New Nitro Owner

[Dan Jones]

Hi all. I just purchased a 99 700 DC with a 90 HP.



This is my first bass boat (new to bass fishing also)and I wonder about 2 issues. First is anchoring. Do you all anchor? It is very inconvenient to get to the bow eye with the trolling motor.



Second, if you are swimming/skiing/tubing how do you get back into the boat? I just purchased from Nitro a boarding ladder but have not installed it. I have always considered a ladder a very important safety feature on a boat but I never see any on bass boats.



Well I hope these don't rank with the top ten dumbest questions ever.



Thanks.

 

[Tim Jeffers]

Welcome to the board, and don't worry, I've asked plenty of stupid questions and they haven't banished me (yet).



I rarely anchor, unless I'm fishing walleyes with Greg Meyer, and then I let him do it for me .



I don't have a ladder, but your motor should have a trim switch on the side. I have heard (on this board, I think), that in a pinch you can stand on the lower unit, trim up the motor until you can pull yourself into the boat. Hope I never have to worry about it .



TJ

 

[Jim B]

Congrats on the new boat Dan and welcome to the board. I think you will find this board is the best community on the internet, a log of great folks frequent this board and everyone is super helpful.



To answer your questions. I dont anchor very often but when i do i just tie the rope off to one of the cleats. Getting to the bow eye on my boat would be a real pain unless i jumped out of the boat. I dont think my anchor has hit the water in three years, thats how little i use it.



I dont tube or ski off my 882 but i do swim every once in a while. Most of the time i just beach the boat but when i do swim in open water i have a portable rope ladder that i keep in the boat. I keep it there for swiming and for saftey. I can get to the compartment i store it in even when in the water so if i ever fell in i could use it. I know i can get back in the boat without it but i doubt i could do it fully clothed on a cold day. I think a ladder is an important feature too, i got my boat used and it didnt have one. My next boat will have one installed.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

If and when I anchor, I use two anchors and tie them both off of the bow and stern cleats on opposite sides. This controls my swing. Bow of the boat is ALWAYS into the wind or wave direction. Anchoring can be difficult sometimes and would suggest to google a site about anchoring. Ratio's for depth to amount of rope payout is somewhere between 5 to 1 and 7 to 1. Sometimes it just makes sense to anchor and fish!



Good luck with the new boat!!!

 

[Dan Jones]

Thanks for the encouragement. The one issue with using the cleats would be chafing on the gelcoat by the anchor line. That can happen in a hurry. I have seen the anchor things where the anchor line is 3/16 on a spool you wind up. I'm not sure about mounting it to the deck. Anyway I'll just have to use the boat and see what seems best!



When I get the ladder mounted I'll try to post a picture. It reaches over the gunnel and bolts to the gelcoat. On the transome it has 2 posts that are adjustable to fit to the curvy surface. It appears all holes will be pretty accessible.



I have a lot to learn but I think I have a good boat to learn on.

 

[Ken Sabin]

Welcome Aboard !



Anchoring, only in extreme windy conditions, from the bow. And always in position to retrieve at moments notice.



By the way. Your questions werent stupid, but we on this board do love the dumber ones !!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Wecome Aboard Matey!

Watch out for the sharks...they're ankle biters is all:lol:

 

[Marty Klein]

Build yourself a short anchor leader that you can hook to the bow eye before you launch, maybe 2 or 3 feet. You can then attach the main anchor line to it when you need to use the anchor. You can use the bow eye which eliminates chafing risk and the short leader allows you to stow the anchor and its line when not used.

 

[TrepMan]

Welcome Aboard!! I have a 700lx with a 115 Merc and LOVE IT.



Here is how i've solved the same exact situation on my boat:



Anchor - I bought a good fluke anchor, rope and used one of the kids old Lego containers (Drilled holes in the bottom so it would drain, and tied the end of the rope to the bottom of the plastic container). For a Cleat, the prior owner (Rich Stern who runs this site) had put a non-slip mat up front next to the trolling motor, so added a black plastic cleat with with a aluminium backing plate (see picture below). When I used the Anchor I take the Lego bucket with the rope out of the 2nd rod locker attached to the Anchor, set the lego bucket on the non-slip map, drop the anchor, lay out line, use the cleat to tie off and swimming we go!!

Ladder - I took the inexpensive idea this year, looked at the $60 ladder plus installation (i'm a bit sheepish about drilling 8 bolt holes into my transom/rear of the boat, and ensure backing plates are in place, not crack the gelcoat, and how to deal with the part of the transom I can't get to) so I would have to pay the dealer to install on a 7 year old boat. So I decided for $25 I would try the portable ladder, which funny enough fits PERFECT in the bildge shelf between my 2 batteries. The only problem I had was it came with plastic screw/nuts and the first time my partner Dan used the ladder the plastic screw/nut broke!! So, I installed SS screws/washers/nuts and its worked great for me and my kids! Just have to remember to pull it up before blasting off!! Now if I were (never occured yet on my Tracker or Nitro, just on my Jonboat 14 years ago) fall off, in an emergency (i've tried it) I can climb back in off the back/side of the boat. I got the 3 step one:

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=23391&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults



Can you let me know which Ladder you got? One of the other 700lx owners got the same one (and installed himself) I had on my Tracker (the one below), which I was afraid of bolting/drilling myself:

 

[Jeffrey Durham]

Welcome to this board, this is an awesome site with equally awesome folks.



Jeff from Ky

 

[Greg Meyer]

Welcome to the board....



If you buy good braided nylon anchor line and you cover the area around your cleats and down the side of the gunwale with vinyl (peel and stick) you will not harm your boat...



!7-18 boat... I would recommend a medium weight Richter anchor... with a 6 foot section of anchor chain attached and then the rope...



We walleye anglers are always anchoring so if you want a tutorial just ask...

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Dan - Take a look at the ladder on the back of my Nitro 896 in my library. Works good and does not interfere while underway.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I didn't. The dealer installed it when I ordered the boat!

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Most ladders are on the left side because most people are right handed.... Food for thought.



BF

 

[Jim in VA]

Hey Dan!



Welcome to NTOWS. I use both an anchor and ladder on my PT175. The anchor is tied off to the front cleat. Since the PT175 is unpainted aluminum, not much concern about paint or gelcoat issues. I know that doesn't help you, but there some great suggestions. Might want to consider one of those Minnkota anchor/winch set ups? They fit right on the bow of the boat.



As for ladders, I love the idea. I have the one pictured in Trepman's post (the last picture) bolted to the back of my boat. Never used it for falling over, but my wife, son and I have used it when we've jumped overboard (on purpose for swimming of course!). Works great and when I'm running on plane, it doesn't interfere at all.



Good luck with your new boat!

 

[TrepMan]

Dan - Can you take a picture and post it so I can see, i'd love to see how you did it!!