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I have a few different graphs and a new trolling motor and I'm wondering what you think the optimal setup is with what I currently have. Below are the graphs and trolling motor I have. Humminbird Helix 12 Mega SI G2N (no chip installed yet) Humminbird Helix 10 SI (Not sure what Gen but has networking capability. Model # is 409990-1) Lakemaster V7 chip Humminbird Helix 10 Sonar (Not sure what Gen but has networking capability. Model # is 409960-1) Lakemaster V5 chip installed Humminbird Helix 7 SI Gen 1 (No networking ability) Navionics chip installed Minn Kota Ulterra 112 thrust trolling motor with Ipilot LINK and Mega DI The Helix 12 and trolling motor are new. I had the 7 SI on my previous boat and recently picked up the 10s as a package used for a decent price. I appreciate any input you have on: 1. How I should utilize what I have above? (Anything I should get rid of or don't need?) 2. Which unit I should have linked to the Ipilot LINK? 3. What do you recommend for the console/front/back of the boat and how to use when fishing? 4. Which transducers would you use and where? (Do I need more than 1 SI transducer mounted-have 3 but one is a mega, one is a larger one for the 10 SI and the 7 SI transducer is smaller) 5. Which units should have/need Lakemaster chips? (I only have 2 that are different versions as of this point) I know it is needed for ipilot link but anything else they are needed for? 6. Any units I don't need or should get rid of? Four units seem like a lot but maybe not? 7. I believe I will need to get a network hub but is there anything else I need or that you would recommend to get the most out of what I have? 8. When these units are networked, what kind of information can I expect to get from them being networked and how should I utilize the information? Sorry for all of the questions, but I really want to try and get this right the first time. I primarily fish a larger body of water (Mille Lacs) for small mouth if it matters. I am fairly new to fishing and am hoping the new setup can help me in getting on fish. BTW-my boat is a four corner fishing pontoon and I will likely have friends fishing with my on all four corners at various times. My wife wanted something comfy and multi purpose and wasn't as much interested in our main boat being a bass boat given how quick the weather can change. Hopefully I'll be able to get a bass boat in the future but I think I need to get better at fishing before she would consider letting me getting something more specific. James

Just checking, what would you get and why? Both brand new, Lowe would be 10-15% higher with Mercury 115hp but Suntracker got more features with 90hp.

I joined this forum to hopefully aquire some fishing buddies in the South Texas area. Here's my story, for what it is?? I began bream fishing around age 3-4 on Douglas Lake in East Tennessee where my grandparents lived on the lake. By age five I was targeting bass and crappie. Even Santa saw my potential leaving me my first baitcaster under the Christmas Tree when I was only six. Over the next few years I was viewed as a strange, quiet kid wondering the banks of Douglas Lake with a huge tackle box, topo maps, and no less than five rods at any given time. As as property values increased in the late 80s, owners of these lakefront cabins (now beginning to resemble beach houses) grew tired of me pulling 5lb bass from under their docks and sunken fish attractors. At age 10 I was making enemies with middle aged men. My solution was a canoe, trolling motor, and a massive Mercedes battery. This opened up most of the Muddy Creek hotspots to me instantly. It wasn't long before Santa (who later turned out to be my father) blessed me with a 12' aluminum with a 6 1/2hp Sears engine (always kept a paddle on board ?). I fished 25+ small tourneys in that boat and won half of them. One could imagine the animosity I had developed with the Sevier County "brass" in their 22' Bullet Boats when I putted into weigh-in with the lunker. Fast forward 25 years and I am a boatless Air Force Veteran who is back to looking for public acces and walking the banks. Now I am living a few miles from Canyon Lake in Texas. Considerably less developed, I have yet to catch any grief from the landowners which has been great. I have an early 2000s pontoon boat that needs some engine work. As soon as I get the motor running and drop a few lawn chairs I will begin tournaments again. That is unless someone on here needs someone to man the back of their Triton! I can pump your bulb like a pro!!! ????? Also, if someone knows someone who could give me a fair price on a tilt trim repair in the New Braunfels/San Antonio area please message me. Sincerely, Your new hillbilly friend Brett! P.S. I really look forward to exchanging ideas with you guys!

I have recently purchased a fun little bass boat with a 55lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor from Dicks sporting goods. I took it out with a buddy and had a blast. It's kind of limited as far as add-ons and the plastic is curved and difficult to find a flat spot to mount anything. Any good ideas for storage and add-ons to make this a little more "out all day" friendly? Also wanted to get some feedback/advice about painting the boat. I heard any paint is going to come off pretty quickly once in water. This is going to have to appease my appetite for a boat for awhile, (baby on the way) so I want to get it as close to a bass boat as possible. Appreciate the input and ideas. I'll post pictures along the way of things I try.

Anyone have knowledge of these? Thinking of getting one for family n fishing n keeping my Lund too.

Looking for other bass anglers in Idaho, Western Oregon, Northern Nevada or Northern Utah that want to get together for some kayak or motorless bass fishing. I am always looking new people to fish with. I fish out of a Hobie Pro Angler 14. If you have a small boat with a trolling motor on it I would be happy to go out and keep up with you that way also. Send me a PM if you ever want to get out and do some fishing. I fish in all types of weather. Jeremy

read this thread first to see how this project started out. i would of continued this topic in that thread but it is archived. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/24455-manhattan-boat-project-foldcat/ every time i took this boat out, i would come up with an improvement. some took longer to implement than others. one of the biggest issues was tracking, when going straight the boat would much of the time need to be pointing off 45* in one direction and the motor 45* in the opposite direction, this obviously would not do. i needed something like a fixed rudder to help it track. living in NYC making anything is not easy without access to a proper shop (for most of you a garage or yard) so i would need to find find something and adapt it. came up with the idea of using a skimboard, flat except for the tip, slim and treated for use in water. sawed the tip off, and used an old clamp from a transducer set up to make it attach to the boat, this alone improved performance ten fold. added the transducer and gps on top of each other to increase mapping accuracy. the other addition to help with tracking was a 24v 80# terrova ipilot link. a little much for the boat, but i was draining a single battery with the 12v setup with my 12 hour outings , and if im gonna carry two batteries i might as well go with 24v. speed wise i only gained 1mph, i guess this is where the laws of diminishing returns kick in, the added weight of battery and heavier motor negate most of the added thrust. but the autopilot on the motor is the final nail in the coffin for the tracking issues, this motor takes care of that and more. will also be shortening the shaft by a foot or so when the warranty runs out. another great addition was the mantis umbrella set up, a bit pricey for what it is, but performs exceptionally well with my set up. its there when i need it for rain or sun, and out of the way when i don't. can sit and cast fine and can even stand flip the seat around and extend it and still be covered, and does not hinder casting in the least. can even close half of it if i want to overhand cast. also makes a decent camera mount. was also able to use the seat mount adapter to rig out an aluminum bar that holds the ram mount for the humminbird unit, so it spins with seat. i upgraded the hbird (previous unit didnt have ethernet to communicate with terrova) and moved it off the cooler setup and using a ram mount and a little rigging, attached it to the side of the seat, kind of gives it that whole star trek captains chair feel, and opens up the space for the rods. for the rods i used a bac rac, which helps keep the gear secure, elevated off the boat (lessens boat rash), and easily accessible. now i just need to wait for lakemasters autochart to come out so i can map the lakes i fish, and make full use of the terrova and hbird link combo. next upgrade, a better seat. add a tackle bag and lunchbox, and good to go. note the umbrella in stowed position. just a nice magic hour shot while dismantling.