Leaderboard

Here is my tape-stretcher from 2017. It was barely legal, and weighed 54 pounds. And it was DELICIOUS!

Sorry for the double post. If you're replacing the axle, I would suggest going one step further and replace the leaf springs as well. For 50 bucks each, it would be a good thing having all the suspension new and working together. Yeah I know it's not my money I'm spending; but fixed right the first time; will or could save some grief later?. At the very least make sure the spring's eyelet bushings, shackles and the spring's center locating pins are in good shape. The last thing you want is for the trailer to be dog tracking behind the tow vehicle. Dan. Springs

Hey all, another long time member coming outta the woodwork. Home from a week away, "off the grid & un plugged" withe family at a remote Fly in outpost cabin 50 miles north of Cochrane Everything came together as we lucked out on the timing & availability of this spot. Air Cochrane Services came highly recommended and we share the sentiment. Cabin was very clean & well equipped with basic/essential needs as well as 3 aluminum boats & well running 6hp outboards. Our lake was approximately 2x1 mile. Not alot of crazy structure & easy to navigate. Walleye were all over and pretty easy to pattern. The dusk bite in the evenings was very good. Lots in the 14-18 inch with a few each day over 20. Andrea landed the biggest at around 5 lbs & lost one much bigger. Had a couple pretty windy days that limited our time targeting pike. We did get a few during the week up to 25". Had a couple jigs bitten off too that we didn't see. For the the Eyes, jig heads in white, pink, white/pink, orange & chartreuse were best with a dew worm. We tried different twister tail grubs, fuzzee grubs & bucktaiks too. Never really got into floating jigs, harnesses or spinners much. Wasn't necessary. Only a couple jigs lost to snags. I've read many reports over the years on these kind of trips & am thankful for all the advice given. I highly recommend the Fly in experience. Despite the great fishing southern Ont & the great lakes has, I've got the urge to explore North a bit more over the next little while.. we'll see where we go next!

I ended up grabbing the 3500 pound one from princess auto, was on sale for 199.99 not bad at all.

The only issue will be filings he will get in the bottom end. You will want to flush it out. Filling from the top hole ,so you push out the fine metal.

I just looked into an axle, and found out its 8-12 weeks to get one pretty much anywhere, cerka, and Eastons included. A 3500lb axle is way overkill for your boat. I have a 16ft starcraft, 40 yamaha and my axle is 2500lbs. You'd be surprised at how little your boat likely weighs. Get the EZ lube hubs (standard at eastons, or cerka) for sure. They are the cats meow. The princess auto axles are china made, with cheap, garbage bearings in them. S.

Camshafts are different On Marine engines to prevent cooling water being sucked into the engine from the manifolds. Those old OMC outdrives are really hard to get parts for. And the transom hole won’t be the same size as a new Merc Alpha drive. So your options are limited unfortunately.

I replaced mine a couple of years ago. I was able to get a custom axel from Cerka in Milton for less than Princess auto charges for their axels. If you're further east, there is a place on the south end of 35/115 (Easton's?) that has a good reputation.

I went on a visit to my parents this morning up the hwy 11 . I always love the leaving at morning dark and watching the sky light up on my travel up . Always seem to be a different sight . Watching for those pesky deer crossing , can be a bit on the nerves .There are many boat,yak,SUV and motor home dealers both north and south bound . There is the one just before line 9. Always full of any boat of choice. Many in the past had American stickers and numbers. Empty. Next there is a new RV place. 3/4 , empty. Get close to Gravenhurst, 2 yak shops, 1/3 full. Heading home, there is a large boat place, just before Orrila that is always full of boats. I stopped in there many years ago and found his prices outrageous. Guess what ? Empty. The one that really caught my eye on the way home was, The Hitch house. Ya, Hie dies had some stock still, but this place, Hitch House, sell huge motor homes. Always full of inventory when I would drive bye. This morning,I could count the stock on one hand. Many many places made big bucks due to this virus, BUT, when everything gets back to almost norm,it will be a buyers market. Keeping my good eye open

The waterways up North are brutal with the rock shoals and the cliffs that have become water basins. Down here we have lowlands with soft bottoms of sand and muck in most of our navigable waterways. Our rivers that are shallow are mostly weedfree and we use outboard jet drives to get around in the shallow water. If they do suck up weeds it is easy to hop overboard in the 2 ft of water and clear them out. I brought that boat up North a few times and cold cut through between islands with no fear of grounding with a 4 inch draft. The down side was the weeds clogging the pump. I since then use my 150 hp bass boat and a aluminum prop to hunt for rocks up North. While dangerous it makes getting around a lot faster. Art

I think a 3500 lb axle should be more than enough for that boat motor and trailer.

My niece recently moved from BC to the Caribbean, with stops in Merritt (on fire!) and Prince Rupert. it was in "The Rupe" where she and her husband befriended a local First Nations fisherman, who took them out him him many times. The pic below is that of one of his recent catches. You wanna talk Halibut?! LOL HH

It was like trying to bring in a cinder block that kept circling the boat! The thing pulled like a freight train and just would not come up!