Boat Equipment

[RioRob10]

I have a 2014 Alumacraft 165 Classic CS with a 50hp Yamaha four stroke, Terrova trolling motor, and a hummingbird 899 ci HD with SI. Now that I have fished some larger lakes and rivers, I am thinking I should have opted for the Yamaha 75hp. I am also thinking I should add a 15' Minnkota Talon, and upgrade my electronics. I would appreciate your thoughts on what upgrades I should make in order of importance and any other recommendations you might have. At 70 yo, I am trying to make this as easy to operate and still be an efficient 2 to 3 person fishing boat. Thanks for your help!

[billy weaver]

Originally Posted by RioRob10

I have a 2014 Alumacraft 165 Classic CS with a 50hp Yamaha four stroke, Terrova trolling motor, and a hummingbird 899 ci HD with SI. Now that I have fished some larger lakes and rivers, I am thinking I should have opted for the Yamaha 75hp. I am also thinking I should add a 15' Minnkota Talon, and upgrade my electronics. I would appreciate your thoughts on what upgrades I should make in order of importance and any other recommendations you might have. At 70 yo, I am trying to make this as easy to operate and still be an efficient 2 to 3 person fishing boat. Thanks for your help!

I would think the 50hp motor would be ok. A 75 would be a 100 lbs. heavier. The 50 should push that boat to 30 mph. Maybe a upgrade of the motor to 60 hp. The 50/60 backtrolls slower, better gas mileage and speeds over 30 mph.

The first thing I would look at is the smaller thinks like rod holders, cargo nets, cup holders etc. Get everything in reach. A trolling motor with spot lock etc. would be nice.

Just my thoughts and everyones is different.

Billy

[BreezyPoint]

Skip the 75 and go with the F70. Same weight as yours and will make all the difference in the world. That is what I had on my CS-165.


Frank

[RioRob10]

Thanks Billy and Frank for your responses. I have rod holders, etc. and just added a second battery in parallel so I can run my Terrova longer which does have I-pilot and spot lock. Got caught this past week in a sudden thunderstorm with lightning about 9 miles from public landing. Took longer than I would have liked to get back to boat launch, thus thinking about a bigger engine. Like the suggestion of the F70.