Upgrade or replace ProTeam 175 TXW 60HP, need some opinions

[FishThe603]

Hi Folks,
At a decision point. Just started tournament fishing with my son. Feeling that my 60HP motor is leaving us at a disadvantage on some bigger waters. Was great when I bought the rig in 2015 but now its just a little to slow to keep up with all the Nitros in my club. Our top end speed it about 35 and everyone else is running at least 50-55 (except when there is a speed limit of course). My question is if repowering to say a 90 or 115 would get me the speed I'm looking for or am I just better off trading this in for a Nitro or the next level Tracker. We generally love the boat except for the speed issue and I like having the durability of aluminum on some of the waters we fish, and the rod locker on here is great. All ideas and comments welcome. Specially from anyone with some tournament experience. Thanks in advance! Gary

Bought a used Tracker ProTeam 175 TXW today. Questions

[jarhead175]

Fish don't swim that fast don't worry about it or go buy a glass boat with 150 or bigger on it. If your going to tournament fish might as well bite the bullet and get a 21' w/250. No clue what kind of lakes you have New Hampshire i grew up fishing tournaments with my dad and all ways pushed/asked/wanted him to buy a bigger boat.

[Transom]

Yep a bigger motor will not help you catch a fish. Yes a 115 will get you the speed you are looking for but it will exceed the capacity plate of that matters for your state and/or insurance company.

[CincyGus]

75hp is the max that boat is rated for. That is decided by the weight of the boat, it's weight capacity and the design of the hull among other things. In this lawsuit happy society we live in, your asking for a massive negligence settlement if there is ever an accident involving high speed and they discover you're over powered vs. the little tag on the boat. You decide if that risk is worth taking and live with whatever happens. I wouldn't want that thought crossing my mind every time I was cutting across a lake at 50+mph.

[Goldstar225]

As said above, if you want to keep up with boats doing 55, you need a different boat. Upgrading to your max rated 75 HP will only take you to 40-42 MPH. Even the PT 190 like I have may not be enough for you. With my 115 Pro XS 4S and X7 prop I'm topping out at 49 MPH. The PT 195 with a 150 will run +/- 55 MPH.

[FishThe603]

Thanks for everyone’s reply. The boats plate says it’s rated up to 90HP. Considering another members experience with the next boat up with a 115 still doesn’t get up into the top end speed I’m hoping to hit I’m thinking the upgrade wouldn’t make sense.

[bassfisher444]

I have hit 42 mph so far with my 90 HP on my 175 but that was with a lot of prop slip, I am still trying to figure out a good prop setup, I just got a laser 2 prop I had worked back but I will be awhile before I can try it out. I hit a log or something last Friday night and It blew out my trim cylinder, and dinted the bottom of the hull, I am waiting on a quote to get it fixed.

[R2Tracker]

What year is yours, assuming it wasn't new when you bought it in 2015. I have heard of some having 90hp rating, but I thought that window of opportunity was pre 2015 or even pre dates my 2011, but I dont know for sure. May not hit the speeds your hoping for, but I bet it would be pretty sweet to have a 90 on that hull.

I think Roy had the 75 on his but flashed to 115, he may be able to give some insight on how it would perform with a 90-115 on it.

[Brennan1233]

I have a 2007 175TXW with a 90hp Optimax flashed and I can hit 50mph solo with full fuel and empty livewells. That is turning a 23p Powertech PRO3R23 at 5900rpms.

[FishThe603]

What year is yours, assuming it wasn't new when you bought it in 2015. I have heard of some having 90hp rating, but I thought that window of opportunity was pre 2015 or even pre dates my 2011, but I dont know for sure. May not hit the speeds your hoping for, but I bet it would be pretty sweet to have a 90 on that hull.

I think Roy had the 75 on his but flashed to 115, he may be able to give some insight on how it would perform with a 90-115 on it.

Was bought new from BPS in Nov 2015, but it was a model year left over. That’s interesting that some have different capacities listed on the plates. I’m generally like the boat , specially how easy the trailering is compared to my old fiberglass one. My biggest issue with it is the top end speed (in comparison to other boats in the tournament). When we are doing smaller waters it’s less of a problem, we are 5 minutes behind others to the best spots and need to quit a little early to make weigh ins. On the larger water like Winnipesaukee (if anyone is familiar), that translates to being 40-50 minutes late. We are trying to make up for it with different strategy like hopping in the closet holes first but that is only going so far. Speed limit on that lake is 45, but with the chop we couldn’t do any better than 30. I’d like to stick with aluminum for durability but realize I might need to give up on aluminum to get the speed performance.

[jarhead175]

hate to say it but if you want to be competitive on lakes your going to need to either find your own spots to fish that you don't have to drag race too. Only other option is a glass boat and your going to have to spend a lot of cash if you truly want to beat other guys to the spot.

Another option is spending some money on electronics and out fish everyone. My nephew has collected checks out his tracker on a regular basis but he also has thousands of dollars of Garmins on a boat worth less than one of his graphs.

[Highcentered]

You can stay with aluminum and get the speed you want. Something like an Xpress X19 with a 200hp will run well into the 60's and even hit the 70's I think. For a more modest budget the Tracker 195txw with 150hp has been reported to run upper 50's and ever low 60's I think. If you have the cash and want a real screamer get an Xpress X21 with a 250hp and hold on to your lugnuts

[FishThe603]

hate to say it but if you want to be competitive on lakes your going to need to either find your own spots to fish that you don't have to drag race too. Only other option is a glass boat and your going to have to spend a lot of cash if you truly want to beat other guys to the spot.

Another option is spending some money on electronics and out fish everyone. My nephew has collected checks out his tracker on a regular basis but he also has thousands of dollars of Garmins on a boat worth less than one of his graphs.

Was considering an electronic upgrade too. Figured that would transfer anyway. I have a nice lowrances with downscan now. Can’t hurt to have an edge though ��

[FishThe603]

You can stay with aluminum and get the speed you want. Something like an Xpress X19 with a 200hp will run well into the 60's and even hit the 70's I think. For a more modest budget the Tracker 195txw with 150hp has been reported to run upper 50's and ever low 60's I think. If you have the cash and want a real screamer get an Xpress X21 with a 250hp and hold on to your lugnuts

Thanks for the tip! New brand for me, pretty impressive.

[MTW]

if i was serious about tournament fishing and just had to have an aluminum, itd be an xpress x19 or 21, else id find a good used basscat or phoenix glass boat.