Hi Guys-
I've had my rig for just over 3 weeks and have been busy enjoying it so I just finally got a chance to upload a few pics to show...

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=4

My setup is as follows:
1825 Pro Guide Lund
F90 Yamaha
Minnkota Vector 80# stern
Minnkota PowerDrive 70# bow
Lowrance X-37 stern
Lowrance X-27 bow
Titan Steering

Impressions:
I have been very impressed by the hole shot and top end of this rig...as I stated in an earlier post, I get over 37mph by myself (WOT) @ 6000rpm. Motor is on second hole from bottom and I have a factory 13.25"x17P Yamaha aluminum prop. Bow lift is good and with the motor trimmed down the spray starts just a bit forward of halfway back on the boat. At this time, I do not plan to change anything with motor height or prop. Fishability is awesome; this is a very open layout, lots of room to move around. At first I was concerned about storage, but there is alot....the compartment in the main floor in front of the driver is enormous. I think Lund has done an excellent job on this rig IMHO.
take care,
Northerner

northerner, how would you rate the proguides on a 1 to 10 scale??? 1 being crappy and 10 being awesome. I am currently running a 18ft prov w/175 verado and 9.9 prokicker. I am thinking about downsizing to a 17 ft pro guide w a 75 opti and a 9.9 prokicker. My last boat was a lund explorer tiller w a 60 4 stk merc. I loved that boat. Built like a brick s*&t house!! it was awesome!!!

I want one...GIMMIE

Looks really sharp. I know I really like my Mr. Pike too. My family and friends are enjoying as much as I do I think. You'll enjoy it alot.

Paul C.

Northerner...where are you from...I am from around the Park Rapids area.

Your boat looks just like mine but I have a 1725 with 75 Yamaha.

I have the lcx 27 in the front as well as the back. Was wondering how yours are working so far? Both my units lose the bottom in less than 10' of water with weeds and mud bottom. Have not been able to figure it out yet.


Any info would be appreciated.

Forgot to tell you great Looking Boat!

Mine is the same colors.

NORTHERNER- You should deffinatly check your engine height. I would be willing to bet it is set too low. Today I tiold my buddy to check his and he adjusted it. He gained 3.5 mph. He is running a 16 ft alumacraft w a 70 hp yamaha 2 stk
He is a link that will help you check yours.
http://www.veradoclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=137.0

northerner, how would you rate the proguides on a 1 to 10 scale??? 1 being crappy and 10 being awesome. I am currently running a 18ft prov w/175 verado and 9.9 prokicker. I am thinking about downsizing to a 17 ft pro guide w a 75 opti and a 9.9 prokicker. My last boat was a lund explorer tiller w a 60 4 stk merc. I loved that boat. Built like a brick s*&t house!! it was awesome!!!

Teamlund-
I would give them at least an "8.5-9"....ride and layout are perfect for the way I fish. The fit and finish are not as good as say a ProV (not all compartments have latches, no recirculator pump on the livewells, etc)..which is the reason for the 8.5-9 rather than 10. (although I do realize those things I mentioned are to keep the cost in control-which is one of the reasons I went with this model)
-Northerner

Northerner...where are you from...I am from around the Park Rapids area.

Your boat looks just like mine but I have a 1725 with 75 Yamaha.

I have the lcx 27 in the front as well as the back. Was wondering how yours are working so far? Both my units lose the bottom in less than 10' of water with weeds and mud bottom. Have not been able to figure it out yet.


Any info would be appreciated.

Stinkycat-
I am from around the Brainerd lakes area....I have been having some of the same issues with both of my units....you would think for $2500 worth of locators they would be able to make them work a little better. I never had issues with my old little black-and-white x97...and that was only 1/3 the cost of the 27!!

I have played with them a little bit though (mostly suggestions I found on this forum)...one thing that seemed to work for the "less than 10' problem" was to change the "Sonar Presets" to "Shallow water" under the "Sonar Features" menu item in the sonar menu. Even after I did that, though, I have still been having issues every now and then. The thing is, I don't think a person should have to play with them at all for $1000 and $1500 a piece. I am going to give them a few more trips and if I cannot get them to work well by then I am done with Lowrance and will return them for some Humminbird units instead. They have been frustrating units thus far.
take care,
Northerner

Northerner,

I will give the shallow water feature a try! I was out last night with a representative from where I purchased my units and we think we found why my back unit is losing bottom... ie transducer location needs to be adjusted but he is perplexed at my shallow water problem. We were on Leach and its kind of tough to find 6-10' of really mucky weedy bottom. I am going out to one of my local lakes that I have been crappie fishing on and give it another try this evening. He said the same thing that most of the older units had no problems with losing bottom but said that all of the new units are so super sensitive and believes this might contribute to the problem in certain situations. I will give you a report after tonight on the shallow water feature. Take Care.

I know I love my 1825. From the ride to how well it does fishing out of it. And I will say so far I have been well pleased with it.
Ride is great, Will get you a little wet in big breakers and high winds. But that I can live with.
Plenty of storage and livewells even worked at keeping my fish alive Monday in 100 degree weather.
Pete

I also love my Pro Guide, the boat, the motor, the ride, and very very fishable!

The only problem I have are my Lowrance Electronics. Still trying to get them to work properly. Both LCX 27's will not hold bottom over 17 gps. I have moved the transducer 8-10 times. I guess I will move it again. Also, both in the shallow water mode are still 50/50 as far as keeping bottom...with a weedy and mucky bottom... on hard bottom they seem to work OK.

Love the Boat!

I also love my Pro Guide, the boat, the motor, the ride, and very very fishable!

The only problem I have are my Lowrance Electronics. Still trying to get them to work properly. Both LCX 27's will not hold bottom over 17 gps. I have moved the transducer 8-10 times. I guess I will move it again. Also, both in the shallow water mode are still 50/50 as far as keeping bottom...with a weedy and mucky bottom... on hard bottom they seem to work OK.

Love the Boat!

I got lucky, Had to adjust the transducer on my Humminbird 987c-SI one time. and it will track the bottom up to 30 MPh even on the SI.
PEte

I finally got a close up look at the 1825 Pro Guide.

Nice rig, nice interior layout.

I was impressed with the amount of storage.

Northerner,

I also have a 2008 1825 Pro Guide with a Yamaha F90. Used it most of the Summer but a few very rough rides on bigger waters got me thinking about installing a steering assist system. In the current set-up (without a Titan) my Yamaha tiller arm clears the rear storage compartments by an inch or two when the motor is lowered and through operating trim range. When the motor is raised up, however, the tiller arm (folded up) eventually makes contact with the rear compartment and prevents the motor from raising any further. It hasn't been an issue because there's still sufficient travel to allow trailering etc.

What are your experiences with the Titan installation clearances? Is there enough room so that the installation doesn't interfere with the rear compartments when the motor is lowered? Do you have any contact with the tiller arm/ Titan components and rear compartments when the motor is tilted up? I called Merten's. They understood the problem and thought that there should be no interference.

THP

THP,
Here are some pics I've got archived of a Yamaha/Titan combination.
HRG

Northerner,

I also have a 2008 1825 Pro Guide with a Yamaha F90. Used it most of the Summer but a few very rough rides on bigger waters got me thinking about installing a steering assist system. In the current set-up (without a Titan) my Yamaha tiller arm clears the rear storage compartments by an inch or two when the motor is lowered and through operating trim range. When the motor is raised up, however, the tiller arm (folded up) eventually makes contact with the rear compartment and prevents the motor from raising any further. It hasn't been an issue because there's still sufficient travel to allow trailering etc.

What are your experiences with the Titan installation clearances? Is there enough room so that the installation doesn't interfere with the rear compartments when the motor is lowered? Do you have any contact with the tiller arm/ Titan components and rear compartments when the motor is tilted up? I called Merten's. They understood the problem and thought that there should be no interference.

THP

THP-
HRG's pictures are spot-on of my installation. The Titan system has a piece that raises the tiller arm up so that there is room for the hydraulic cylinder. Mine does not hit the rear compartments until I have the motor tipped up well past the usable trim range. Hope this helps
-Northerner

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for both replies

Had the chance to talk to Greg from Mels sport shop the other day and he was meeting with a couple of reps fro lowrance and it seems the loosing depth problem is with tin boats. the solution that has seemed to be workin around here is to adjust your ping speed to 50 and your color line to 70 just a suggestion to try.