Jeanne and I took the new rig to Lanier this morning for a tryout and a bit of fishing. It was great.
Calm and flat when we first launched. Gave us a chance to appreciate the quiet sound quality of the Merc four stroke. Planed easily, handled smoothly at all speeds. By early afternoon, the wind was gusting pretty hard and kicked the lake into messy one and two footers. It's interesting to experience the different feel of a deep v hull. It did a great job of cutting the chop and making landings feel soft. No slapping. We stayed dry the entire time Jeanne was piloting, then I managed a bit of spray while we were quartering into the wind and a steep chop.
The boat's ride and handling exceeded my expectations. Jeanne gave it a thumbs up. She has a bad back, and appreciated that we were in somewhat rough conditions and she wasn't suffering any discomfort. That's a huge plus for us.
The wind beat us up a few times while on the trolling motor. Although we've had a Minn Kota power drive before, it does take some getting used to after spending a lot of time on a traditional, manual pedal. The boat was very comfortable to move around and fish out of. Storage is adequate, and everything is easy to get to.
Found a couple of minor items to adjust, nothing important.
Overall, a really big thumbs up.
And the boat is back in the garage, with the door closed.
