tahoe 215cc??

[whmoore18]

I'm new on here first post on iboats!


Now I just got a new 2011 215cc tahoe boat from bass pro over in Hanover, MD. Should be ready after rigging and such put a nice fish finder VHF radio antenna all that from the start. The boat will be introduced to its new home over in Ocean City, MD. I noticed after going through all the tahoe threads no one owns this boat. strange?

Now as for docking in storage it will be stored at a marina which is basically a boat hotel. After use the motor is drained boat cleaned put on a rack. The primary use for the boat will be fishing. Now if you ever been to OC the inlet can have it's days of absolute turmoil (2-3ft chop big boats pushing wake in every direction etc) and it can have days of small rollers through a glassy surface. 80% of the time though in the summer its pretty decent small waves depending on the tides but overall nice.

The boat will be always maintained nicely with oversight of the marina which is actually pretty nice for a small boat marina. Now I was wondering what to expect cause I may have a few ventures into the ocean on of course calm near dead wind days. We get quite a few absolutely dead flat days where on the beach you see nothing but ankle splashing waves and can see light breezes across the ocean surface. Literally its so dead calm schools of bait fish or a boat making wake is the only wave action you will see all day. I was wondering if anyone has had their tahoe out of there or even a 215cc in any decent 1-3ft wave action which is the roughest that boat will ever be in and thats during striper season.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

I don't think that boat would be my first choice for navigating the inlet. Low freeboard, non-self-bailing deck?

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

I thought the 20 degree deadrise on it would help...me personally ive seen pontoons do it and the way the boat seems to be set up all water on the deck ends up in the bilge to be pumped out correct?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

That's how it works yes. However, on a self bailing hull, the deck is above the water line so if you take water over the bow, it runs right out through scuppers as you go. On the right day I'm sure you'd be fine. Although I'm not exactly an OC expert as I'm sure you are. I've just been there with my boat 3 times for a week each. There was a day one year that was so calm, I could have taken my 18' through the inlet if I'd been so inclined. I stick to the bays though. With that deadrise you'll surely have a better ride than I do.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

No expert here man hahaha. Just an average guy trying to have fun on a new boat. I'm here to learn just like everyone else. Its a new boat so I certainly have ALOT to learn to say the least. I just thought with that dead rise (20 degree) it should create a decent platform at a stand still with a fairly decent ride through choppy water. Like I said though those ventures out through the inlet would come on either <1ft and at max 1-2ft days if something is running fairly decent say stripers in the fall and we have to get a troll going.

I figured this would be better than a pontoon would be and we've seen those boats get swamped like you wouldn't believe going through that inlet on the worst of days (white marlin open traffic + 2-3ft seas). I thought this would be a little better then one of those.

Those bays are nice man there is most certainly some good fishing in the bays. The only issue is the room in there. Those bays in there are small and mainly limited to the channels since pretty much 90% of the water outside of the channels are sandbars especially at low tide. On weekends seems like the big boat owners like to see how many folks they can scare by splashing them with heavy wake.

 

[sstacey]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

Tahoe 215 CC boat owner here in Ontario, Canada. I use my Tahoe for both bass fishing on Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada and for Salmon Fishing on Lake Ontario, Canada. Have two downriggers attached to a gimble mount that rests in each rear rod holder.

I have taken the Tahoe out in rough weather with white caps and 1 to 3's and 1 to 5's. Let me rephrase that statement. I have brought the Tahoe IN during such weather......I can honestly say I'd avoid the larger ones but still thought I would share as its also true that many don't know what their boats are capable of. I've been around boats on and off for most of my life. My father has had footitis since I was a teen, working from a 16 foot bowrider up to his current 70'.

As for the Tahoe, my pride multi-purpose boat, I have actually had rogue waves that broke over the bow and caught me, standing behind the center console. The water rushes through the center hold infront of the console, and the remainder rushes to the back. Depending on the water amount, it can build at the back, as it works its way out the rear. In the meantime, your bilge pump light is running steady.

25 minutes later I have managed my way back to port and within a minute or two, the bilge pump light goes out and I'm looking over my shoulder at those white caps I just navigated.

Each season I learn a little bit more about the limits of the boat, as well as my own. Its a combination of common sense, knowing what to do and being prepared.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

This was very helpful....OC conditions can change to become as such in an instant. Don't get me wrong I wont venture out far if the reports are calling for conditions to deteriorate. However it's good to know that if for some reason stuff were to get a little dicey that the boat is able to ease its way back into safer conditions.

How has the boat held up for you any problems?

 

[LnCoyote]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

I also own a 2010 Tahoe 215 cc. I use it for fishing, cruising/leisure, and skiing/tubing. I have only taken her out on an inland lake in North Georgia, so I don't know how she would handle in 3-4 footers. I wouldn't feel comfortable being out in seas bigger than 4 feet for sure. One day we had her out on 'the ocean' side of our lake and it was probably 1 foot chop with 2-3 foot rouge waves on occasion. We did get a little water on the front platform that trickled into the bow, but nothing to be worried about (my better half would beg to differ HA). I figure skill and experience plays a big part in handling rough seas, so I expect to get better at throttling through larger waves and using my trim to raise/lower the bow when appropriate.

Bass Pro and their service department was very accommodating and professional through my warranty year. We did have some problems, but they were handled in a timely manner professionally and respectfully. Here is a list of problems we had:

the engine caught fire. Yep that's what I said. Very scary moment. It turned out the starter solenoid was bad and was the root of the problem. Luckily we were able to extinguish the fire quickly and the damaged was contained to the solenoid and a couple of wiring harnesses which were all subsequently replaced. The service team also replaced the main harness that feeds from the power plant to the console/battery.

the live well would not hold water. We took the boat back a few times for this problems. The service department kept telling me there was not supposed to be a standpipe or plug to hold the water in. They stated the pump had a stop valve that prevented water from escaping and I kept telling them this was not what I was seeing when I had the boat in the water. I use the live well as a bait tank, so obviously it is imperative that it not leak, right? After video taping my experience, they finally agreed and repaired the problem by providing me with plugs that fit.

the starter on the console would turn when you turned the key to start it, but this was easily fixed with a little locktite.

when we hit a big wave, the small door on the back came unlatched/flexed and slammed shut cracking the fiberglass. It was repaired, but happened again. The second time they repaired it, they reinforced it.

Finally we had trouble with a leaky compass that is built into the console. They replaced it.

Even with the problems we've had I am still very pleased with our purchase and get a lot of compliments on design and finish.

I also want to mention that we purchased the boat with a 200hp Mercury optimax and I am glad we spent extra for the larger engine. I have no problem getting out of the hole and have it a max speed of 50mph on my gps at 3600 rpm with 21p ss.

I love this boat and am looking forward to many a year of fishing and fun in the sun.

have fun with your new boat whmoore. I think you will be pleased with functionality and performance.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

Is the livewell not holding water a big issue with the 215cc? I've read this a couple times. What size plug did they give you? I might pick one of those up as a just in case part. I rather have it in there an never need it than lose good bait.

 

[sstacey]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

So glad I joined this site! We are very happy with our 215CC as well. Although we have had some issues with the boat that required Bass Pro repair. Not enough locktite used on the screws around the bimini. We had a few pieces drop in the water on our second time out and the shop quickly replaced them and suggested we go around the entire boat and tighten what we could and apply some additional locktite where it had not been used liberally by the manufacturer. Strongly recommend you do that. However, we could not reach the bimini mounts on the boat as they are underneath. This fall, after its fourth season on the water, the bolt and mount came clear out of the fibreglass and the nut (I assume) has fallen in the cavity behind the speaker. I was doing to take the speaker out and attempt but then thought....its still under warranty and I shouldn't have to .....so I am taking it in this month to have it fixed. I've also found the steering and throttle have been as stiff as the day I got it and should not give my arms such a workout. I'm going to have them check the cables and consider a hydrolic upgrade. Very interesting to hear about the livewell because we experienced the same problem this fall. Been working fine up to this point. We were out on the lake and when we opened the livewell we found it was almost empty. We filled it back up and found it was draining. This too will be looked at this month. Overall, very happy with the boat and looking at some upgrades to it as I'm a tall guy and would prefer a T Top vs. the bimini. Also going to install a Garmin 720s with sonar, charts and radar. That should last me a while.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

I wonder why this livewell stuff is such a problem? I wonder what it causing them to fail and drain the way they are? Eh, every boat has its problems nuts and bolts I can understand some though since a boat experiences many flexes and strains from moving over waves. The latch issue is normal I've been on a 60ft sport fishing boat that is now going for 2.3 million have an issue with a latch opening after it hit a wave funny. That stuff just happens. You see them missing a screw or two after a season venturing out so im not really too worried about that. The livewell thing is a little worry-some due to it seeming to be universal.

 

[sstacey]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

I agree with you whmoore18. I will share my experience when I take mine in to be repaired.

 

[LnCoyote]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

The plug I use for my live well is about 1/2 in. in diameter. The other plug in the pictures (not being measured) is the standard plug that can be used for the built in cooler located under bow seat on starboard as well as the small cooler on the stern platform opposite the ladder. I included it for comparison purposes only. It is not the correct size to plug the live well.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

Thats funny bass pro told us that plug on the left was our livewell plug....I thought our livewell's pump in and can recirculate basically aerate the water...So my question is this if its draining is it fast enough of a drain to simply leave the pump in pump on to basically just keep pulling new water in?

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

My father had a 2005 Tahoe 215, but not the CC. Watch yourself on the rough days. The front sits so low in the water that you will end up under the wakes if you are not careful. We took it out on Tampa bay and got really wet. It also beat the snot out of us. The deadrise might be 20, but it is rough. That is the primary reason he sold it. It was a great boat on the small lakes, lots of room, lots of storage. Somewhat underpowered, but it still got us where we wanted to go.

I had a 01 Q7 with a 5.7 and it was a rocket. Better on the wakes but still rough. I would have gotten another one, but couldnt find a decent used one and the new ones were not available at the time.

Overall, for the price, I loved the Tahoe. Great boat. A set of trim tabs will really help with the rough ride.

 

[whmoore18]

Re: tahoe 215cc??

The 215CC is a little different due to the outboard motor seems like everyone with an I/O have issues with trim and such....I wont be out on rough days much with the boat anyways due to a rough day out of Ocean City, MD usually means its really windy white caps and a real nasty swell... You wont see many boats under 30ft out on those days besides in the back bays anyway it just gets really rough when its bad