Further North

I'm with you: 112 on an 1850 Crestliner here. Mine gets run at 2.5 - 3.5 most of the time. It'll run 3.5 MPH on 10. Handy in strong current or wind.

Most props don't spin at engine RPM.

IMO, keeping a connection to your bait is the key. Find a way to keep the line tight and you'll feel the hits. Sunday, I fished all afternoon with a finesse bite...fish were hitting Senkos and flies...and not much else. When this is happening, we need to increase our attention, and look for the slightest hint there is a fish on. I had one smallie on Sunday that came up under my fly (a 2" Ol' Mr. Wiggly) and sucked it under with almost no disturbance on the surface other than the fly going down. Had a been at a different angle and not been able to see into the water, it would have looked like a panfish messing with the fly. I missed that hook set...but ten minutes later had a similar and managed to get the fish on. My line was pretty tight to the fly, my stripping hand was ready and I as focused on the fly...hook-sets are free, don't be afraid to set the hook.

Agree on the FG knot. I find it easy a tie, but some people don't. The diameter of the finish knot along with its tested strength is what got me looking at it to begin with, it has lived up to its reputation. FG knots go through line guides find even micro guides with lower diameter line.

...still works...

OK, I'm gonna put that one in the memory banks...never woulda thought about that.

Same here.

Right...but the old CMVs like mine were the same deal, I think...a chopped off Fish Hawk hull.

I had to listen to it twice - it is indeed a 150. The 1750 is 17', 9" long and 95 " wide...so it's just 3" short of 18 ft. My 2005 CMV 1850 is 18', 3" long and 95" wide...it is also rated for a 150, though I run a Johnzuki DF140 on it. ...I was surprised they only got 52 MPH out of the 1750 with a 150 on it...if I take all my "stuff" out of my CMV, I can 46 - 47 MPH, and I can get 42 MPH with a full load in the righ conditions...and I think the Merc 150 is lot stronger motor than the Suzuki DF140* *But I'd rather have the DF140.

I have the same hoist, use it for a 14' canoe. Works great.

Thanks for that - I've been looking for somthng since Photobucket piddled all over their customers and their own bed...

...but I'm not gonna hold my breath...

Looks like a good plan!

I see you've already bought the boat, have fun with it! The only thing I'd be in a hurry to change for how I fish would be to bump up to a 24 volt trolling motor.

Have you ever looked at a big weed patch and thought, "I wish there was a slot up the middle that'd give fish an edge to hold on."? ...with the Ninja Weed Cutter you can make that slot...

Thanks - that's what I read other places. I had a little Tracker V-14 with a Merc 40 2 stroke on it...the only way it didn't porpoise was with the motor trimmed all the down.

So nobody does it? I didn't know the OP was from Massachusetts. ...you can still run the boat onto the trailer at speed, just kill the motor just before you get to the trailer...

OK, so here's the feedback: Cuts through weeds like a weed wacker...only better. Works fine at low speeds (down to 2 on a 36 volt Ulterra)...really works at higher speeds. Went though some thick stuff that normally would have slowed the TM way down, and left a bunch of crap hanging on the motor when I pulled it up. Speed through the weeds was great, and there were not weeds on the TM. I'd buy it again.

So...no gas motor? Or you haven't used the gas motor to drive onto the trailer?

Correct - I had it backwards.

It doesn't take much, and it made a huge difference to me in terms of frustration and being able to spend time fishing instead of fighting with the boat.

If it's like the old CMVs, and if they are using the current Fish Hawk hull as a starting point (like the old CMVs did), there's not a ton of testing to do. The hull design is solid and well tested, and they've got a couple years recent experience putting the deck in the Lund Pro-V Bass. I am curious though - what problems are they having with the PT 18s? I'll do a Google search, but I'd sure like to hear it from an owners perspective.

Agree...another opportunity for a sticky topic.

Yup. I'm kinda surprised we don't have a sticky topic for this. Comes up a lot.

If this is in a boat and you can leave the batteries and trolling motor attached, here's what I'd do: Get two batteries. I'd go with 31 series AGMs for your application, but that's me. Farm and Barn sells them around here for $189.99 regular price, you can find them on sale for less if you're not in a rush. Mount them somewhere aft of the center of the boat and run heavy duty wires to the bow. Wire them in series (not parallel) to about double your capacity. If it's not too late, get a bow mount Edge series (They make an inexpensive hand steer model). If you already bought the transom mount, don't sweat it... Mount the transom mount at the bow. This may take some on-site engineering on your part to figure out how to hang it up there. In my old Sea Nymph, I was able to use a block of wood (a 2 x 6) and just clamp the motor to the left side of the bow, very near the front of the boat. You'll have to find the screw what hold the motor head in place Remove it Rotate the head 180° Put the screw back in. Why the bow? Two reasons: It's more efficient to pull rather than push.* Way, way easier to control the boat in wind and current from the bow. Not much is more frustrating than to be sitting at the back of a small boat and have the wind or current grab the bow and shove the boat sideways when you're trying to get into or hold position. *Yeah, I know we put outboards in back. Different animal, different situation...