New Boat Time

[Larry Harp]

Without even thinking about buying a new boat I went to the boat show and got sold. The Ranger guys really worked me over good on a 188 (what I really want) but I think I'm going to save around 5 grand and go with the Nitro 591. Upgrading the motor to a 150 Opti and adding the dual cowl for the passenger. I can't decide to exchange the 70# Motorguide for an 80# Minn Kota. I know there's not a lot of difference in the performance between the two but I just hate Motorguides. Another concern I have is the 591 doesn't have hydraulic steering. It has the dual cable steering instead....salesman tells me that the hydraulic steering would be nice but really not necessary on a 150. I'm not sure.

I have two empty gauge holes to fill.

Hard to see in the lighting of the showroom. Color is white with black with red sparkles...think black neon Brushhog.



I'm pumped...hope I haven't jinxed the deal by talking about it before the deal goes down.



Harpo



BTW...I've got to give it up to my wife too. She's being a real sweetie about this. I was expecting at least a huff or a pout but she's OK with the whole deal even though she has no interest in fishing or boating what so ever. She says, it makes me happy so it worth it. WOW!!:wub:

 

[Paul Cullotta]

Nice Boat, Looks Great!!



Hope the deal goes as you want it to. Sure makes it special when the Wife is in agreement

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Add the steering, the Minn Kota and the Hot Foot and you will be good to go.



BF

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Cool Harpo!

I love the new boat layouts on Tracker and Nitro...just can't swing any payments right now

 

[Bill Hutchison]

Nice boat you will love it add everything you can now like bruce said just sit back and think of everything you would like to have on it and get it done when you order it.



Hutch

 

[Mike Zechman]

Doesn't the 591 take a 200? I always believe in maxin out the HP to get the best performance. Nice boat, and good luck!

 

[CJ Extrom]

Nice boat. If you can swing the steering, do it. I added it to my Avalanche 150 opti and what a difference.



CJ

 

[Greg Meyer]

That is a veryu nice looking ride... How much ($$$) extra for the hydraulic steering? The trolling motor can be a wait and see thing unless the swap is very low $$$ (IMHO)...

 

[Rich Stern]

Sweet!

 

[Steve Hutson]

Harpo, Sweet looking boat. Like others have said, add the steering, hot foot and the Minn Kota if it's what you want. I wish my wife would take a few lessons from yours!



Steve

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Harpo - Nice ride. BTW - Does you wife have a sister????????

 

[Larry Harp]

Bill, sorry, no sister but she does have a brother that I would be happy to give you for free.



Can somebody tell me the advantage of the hydraulic steering and what the difference is? I think it's about a $700 upgrade. That's money I would rather spend on a GPS/fishfinder. This is how Nitro shows such a great price. Everything, even a spare tire, is an option. By the time you get it rigged out the way you want, you're into the same price range as a Skeeter and not far away from a Ranger or Champion.



Harpo

 

[TrepMan]

Harpo - Great looking boat, I see you were seduced into the Dark Side!!!! LOL



The 591 is rated to 200hp and the 150 Opti is standard based on Nitro's brochure and website, don't let a dealer up-charge you for the standard engine. the website does show a discount on the 150 EFI, so if you want to save a few $$, it lists the difference between the 150 opti and the 150 EFI as about $2,500! That will pay for your hydraulic steering, hot foot, upgraded T-motor and steering trim!!



Trep

 

[Jim B]

Harpo

While hydrauilc steering is nice its not something you need to have with a 150. You should be able to steer it just fine with cables. i have been running my 882 with a 150 on cables for years with no issues, although i did have to change the cables last spring( very easy job cost me ~170 for the cables). I wouldnt update my old boat to hydraulic but if i was buying new i would spring the 700 bucks and get it now. electronics you can always update at a later time and its easy to do.

Everything, even a spare tire, is an option. By the time you get it rigged out the way you want, you're into the same price range as a Skeeter and not far away from a Ranger or Champion.

BTW: I know you fel the same way about motorguide as i do, change that puppy or you will regret it. After running a minnkota for so long i could never go back to a motorguide, even the placement of the switch on the footpedal is uncomfortable for me now.



Yep thats absolutely true. But for close to the same money is a Ranger or whatever a superior boat? I dont think so....

 

[Gene B]

Congrats Sooner. I started telling my wife about the Z-9, after about 5 words she said, No! Oh well, she's still a keeper.



Gene

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Do what Goff said and DO NOT back down. Get it all now and don't take the attitude that you'll "eventually" put it on. Make them throw in freebies also. Be the negotiator I know you are and don't get blinded by the sparkles.:lol:



TOXIC

 

[Andrew Zuber]

but but but...

dem bassus luv sparkles



az

 

[Larry Harp]

Appreciate all the advice, Pat and all. That's pretty much what I thought. The boat is an '06 so I know they want to move it.



I know it's good to max out the power but 200 hp on that boat would be a rocket. I don't need nor want to be running around at 70+mph in an 18 foot boat. Most of the lakes I fish aren't that big. Heck, I can go from one end to the other in my 50 horse Tracker in 10 or 15 minutes on most of them.



I may look at the price diff between the EFI and the Opti to see if it will offset the cost of the hydraulic steering. How much gas & oil savings would I really realize with the Opti??



Harpo

 

[Bill Hamilton]

With respect to hydraulic or cable steering I can tell you that on my '02 896 it has cable steering with a 200 HP on the back. I personally don't have any issue with driving it 'cause I don't have to drive far or in or out of coves and inlets. My long run on the lake may be 10 minutes of generally straight runs.



I do have a 25' Bennington Pontoon with a 150HP 4-stroke and it has hydraulic steering and I LOVE it. A much bigger boat and not as manuverable as the bass boat but IF I every buy another bassboat, it WILL have hydraulic steering, not only for me but for anyone else who drives it or for future resale. In the long run it is worth the money.



With respect to upsizing I would definitely go with the 200 Opti IF you can afford it. I realize that most people use credit to pay for a boat so the extra 10 - 50 bucks a month doesn't hurt as bad even though you pay for it over a longer period of time. Get what you want NOW and not kick yourself in the butt for trying to save a little now.

 

[Teri C.]

Nice ride! Get the Minnkota! My Triton has a MotorGuide and I hate it!

 

[joe haley]

Harpo if you want to go to glass I'll give you a good deal on a 2000 929 DCX and I,m in central Mo. and Ill let you come and spend a few days at my condo on the lake and you can test it as much as you want E-mail me if interested



JD

 

[william Clark]

I own a ranger 188 and will answer any questions about the 188 from what I know about it so far.

I went to an 80# from a old 70 that was on my 99. So far I don't like my 80 as much. It may be the new prop design, it just seems to take more to move my new boat. I had a 518 ranger and the 188 sits flater in the water than the 518. So that may be it. The 80 will move the boat fine at higher speeds, it just seems I have to get further up in the numbers to get this one moving, I don't know whether it is the boat or the tm. The 518 was heavier with a 200hp on the back, other than that the layout and room is about the same. Clark

 

[C C]

The Ranger comes loaded up pretty nice with standard features that are options on most other brands and the price is negotiable. My 188 was $25K loaded with every option they offered and one they didnt even offer. The difference for me was knowing I bought from a manufacture that will back their product.



Good Luck!



Cass

 

[Steve Rizza]

Nice boat Harpo. I had a chance to climb over one this summer, and really liked it. The 150 should do you fine, the 200 will scream. I'd take it with either one.



Enjoy.





Steve

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Way to go Harpo!!! Ok, do what everyone says I agree with everyone that said get whatever you WILL want on the boat NOW. With a boat or car people always say, "I'll just get it later and put it on." but they don't and you've probably done it yourself, I have.

I have never known anyone who didn't max out the horsepower on their boat who didn't gripe, *****, whine, cry and regret it any way possible. Now, I have heard some say, "Oh, I don't mind, it gets me where I'm going and I'm not a racer anyway", but they're liars.

And I say that with best intentions because I've only had to wait a little bit of time and they are doing the *****ing, etc., that I mentioned before. GET THE 200!!!!!!!

I bought a used boat that's underrated and I can't stand it! And except for the rivers I fish, our laked here are much smaller than yours. Ask Trepper. He fished with me and at the end of the day said, "I have never fished a place where we only used the big motor to get the boat off the trailer and back on the trailer." But I still want the rated H.P. and was, was, was, was, was, was..........going to get it as soon as I had the chance..

So, do it all now my friend and have fun and enjoy it all. But remember, don't let the dealer get over on you. You sound in this post like a hungry man going to the grocery store. Take you time and be careful. There are a lot of boats out there. Best of luck.



Uncle Billy

 

[Larry Harp]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. Got down to the deal yesterday. I got the 150 Opti upgrade over the 135, and a boat cover both no charge. I did pay around 400 bucks to upgrade the MG 70# to an 80# MK Maxxum. I decided to pass on the hydraulic steerting and the Hot Foot and trim lever. He said he would install those no charge later if I wanted them. I sat in a boat with Hot Foot and I'm not sure I'd like it or not. Now I'm kicking around the idea of adding a Lowrance 520 to replace the X86 that's in it. There's no exchange on the finder like there was on the TM so it's a matter of buying it at the electronics counter and walking it over to the boat dept for them to install...they will also install either the X86 or my Eagle 480 on the bow of the boat. I'm also considering the 5 year bow to stern extended warranty. BJ said they had that on their 882 and it paid for getting the steering cables replaced. My luck with extended warranties is; if I buy it the item will never break until the extended warranty is expired...which isn't a bad thing I guess.



Harpo

 

[TrepMan]

Way to GO Harpo!! On the Hotfot and Trim, its personal choice, Rich added the Hotfot but not the trim, and loved it that way, I added the steering column Trim and would not have it any otherway. On my Tracker doing 30 mph never even cared about a Hotfot or Trim lever, but running 50+mph down the lake in the summer with the swells/wakes we get from pleasure boaters, I LOVE having to just let up on the gas and with my finger tip trim it down as the wakes come up.



I'll bet you'll end up having him add it, ESPECIALY if you get it in writing that "He said he would install those no charge later if I wanted them"



Trep

 

[Rusty Williams]

If u can only afford one upgrade....make it the Hyd steering , U will never regret it.



RW

 

[Frank Hatfield]

NICE RIDE JUST BE SURE TO GIVE HER A PROPER BREAK IN TAKE IT EASY...



FISH HARD!!!!