DanD

A buddy of mine son went that route with an electric, on his tinny. He must have found is range very limited; because my buddy couldn't find his mini generator anywhere. His son snagged it to keep the battery charged; while out fishing. LOL Dan.

I'm not much for telling stories; but here's a few pics of the pig roast, that my son held at his place and I cooked with him. I've had my own spit for 25 or more years and I usually cook for one or two roasts a year; either pork or beef and have a great time doing it. Here we have the pig on the spit, all rubbed in with a dry rub that my wife makes up for me. Sorry not allowed to tell what's in it; happy wife happy life. LOL Here's our set up for the day. The barrel on the right is the burn barrel where we make the apple wood coats. This is about 2 hours in; slowly bringing the temperature up to around 200° spit temp. Here you can see a small pot inside the spit; its filled with apple wood pellets. Just to make sure the the smoke flavor has a chance to penetrate the skin and get into the meat itself. Here's hour 12 and the internal temps are just reaching the 160-170° mark and ready to come off the heat. Now this is illiterately a pig in a blanket. It's how I let it stand for about an hour and half. That allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat and and cools enough to handle the meat without burning our hands. OK its almost carving time. I know all the charred skin doesn't look all that appealing; but wait till you see whats under that. Here you go; nice and juicy. Then there were people asking me why I wasn't hungry after carving; well I had to sample some, for the sake of the guests. LOL Yea that's me sitting down after an 18 hour day. Tired yes but spending the day with my son and doing this together was great! Thanks for having a look. Dan.

Try Kijiji. There's usually a number of them for sale. Like the one below; found it on the first page of 247 hits, when I searched utility trailer. http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cargo-utility-trailer/london/12-foot-utility-trailer/1179970111?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Size wise it would fit the bill; strength wise, probably more then you'd likely need? Dan.

Here's something I found about freezing the fish before going into the brine. It does apply more so for cold smoked fish and not so important for hot smoking. Dan. Fresh salmon and previously frozen salmon are not equals when it comes to cold smoking salmon. Freezing actually benefits the cold smoked salmon in a couple of ways. Freezing Ruptures Cell Membranes Freezing Kills Parasites As the salmon freezes, the liquid in the cells expands, causing the cell walls to rupture. When thawed, liquid drains readily from the flesh, meaning there's less water for the brine to remove. Freezing also kill parasites. One week at minus ten degrees Fahrenheit kills parasites that would otherwise survive brining and cold smoking. To be safe, deep-freeze cold smoked salmon that has been prepared from fresh, never frozen fish. Quote taken from the below link. http://www.smoker-cooking.com/coldsmokedsalmon.html

Being that this is your first kick at the can, of property development; maybe it wouldn't hurt to approach a professional firm for a consultation? With a quick google search, I found this firm. http://www.planscape.ca/ No Idea who they are or what their fees would be? It's just to show that there are people out there, that might be good to talk too and if need be spend a few bucks with. May save you $$$$ in the long run? Dan.

That is a very impressive cooler!! I have an older igloo cooler that we use on our trips. On the way up (about an 8 hour drive); I pack the food in the cooler with about 4 lbs of dry ice. I can get it here at Praxair for $2.00 a pound.; everything stays froze solid and there's no wet packaging; when we get to camp. On the way home; everything that has been froze (properly packaged fish LOL) gets wrapped in an old sleeping bag, so that the frozen packages are in the center. Then stuff the bag into the cooler; along with any towels or whatever to fill the cooler tight. Get home and unpack the cooler and the frost will still be on the outside of the packages and the fillets as hard as a brick. I didn't believe this would work; when the camp owner told me to do this; 20 some years ago but it does. His question to me, when I was trying to buy ice from him; "what's the first thing you do when thawing fish; you put it in cold water right?" What does ice do when it begins to melt; turns into cold water and starts thawing your fish. The newbes on our trips think I'm nuts, when they see me packing the cooler; but are quite surprised when I unpack it at home. Dan.

E-Trailer https://www.etrailer.com/Folding-Tongue/Fulton/FHDPW340300.html They have free shipping if your order is over a $100.00. So if there's nothing else you need; it'll cost you approx $45.00 for shipping Your total would be approx $126.00 plus tax. I've welded a few of these Fulton couplers on; they seem to be very well made. Dan.

For that small of a difference, I don't see any issues. Like what it shows on the speed chart; there's only a 4klm difference between actual speed and the speedo reading @ 104 clicks. You and the Jeeps computers will likely not even feel/know the difference. Dan.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=225-65r17-215-69r17 This is where I got the posted info. Dan Sorry first post I had fat fingers and typed 69 rather then 60. New link with proper sizes entered. They would still work fine though. https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=225-65r17-215-60r17

You'll be fine using those winter tires. 225/65-17215/69-17Difference Diameter inches (mm)28.52 (724.3)28.68 (728.5)0.17 (4.2) 0.6% Width inches (mm)8.86 (225)8.46 (215)-0.39 (-10) -4.4% Circum. inches (mm)89.58 (2275.46)90.1 (2288.65)0.52 (13.19) 0.6% Sidewall Height inches (mm)5.76 (146.25)5.84 (148.35)0.08 (2.1) 1.4% Revolutions per mile (km)707.26 (439.47)703.18 (436.94)-4.08 (-2.53) -0.6% Dan.

That's what I was thinking; it be one beat up, road-rash pile of aluminum. Dan.

I remember that; it was crazy thick with them. My dad was a good friend of Bob Stonewall, the original owner of Stony's Hardware in Dover. I can remember standing in his store, looking out one of the big display windows, being terrified of them; thinking they were huge mosquitoes. LOL I was only 5 or 6 at the time. LOL Dan.

Great report! Enjoyed the read and pics Dan.

It's to bad AMC was gobbled up by Chrysler. They use to take the best of the "big three" and build bullet proof drive-trains, suspension and brakes. It just to bad they couldn't keep the bodies from rusting apart on those Jeep pick ups. I think you'll likely turn away from this suggestion; but what about a full sized van? No you're not going to get 4X4; but I think they are a lot more versatile. Cargo or passenger with removable seats; you'll have the most secure (out of sight of of mind) and weather proof, people/cargo hauler. A buddy of mine went that route with a Chev G10 that has the 4.8 Vortec. No problems pulling his boat and he's rigged up a rack, that all is rods are hung off the ceiling of the van; no more stepped on broken tips. If your want of 4X4 is trouble free boat launching; I helped him weld up a 2" receiver to the front of the van. If he's at an iffy ramp, he connects the boat trailer to the front of the van; now his drive wheels are high and dry and he's never admitted to getting stuck? LOL As for which manufacturer; everyone has their own issues with their fleet of trucks. Research what those issues are and whether there is a maintenance schedule that can be followed to prevent that issue from happening. Chev 4X4 for example; are/were famous for chewing up front differential carrier bearings. The fix; change the diff oil every 25K and the bearings will last forever; well almost. LOL Dan.

All the gun control in the world, wouldn't have stopped this Mateen radical from doing what he did. Even in this relatively small city of London; with the right contacts and enough money; I could likely have a frigging howitzer cannon delivered to my house. But then again its only a single shot. Dan.

@BassMan11 Very nice set up, reminds me of mine and I'm still kicking myself for selling it. I had a Honda 40 hung off the back and loved that motor. By chance have you replaced the timing belt lately? These are interference engines and if the belt lets go, even jumping one tooth; it'll bend the valves. http://boatinfo.no/lib/honda/manuals/bf25d30d.html#/62 Go to page 3-17 and read the caution at the bottom. That will confirm that it is an interference engine. It doesn't look all that old from the pic; you can still read the stamping? But for the cost of a belt; it's a good piece of insurance to replace it . Dan.

Very interesting thread. Before cell phones if we wanted to call someone, we had to stop at a phone booth. Following the law, if we want to call or text, we're suppose to stop to do so. My solution would be that all vehicles have a blocking device; that if the vehicle is in drive, there is no cell communications. Any in coming text or call, the blocking device would put out some form of chime alerting you; pull over and see what it about. With the electronics in today's vehicles; it wouldn't be very hard to do and at a minimal cost. Older vehicles would be grandfathered, until they were sold and as part of the safety inspection the blocking device would need to be installed to pass the inspection. If the device was found to be tampered with; the police would pull the plates off the vehicle; as they can do now with an unsafe vehicle. It would also be very easy for the police to check. On a routine stop ask the occupants for a cell number; if the call goes through, you just lost the plates and you're going home in a tow truck and the vehicle to a garage to be safety checked. Dan.

All that means is that you're getting good use out of her. Congrats again on the 50"er!!! Dan.

Nice fish!!!! Congrats. I see you still have the same boat; I sure do miss that thing. Dan.

For those cuts or pike bites that won't stop bleeding. Dan.

If you want to be sure it doesn't move dig and concrete; you'll use less cement with a sono tube. Set the sono tube in place and then dump about 3-4 inches of cement into the bottom of the tube for a footing; let it set up over night. The last thing you'd want, is the post to let go of the cement and start sinking down; especially in sandy soil. Yes a minimum of 3 feet deep (4 is better); you don't want any form of frost getting under the footing and pushing it up. Dan.

Is the motor mounted at the proper height? With the motor trimed parallel to the keel, the bottom of the cavitation plate should be in-line with the keel. If the plate is to low, it can cause gear case drag and make it harder to get on plane and you'll loose some top end. If to high it can cause cavation and again make it harder to get on plane or the prop will just spin out. I been tolled no more then 3/4" either above or below the keel. With you saying that the rpm stay low for a long time; I'm thinking the motor might be to low? Dan.

Thank you! Dan.

Sorry PSA? Dan.

Check if you can put a rider on your house policy to cover the boat? My old tinny was valued at 9 grand; which allowed (because of its low value) me to add liability and comp to the house insurance. While towing the boat its covered by the tow vehicle's insurance; just check with your broker as to what is or isn't covered and add riders if possible to the different policies. Dan.