maiden voyage complete!

[jbmaine]

Hi All,

 Finally got to take the new boat out for the maiden voyage so I thought I'd share my experience/ review on the boat/ fish finders/ trolling motor.

 

Boat-- Lund Fury XL Sport--It's a small boat, 16+FT. But that being said it feels bigger and very roomy . Fit and finish are great, just what you'd expect from a Lund. Storage is ample and well thought out. Rod locker holds 6 rods up to 8 ft. there's plenty of room for me and my wife to stretch out and not feel cramped. The casting deck is small, but as I will be sitting it's plenty big enough. I can swivel my seat all the way around and not hit anything. Going through the water it feels " solid" and not at all "Tippy". With a 50 Merc it will top out at around 30 mph and slices through waves very smoothly. With all the breaking in and running around we did it took less than 2 gal. of gas to top off the tank when we were done. All in all we are very happy with our choice.

 

Fish finders--Garmin echomap 73 chirp-- My old boat had a helix 5. These are only 2" larger but seem twice as big. Very easy controls and a super clear screen. Out of the box I was amazed at the side scan. Amazing detail of the bottom. Very happy with these.

 

Trolling motor-- Min Kota ultera 60" shaft, 80 lb of thrust-- This is where I had a couple of issues. The first time I tried to deploy it, nothing happened. Tried the foot control and remote, nothing. Unplugged and replugged in everything, nothing. Read the manual and tried again, nothing. I was dialing Min kota and tapping the foot control when it finally decided to deploy. After that it seemed to be fine. I ran it through a bunch of stuff and it all seemed to work. However twice later in the day while using spot lock it just shut off. I called Min kota when we got home and they told me some things to try the next time we go out to isolate what the issue might be.

 Other than the issues I love it. My back wasn't sore at the end of the day, and I see us being able to really cover more water. My only critique would be shaft length. 60" is a little long for our boat but 45" would be a little short. If they offered something in the middle it would be nice.

 With everything else going on we did very little fishing, and didn't catch anything, but I didn't mind. Next trip will be will be all about fishing and checking out the trolling motor. 

    Here's a few pics.

 

 

Thanks for looking

                      Jim

[haggard]

Thanks for the report and photos. Very happy to see this! Welcome to the new boat.

 

[PECo]

2 hours ago, jbmaine said:

My only critique would be shaft length. 60" is a little long for our boat but 45" would be a little short. If they offered something in the middle it would be nice.

Better too long than too short. If you ever feel the urge to fish in swells, you'll appreciate the longer shaft.

 

Nice boat. I still haven't gotten my wife to go out on mine.

[A-Jay]

And there it is ~ Nicely Done Sir.

Bet that felt really GOOD . . . .

Congrats and Best of Luck going forward.

A-Jay

[lo n slo]

jb, the only thing missing is that big ol grin on your face !!!!!!   

[senile1]

Very happy for you, Jim!  I bet you can't wait to get some fish smell in that thing.  

[Dwight Hottle]

Yep time to slime it up. Have fun.

[jbmaine]

Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone. Don't know why I wasn't smiling in the pics, I sure was on the inside. During the next break from the rain ( hopefully Fri. ) we're going to see what we can do to get some fish smell in the boat. I also need to see if I can isolate what's going on with the trolling motor.

                                Thanks again

                                              Jim

[slonezp]

May she give you years of happiness and memories 

[Yakalong]

enjoy it 

[J._Bricker]

Thanks @jbmaine for sharing the account and photos of your new boat’s maiden voyage. I gotta say, those last two pics perfectly illustrate what a retired guy should look like! Congrats and good fishing, JB from Cali

[jbmaine]

Thanks again everyone for the kind thoughts. As some of you may have read, I had to retire early, and not the way I had planned. Having this boat will allow us to stay fishing and enjoying our selves. All things considered we are truly blessed.

                                                          Jim

[Further North]

Looking good!  Enjoy the heck out of that rig!