definitely try to get all of the extras you can think of out in the open and on paper right away before you break ground. the price should be negot. esp. with the economy right now. later on they will all be a fixed price cause then they have you. also if allowed locally try to do some of the work yourselves, like painting staining insulating anything you can a little sweat equity never hurts. in reference to the extra tv/phone jacks, we have always built ranches but I always put a sleeve into the basement from those locations, then you can switch the phone or tv from place to place or upgrade the cabling if needed. I also got material lists from the lumber yards and verified all materials, there was always extra stuff in there that can be deleted or picked up by you for less.

gotcha Thanks guys!

What about the shallower lakes? Our local lake is only 8′ or so at its deepest. Do those units have a lot of surface clutter? What about thick algae blooms? Thanks

wierd I just said the same thing to my wife just before I went on the internet tonight. Minnesota sounds very interesting, hopefully someone will post some links or websites we can check out for some cottages or even better would be houses on some of those lake that are available to rent. (hint hint!)

I’m not exactly sure about the comparison, but I have a 175 Mag with a 90 hp 2 stroke merc. on it. top speed alone I’m going 40-45 mph which is fast enough for me. When I had my boat winterized this fall I talked to the dealer about maybe moving up in hp and possible to a 4 stroke, but he told me the 90 was very good fit for that size boat and should be well balanced. anything bigger would be too heavy in the rear.

I have a 175 mag with a console and have noticed gas odor in forward battery compartment as well. I like to open compartment door then put handle in closed position and set cover back down and this leaves a little gap to help cut the smell down. It always makes me a little worried to have strong gas odors where there could be a spark from a battery.

I was considering this too, but a Lowrance dealer told me that the lcd screen on the 332C sometimes doesn’t work that well in very cold temps.