aplumma

In some cases the lower unit of the motor on a sailboat is not stored above the water line when not in use. Even with that said if the seals were %100 it would not have water in it. A minor leak on the fill or drain ports would milk the oil over time. Art

A fun day was had by all we had around 15 people arrive and Joe put out the feed bag with some excellent Mexican based food. Then it was on to the assorted homemade cakes, pies and ice cream for dessert. As darkness fell it was off to the hill were our local pyrotechnics were launched into the air with booms and bangs with a few oooohs and ahhhs as were celebrated our Independence and Freedoms we so cherish and enjoy. Thanks to all who stand by the United States and lend their might and wisdom as we all try to spread the words of freedom to those oppressed. Art

No you were not lucky you just had a natural talent for baitcasters I personally use only baitcasters once I found out how to tame the beasts. I have quite a few of the Shimanos for musky on down to panfish and the big rods I decided on TICA reels. I am not a ABU fan the reels do not seem to me to have a drag system I like and the thumb bars are not left hander friendly. I am sure since the time I tried them they have improved and are a fine reel now but the problem is I have to break a TICA reel before I replace it and it just does not seem to happen.... If you make it out the Washington D.C. area I will be happy to get you out on the river and let you try all kinds of combos but be warned once you fish with a 6 oz rod and a 7 oz reel built for your hands you will be passing down your other combos as you replace them. Art

I took a friend of mine that does not fish often fishing. I brought a spinning rod for him to use and found out on the water the bail screw was missing. I reached into the rod locker and retrieved a baitcaster and rod set up that was over $500.00 and adjusted it to beginner level. He picked it up and was casting like a pro minus 50% of the distance in no time. He hooked a few bass and was getting comfortable and said " man I would have got one of these years ago but everyone said they were really hard to use". I then reached into the box and handed him a $200.00 rod and reel set up adjusted to beginner level he spent the next 1/2 hour chasing overruns and knots. The lesson is quality does count and has a tangible outcome on tools and equiptment you use. When I buy tools or equipment I don't ask the price till I know the fit and the feel are what I want. Then it is time to find a source that will give me the most bang for the buck. The real reason for this is what good is a less expensive tool if you prefer another one over it? I have since passed down all of my "settling for and not quite" combos to people getting into the sport and do not know yet what fits them perfectly. I have only one stipulation and that they must pass it on to someone for free and I am happy to say some of the combos are on their 3rd and 4th owners now. Art

We got a nice family and friends BBQ planned and for dessert a few bang and whistle fireworks. Thanks again for the well wishes without the support of our neighbors I am sure that the USA would be not quite as great a place to live. Art

UMMMM maybe the dog is more popular than you? Nice fishing trip though it is a shame your ace in the hole lure is gone. Art

Happy Birthday Canada thanks for being such a great neighbor and creating some of the best people I know. Art

Good news all around the 3M product is around $40.00 US for the 3 bottles of product in the system. You are right also that it is tough to burn thru the coating with such a fine paper I have found people sometimes get fed up with the slow results of hand sanding and use a sander to "speed things up". I have see more burned edges from wet sanding than with the 3M system because sanding concentrates the pressure on your fingers which are uneven unless you use a semi soft sponge or blocker behind it. Don't get me wrong wet sanding is a good method to restore paint and with care will produce a great finished product it just takes more skill and attention than the 3M product does. Art

Kind of a bold statement for some one who has not used the 3M system. You may be getting the same results with wet sanding but the ability to burn thru the gelcoat is much higher using paper. The 3M system uses a lubricant base in their wet sanding process along with chemicals that suspend the sanding particles between rinses. The time were it is better to wet sand is after you have painted something because you need to remove any "paint flashing" and "block out" any minor imperfection. With the blessings of someone who restores boats and cars for a living the 3M products wins hands down for the novice/semi professional to get the restoration they want . Art

The formula is amps X volts = watts. Watts X 1.5 equals start up load. Add all possible combinations of electrical items used at the same time = watts needed to not run in a low wattage (brown) condition. a 10 amp 120 volt a/c uses 1200 watts to run after a 1800 watts start up ( example:roughly equal to a hair dryer). You can burn out if you are lucky or start a fire if not by running a generator in a brown condition. Art

A blaze orange collar with a pressure release tab and a riveted I.D. tag with your cell #.Attaching a bell is a plus both for finding them and prevents them from sneaking up on animals. Ask your vet for a list of medications, bandages and wound closure items to have on hand. I keep a kit on all of the boats for man and beast just in case it is to far for immediate critical care. Art

it is an air lock issue if the pump is higher than the water level or back sloped then you have air around the impeller which does not compress and draw the water in. When you shut it off it is enough of a bounce to get enough water in to the impeller and it compresses the water and draws more in to fill the livewell. See if you can lower the pump or change its angle from what it is to the opposite (if it is slooped forward the wedge it back or vice versa.) Art

I asked my auto detailer buddy and here is a link to his answer.meguires 3 step fiberglass restore Be forewarned their is a lot of elbow grease needed to do this and a buffer is a must. Art

Glad to see yaa on the board. I hope you learn alot of the in's and out's of fishing. Art

I would rather see 100 people checked than 1 person that should be checked get by. When we had the shooter terrorizing our area 5 years ago he was thought to be driving a white van I was stopped twice that day by the police. The only words I had to say were good job officer and thank you for doing a job that is above my means to do. If you are not helping the police then in my book you are a criminal. Art

while I am not a lawyer but I do play one on T.V. disclaimer. A verbal contract or statement can not override a written contract or statement. Salesman will as others said promise the world but only need to deliver the contract. Art

who are you kidding if we kidnapped Brook you would come to get her and never leave Faux Farm. It's like Disney land on crack down here. Art

I agree that common sense ,education and courtesy is the answer for a safer boating environment if one party has the ability to avoid incidences by his extra caution and superior knowledge that's a plus. Your second part though illustrates once again you can be the best driver of one boat but without the cooperation and knowledge of the others around you trouble can be found in the most unlikly/timley manner. A lot of what makes an incident dicey is when a scenario is set up by incompetence versus incompetence or in the above case incompetence versus inability it can have tragic consequences. Education to ALL boaters either small or large should be mandatory with the same standards of education that match the waters they boat in. If you are on a large body of water were you will encounter barges or commercial vessels then you should know the rules they are held to so you know how they will react. If this is not required by law then by common sense it should be information you need to learn. Even though a boat with a head and bed give you the privilege to serve alcohol to all none essential personnel it is still illegal to operate the vessel under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I still firmly believe that it is not the size of the boat that is lethal it is the knowledge of the operator. Art

I am not offering a defense for the person driving the boat but it now makes sense why he had a blindspot for the other boat to be hidden. If you have a 34ft boat and you don't look before coming up on plane (the negligent part of this story)even with your trim tabs set back to neutral it can take over 200 yards before your bow drops down far enough to see directly ahead of you. A mistake that thankfully did not cost a life for sure. If you haven't driven a large boat then you have never felt the handling characteristics of one. They are as different as shooting a 22 and a 50 cal rifle both are guns but neither will prepare you for using the other. Large boats need twice as much attention to run as any of the smaller boats and until we can get the schooling and the practical information to both the smaller boat operators or targets as you should think of them as. Along with the big boat operators or jackasses playing with dynamite their will always be issues between them as we try to use the waters together. I by the way have a canoe, jetdrive outboard, bass boat and a 28ft cruiser and drive them all as though someones life is on the line.....because someones LIFE IS.This is not to inflame or cause an argument it is a view that some people are blind too because they have not seen this from all angles lacking the availablity or access to driving large vessels. Art

I hate to say it but LIMITED lifetime warranty... key word limited is a legal definition that is exactly what they are fulfilling. They are also correct that if a blank is defective then it will pop sooner than 7 years at that age the breaks are due to use and abuse not a defective rod. Even without the word limited if they enforced the defect rule stringently a 7 year old rod would rarely be a true warranty issue. Most of them if replaced are as a good faith replacement to keep the squeeky wheels happy and not bashing the products. If to many rods are replaced as a warranty rightfully or not then it is an overhead issue that will cause the rods price to go higher. It's a tight rope walk for sure keeping both the purchasers of new and the faithful of old both happy with service and price. Art

Nope real Pepsi all the way I look fat on the camera all slouched over... I am not posing we don't sit in campin chairs here much boy are they uncomfortable.I was much more comfortable in the bass boat. Thanks again to all for the wonderful time and if you can make it to the Lak Air G2G next year it is well worth it. Art

John F I purchase my first handmade rod from Spiel a few years ago and have not found a shelf rod that matches it.He has since built me two more as I slowly replace my St. Croix and Loomis rods. The differences mainly was the attention to detail and quality of the material. I found that the reel seat and blank were hand bedded in epoxy which made for incredible sensitivity. The guides were spaced not for economy like most of the lower end rods but were spaced for strength in the blank.The corking that I chose was a burl cork which was a pain to work but the end result was excellent.It addressed my issue of most handles were to thin and made my hand go numb. The final rod while more expensive than a Loomis is a rod that is exactly what I want and feels like an extension of my hand which is how every tool should feel like. I can also say that I would not have been able to create this rod with out the guidance of Chris and this type of expertise is worth the price paid. Art

Just in case Joeys not their How rr you at landing by moonlight??? Art

I guess I will be notching the tails on MY fish again.... Art

I am pretty sure that the trophy wants to spend some time in the South soaking up the sun...... Art