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Had a great year last season with tonnes of great numbers. Hammered walleye from a kayak in a super back lake with my dad. Later flipped the same kayak in the middle of a trout lake and almost died of hypothermia lol, was a fun year!

A 30 lb difference between cylinders is a sign the motor is starting to self-destruct. The compression will continue to lose as more metal and the numbers become more unbalanced. This is equal to walking with one leg stronger than the other. For now, it might be less expensive to fix it before it damages the crankshaft, crank bearings, and piston walls. After reading your responses, I do not feel that you can do the machine work and ensure the correct tolerances and torque specs are accurate. Anyone can assemble a motor but without experience, the mistakes become apparent when you are not at the dock or home. Just some insight from a person who has been building high-performance jet skis and motorcycles 2 strokes since the late 80s. Congratulations and enjoy your new boat. Art

Hi all, Got out for an hour in front of the house this evening with my good buddy Roloff.

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Just a couple kinda cool sunrise pics over looking the prairies east of town.

Mrs,s and I had a great day at the swap. As always, great seeing you David. Till next year.

Hi all, walleye bite went nuts from 7pm for 45 minutes. must've got 20 or so between the two of us....nice evening too .

I must have bigger squirrels. I screwed two rat traps to the rail of a fence they travel and they completely destroyed them. Next time I didnt screw them down, but put the trap on a tether so they had no leverage. That worked for a couple rounds. I found they can get in the live traps , have dinner and leave without paying the piper. I now put a mouse trap in the live trap. When they set off the mouse it scares the crap out them and they inadvertently trigger the live trap. I discovered that trick one day watching one eat my peanut butter. I wipped the door open and yelled at him causing him to make a run for it. Got him. I;m just tired of having to load them up and drive them out of town 10-15 miles. I used a rattle can on them for awhile to see just how far they would travel to get home. A couple made it 10 miles in no time. I think the rest fall victim to predators while they run around with neon pink tail. lol

Would like to attend just one show, some day! Always away working when it's on though. Some incredible bait makers, anglers and quite the fishy culture for the big toothy beasts all comes together there and it'd be sweet to meet and enjoy that vibe with others.

I agree with Akrisoner, an 80lb electric TM with a couple of lithiums might be a better investment than hanging a gas kicker on that boat. A lot more versatile...you can still troll with it, and if you wire it up so the big motor charges it when running, should always have enough juice to get you back.

Well, it seams to have worked, I just had a friend call and leave me a message and it came through as a normal voice mail. Thanks again I really appreciate the help!

I was about to reply almost exactly what Randy said. Start with a compression check on a warm engine.

Hi, I suggest that before you get too worried about what might or could happen with the engine, you or a experienced mechanic should perform a thorough inspection of everything to make sure that there are no evident service or maintenance issues such as fuel lines, chaffed or damaged wires, leaks etc. Then do another compression test and actually confirm that there might be a problem. It is very important to use a high quality reliable gauge. I have seen some widely variant readings from cheap low end compression gauges, so find a good one to do the testing with, you need good consistant readings to confirm what the compression is. You can also try doing a cold and warm test that might show that the compression is within spec when warm and may explain why the engine seems to run well. If the compression is not bad go ahead and enjoy your boat and stop worrying, Should the new testing show that there is a potential problem then it becomes a question of how bad is it really? If it is not to severe use it this season and have it freshened it up in the off season for use over the next few years with no worries. If it turns out that it is in fact bad enough to be worried about then bite the bullet and fix it now. That engine as others have pointed out is a good, reliable, and relatively simple engine that any good experienced outboard mechanic can overhaul in a few hours without having to spend a fortune. Finding a good and honest mechanic might be the biggest challenge... Best of luck and have fun with your new boat!

Having to get towed is always a risk. Thats just boating with older equipment. New equipment breaks too. All one can do is be prepared as anyone on the water should be at all times. Treat it right and I think you'll be fine. I've been on the water my whole life with some questionable equipment including ill running motors. Never been towed, but always ready for it. Just dont go out for midnight cruise's with the wife and kids on board. lol

I agree with this…you truthfully are gambling when your motors compression is starting to go that bad. Sometimes the piston ring cracks and you “mildly” blow it. A re bore and some new rings and you’re back in action but sometimes she blows bad, your piston essentially super heats and gets stuck while firing and destroys the crank case, or literally blows through the top of the motor. I’ve seen videos of high powered motors shoot a piston literally through the engine cowling like a rocket. Needless to say, there’s no rebuild when it blows that bad

Chances are it just needs the cylinders honed, new rings and gaskets. A much less expensive option. Buying another ol' two stroke may find you in the same position. $2000 is a rebuild. As said, basically a new motor. Sometimes it's the way to go. Better the devil you know. A new engine for 2k is cheap. In the interest of more power, you may want to keep your eyes open for a bigger engine and have it rebuilt while you still run what you have. Maybe find one with good compression and other problems like lower unit issues. Cheap motor and you can tackle it yourself. I just know that if I wanted toys, I had to learn to work on them. Otherwise I couldnt afford to own them when they broke. lol. Broken=worthless. Basically throwing it on the scrap heap and starting over with another old used motor with the same risks. Get some tools, pick up another cheap motor and tear into it. I think I mentioned Iboats forum. Those guys eat sleep and breath this stuff and will help you through anything you want to tackle. It's where to go for boat related problems. ANYTHING boats. I'm sure there are folks here that will agree.

Easy peasy you can do it unbolt the head slide it off the pistons get the serial number tell them to bore it out for a new set of over size rings to your pistons now put the rings on slide it back on bobs your uncle 2 strokes are easy and that’s not a complicated motor personally I’d run it for the season the way it is are you very confident with the pressure test seriously rings are not big deal all said and done 500.00 on the high side if you do it yourself that’s with the boring make a nice stand bring it inside or out and just do it get a good tear down manual lots online YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! Cheers Peter BringOnAnotherThousand

Pictures of some of my favorite mountain lakes. Most are so gorgeous they look fake, but are not. I hope you's enjoy. Maligne Lake, Peyto Lake, Waterton Lake, Lake Louise, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes where in 1983 while fishing from shore I caught the Alberta record Bull Trout, Alberta's provincial fish, one oz. shy of 18lbs. And it still stands today. Lower Kananaskis Lake, Abraham Lake. I have a couple more that are well worth a gander but as usual my computer decided to take some time off, I will try and post them later.

NICE RIG >>>CONGRATULATIONS!!! Have a great season!

It's in my garage! brought it home today! Thanks guys

Very nice. We've had some great sunrises and sets recently also. Minus the white stuff. Here's a couple from the other morning.

I feel this is like my brief encounter with golf, good clubs, good balls, go to driving range till you get it right. So a bucket of pellets and a stack of targets. Got it. Hope it goes better than my golfing.

I drove truck in the GTA up until I retired a few years ago. You had to really be on your toes every second. Cyclists, coming out of no where in seconds, people who had no idea of where they were going (or how to drive). Sitting up high in a truck I saw lots of things going on in cars but the biggest problem was people talking on cell phones. Perhaps we need to put some cops in trucks, I bet I could have handed out a hundred tickets a day easily.

That's great. A lot more 60" out there. thanks very much

I'm glad I'm not the only one getting gray in my beard lol. Kayak fishing is something I'm going to be doing this year. Nice pics man

A nice collection of fish Rick. Walleye paradise just outside your door.

Any form of heat welding (arc) or gas can not be used with the backing foam in place. The heat will flash the foam and contaminate the weld and or catch fire. I own and use both TiG and MIG equipment and the above reasoning from your welder is correct. There are cold welding products (epoxy) that could be used like marine tex which will be acceptable as a repair.

A trolling motor is enough to get you to safety. ive been stranded multiple times, most recently on Georgian bay…in the fall, during a wind storm. made it home but it took a while

Well, one way to avoid getting stuck on the water is to buy a kicker. I was going to do that either way as I do like to troll and I was thinking about adding auxiliary power

I personally think you run it until it explodes and then re power with a used motor with the max horsepower for your hull. You might get a year out of the motor for free.

Was out with Bray again yesterday, we caught some Panfish and I was messing around with worms also and hooked into a Monster Rock Bass, biggest I've ever caught. I need to work a little with him on his camera aiming. What's everyones biggest Rock bass? I know the Ontario record is 17 inches and around 3 pounds.

Don't start regretting now. Get that engine fixed soon and you'll never have to worry about it blowing up on you. The boat looks real nice.

Congratulations. Nice boat! I’d just enjoy it as it is for a bit before you dig into it, particularly if it seems to be working well. Love my 14 foot aluminum but perhaps a tad envious…

That takes some grit to make a move like that with a family at home. Good for you for going after it. I had a simular opportunity 30 years ago and as a family with 4 kids we decided against it. Still wonder what could have been to this day. Myself and family have seen many sunrises from the Colpoy's dock and as many sunsets from Oxenden. I work primarily on the Bruce Peninsula. We had spot on Mountain Lake for many years. In recent years it expanded so we gave it up, but Wiarton was our home town during the summer. I dont think you'd appreciate what the Peninsula has become. It's a zoo. My typical mornings on Mountain Lake. A stones throw from your farm. Small world

There’s some third party products that essentially connect with your phone that you install onto the trolling motor to effectively make them have iPilot. not sure if they are available for the first gen power drives. https://pronavmarine.com/alternative-to-the-minn-kota-i-pilot-link-add-on-gps-autopilot-for-bow-mount-trolling-motors/

Usually a couple thousand bucks will be enough for an engine rebuild. basically turns your motor new again. id get a transom saver, aluminum wood transoms are soft to begin with, I personally don’t like the idea of flexing them constantly. low compression equates to low power. Luckily on an old carbed two stroke it’s not going to be a major major issue until it totally blows.

Refers to "re-building" the motor. In layman's terms: Hone....re-surface the cylinder wall (where combustion takes place) by removing a slight amount of metal and "polishing" to create a new surface Re-ring....replace the piston rings to create a better seal to prevent combustion gasses "slipping through" The end result is to restore the compression so you're back to the original power and fuel economy Unless, you have a decent amount of mechanical experience, not something for DIY.

The one up north was pretty rough... this is what I ended up this:

Great show. Met some long time friends, and had some enlightening conversations. Ended up buying a new St.Croix LT stick with the new full pistol grip...hopefully it extends my casting day...before I turn to my fishing partner and say "let's troll for a while". JB's had 25% off on all St. Croix rods. Musky guys are certainly another breed. I often hear the comment on here and elsewhere..."I would never spend more than $100 on a rod or a reel". Meanwhile, I see Musky lures selling for up to $175 a piece...just the lure...lol

See ya there Crowman!

Always enjoyed the Odyssey before I hung up my fish'n pole.

Always used hollow points and shot from further than 30 feet with my sub 500FPS pellet gun. Always aimed for the head and never had issues.

Max playing great. Great hockey.

Yes the rat traps do work until they get wary of them and then they'll avoid them no matter what bait you put in there. I use a Crosman Baze XT, 1200 fps, one shot dead at 80 feet with the pointed pellets.

I had a nest of bunnies in the yard a couple years back and while I was looking at them I noticed Momma 100' away watching me. Next morning they were all gone so I spose Momma came and got them so hopefully that'll happen with yours too.

I'll first go into reliability. I have had one Motorguide Xi5 gps head unit crap out on me. Motor worked fine, but GPS died 6 months outside of warranty, fortunately it was the one and only time I've ever had an extended warranty on anything (bass pro) and they made it right. I've also killed a Minn Kota Terrova GPS head unit. That one wasn't under warranty, and I got lucky with a Canadian Tire clearance deal when they were still carrying the ipilots and I replaced the head and remote for a few hundred, otherwise the repair would've been in excess of $600. My Terrova is currently at Aikman's Sporting goods getting the brushes and seals replaced because it sounded like someone wash beating on dog squeaky toy with a hammer every time I turned it on. Minn Kotas, even the Terrovas aren't bullet proof by any means. I've had many issues with pedals, head units not turning, replaced a board on one once etc on Minn Kotas over the years. They all have issues. The Xi5 was a pretty sweet motor for the 3 years I had it. The replacement got moved on with my old boat. I guess if I had to pick it would be a Minn Kota. However Aikman's just told me that the last gen pre Bluetooth the motherboards have been discontinued now. Keep that in mind when buying used. As for your boat, a 55lb will work, but yeah wind will occasionally be a pain in the butt. If you troll a lot and use the motor to steer, you'll kill even a group 31 after about 6 hours. Flat dead, and the more you do that the shorter lifespan of the battery. I used to get about 2, maybe 3 seasons of heavy use on a 31 series with a 55lb thrust on my 16 footer with constant trolling. If you can swing it weight wise, I'd try to go 24 volt. Just my 2 bits.

SO would that require 2 12 volt batteries?

Sometimes the simplest meals are the best meals... Shucked a couple of dozen Irish Point oysters from PEI. Some freshly grated horseradish along with lemon and hot sauce...but we really don't like to put much on them. A green salad and loaf of crusty bread. Washed it down with a bottle of Moet. Oh man.. oysters are at their best this time year...

So I don't usually take pictures of my food, because my wife thinks it is highly aberrant behaviour. I catch enough flak for other stuff that I don't need to add to the topics where my behaviour is found wanting. BUT! If she is not around, I can take some pics. Tonight it was DUCK BALLS!!! with sweet Thai chili sauce on acini de pepe pasta, very toothsome even if I say so myself. That black spot on the parchment paper is evidence of quality control before the sauce got added. 😉 The duck balls are meatballs of course. I had made some country style (caseless) Italian sausage with duck meat, and had one package left, so I did it as meatballs. Doug

Those are some nice fish your son caught.