A fond farewell

to my faithful Nautalund who served my family very well.
Nautalund was a 1995 Tracker pro deep V with a forty horse merc on it that never let me down in anyway.
I bought her five years ago when my stepdaughter blessed us with a grandson that I could not wait to take fishing with me every chance I got.

I had a large Alumacraft flat bottom with a twenty horse merc on it but it had absolutely no place to store sharp pointy hooks and it would of killed me to see the little guy get hurt if he got one stuck in him anywhere.
I sold the flat bottom and bought the tracker I affectionately named Nautalund as it fit our needs and pocket book at the time.
Like every tracker out that is sold on price points,she was under powered with the mercury forty horse but I didnt care about speed or power,all that we needed was something reliable and had a ton of storage.

fast forward to the third weekend of June this year on our way home from our vacation near Bemidji MN.
we were on a very rough stretch of I-35 north of Ames Iowa when I heard a loud pop noise,being very tired and lazy after ten hours on the road I didnt stop,instead I checked the mirrors to see if anything was bouncing down the road behind me.
I didnt see anything and kept going blaming it on trailer leaf springs being bottomed out on that super rough road.
when we got home and I parked the boat, I about had a stroke when I walked behind it and saw that the rear trailer brace and roller caddy had broken away from the welds on the right hand frame rail !!
it was hanging down about an inch above the ground,the only thing that kept it from coming completely off was the partially broken welds on the left side and the transom saver still attached to the motor.

I turned it into the insurance company and they totaled the entire outfit,the trim motor seal had blown out when the motor was tugged hard by the transom saver and it couldnt contain the pressure.
there was also some very light damage to the hull but the total cost of repairing everything exceeded what I had it insured for so the insurance company sent me a check and allowed me to keep the boat which I will personally repair and put a newer trailer under it then sell it hopefully later this fall or next spring.
since the last week of June I have been boat shopping,I bet I looked at over two thousand boats on craigslist,boat trader and several other boat ads,man was I getting flustered as nothing was in our price range for the size of boat we wanted or it was sold before I had a chance to respond to the ad,brand didnt matter to me as they are all dang decent rigs and fish dont give a snit what you spend on a boat.

with all of that,say hello to Nautalund II !!!
1996 starcraft 170 fisherman,seventy five horse merc,motorguide trolling motor that will get replaced soon,full walk through windshield,newer stereo,bimini top,two live wells in front,one in the rear,plenty of storage as well.
this boat has never sat outside,it was either on a canopied lift or in the garage,there is some sun fading of the right hand sticker as that side faced the sun while on the lift,no biggie,for an older boat this thing is in pristine condition and has less than a hundred hours on it as it saw very little use,I am the second owner now.
oh,and its 84 inches wide,a full foot wider than the old Nautalund,nice !!

before I get flamed for the name,its a silly name I thought up,I have absolutely nothing against Lund boats,they are a fantastic boat.
now to get shake,rattle and troll painted across the back of her !! lol

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When is the maiden voyage?

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Eelpoutguy wrote:

When is the maiden voyage?

next week sometime as soon as I get the title transferred.

eelpoutguy,I will be going after one of those bullheads with the white spot on the tail as well while I am at.
love that meme !!!

Congrats, i see many many hours of time well spent in your future!

Dutchboy wrote:

Congrats, i see many many hours of time well spent in your future!

thanks Dutchboy !
since the first grandson came along,a second one came along last October,and now a third one due in December !! three grandsons so far !!!
I really hope her and her husband figure out what causes that soon or I am going to call her the baby howitzer as fast as she is cranking them out.

Nice looking rig

Nice. I have always thought the Starcrafts had nice, deep hulls and were a solid deal for the money.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Nice looking rig

queenswake wrote:

Nice. I have always thought the Starcrafts had nice, deep hulls and were a solid deal for the money.

thanks guys,this thing from what I can see after climbing all over it the last couple of days appears to be built like a tank.
I cant wait to get it out and run it up,will let you know what I think of it then.

I forgot to mention that the trailer has less than five hundred miles on it as its only duty until yesterday was to take the boat to the lift and back to the garage at the end of the season.

Wow is that clean. Nice find.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

since the first grandson came along,a second one came along last October,and now a third one due in December !! three grandsons so far !!!
I really hope her and her husband figure out what causes that soon or I am going to call her the baby howitzer as fast as she is cranking them out.

Just curious….what’s the family’s favorite pastime?

Tom,if you are asking about the stepdaughter and her husbands favorite past time,I am sure you are not so old or short of memories of your youth to figure that one out ! lol

Congrats Iowaboy! That’s a great looking boat and that Merc will love its new owner I bet.

Congrats. awesome. Looks mint

Nice buy!

EPG that s some funny stuff right there

pool2fool wrote:

Congrats Iowaboy! That’s a great looking boat and that Merc will love its new owner I bet.

slipbob_nick wrote:

Congrats. awesome. Looks mint

thanks fellas !
you can bet it will get run a bit to see how it does and even if it does sound good it will get the iowaboy supertune before I go very far with it.
due to age alone,it will get the carbs and the fuel pump gone through,lower unit fully serviced,new impeller and new NGK spark plugs as well as all new fuel line and primer bulb.
I will also put my bore scope into the on board fuel tank to inspect it as I am a bit afraid of how long the previous owner let any gas sit in it regardless of if it was treated or not with fuel stabilizers.

just because it is a very low hour rig that does not mean its perfect.
over the many years of doing this I have found and many of you already know that the worst possible thing you can do with something like this is not use it.
I will post pics as I go through things.

Congrats Iowaboy1 – You sitting in it tonight with a bottle of #7 at your side?

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Congrats Iowaboy1 – You sitting in it tonight with a bottle of #7 at your side?

I started to epg,but this thing sits so high on the trailer I was afraid I would get too uh,er,relaxed,forget where I was and step out of it only to find myself all busted to pieces on the ground and not being able to do anything the rest of the summer lol.

rubberduck,biggill,thanks !!

congrats! It is hard to find a clean boat these days and that looks like a dandy. got to pounce on them when they pop up. it is nice to see people who really take care of their toys

Nautalund, great name and I own a lund.

Nice looking rig!

Gotta say, hate champion plugs and use ngk almost solely in everything, and no, not telling the cylinder index.

Certainly certain things can suffer for being ignored and from under utilization, but others benefit greatly.

Good find and hope it serves your family well!

eyeguy507 wrote:

congrats! It is hard to find a clean boat these days and that looks like a dandy. got to pounce on them when they pop up. it is nice to see people who really take care of their toys

thanks ! and you are not kidding !! there is some real junk out there for sure.
for anyone who is looking for a decent boat,I will give some hints.

look at the surroundings around the boat,if the grass is long and stuff is piled up everywhere around it or looks like a junk yard,pass as the boat will most likely be kept up the same way.
look at the propeller,is it bent all to heck?? is paint missing on the motor or hull? find out why.

when you go to check one out,grab the prop,see if it has any play in or out and side to side,spin the prop by hand,is it rough,have any play?? if so the lower unit has expensive repairs coming up.

look at the trolling motor if equipped,again,spin the prop,any roughness means water has gotten into the bearings,make sure it works as designed.
look at the wiring everywhere,scotch locks,bad tape jobs and wires that go nowhere means there has been or someone created a lot of problems,walk ,scratch that,run away, you dont need your garage or house burnt down by some idiots tomfoolery

take a jack with you,jack up the trailer on each side and check the bearings,they should roll with little to no play and be buttery smooth and no noise of any kind.
check the trailers lights and make sure they all work as they should.

open the gas tank or tanks,if it smells like varnish,big problems are headed your way.
grab the fuel line and pinch it between you fingers,if is soft and you can feel chunks in the hose the liner has come apart and it needs replaced,just as well figure on removing the fuel pump to clean it or overhaul it as some of those chunks will be in it and causing it to not work right,if not now,soon enough I promise you.

demand to hear the motor run if the seller hasnt offered to let you hear it,better yet ask him to take you to the lake and run it for you,you can tell a lot by listening to it.
it should start instantly,run smooth,accelerate cleanly without hesitation,spitting or sputtering,no excessive noises of any kind.
the water pump should start peeing out of the telltale very quickly.

while on the water,open the access panels up and look for leaks,make sure all of the pumps and livewells work as they should.
several of you can tackle small things and these hints give you an idea of what to look for,ad up the faults in your mind to calculate what you will offer over what is being asked.

if any of you go to look at a boat and are unsure of what you are seeing,pm me and I will get back to you asap and try to help you out.

basseyes wrote:

Nautalund, great name and I own a lund.

Nice looking rig!

Gotta say, hate champion plugs and use ngk almost solely in everything, and no, not telling the cylinder index.

Certainly certain things can suffer for being ignored and from under utilization, but others benefit greatly.

Good find and hope it serves your family well!

thank you basseyes!!
glad you are not offended by Nautalund !!
like you,I use NGK plugs in everything,champion at one time was the go to plug but many years ago something changed and they havent been the same since.

never be ashamed of your cylinder index !! just razzn ya.

Nice Sheldon! You really got a thing for those Merc’s doncha. That old girl couldn’t ask for a better owner. I’m really glad it all worked out for you.

MNdrifter wrote:

Nice Sheldon! You really got a thing for those Merc’s doncha. That old girl couldn’t ask for a better owner. I’m really glad it all worked out for you.

thank you very much MNdrifter !!
ya,I have a soft spot in my heart for mercs,it stems from years ago when they could appear to be cantankerous to start and keep running very long.
mercury for years has been getting a lot of power out of a small package and they had to be tuned properly to start and run as designed.
( this applies to all brands by the way )

I like puzzles like that and set out to find out why so many were having so many problems,the truth is,ninety percent of the problems were owners who had no idea of how to run an outboard motor regardless of brand.
nor did they understand fuel deterioration and its effects on the motor
the other ten percent were motors that were worked on by well meaning people
that simply didnt know what they were doing.
you would not believe how many carbs were so out of adjustment that the motor wouldnt even try to start.

the more I got into this the more I discovered that motors of all brands were suffering,not just the mercs,the reason it appeared more mercs were suffering was simply because there were more of them around compared to other brands and in the end,mercs were not the finicky thing they were made out to be.

Congrats on the new boat! And have fun fishing with the Grandkids! What’s the rating for people in that boat I’m guessing 6? Still room for a few more grandkids before a bigger boat. Boat looks great and thanks for the advice as I think it is time to replace my old boat, just cannot seem to come to terms with what boats go for these days.

thanks Tomr !

yes,six persons or 900 pounds whichever occurs first.
I understand where you are coming from where price is concerned,sheesh !
dont be afraid of a used one,due your homework and you will eventually find one that works for you.
between now and winter is the time to be looking as many will be tired of the payments or paying storage for the winter.

as far as getting a bigger boat down the road,hopefully I will have one or two of those whippersnappers taught how to operate a boat properly and safely not only for themselves but others around them and they can get their own boat by then.
old grandpa is going to be busy teaching them how to maintain it !!

Love the back stories to boats and the why’s and what’s an when’s. Some folks boats are more than just boats, extensions of ourselves and become part of those family memories for ever.

Congrats on the sweet new ride. Hope it treats you guys well

Hey Iowaboy!
Very nice find. It looks hardly used at all. With the nice & high gunnels, the little fella will be well protected!
Congrats!

Great boat…. lots of good memories in the making.