bigbuck

Use some rubbing compound. I found the 3M works well when I took the haze off of my boat last fall. Get the rubbing compound with no wax, go over it good with clean rags and then use wax. Where there is no clear coat left, I'm afraid it will have to be redone. Check out iboats.com. There are discussion boards that might be able to help you out.

Chor womb is soo polluted, I can't even haf a ki wit you. One of the best actors of our time.

That battery would probably start your outboard but that's all it will do. You are better off having a bigger battery then you need because you are out on the water, getting stranded would not be much fun.

With the TDI VWs, stick to either the dealer (stealer) or to an independant shop that specializes in VWs. They are great little cars that run forever and are cheap on fuel.

I'll pop in to say hello probably on Friday. Should be pretty good.

I'll third the Starbrite. I pick up a big bottle at one of the local marinas in Honey harbour when they have their fall sale. It lasts me a couple of seasons. Spray it on, scrub it a bit then hose off.

The problem with non-marine batteries is that they aren't designed for marine use. In a boat, a battery takes quite a pounding from hitting waves. Marine batteries are constructed to take that abuse. You can get a cheap starting battery from WalMart and Canadian Tire, it's about $30-40 more and will be the correct battery for your use. Besides, that battery doesn't have much capacity, if you run a fishfinder for any length of time, that battery will run down.

The Record is a great reel for dealing with pike and musky. I have one and love it, it's on my jerkbait rod. I have a Curado 300E and it's nice too.

Lew, good to hear you weren't hurt. Had you been in a rush...... No shame in pulling over and catching a few zzzzzz's. I used to do it all the time when I was on the road more. Pull into a parking lot, put your seat back and take a snooze. Better that then wrapping yourself around a pole or worse, taking someone out.

An extended GM minivan with a tow pkg has a rating of 3500lbs. You are looking at about 15-1800lbs or so. Kinda tough to beat the versatility of a minivan. They are pretty good on gas out on the highway as long as you don't need a pilot's licence.

Nice Texas Cadillac!!! My buddy has one and it's been a great vehicle for him. He must have north of 400k on it by now and it's been pretty much trouble free other than regular maintenance. I've driven it a few times and LOVE IT. I see a truck in my future.

A Aikmann On Novar Rd. in Mississauga. You can either buy the bearings or have him service the reels.

Lew, on the other side of the QEW, it's Perkins and it's better than IHOP or Golden Griddle ever was. If you are going let me know, I'll try to meet up for brekkie with you and the gang.

I HOPE I HOPE I HOPE!!! I'm getting tired of this winter, it's been cold and long. A few more weeks till pike opens on GBay. Time to start getting my gear ready.

More good karma!! Congrats Merc on being a solid guy. Our community is a good group.

Nice!! I think my next vehicle is gonna be a Ford pickup. Dunno if I'm going to go SuperDuty or F150, time will tell when the time gets closer.

Look at JB's Fishing Depot. They have most stuff in stock but the store is too small for the amount of product on the shelves. Fishing World is also a great store with tons of selection in stock. Bass Pro is good but they have a lot of focus on their house brands which are hugely profitable for them and I'm not a fan of most of their products because of the 1 year warranty. Better to pony up and buy Shimano, Quantum, St Croix, Daiwa, Abu, etc... for the superior warranties. Knowledgeable and Courteous staff are also key. I think it's really important to have the product on the shelf ready for sale, if I have to special order something, I'd end up thinking twice and probably not buy it. If it's there for me to see and feel............From a business perspective, you have to have fairly deep pockets because you need to carry a lot of inventory.

Solo, that's some good karma for you. That's what I like about this board, everyone is helpful and there aren't any scammers out there trying to score off of other members.

Bigugli, unfortunately, some Pension Funds have failed to do what they were supposed to do. I can't comment on what happened in your situation without knowing more. Making a blanket statement that you would trust the mob over bankers or financial advisors again is mistaken. The mob loses money in the market.

Having been a Financial Advisor and Insurance Advisor for the past 14 years having seen Asian flu, the collapse of LTC, the Tech bubble and resultant Rubble, 9/11, the banking system locking up in '07 and the subsequent implosion in '08, I can still say that had you invested CONSERVATIVELY in Canada, you'd be doing fine. The problem with most people is that they jump into the market when everyone is making money and sell when they lose. I have clients who make A LOT of money who stress out about how they can make their RRSP contribution, never mind a TFSA contribution. Too many people are living beyond their means using credit cards and suck the equity out of their houses thru lines of credit. Stick to living off 90% of what you make and invest 10% for the long term. YOU WILL retire comfortably if you start that when you are young. Remember in the market, "Pigs get slaughtered". If you are greedy, you'll get killed sooner or later. GICs are good for keeping a few grand around for incidental expenses and short term savings. Times are a lot different from when our parents and grandparents grew up with very little. There are too many ways out there to suck cash out of your pocket, cell phones, internet access, digital/satellite HD tv, leasing (as opposed to buying expensive cars), big houses, etc...etc....etc... Do you NEED all of this stuff?? I still have 3 tube tvs in the house, the newest is 8years old, the other two are 17 years old, basic cable, a basic high speed internet connection, cheap cell phone deal for my wife 9(mine is expensive but I need it for work), decent home with a very small mortgage and 2 8 year old vehicles on the driveway. We eat very well but that is because I shop for specials. I deal with these issues on a daily basis and most people don't get it until I get them to start journalling their daily expenses to see where their money leaks out. $10/day at Starbucks is ridiculous, get a couple of medium Timmies for $3 or drink the free coffee at the office or here is a novel idea, bring a thermos from home (I do when I'm on the road seeing clients). No shame in brownbagging folks!!! Bring a lunch from home whether it's leftovers or a sandwich. TREAT yourself to a lunch out ONCE a week, not every single day. I can go on and on and on. Conclusion: Be smart with what you earn, live within your means and you will be fine.

Depends on your field. Lots of good books mentioned. Study up on the products and sales techniques of your chosen fiels. Ultimately, you have to believe in what you are selling and never be afraid to pick up the phone even when a customer/client is calling to yell at you. Don't ever hide!! Remember your ABC's (Always Be Closing) Lunch is for losers Coffee is for Closers You are only as good as your last sale.

It's more of an off-season charger. CT has an Intelligent charger/maintainer thats 2 amps that goes on special for 19.99. I've kept my 3 deep cycles charged all winter with it (2 for the boat and 1 for my travel trailer).

I'd stay at the Days Inn or the Best Western, the Quality Inn and Suites that the Odyssey is at is now a Holiday Inn. With the Days Inn, there is a Perkins Restaurant (great brekkie)as well as Wrigley's Field Sports Bar (great wings).

Get the bigget one you can find. With that small a TM on a 16ft'r, it's on high most of the time and will suck juice outta the battery hard. You really need at least a 55lb.

For those who go for brekkie first, the old Golden Griddle is now an IHOP. I'll swing by the booth for sure.