Born and raised in,
Harvey, North Dakota then;
Newport News VA
Killeen TX
Enterprise AL
Fort Riley KS
Eagan MN
Brooklyn Park MN
Ramsey MN

Have used them for 4 years of deer hunting, and have had no problems. I spray them with water proofing spray every year just to make sure my feet stay dry. They are a great boot and worth the money. IMHO

I have a 1775 Pro-V that had round tubes and had the same problem. Replaced the plate and tubes with the new oval ones. I also moved the plastic rack that the rod handles rest on. I moved it back a little to give me just that much more room. Even with this I still have to place some rods only on the top of the rack, keeps the first eye out of the tube. I now only buy rods that fit in the locker.

Make sure you have separate power to the antenna.

Fire extinguisher!!!

Go with the Glass Mat battery, you pay more but you will not be sorry. I have 2 Cabelas group 27 AGM’s for trolling and a Optima for starting. The batteries are great, no water, hold a charge forever and can take the beating of a boat. Good Luck!

Got all these parts at Cabelas. Works alright for me.

As Tom P said, I think you need to trim the boat as you speed up, or its going to be a bear to turn. I have an optimax 150 without hydraulic steering or a trim tab, and it turns both directions just fine, when trimmed properly. On a different angle, I thought hydraulic steering would over power an untrimmed boat? Maybe the boost on the steering system isn’t working as it should?

Yes, the cover fits over the velcro taped to the unit, no problems there.

I have one on my LCX-25c and it works great. The only down side is it’s a little more difficult to push the buttons. I used to use my thumb to push the buttons and wrap my fingers around the back, can’t do that anymore, now I just use a finger. I can live with that. Of course if it’s cloudy, just take it off.

You are looking for a unit with “Autopilot” I would suggest a Minnkota Powerdrive or Terrova with 80lbs of thrust.

The powerdrive can be purchased for less than the terrova but the terrova has the autopilot on the fob. I have the terrova with autopilot and my fob’s are mounted on my rods. This setup works great, I don’t even need to put out the foot pedal. It is carried in the boat for backup.

As for 80lbs for thrust. A smaller unit will work, but a 24 volt 80lb will move your boat well in the winds we get around here. Remember get all the motor you can. There is nothing worse than being underpowered.

As for batteries. Go with glass mat. I run a pair of Cabela’s Advanced Angler AGM batteries, group size 27. They are not cheap! But Wow! what performance you get from them. You won’t be sorry with a good glass mat battery.

Just my two cents. Minnkota Terrova 80lb with autopilot and two glass mat batteries.

Good Luck

Great idea’s! Sure would be nice if Lowrance was reading your post. If you don’t mind I would like to take a copy of your wish list to the Minneapolis boat show and give it to the Lowrance rep. Could do some good.

I sure would like to see programable keys. For example I could toggle trails off and on with one push of a button. Everyone could select what they wanted them to do.

Overall I am very happy with my X-25, sure makes navigating our Canadian fishing lake, Lac Des Mille Lacs a breeze. The Navionic chip let’s us run the lake with no worry of rocks! Before all of this technology it was hold your breath and hope you keep your lower unit on.

Great brainstorming

As for the $$$$$ for plugs, I’ve heard it has to do with the high pressure in these engine’s. Is that the reason? I don’t know. I have only replaced them once and it’s a 2001. Cleaned and kept the old ones for spares.

I used the hose technique. With some luck, it worked! But took a long time to get the plug started. It is tricky because of the bend in the hose.

Sure looks to me if Merc would have run the bundles of wires and hoses down by the #6 plug out toward the cowl more this job could be much easier.

Thanks for all the responses!

I have an 01 150 opti. I run stabil all year. Fill the gas tank with non-ethanol fuel. I fog my engine and haven’t had any problems. After fogging, I turn off the kill switch (no spark)and pull the electric fuel pump fuse (no fuel diluting fogging oil), then hit the starter for just a second to lubricate the engine. I would suggest pulling the prop, clean everything (fishing line too), grease, reassemble.

I have a 01 150 opti and the only time it smokes is when its cold outside, like canada in may. Mine isn’t the only one smoking, it seems normal in cold weather. Just wondering if you remember if it was smoking when it was warm outside. I do a lot of trolling in canada and I always run it in the top rpm’s every so often, burn the carbon out.