New Boat What Add Ons??

[los11]

Hey guys I just bought a new 2013 bass tracker Pro 170 I upgraded to the 50HP Merc Optimax and I also just purchased a Hummingbird 597ci gps/fish finder combo with mt 500 gift card from Bass pro i got that with the boat was also gonna do a hummingbird by the trolling motor aswell maybe a lesser hummingbird no gps just HD. I didnt want to spend over 15K which is why i didnt go with like a Z7 or anything like that so my question is and I am newer to bass boats do I need to upgrade my trolling motor it came with a Edge 45lb thrust I was thinking of going to a 70lb thrust I am planning on doing alot of tournaments this year. Also do I need to go to 3 batteries or can I just upgrade my two interstates to like optimas meaning would two optimas be better then a 3rd interstate its a cramped area so two optimas would fit better.. also was looking at power pole like doing a single one is that not worth doing on my boat cause. I usually see them on Z7 and boats like that but I plan on keeping my boat for a while so I dont mind putting money into this boat. sorry for all the question but I am new to this..

[slonezp]

If you're going to do tournaments, a 24v TM is a good idea. Reasons being, you have to fish, windy or not. Better to have it and not need it. You WILL need 3 batteries. 2 for the TM and 1 for the starting and accessories. As far as battery choice, I had a 17ft tin boat and lead cell batteries worked just fine. I've got lead cell in my 20ft tin now. If you want to spend the extra money for the Optimas, that's up to you. Figure out what fishfinder features are important to you and fits in your budget for the bow mount. If you will be fishing the same water, a gps may not be important. If you will be fishing multiple waters than you may want it. When you say you want HD, do you mean side or down imaging? As far as the Power pole, I have no opinion as of yet. I installed a single Talon on my boat this past weekend and haven't tried it out yet. I'm positive 1 is better than none. You can always add a second one if you are not happy.

[los11]

If you're going to do tournaments, a 24v TM is a good idea. Reasons being, you have to fish, windy or not. Better to have it and not need it. You WILL need 3 batteries. 2 for the TM and 1 for the starting and accessories. As far as battery choice, I had a 17ft tin boat and lead cell batteries worked just fine. I've got lead cell in my 20ft tin now. If you want to spend the extra money for the Optimas, that's up to you. Figure out what fishfinder features are important to you and fits in your budget for the bow mount. If you will be fishing the same water, a gps may not be important. If you will be fishing multiple waters than you may want it. When you say you want HD, do you mean side or down imaging? As far as the Power pole, I have no opinion as of yet. I installed a single Talon on my boat this past weekend and haven't tried it out yet. I'm positive 1 is better than none. You can always add a second one if you are not happy.hn

Thanks for the reply, yeah i def plan on tournies.. so I def want to upgrade to a 24v TM and I am thinking like you said just add another battery should be fine I can save the money and not do Optimas. also on the fish finder  I just got the Hummingbird 597ci that has GPS on it but I am doing that one on the console I figured I only need one with GPS the bow mount I figure I would do a side imaging or what is a good way to go for the bow mount second fish finder should  do DI or SI my 597 just has dual beam sonar no di or si... Yeah I was looking at the talon and doing a single one aswell but I was just wondering if its a waste to put on my pro  170 cause its a small tin boat i didnt know if i was going overboard  adding a talon to a aluminum boat                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[BassinB]

to get the full use out of Side Imaging or Down Imaging you usually need to be moving, so most of the time guys want the unit that can do that stuff on the console.  In the front of the boat 2D sonar is a good option because it works sitting still while you are fishing. Obviously there are exceptions and people have things rigged their own way on every boat, but this seems to be the consensus for people on a budget.

[slonezp]

I fished tourneys for 8 years in a 17ft tin boat without a shallow water anchor and 7 years without side imaging. The only necessity for fishing is fish.   Look at the add ons as tools to make our job easier. No reason why you shouldn't have a shallow water anchor if it's going to make an improvement in your abilities as a fisherman, and help you win money. If you can afford it, start with one and see how it works. You can always add a second one OR if you hate it, you can sell the first one. As far as finders, WayneP is the resident fishfinder guru. When I rigged my boat I opted for a 2d w/gps for the trolling motor and SI on the console. If I feel down the road if I want to upgrade to SI on the TM I can always sell the unit I have now. 

 

FYI, Power Pole and Optima are site sponsors. Humminbird and Minn Kota have pretty good rebates on some of their equipment. You would need to check their sites

[ww2farmer]

I have the same boat, mines a 2006. The best thing I ever did was upgrade the TM to 24v. You will want two separate batteries for the TM. Here is what I did.....keep the cranking battery where it is, and leave it alone. Take the group 27 TM battery and tray it comes with OUT. Now, there is not room for two 27's in that boat, so, I made a custom tray out of two group 24 trays, and use two group 24's. It's a tight fit, but they will fit. What ever you do make sure you get a digital variable speed TM, with the smaller batteries your going to need every last bit of power conservation you can get. Find a set of group 24's with the highest reserve capacity you can find. I run two Napa brand deep cycles, the have the highest RC of any of the locally available DC TM batteries I could find. 130 IIRC, the batteries are Napa part # 8302's. I run the stock 8ga. wires, and have had no issues. I can fish for 2 full 8 hour days on one charge with out noticing any drop in performance ( I do charge after every trip, I just wanted to see once how long I could run without charging ). I use the MK-210P 2 bank portable charger, it's 5 amps per bank, and plenty for group 24's. It will do every thing an on board charger will do, and since space is tight, I figured there was no sense in having a charger on the boat, especially when your not using it out on the water.

 

 I have the 70lb thrust MK Maxxum variable speed TM, 42" shaft. When fishing, in "normal" conditions (calm, or slight breeze) I usually never have it turned up to more than 30%, when the wind starts picking up, I use 50-60% to move against it, or 20-30% to hold in it.. In very thick weeds or strong wind, I can blow through the weed with ease on 70% and, move against the wind on 60-70% and hold in it on 40-50% , I only use 100% in the thickest of mats, or to get to another spot really quick. It's a great motor for that boat, and very very easy on the batteries. Like I said, I have fished two days in "normal" conditions on a full charge, and I have fished 8 hour tournaments in some challenging winds, when I was on the motor all day, and never put a dent in them either.

 

 If I ever decide to put a shallow water anchor on that boat, it will be a MK talon, not because I think they are better than a Power Pole (in fact I would rather have the Power Pole)..........but because there is ZERO room, especially with two TM batteries jammed in the rear compartment,for the power poles pumps, etc.....with the Talon it's just two wires to the cranking battery.

[Dean G.]

I may be a bit late on this topic, but I installed a talon on my 175 TF.  Let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

[martintheduck]

From quickly reading over the posts here, I didn't spot anyone mentioning the lack of space on the 170. Only looked inside one 170 before (a 2008 model) and there was NO room to add a third battery (to run 24v's). I mean, it was a real puzzle to fit the two batteries in there correctly. You might have to look into relocating your cranking battery somewhere else. 45lb TM definitely isn't going to do too well for you on open water.

[Dean G.]

I've got a 2012 175 and there is just enough space for two batteries and no more. Maybe if you rebuilt the inside and put a third battery rack in there somehow. I agree with Martins comment that a 45 lb TM is not good in the open water. That's what I have and I barely creep along in open water, especially if there's a current.