bigbuck

I got caught up with work today and couldn't make it. We're off to Honey harbour for the weekend so it looks like I'm going to miss the show. Too bad, it would have been great to have a chance to gab with Pete Maina and Gord Pyzer again.

I went through the whole rigamarole before xmas. My car failed and when the tech scanned it and saw no codes and that I had just put a new convertor on, he took it for a drive and retested it, it passed. It was not hot when they tested it. They ended up just charging me for 1 test.

If it's time for a tuneup, do it. Otherwise, change the oil, take it for a nice run on the highway and go get it tested right afterwards.

I guess that boat has a little bit of get up and go. Starting up all 4 motors costs my gas budget for the weekend.

Lots of history in that home. When Steve Stavro bought it, he had an addtion put on the back of the house, the stonemasons and stone were imported from Great Britain to do it at great expense. It's rumoured that Royalty stayed there during a visit to Hogtown. Some of the furnishings there were from Henry VIII, there was an ancient table and chairs from the 1600's in the Great Room. Over 20 years ago, I saw Luciano Pavarotti sing there at a private fundraiser. As a kid I helped move some of the furniture there from the Stavro farm in Cambellcroft north of Port Hope. Memories.........

The Okuma rods are great for the price. BUT, don't cheap out too much on the reel. You'll just end up spending on a good reel later. I'd second the ABU Record 60, it's a good reel for a decent price. You can spend more on a low profile reel but they aren't the greatest when it comes to trolling because they just don't have the line capacity. A Shimano Calcutta B is also a good option but is a bit more dough.

I'll be there Friday afternoon.

What fuel/oil ratio are you supposed to be running??? You don't just dump oil in the gas with no measuring. Too much oil will foul up the spark plug and gum up the engine not to mention tons of smoke, not enough and your engine will end up seizing or blowing.

Looks like I may miss Pete Maina this year. I'm going to go on Friday afternoon and hopefully I'll get to see Gord Pyzer and his protege Jeff Gusstafson.

I've got some buddies that have gone to Lunge Lodge a few times and they said it was pretty good. Don't know about the other place.

What about bathroom fan venting??

Is there sufficient venting in the soffits to allow the roof vents to breathe?? Could the soffit vents be plugged up with insulation or critter nests??

Dax, it looks pretty good and it only gets better. To those that haven't gone, there can be some great deals to be had on the Silent Auction tables. Lots of great stuff. Great speakers too!!

I'll be going on Friday. Anyone else going to be there?? I'd have gone on Saturday but we are heading up to Honey Harbour for Winterfest with the kids and maybe a bit of snowmobiling.

A few years ago a bunch of natives went hunting up on Georgian Bay. The bottoms of their fishing boats were covered with spent 12 guage shells and there were tons of cormorant carcasses. Too bad they don't do it more often. I'd kick in a couple boxes of shells.

Soft water can't come soon enough!! I've had enough of the cold. I miss being out on the water!!

I'd look at a 6' Light action fast tip St Croix Premier. It's at the high end and may bit a bit more than a c-note but it's a great rod and you'll love it. I second checking out JBs.

They look fantastic!!! I'd give them a whirl. You can expect an order from me before the season opener.

RIP. My condolences to his family.

I have 6 jerry cans that I use to fuel the boat, 3 of the new ones and 3 of the old ones. I have one of those siphon hoses that you can pick up at BPS. It works like a charm and only leaves a few drops of fuel in the can that you can get out by tipping it using the funnel. BUT, I hate the smaller tanks, I'd rather have the 5 Imperial gallons which works out to about 6 US gallons.

About 6 inches in Oakville. Nothing too bad. We got a call from the school board at 6:45am to let us know that the school is closed. GREAT, only problem, my girls go on Tuesdays and Thursdays and alternating Fridays. DUH!!!

I'm the pretty good neighbour too. I do the sidewalk for about 4-5 houses on either side of me. I don't do the driveways though, if someone wants to use my snowblower, no problem. I'll be out later cleaning the windrows after the plow comes by for a few of the neighbours.

Could just be a bad tire. Best take it in and have the front end inspected as well.

Just be careful when lumping all of your insurance under one carrier. Any claims affect everything so it can be very expensive if something ever happens. Just shop around.

This is an old argument that we see from time to time. Lew, you can't go wrong with running some marine Stabil in ALL of your small engines and jerry cans sitting around. It helps to stabilize the fuel and also helps to keep the fuel system clean. I store the boat with only a couple of gallons of stabilized fuel that I run for a few miles before pulling it out of the water. My snowblower/lawnmower fuel has marine Stabil in it. I've only used the blower once and that was for the sake of using it. It has always started on the first pull for 20 years except one year when it had bad gas. Filled with fresh fuel and some QuickStart and it ran right fine right away.

Canadian Tire puts Marine Stabil on special a few times a year and it's less than $20 for the big container which is more than enough for the season for most boaters. Ethanol is here to stay and it will be in all 91 octane fuel sooner or later. Sunoco has been using it to perk up their gas for years. Ethanol has the equivalent octane of over 115 so you blend it with lower octane gasoline to increase the octane rating.

As for running Premium fuel in small engines, it's up to you. It depends on how much you use them. A 5 gallon jerry can will cost you $2-3 extra, if you only use one or two a year it's no big deal. If you use one every couple of weeks, it adds up quickly. They are designed to run on 87 octane and run fine on it.

VEHICLES ARE THE WORST INVESTMENT THERE IS!!! Unless you need a truck for work that is. They are a depreciating asset and most people spend waaaay too much money on them. Try to take the emotion out of your purchases. Your bank balance will love you for that.

That said, I recently drove the new Sierra 2500HD with the Duramax Diesel and the new F250 SuperDuty with the new diesel. The Ford won hands down on the drive. It drove like a truck, not a big truck, the GMC drove like a big truck. I was impressed, I've driven the RAM 2500 with the Cummins diesel too and ruled that out off the bat, it drove like a semi. My fillings hurt. We've been kicking around the idea of travelling across Canada pulling our 30' travel trailer that is currently parked so I'd need the 3/4ton diesel to do it right.

I don't think you can go wrong with either the GMC/Chevy or the Ford 1/2tons. Make sure you get the right engine for your needs in the forseeable future. Just get out there and take a few out for test drives and see who offers you the best deal.

Smoking Price on a great product. I thought Warden Automotive was Wholesale only. I guess they are now selling to the public as well now.