KVD — Nitro Z21 Boat Tour — 2021 MLF BPT

hey we're kicking off 2021 and i am super excited to have my brand new nitro z21 fully rigged wrapped and ready to go so i've got a lot of cool new stuff to show you so let's jump right into it so starting at the back of my z21 i've got a lot going on back here you know first and foremost i've got my mercury 250 pro xs it's a four stroke this engine is unbelievable what i've been able to uh see and do with this motor it's just so reliable puts the boat on plane so fast you know the z21 has the rps transom so it's rapid flaming system i mean it just jumps right up on the pad just like every nitro they all have that same transom design but this engine is absolutely incredible arguably the best outboard i've ever seen in my 30 years of professional fishing truly bulletproof reliable i know i can count on it every day and it is the foundation for a power plant for my z21 beyond that i've got an atlas hydraulic jack plate it is so important for me to have that it allows me to go in really shallow places and still be on plane or to take off in real shallow water or to actually idle a lot faster through you know super shallow areas or no wake zones than that just being able to adjust the height of my engine and get the top performance out of the boat at every speed in every performance edge is really really critical and that's what an atlas does for you you know there's a lot of other new features so they've got new step pads on the z21 of course the the boarding ladder it's an integral part if you ever fall in it's really nice to have that you know built right into the back of the boat you know for trailering you know i've got motor sticks from th marine i also have the th marine steer stops to keep the engine from turning those are that's very critical so one thing that's a really big change for me is i made the switch from minn kota talons to minn kota raptor so these are hydraulic shallow water anchors and they've got a lot of really great features so first and foremost they're super quiet and they're unbelievably rigid so when they go down i mean they are just rock solid i mean you just have no wiggle to them they really lock the boat in place and they have a couple of key features that shallow water anklers really have never had so they've got auto bottom mode and active anchoring so what active anchoring does is it senses you know the wind the waves the tide you know if i'm uh you know anchored down and it's really windy where i'm at the waves are a foot or two it adjusts automatically to hold the boat right in place for it it senses that and the same with the auto bottom mode it senses the difference in the bottom whether it's hard or soft and automatically adjusts for that exact bottom mode or bottom type to hold the boat right in place so shallow water anchors have never been able to do that before to have these minn kota raptors that are again so solid so rigid so quiet and to have those key features it just really expands my ability to be efficient on the water and they're all tied to the one boat network so again my raptors my hummingbirds uh you know my lakemaster mapping and my minn kota altrex they all work and think together it's all part of that one boat network just to make me that much more efficient on the water you know the rear casting platform on the z21 is really big so you know your partner has a ton of room to fish back here but there's also a lot of storage and a great live well system so you know these rear boxes back here um they're set up where you can put like 3 700 boxes in i typically put a lot of my heavier gear back here so i put my plastics and things like that on the opposite side i use you know for tools and extra things like that some of my gloves cold weather gear things like that here in the back but i like to put heavier items back here because it balances the load out and maximizes my performance out there so nice because you can take them in and out if you want and the guardian live well system is arguably one of the best there is on the market with the baffle system you know it's got a 500 gallon per hour recirculating pump and fresh water pump and each side is separate you know so it has its own water there's no little divider there's no way the fish can go from one side to the other uh it's just a perfect system it's got little uh coal clip hangers built into it it's just a really really well designed live wall it's fully insulated you know it's rotomolded plastic so it's kind of like a yeti cooler so in the hot summer months and things like that you can keep that water temperature down if you need to it just does a really really good job we've got an integrated uh nitro measuring board right here right in handy uh for you know for measuring fish and then there's a net holder right here too so it fits right here you can have a net uh right behind the seat you know majorly fishing i don't we don't use nets or anything like that so i use my use it to strap my super stick in it it fits absolutely perfect from side to side you never know when you're going to need a good uh you know push pull and the super stick is awesome because i can adjust it out it's great for those shallow water fisheries or if you ever get stuck on a sandbar it's a life saver so back here in the battery compartment um first off we got a couple of storage trays i really like these you know i'll put some things that i don't use very often you know a prop wrench uh some extra ropes and things like that tow rope stuff like that that you you probably never need but you want to have inconvenient so i'll keep that right here in the back and then um i have my lithium pro batteries that's a huge deal for me you know lithium batteries are such a weight saver and they give you so much more power most of the pros now have switched to them for that reason so i save over 200 pounds in weight by using these particular batteries and i get so much more running time out of my trolling motor and with all the electronics and things having a lithium cranking battery does the same thing it just gives me a lot more power than a than a standard lead acid battery does so there's a lot other things back here so there's spare prop storage you know i've got a voltage management system so i can actually power all the power off to my crank battery power all the battery or the power off to my trolling motor batteries you know it's all wired very clean nitro gives you a lot of space back here there's access to get to your pumps and things like that just makes it really easy to get to everything back here i've got my two raptor hydraulic pumps here and then i've also back onto the side there i've got a minn kota 4 bank precision charger to keep them all charged every night so it's it's neat it's clean it's efficient and it's just not a jumbled mess of wires and that's what's what i really like about having a big battery compartment that that nitro gives you here on the z21 i love the console design on the z21 you know this is my command center and i spent a lot of time here so it starts with the z core seating system you know this is a nascar inspired design it's got force flex suspension so it's really comfortable even in rough water you know you can adjust it forward or back i have really long legs so it allows me to to brace myself you know they built this perfect angled brace for my left foot i've got a hot foot i think a hot foot is the way to go to to control your speed it keeps both hands on the wheel i can really see everything out in front of me and again i can i can look at my electronics my gauges and stuff so i've got a lot going on right here at the console you know i've got two helix 12s mounted here i basically use one for mapping and one for all my sonar side imaging things like that if you have the lakemaster map up and then you have that it just allows me to be super efficient in searching for structure and looking for fish you know it's got a ram mount cell phone holder with a charging plug here i've got the radio i did the option i like to have tunes while i'm out fishing at times so i've got a radio system i've got one of my raptor hand controls mounted right here i have the z touch touch panel command center here for all your live wells and lighting things like that it's really a great system and it also has a remote so for some reason if that digital thing was ever to go out i can run all of it from this new remote that's brand new for this year as well too i really like that that feature as well so i just basically have everything right here at my fingertips it just makes it really easy to to control and see everything and it's really really comfortable i have this option right here is the step pad going to the rear deck you can get a third seat i like this right here because for me again in tournaments i can keep some of the things that i use a lot i keep my ipad here you know i'm always looking at google earth things like that so i can keep my ipad my wallet truck keys all handy right there right next to me but again you can get that third seed option for it the console design is really really critical and nitro does it well so on the passenger side you have the same z core seat that's fully adjustable there's grab handles you know for the passenger for rough water there's passenger rod storage right here so they can have their rods right here there's another storage pull-up drawer right here for their stuff too and you can actually get a second console you know i like a single console but a lot of people you know want that second console and it just bolts right in right here you can get it anytime after the fact so it's a really great uh cockpit and console design here on the nitro the cooler is awesome it's roto-molded basically just like a yeti it's fully uh insulated it'll hold a lot of drinks and stuff it's got a little sandwich holder on the side to keep it from getting wet it's got a little trash container this is one of the most important things that i use all the time you know we don't want to be putting soft plastics back in the lake or anything like that so having a dedicated trash can in the boat is something i use all the time right here too i got you know tool holders plenty of tool holders for your pliers and scissors and things cup holders you can put stuff in there i end up using them as a catch-all but it's just handy to have everything right here um you know on the front deck while you're out there fishing you know keeping my tackle secure on the road is really critical so i have two things from th marine that really helped me with that so a two-way alarm system you know which comes with a remote control and it works by vibration so if somebody tries to step into your boat or open a lid you know it's going to go off the other thing is the visible deterrent of a locker bar so i love the locker bar because again somebody's you know walking up to your boat is going to see that you have it locked up and if they do actually try to to get into it you know that alarm system is going to go off it's going to beep like that and then if that doesn't stop somebody i don't know what will front deck on a z21 it's huge and it's got a lot of tackle storage and that's one of the things i really like about it so you know first off it's padded up here in the front where i'm standing but i can get to all my tackle you know it's got a split storage uh design so i can put all my lures and things here and these i can sit on one side and work out of the other i've got a big center box for bigger bulkier items and an extra tackle and then i've got two rod boxes you know on this side is where i keep most of my rods it's got 10 tubes and a storage system i put rod gloves around them and i end up putting you know i can put 30 35 rods in this box alone this side over here i'll end up putting some of my spinning rods and you know life jackets things like that over there so i can carry a ton of tackle and a ton of rods in a z21 so the front deck is where i spend the majority of my time and you know having minn kota and hummingbirds really makes a big difference to have the one boat network so the foundation of that for sure is my minn kota ultrex you know it's 112 pounds of thrust it's got those key features that change the industry you know with spot lock uh you know having the ability with lakemaster mapping to be able to follow the contours there's no other company that offers that to have the one boat network where your humminbirds your lakemaster mapping your raptors your altrex all of those think and work in unison and and that's a big advantage on the water i've got a mega 360 connected to it that was a huge game changer this past year allowing me to see out in front of the boat and be able to see the fish in the structure that's there it's just it's incredible how clear the pitcher is it's basically the same as mega side imaging but out in front of the boat 360 and and active and live at all the time the latest thing coming is mega live you know it's a lot of people been talking about it it's been leaked that it's coming i know you know what what it is what it's all about and in the last year forward-facing sonar has dominated the tournament scene whether it's mega 360 or again live sonar so it's coming from hummingbird they're going to have it to where it networks in the one boat network with all the other technology that they have i'm looking forward to getting mine for the first event of the year at red crest so it's it's really exciting and it's it's going to be the next big thing in sonar technology so i've got two helix 12s and again all of my uh units are linked together they're synced together with with all my other minn kota and hummingbird technology you can see the big raptor foot switches up here i also can run my raptors from the remote and you can actually run them from your depth finder screen that's all part of that one boat network so i like these new foot switches that they have they're big they're easy to to find so i can keep my hands free but a lot of people still like to use the remote so it gives you the options to be totally flexible up here on the front of the boat with humminbird and minn kota i feel like i've got the most advanced reliable system for total boat control to help me find the structure find the fish and then catch them i can't say enough about th marine and all the little neat accessories they make to help me be more efficient on the water and on the front of the boat i have a whole lot of them so first and foremost you can see the rock lights that i have on the deck you know i love them i have them inside and out inside the rod boxes underneath the console up and down the trailer they're just really awesome for early in the morning and then going down the road the visibility they give you you know like on a dark rainy night for everybody else to be able to see your rig it's just they're awesome so it's one of my favorite accessories but on top of that there's so many other little things um you know i've got a chill tracks foot pad holder for my ultrex it just you know it's no skid they're they're really cool even on a super hot day it's just a neat little accessory to add to my trolling motor foot pedal so i just got my rig and i haven't installed uh the g-force handle or my troll tamer yet and these are two things that i really like so the g-force handle you know it's got a big handle and it's got a cable so there's just no stretch no give and no ropes to break the troll tamer what i like about it is once you lock that into place there's no vibration there's no jiggle and really rough water that troll tamer is just a lifesaver for your trolling motor you know other things that i have is i've got my electronics up here i've got two helix 12s but i've got them mounted on a wave tamer kong mount it just keeps it rock solid and just bringing those units a little closer to me gives me a ton of visibility you know i've got an eliminator nut on my trolling motor itself you know the ultrex is super quiet but when you put that eliminator nut on there it just keeps the prop in balance and just keeps everything tight and smooth and just makes your motor quieter and more efficient and last but not least is my kvd hydrowave so i get asked a ton of questions about what a hydrowave does it's a sound machine that imitates the sounds of different bass and bait fish and them interacting together so the kvd hydrowave has 25 different sound patterns a lot of them that i've actually built together are the songs that i put together of bass interacting uh with bait fish in different scenarios so you know we've got it for offshore structure for fish and grass uh you know for imitating crayfish for you know bluegills things like that finesse situation so schooling just about everything the speaker mounts on the trolling motor and what i do is basically adjust the volume and the delays to try to be natural for the conditions that i'm out there on the water but without a doubt a hydro wave makes a big difference in activating bass and then keeping the school fired up when you get on them a couple of the cool features on the trailer is the swing away tongue you know so it can fit in smaller garages and then the step system to be able to get in and out of the front of the boat so it's got a grab handle and just the non-skid step so it just makes it easy to get in and out of the boat from the front you know another cool feature on the trailer is this new tool holder so it's lockable and you know you can put like i've got a little socket set there and you put your wheel chocks things like that in there and just anything you might need on the trailer that you just don't have storage for now you have a place [Music] you

Channel: Kevin VanDam

Views: 54,861

Rating: 4.9510021 out of 5

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Id: z3-iavF-ZSU

Length: 18min 9sec (1089 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 08 2021