bigbuck

Check out iboats.com. You may be able to score a deal there. And x4 on Citywide welding in Mississauga, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

I pay just over $3k in Honey Harbour and that includes winter storage and my boat slip, hydro(30amp), water, sewage and lawn cutting. We have a nice little beach a stone's throw from the public dock in Honey Harbour and the kids are already swimming in the water (high 60s last weekend). There is only a few trailers and we are like a big family.

You can find a nice 28-30ft'r for well under $20k. Most parks want you to have a trailer that is less than 10 years old coming in. I'd recommend buying one from Niagara Trailers. Their setup and after sales service is second to none. There are 2 other new trailers at our park from different dealers and both have had problems with service after the sale with setup and warranty. I've got some friends at Pigeon Hollow just outside of Bobcaygeon and it's a nice place as well. Not sure what the fees are there.

There's some firewood for ya!!! Too bad, it was a pretty tree. I guess we know what you are going to be doing for the next couple of days.

Good to see that it's not just a slap on the wrist. $2700 or close to a grand a piece is a good lesson. Jeez, who wants to clean more than a dozen crappie at a time, never mind 30+.

We were out for about an hour and a half on Saturday evening on GBay on an undisclosed spot. We were 2 for 4 big Walleye. One was a 24"er and the other was a 22"er. Both were caught slow trolling worm harnesses. We ended up keeping the 24" since she was pretty beat up and we couldn't revive her. Lunch was good on Sunday. My buddy up there has caught 2 musky so far, one jigging with a GULP minnow and one with a worm harness. They were 48" and 52" and were successfully released. Figures, you spend the whole summer fishing for 'skis when they are in season and you catch the big girls when they are not.

On another note, my boat had to come back out of the water, the new tach that Faria sent me was defective, it was reading inaccurately on all settings. So, back to Oro with her and hopefully I get the new guage real quick because I don't want to miss too much fishing time, the big 'eyes are in our little spot for another 3 weeks or so before they move on. Hopefully this weekend I get to go out again if the weather cooperates.

A Bulldawg is a good follow up bait. But like Lew said, 3 rods rigged differently is the way to go. 4 if you have the gear.

Wayne, with two young girls, I think about what you are going through and it brings a tear to my eye every single time. You've been a rock for your little girl and that is what a dad is supposed to be for his kids. My hat goes off to you. How you've kept it together for this long, I don't know but keep it up.

Alumacraft makes a nice hull and boat. Comparing apples to apples, I found the Alumacraft a bit nicer inside than a price comparable LUND. Go take a look at them and see if it compares to the Legend. And, don't get less than 75% of the rated power for the hull. Max it out if it's in the budget. If you plan on going out into big water, get a kicker, if your main engine breaks down, you will be in trouble especially if a weather front moves in. Safety comes first. Get a smaller boat with a kicker if your budget does not allow for it in a bigger boat.

That's a nice little camp you have there. I'm jealous. It's nice to get away and ground yourself once in a while and even better for the kids to get away from electronics and such to go and make their own fun in the outdoors. Good for you!!!

For St Croix, check out JBs Fishing Depot. They've got the greatest selection of all the lines, high end and lower end.

Unfortunately, you have to take him at his word with regards to the motor. Some guys are honest about it and some aren't so honest. I'd stay away, that's an old motor, if it needs a rebuild or work, it gets expensive real quick. Besides, it's not as efficient as a motor made in the past 7-8 years. The prices of used boats have gone up because the production of new boats has dropped off dramatically, they are only building around 50% of what they did in '08. Some of the dealers in the Muskokas last year ran out of new stock by June. Go to the states, you'll find a good deal, at least better than you would here on a used boat.

Thanks fellas. Drifter, if you can dig it up I'd greatly appreciate it.

Just wondering if anyone has the installation guide/owner's manual in PDF format for an older MinnKota 24Volt Powerdrive. I'd like to mount mine on the boat soon before musky season opens on GBay. Thanks in advance.

Actually, there will be flies in the summer that do bite!! They are nasty buggers!! On LOTW, there is a little spot on Route Bay about 25mins from Kenora on Storm Bay Road that I've seen people camp on, it's not far from great fishing waters.

X2 on West Marine. I would think that any decent sized marina or marine dealer should be able to order them in for you.

Good to see. You two are a couple of the most helpful guys here on the board.

Beautie!! There's almost $200 of stuff there!! Merry Christmas in June!!

There's lots of places to pitch a tent on LOTW. I have seen a few in use during my trips up there. If you fellas have a boat, you will be laughing, it will be a trip of a lifetime for you. Enjoy it and enjoy the time with your uncle. BTW, 3 cans of muskol probably won't be enough........

It was a warm one that's for sure. I was out last night doing the front brake pads on the van getting ready to tow the boat on Friday. I was sweating like crazy. Mind you, I didn't care too much. Felt good to be nice and toasty hot all over. Hopefully my vegetable garden has dried up just enough so I can finish my planting. The wife wants me to make a couple of planter boxes up at the trailer so she can do some planting up there too. And I need to get the boat ready for the water.......

I figure that mine is near the capacity as well but for the amount I trailer, I'm not too worried. Did you go with a galvanized trailer?? Or matching paint?? BTW, you are retired now, enjoy and toss the glasses (ok, don't unless you need them to tie knots).

What about just insuring it for Liability, you should be able to add it as a rider on your homeowner's policy.

Nice Lew, should make trailering your baby a might easier.

Stick to 3/4 of the towing max. You have to remember that as you may have enough power to get it going, stopping is the big issue when it comes to towing. Also, make sure you have a towing package installed (big tranny cooler, those Chrysler trannies tend to be pretty weak). Make sure your trailer has at least surge brakes to help in emergencies. I don't believe you should be towing a tandem axle trailer with a minivan but I may be wrong. You also limit yourself to where you can launch, on a gravel ramp, you WILL get stuck, you need good concrete ramps to launch/retreive easily. The two launches I use are both concrete, I learned my lesson with gravel the first time I launched the boat (forgot the drain plug, thankfully the water was fairly warm). I tow my boat (around 3400lbs with trailer and loaded) with our Olds Silhouette that has a 3500lb towing cap and I don't tow when there are lots of cars on the road to be safe. Panic stops aren't fun esp. on the 400. My next vehicle is going to be a 1/2ton pickup when my car finally gives up the ghost.

As for Legend boats, they seem to be fine, just make sure that you upgrade the motor on it, they keep the cost down by putting a small motor on, if you stick to a minimum of 75% of the rated hp capacity of the hull, you should be fine. Maxing it out really helps with resale down the line, it's a hit up front but at the end of the day, it makes it a more saleable boat.

Good luck with your purchase, please remember that BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand.

Jig and minnow, worm or leech for walleye. Pretty much any colour, I have found that chartreuse worked the best on a northern lake that I fished extensively a while back. For Pike, red/white, 5 of diamonds spoons, husky jerks and a couple of bucktails with some good quality leaders should do you fine. Contact your outfitter to see about a better map of the lake and/or a chip for it, they may be able to steer you in the right direction.

You sure about your math?? You don't mention property taxes, hydro, gas, insurance, upkeep, etc... etc.... you'd probably be looking at $1500+ per month assuming you can even qualify for the mortgage. When it comes to student housing, banks are not too eager to lend money. Now if you are able to swing the financing, you should have the parents of the students sign the lease for the whole year, not just the school year. They won't like it but that is the way the game is played. There is a lot involved and you need to make sure you've taken as much as possible into consideration.

Another thing is public transit, how far to the closest bus stop?? Any transfers between buses?? Ease of getting to the school is very very important.

I'm not trying to put a damper on what you are thinking about doing, I have a friend in Waterloo who has become quite successful at doing what you are thinking about. It involved a lot of hard work but he has quite a few units now and it is his full time job.