Old boats new boats

[WidgeonmanGH]

They say that the best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. today I did both! I sold my big boat a Weldcraft 201 Maverick DV. I had not been using it for years. Too expensive to fix and if I did it was too expensive to fuel. It needed to go so I sold it to my brother. But with my tassel of grand kids I need to be taking them fishing. Kayaks are awesome but they don’t work great for that. So I picked up a 15’ smokercraft. I will still be using the kayaks for ducks but my Kokanee fishing just got more comfortable. Now I am looking for a long shaft 20hp. Also I will be car topping this ( winch boat loader) when I take my little trailer. Going to be a fun summer!

 

[Green Duck Truck]

Smokercraft are great boats. I have an Alaskan that is a tank. I bought a Tohatsu long shaft 20 from Online Outboards. Good motor!

 

[WidgeonmanGH]

Took another couple of steps toward getting the ole aluminum boat cartopped. This will be to both flip the boat over and boat onto the rack but also I can move it to the back to lift the motor on and off of the boat and into the suburban. I could probably muscle it but why pull a muscle on a slippery boat ramp? Going to replace the cable with synthetic rope next. I will add new foldable antlers to the rack to handle the width of the boat. Stay tuned.

 

[badhabit]

Roger, did you ever raise your motor up?

 

[Green Duck Truck]

Roger, did you ever raise your motor up?

Did you mean that for Chris, Bruce?

 

[badhabit]

No. I was at your place picking up decoys and we discussed how deep your cavitation was compared to the hull. That was why you had trouble planing.

 

[Green Duck Truck]

Ah, my bad, I remember now. Never did raise it. I did get a fin for it, which pretty much took care of my planing issues.

 

[WidgeonmanGH]

It is now fishable. Next step will be getting on top of my suburban. lol 99% of the time it will stay on it't trailer but those vacations where I camp and take both the trailer and the boat is the reason for the other. Now to get after some kokanee.

 

[WidgeonmanGH]

Finally got it wet and just a little fishy. Movie was more for the memory and trying out the new Yolotek power stick. Liked it!

So in this shake down cruise I realized it had been a long time since I had been trolling in a small boat. I am unimpressed with he trolling plate. So here is a question if there is anyone out there that trolls in small aluminum boats.

Trolling plate vs. drift sock(s).

One of the challenges was that with just one person the wind was having its way with the front of my boat. I would think that a drift sock used to both slow down the boat and would make tracking much nicer. Any ideas out there in the collective wisdom?

 

[Billy hill]

Nice fish... i have quite a bit of motor time in trolling mode. Longer shallower smaller mesh net. Set your boat up so you dont have to stand up to net a fish. Place at least 125 lbs in the front close to bow as practical. Low as possible. Getting V in the water will slow you down, give you more wind controll and hold your direction whether going straight or turning. Make the extra weight easy to get in and out of the boat, passengers or not