three single console boats...my passengers were getting cold and wet... On my '05 Crestliner installing (or removing) the 2nd console is 4 bolts, 10 minutes work.

The biggest benefits of braid are: Much higher strength at any given diameter No stretch, hook-sets are instant Sensitivity, you can feel the tiniest touches. Castability, if it's important to how you fish, you can chuck braid much further than mono. Mono has its uses as well, as does fluorocarbon...I see no reason to slam one, or its users in favor of another...I use all three.

I've seen line spook fish maybe three or four times...and two of those were while fly fishing for trout. The other two were on crystal clear Canadian lakes. I leave all my reels rigged with braid because it's stronger at any given diameter, and it lasts longer than mono or fluro. It takes maybe a minute to tie in a fluro leader if I get into some nasty rocks and it saves me having to have more rods on board. That's just how I do it, your system works great too.

Short answer: a short (say 4ft. - 8 ft.) mono or fluorocarbon leader tied onto the end of braid doesn't have much effect on why ost folks pick braid (no stretch, very sensitive to feeling your way through whatever cover you're in), but they have two distinct advantages: If the fish are touchy about seeing the line, it'll take that out of the equation. Both are more durable around sharp rocks. I often tie in a couple of feet of tieable stainless steel leader when I'm in toothy fish water...braid won't last 5 seconds when a pike or a musky hits it...mono or fluorocarbon won't last much longer. I'm sure not going to spool my whole reel with that...not that I'm suggesting you were saying I should.

We might wanna do a double check on the whole braiding monofilament thing...it's a son-of-a-gun to get through the eyelets of jigs....

Add another fan of the FG and the Alberto.

Winter is long up here...I am easily amused by February....

I do a lot of these things...and tie flies.

I have decided to begin braiding mono for my fishing line. It is time consuming, but I feel it will have all of the disadvantages of mono with none of the advantages of braid.

They'll be out there. They always are. All it takes is diligence, patience and a ready checkbook when you find one...and it only takes one.

Nice work - you've got the right a great start!

NIce rig! ...and a good price, IMO. Looks like I could get it well under $40K without much problem as I'd keep all my existing electronics. It's good to have options. It'll be even better when they start to show up on the used market.