Howdy guys. Just signed up. Monday I went to BPS in Nashville, TN to see about buying a 90HP 4 stroke for my 1993 I just finished restoring after 1.5 yrs. Get there only to find out they have NO 75 to 115 4 strokes and won't have any until at least July. Holly cow, that sucks, so may as well wait until this fall or go to another mercury dealer. But I had a hole burning in my pocket with my new BPS Visa card.
So I left and went and had lunch with my former co-worker buddies. I told them what happened and they asked me how much I thought my 93 Nitro w/1990 Johnson 115hp, PowerDrive v1 wireless trolling motor, new seats, new carpet, new wiring, new steering gear, new Lido guages and wired for 2 locations for a Humminbird 597. I said probably 5 grand. So they said why not sell it and buy a new boat. I thought about it and drove back to BPS and looked at the boats. I narrowed it down to about 3, a 175TXW w/60hp, a 175 Deep V that had a powerdrive v2 TM on it and another boat constructed differently than the 175TXW. But salesman wanted me to look at one more that wasn't in the showroom. It was a BLUE Tracker Pro 175TF. I really liked the seating arrangement and the extra 3 seat bases, 2 livewells instead of just one the 175TXW had. Course they had the VIP card for 20% off and the $500 card if I could buy the boat today (Monday). So I did the paperwork not really expecting it to happen. 5 phone calls about my income later (3 on Monday and 2 on Tuesday) they call and said I was approved.
So I went Tues afternoon but had some conditions for them on prepping. Remove that Minn Kota 45lb 45in with HUGE pedal off the boat (sold it yesterday to a friend) and remove the Lowrance X4 piece of junk. Had them mount a 52in MinnKota Pontoon model TM 55ft lb hand controlled (just another powerdrive v2 with hand control really). Originally considered the MK iPilot but I would have to upgrade my 597 ci HD di to a 858 or better to take advantage of the GPS capabilities and I just couldn't see spending another 2 grand so I opted instead of just having 2 more stations installed for a humminbird 597 I already have. Got the same setup on my 93 pontoon boat and 93 Nitro 170TF. So now I gotta sell the Nitro 170TF.
And on top of all this, my wife doesn't have a clue yet
Yep, I'm probably gonna hear about it REAL SOON, especially whenever she notices the Nitro sitting in the back yard out from under the canopy and notice the new boat under it. Also getting a SS prop so I can change it out for those fishing trips to Louisiana marshes around Port Fourchon and Houma LA. That's the advantage of being retired even if I have to take it slow. 13 heart surgeries and a stroke can do that to ya (all agent orange junk). But hopefully I can enjoy fishing now without worrying about this and that. Course naturally I will have to outfit the boat with LED lighting (LOVE LED's)
So I left and went and had lunch with my former co-worker buddies. I told them what happened and they asked me how much I thought my 93 Nitro w/1990 Johnson 115hp, PowerDrive v1 wireless trolling motor, new seats, new carpet, new wiring, new steering gear, new Lido guages and wired for 2 locations for a Humminbird 597. I said probably 5 grand. So they said why not sell it and buy a new boat. I thought about it and drove back to BPS and looked at the boats. I narrowed it down to about 3, a 175TXW w/60hp, a 175 Deep V that had a powerdrive v2 TM on it and another boat constructed differently than the 175TXW. But salesman wanted me to look at one more that wasn't in the showroom. It was a BLUE Tracker Pro 175TF. I really liked the seating arrangement and the extra 3 seat bases, 2 livewells instead of just one the 175TXW had. Course they had the VIP card for 20% off and the $500 card if I could buy the boat today (Monday). So I did the paperwork not really expecting it to happen. 5 phone calls about my income later (3 on Monday and 2 on Tuesday) they call and said I was approved.
So I went Tues afternoon but had some conditions for them on prepping. Remove that Minn Kota 45lb 45in with HUGE pedal off the boat (sold it yesterday to a friend) and remove the Lowrance X4 piece of junk. Had them mount a 52in MinnKota Pontoon model TM 55ft lb hand controlled (just another powerdrive v2 with hand control really). Originally considered the MK iPilot but I would have to upgrade my 597 ci HD di to a 858 or better to take advantage of the GPS capabilities and I just couldn't see spending another 2 grand so I opted instead of just having 2 more stations installed for a humminbird 597 I already have. Got the same setup on my 93 pontoon boat and 93 Nitro 170TF. So now I gotta sell the Nitro 170TF.
And on top of all this, my wife doesn't have a clue yet
Yep, I'm probably gonna hear about it REAL SOON, especially whenever she notices the Nitro sitting in the back yard out from under the canopy and notice the new boat under it. Also getting a SS prop so I can change it out for those fishing trips to Louisiana marshes around Port Fourchon and Houma LA. That's the advantage of being retired even if I have to take it slow. 13 heart surgeries and a stroke can do that to ya (all agent orange junk). But hopefully I can enjoy fishing now without worrying about this and that. Course naturally I will have to outfit the boat with LED lighting (LOVE LED's) 
