Looking To Up Grade My Boat

[TacticalBassin]

Well lets start off by saying i'm a big guy 6'4" 300lbs and I like to stand rather than sit while fishing. So this is what i have now 2- 10ft jons one is my dads when he was young and i fixed it up and painted it last summer and the other is brand new (just won it at my local BPS along with a 45lbtrolling motor and a elite 4x HDI fishfinder).My other boat is a 12ft sevylor inflatable which i put a plywood floor with carpet,adjustable seats also built a little console that houses my trolling motor battery, my fishfinder (hummingbird pirannamax 175) and 2 rod holders and a cup holder that i can put in either the inflatable or the jon to fun the motor which is a 30lb thrust. Now with that being said the 10 footers I cant really stand in plus i can only fish them alone  and the other is ok to stand in by myself and very shaky with 2 people standing. I have 2 boats in mind one is the tracker 1542 but i would want to build a front deck with a bow mount trolling motor and not sure how stable it would be with 2 people my size after that the other is a tracker grizzly 1754 which will be really stable but with the price of the boat and trailer I can only afford to put a really good bow mount trolling motor on it which I think would be fine since all my ponds/lakes are small -medium and I cant justify spending a few thousand on a motor to only use less than 5% of the time and maybe pick up a used one next year.Below is the inflatable opening day last year. Those are my ideas let me know what you guys think and as always tight lines everyone.

[Jeff H]

I think I would go with the 1754.  Get the biggest bow mount TM you can afford and have fun!!  I want the same size jon boat for river fishing.

[TacticalBassin]

Yea I was leaning that way and plan on going all out on the tm I was thinking about the terrova with i-pilot looks pretty sweet with the wireless stuff and the spot lock system do you think it would be better to go with the 24v 80lb or could i do good with the 12v 55lb the 80lb is about $500 more when you add the price of another battery either way still way cheaper than $3000+ for a gas job

[Fishes in trees]

I'm not a big fan of inflatables.   I fish around many sunken and water level thorn trees.  I'd go for the biggest, widest jon boat I could afford.  Another option is that I am pretty certain that you could stand up in a 10' BPS Pond Prowler or some other brand of similar boat.   I used to own a Buster Boats 10' pond boat and I would routinely fish with 550 lbs or so of people and gear in it.   It was totally safe, as long as you both weren't standing up when you were moving and you hit an underwater stump.

 

Option B - learn how to fish sitting down.  You can make side arm casts, roll casts and pitching casts sitting down - all it takes is practice.  Mater of fact, I learned how to pitch sitting down, just cause I didn't feel like standing up all the time.  The more different casts you are proficient in, the more options you have when it comes to putting a bait where you want it.

 

Financing a boat is always an option.  If I had waited until I had a lump sum to buy my current boat, it never would have happened.  I financed  LOWE in 2002 and paid  $150/month.   It was a number I could live with and I had a boat that I could fish the smaller conservation lakes, where most of my week to week fishing takes place and I had a boat that was big enough that I could take it on Lake of the Ozarks and Truman, Table Rock, etc and feel more or less safe.

 

Everyone's situation is different, hope you find a solution to your boating issues.

[Bluebasser86]

I think I would go with the 1754.  Get the biggest bow mount TM you can afford and have fun!!  I want the same size jon boat for river fishing.

X2. Get you a big 36V trolling motor and nice depthfinder for the front and get it at! Maybe keep your eyes open for someone unloading a cheap tiller drive gas motor somewhere down the road and upgrade that way. I fished out of a very similar boat for several years (Lowe Roughneck 1652 VPT), but I had a 60hp 4 stroke on it. With the 70lb Maxxum on the front I could get around really well on the trolling motor only lakes though. 

[Jeff H]

80lb 24v will be better choice than 12v anything.  I have the Maxxum 80 on my 19' Champion and it is plenty.

[WIGuide]

If I were you, I'd get the 1754. I'd also go with at least the 80 lb thrust especially considering that it's your only source of propulsion. You're going to get a heck of a lot longer run time out of the 24v than the 12. 

[TacticalBassin]

Thanks for the input will go with the 24v then.

[TacticalBassin]

looking at the 

Minn Kota Terrova Bow Mount Trolling Motors w/ Universal Sonar 2 and i-Pilot Wireless GPS Trolling System

24v 80lb question is should I go with the 45" or 60" shaft and any imput on battery size/brand