bigbuck

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.

Nice!!! I'm waiting for the 3rd sat in June as well. My had caught 2 a 48 and a 52incher in GBay over the past week walleye fishing. Figures, hopefully I get a couple 'eyes over the weekend to grace the pan while I patiently wait for the GBay opener.

Trilene knot for mono, Palomar for braid and uni to uni (double uni) to join 2 lines together whether it be braid to fluorocarbon or braid to mono.

Marine Stabil is fine for storage. Give it a healthy dose and you'll be fine. Seafoam isn't the greatest for storage, there has been a lot of discussion on iboats.com and the consensus by the marine mechanics on the board that it should be used to clean up engines and not for the long term storage of fuel. Every product has it's pros and cons, as long as you are using something, it's better than nothing. I store my boat with an almost empty fuel tank and a healthy dose of Marine Stabil. A little pleasure cruise to burn off excess fuel in the tank and away she goes for winterizing.

I'd stay away. Who knows what sort of quality controls are in place or not. I'd pay extra knowing that it is coming from a reputable manufacturer.

Ahhh, the Marketing machine at work. I'd love to see a Columbia exec go out in the outdoors where the black flies and mosquitoes roam with just these clothes and no other repellants on him/her.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your best buddy. He can rest now.