My new boat

[carolina-rig-01]

Fellas, as much as I loved the Triton 21X it was time to pass it along to let someone else fight that POS Etec that was on it. I would never hesitate to own another Triton, I loved that boat. However that will be the last time I will ever own an Etec. It was one thing after another with that motor, luckily it wasn't ever anything big but that makes little difference when it is giving you trouble while you're on the lake in the middle of a tournament. It got to the point that I wouldn't make long runs in tournaments even though I knew I had some fish on the other end of the lake to run to. I was just scared it would act up and I wouldn't make it back by check in time. A few months ago it cost me a check in a tournament and on the way home I decided that come hell or high water that motor wasn't going to screw me again. I started looking around and almost pulled the trigger on a few boats but I just didn't see any that were loaded with the options that I had in my Triton and I had a list of "Must have" options that I felt like I needed in a boat. Anyways we saw this Skeeter 21i on the internet and made the long drive to Searcy Arkansas to pick her up a few weeks ago. It's a 2008 with pretty low hours and all the options I could ask for. I am still getting used to driving her because every boat reacts differently in rough water but after a few trips I am starting to get pretty comfortable in it. It had a Humminbird 997 at the console so I had the dealer move it up front and mount my 1198 at the console. Now I have a 997 and 788 up front which is pretty handy when fishing deeper off shore stuff, I can use one graph for mapping and the other for sonar. The Power Poles are one of those things that once you have them you wonder how you ever made it without them. They are so handy and I use them in ways that I never even thought about. Anyways here are some pics of the new boat.

[bassboogieman]

Nicely set up boat. I think you'll like the Yamaharharhar, I don't want to jinx myself but I'm very happy with mine.

[carolina-rig-01]

Thanks Bruce. I have now owned at least one of all three major outboard brands. So far the Etec is the only one I wouldn't ever consider owning a second one.

[bamabassman]

Very nice kory !!!!

[lilmule]

Nice ride,as for the etec experience must have gotten a lemon happens with any brand.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by lilmule

Nice ride,as for the etec experience must have gotten a lemon happens with any brand.

Maybe but if that's the case then there are a lot of lemons out there because everyone I have talked to after I bought mine had the same experience. In fact I know of a guy that just bought a new boat to get rid of his Etec too.

[WatterBoy]

That all looks fantastic, Kory! After seeing your pics and reading about all your electronics and so forth, I'm pretty sure what I do doesn't even count as fishing any more.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by WatterBoy

That all looks fantastic, Kory! After seeing your pics and reading about all your electronics and so forth, I'm pretty sure what I do doesn't even count as fishing any more.

LOL I'm pretty sure what I do a lot of the time isn't called fishing either. I think most people would call it spending a ton of money to run around the lake practicing casting.

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01

LOL I'm pretty sure what I do a lot of the time isn't called fishing either. I think most people would call it spending a ton of money to run around the lake practicing casting.

Ha, I know better than that. Anyone who does as well as you do in tourneys is in a league I will never even begin to know. I only find fish by fishing the same lake all the time and by fishing spots where I know I've caught fish before. I find new "good" spots just by accident -- once last year because we couldn't get out of the wind anywhere else so tried a spot we'd never fished before and once this year just because we didn't have enough time to hit the main lake, so we just trolled a shoreline back past our 'no wake zone' and where the finger of the lake that we're on comes to an end.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by WatterBoy

Ha, I know better than that. Anyone who does as well as you do in tourneys is in a league I will never even begin to know. I only find fish by fishing the same lake all the time and by fishing spots where I know I've caught fish before. I find new "good" spots just by accident -- once last year because we couldn't get out of the wind anywhere else so tried a spot we'd never fished before and once this year just because we didn't have enough time to hit the main lake, so we just trolled a shoreline back past our 'no wake zone' and where the finger of the lake that we're on comes to an end.

It's amazing how many good spots we find by accident. The best feeling in fishing is when you nail down a pattern good enough that you can run to a spot you have never fished before and know that you're about to wreck them just because this spot matches the pattern.

[joedog]

Put 'spinners' on the trailer wheels and I think your project is complete.......till spring.

That is a functional work of art Kory!
The tourny guys tell me, once you've had power poles, you will never have another boat without.
They say, "Once you use them you wonder how you ever fished without them."

I'll end by saying what has run through my mind since viewing the pics, WOW!

[Abbeysdad]

Well I do a little bit of fishing...it just seems not a lot of catching!!!

Nice boat Kory, Hope you treat each other well. Power poles will be real handy staying put in the shallows. (I often think how cool it would be to have one of the new smart TM's with GPS that you can just set to 'stay' in one place [for those times an anchor just won't work]).

I should be so rich to have such a toy...and a lake house...a new boat...truck...car...! It's all just one winning lottery ticket away - lol.

[Possum]

Nice boat.

[Captmikestarrett]

I really like the twin exhaust pipes out the back.

That was humor guys..

Capt Mike

[MallenManson]

Kory, I didn't even realize that video was made from a new boat!!!!!
Very sexy!!!!!!!!!!!

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by MallenManson

Kory, I didn't even realize that video was made from a new boat!!!!!
Very sexy!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks buddy!

[woody]

That's a sweet ride, Kory!

Was your Triton also a double console? Was the double console a must have for the wife?


-Mark

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by woody

That's a sweet ride, Kory!

Was your Triton also a double console? Was the double console a must have for the wife?


-Mark

Yes and yes LOL! The Triton was the first dual console boat I have owned and at first I was worried about the space I would be giving up. However I am a sucker for neat little compartments that help keep things organized so it didn't take long for me to appreciate the glove box in the passenger console. Britney was all in on buying a new boat, but it had to have a dual console and I am ok with it.

[woody]

Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01

Yes and yes LOL! The Triton was the first dual console boat I have owned and at first I was worried about the space I would be giving up. However I am a sucker for neat little compartments that help keep things organized so it didn't take long for me to appreciate the glove box in the passenger console. Britney was all in on buying a new boat, but it had to have a dual console and I am ok with it.

I like the dual console myself. My skeeter's also equipped with it... but my wife still won't dare to go for a ride with me. lol


-Mark

[keithdog]

That is one sweet looking piece of work my friend! You pull up with THAT in tow and every head is going to turn and just drool!

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by keithdog

That is one sweet looking piece of work my friend! You pull up with THAT in tow and every head is going to turn and just drool!

Thanks Keith, now I need to get that new boat jinx taken care of.

[Crankbait]

Carolina i'm jealous....that is one nice rig you got there!!!!

[Embrey]

so whats up with the e tec? ive heard a lot of bad. ive worked on a few outboards in the last few years, but no e tecs yet. what issues did you have with it? im not a real big OMC/evinrude fan yet from what iv seen

[BBD]

Sick. Nice ride!

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Embrey

so whats up with the e tec? ive heard a lot of bad. ive worked on a few outboards in the last few years, but no e tecs yet. what issues did you have with it? im not a real big OMC/evinrude fan yet from what iv seen

Well I had a problem right off the bat with a sensor. I can't remember which sensor it was but it threw the engine into guardian mode. After I got that fixed it developed a fuel delivery issue. I fought that problem for well over a year before getting it fixed. It would run just fine and then out of the blue it would starve itself of fuel and then die. It would eventually fire up and it may run fine for the rest of the day or it may act up in 5 minutes. Ended up replacing the anti siphon valve and thought it was fixed. It ran great for a few months and then it started doing it all over again. Along with some other stuff that didn't fix the problem, we finally removed the anti siphon valve altogether and replaced the fuel lift pump. One of those two things fixed the problem but it was short lived before other problems started popping up. The lower unit started slipping when the boat was in reverse and it ended up just needing the linkage adjusted, not a huge deal but it was another trip to the mechanic. I had several nickel and dime problems with it but the final straw was when I had a good enough bag in a tournament to cash a check and the throttle control sensor went out and screwed me out of a check. I decided then that I have had nothing but problems with the Etec and I was going to get rid of it and never own another one.