Cast-Away

Misfish; Here is a concise list that I've used every year since I got my boat in 2001. I spend $150 on parts for and $8500 motor, so I figure that it is a worth while investment. Copy and paste this into Word and change the parts that suit your motor. Outboard Preparation Materials 1. 5 litres 10W30 Mercury 4 Stroke Engine Oil 2. 1 Oil Filter 3. Fuel Filter (part #877565T1) 4. 1 litre Mercury High Performance Gear Lubricant (665 ml used) 5. 4 Sparkplugs NGK LFR5A-11 (Gap .044 should be factory set) 6. 500 ml Fuel Stabilizer 7. 2 seals for lower unit screws Tools 1. Oil pan 2. Rags 3. Funnel 4. Wrenches and extension 5. Spark plug gapper 6. Grease gun 7. Wire ties for fuel filter Procedure (4 hours from start to finish stored) 1. Fill the gas tank and add stabilizer. 2. Run the engine for 15 minutes. 3. Tilt the motor up and remove the engine oil pan plug. Be careful of oil gushing out. It takes ½ hour to drain. 4. Lower the motor and remove the oil filter and replace. Make sure that a rag is underneath before beginning this procedure. 5. Grease all five lubrication points. 6. Change the fuel filter. 7. Replace the drain plug and re-fill. 8. Remove the crank case oil plug and drain. Takes 45 minutes. Replace the Air vent screw and fill with new oil. When oil comes out of the top screw, replace it and remove the Air vent screw. Keep filling until the oil comes out this screw. Make sure to use new seals when putting the screws back in. 9. Clean the trailer and the boat hull. Vacuum the interior. Remove the drain plug. 10. Dry out all of the covers. Open the hatches and empty them. Leave open. 11. Remove the old spark plugs, replace and apply storage sealer into the holes. Hand-crank the flywheel to work in the sealer. Replace with new plugs. 12. Put the trailer on jack stands and lower the motor. 13. Remove the batteries and charge them.

Cast-Away II my namesake of course. If you see it on the 400, you know who it is.

Who is this Lew guy? Is he new to the board? Maybe we should have a "Lew" forum!

Scuro, I think that one of the reasons that this board is so popular is that anything goes! You don't have to click on different topics to read what is new. What is new simply stays on page one. If nobody is interested, the topic drops off quickly to older pages.

Wayne, I camp alot and rent a cottage once a year and I have to agree with Terry. If I have a week, I want the creature comforts of a cottage, like a fridge, stove, running water, hydro etc. Especially if I a forking out coin. I rent a nice place on 12 Mile (you took pictures for me from your plane last year!) for $1000 per week. I pay $24 per day to camp at the Massasauga. Warren

Aikmans in Mississauga does this sort of repair work. 3010 Novar Mississauga, ON (905) 277-3595

Cliff, I can tell you right now that the boat is a pretty old (formerly red) Springbok. I had a 12 foot Springbok once and spent more time trying to fix leaks then I did actually using it. The aluminum is thin and the rivets are not very strong.

Did you try complaining to the manager of the store? His name is Jeff Duehamel (spelling might be off) and he is part of the family that owns Legend out of Sudbury. I think that he is a pretty reasonable individual.

To launch at the park you have to book a campsite, otherwise you can launch at the Moon River Marina. I think that they charge $20 now.

Wow, the trip of a lifetime for sure!

TJ, I love your sense of humour with quotes like "Camp Jiggy Jiggy" and "Redneck Heaven"!

When trolling through unfamiliar water, lower your bow mounted electric motor if you have a fish finder mounted on it in order to see underwater obstructions before you run aground with your boat.

They are really nice to look at Nauti, especially the chick shot!

I voted in favour of getting one before I read your post. The odds are that with a 25HP, you are driving full out most of the time. In my case, I have a 75HP and drive by the RPM's for fuel economy. I drive between 3200 and 3400 RPM, which gives me a speed of 24 to 28 MPH.

Wow, what a great fish!

THanks for the feedback. I did a bit of research and found out that they are not waterproof, so they are useless to me. I was planning on leaving it on top of my boat cover facing south, but not if it will short out.

I was thinking about buying one to keep my deep cycle topped up as it slowly loses its charge in my driveway. Anyone use one, or have any comments? I know that the output is pretty low, but wondered about personal experiences.

You will find that Smallmouth Bass are the most common fish along with Pike. Try to fish shoals, points and islands and stick to water that is over 10 feet deep this time of year if you are targeting the Smallies. If you are only there for a bit over a day, you likely won't fish beyond Arnolds Bay where the resort is located, so ask the owner the best places to fish within a 2 mile area, otherwise you will spend alot of time trying different places for short periods of time, rather than spending alot of time on fewer places that are more productive. Bring some worms and try still fishing for Bass. When you get bored, use perch patterned Rapala's to cast or troll. You will likely get Pike this way as well. Good luck!

Wow, that was really cool seeing the little Pike inside the mouth of the big Pike!

Kick'er up a notch!

It's funny, you are doing the opposite of what I did. I use to fish the lower French from 1985 to 1990 and switched to the Moon River because of the amount of time spent driving the car and the boat and then setting up camp. It became almost a day each way. I love the Moon and go there at least three times a year and know it like the back of my hand. I think that the fishing is much better then the lower French. Having said that, here is some info on the lower French. There a plenty of great places to camp and alot of water to cover. The first three years we fished the French and Pickeral and launched at Hartley Bay marina. Fishing itself can be hit and miss. It takes a few years to figure out where the good spots are. The last two years, we launched at the Key River and drove out to Georgian Bay to camp. This was way more fun than fishing in the river because you can do more exploring and fish the mouth of four different rivers along with all of the islands in the area. Again, fishing was hit and miss because you are learning the spots. The down side to this is that the weather can really whip on the bay so you have to be real careful. Here is a link the charts of the area: Maps If you decide to fish the lower French in the river, send me a PM as I have the topo's scanned from my hard copy. You can print them off and take them with you. (There are even a few spots marked off for camping and fishing)

A very simple check is the gap on the plugs. This can cause the exact problem that you are having. Also try changing the plugs. The older Mercs use to have reed valves between the carb and the block. If they got gummed up, they had to be replaced, which was quite an expensive job to have done. If all else fails, take it to Paul at Topgun Marine just north of Bradford. He is awesome! 905-775-0862

The Massasauga is a good choice as well. It is a boat access park so you need to bring a boat or canoe, or rent one from the marina that is near by.

If you have a boat, the Massasauga is awesome.

TJ, you have some really great times with your family! Good for you. The kids will always remember it.