NBR

My boat and most others run every thing but the TM off the cranking batteries. Fishing up in your great province for a week or more I didn't have a 3 bank charging the cranking motor so on about day 3 msybe 4 there was not enough left in the cranking battery to start the big motor. Fortunately I had jumper cables on board. Another reason for a 3 bank is that battery life is improved if you get them fully charged after every use.

We came up to your great country for over 30 years and our food cost dropped for at least 10 years and then pretty much leveled out. Usually we didn't buy food until we were all together and in Canada. We had a list and if it wasn't on the list and you wanted it you bought it seperate from the kitty money. We ate very well including steak and or Cornish hens, fish about 3 nights and spaghetti one night. We had the list down to the number of potatoes per meal per person. We went to a boat in place and didn't want to carry any extra in or out. At the begining we had lunch on the lake either a shore lunch or sandwiches but we changed to our big meal in the cabin at mid day and sandwiches at night. Breakfast was simple a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee or juice or both. We had some snacks such as crackers etc for a mid morning break.

My boat is a 1989 Astro FDX that is just under 19'. I have a Merc 150 (max 175 max rated) and it runs the boat at 58mph with fishing gear full gas tanks and two guys. The 4K sounds a bit high without an engine so do a search for book value. My boat is in great condition and has always been garaged. The only time it is not garaged is when I'm fishing or at a lodge for a fishing trip. I certainly would not buy a new motor. My motor choice would be the largest the boat is rated for and if that is 200 I would settle for a 175 but no smaller. No stress cracks in my boat as yet. Is the TM and other electrical gear in good working order? If not figure on replacing. In the 1989 to 1990+/- time frame Astro and Procraft were built by Brunswick Marine I can't recall the company that bought them but since the Astro and Procraft bass boats were identical the Astro was dropped as a bass boat. My boat is stable and being high sided for a bass boat it hndles rough water pretty well and depending on drivers skill has a dry ride.

I have the same problem with my carbed. 150 unless the cranking battery is fully charged. So I charge it every time the boat is used. What's the shape of your spark pluges? Mine seems to flood easily so I go minimal with the choke.

Wayne, We have a friend here in the states that is going to need one. I Googled the topic and found quite a bit of info including some used onesw.

I feel sorry for his loss but why wouldn't he file an insurance claim? My crystal ball sees a body of water closed to boats in the future.

So I said St. Croix reel - a senior moment. I should have said a St. Croix rod. quote name='NBR' date='21 February 2011 - 09:22 AM' timestamp='1298298171' post='553964'] Banger, Yes the new reels are better than those of years ago but you still need practice. I am a baitcaster adict except for baits under 1/8 ounce and have been doing it for 65 years or more. A friend of mine was in your same situation and a few years ago bought a new Curado and a St. Croix reel. He still didn't practice. We fished together for 6 weeks over 3 years and he might have used his high end out fit a total of 4 or 5 hours. Moral: If you are going to invest be ready to practice or expect dissapointment. Then another friend went from spinning to baitcasting and bought midpriced gear think Quantum or KVD BPS reels and doesn't use his spinning gear at all anymore and has no trouble -Moral it still takes back yard practice and time on the water.

Banger, Yes the new reels are better than those of years ago but you still need practice. I am a baitcaster adict except for baits under 1/8 ounce and have been doing it for 65 years or more. A friend of mine was in your same situation and a few years ago bought a new Curado and a St. Croix reel. He still didn't practice. We fished together for 6 weeks over 3 years and he might have used his high end out fit a total of 4 or 5 hours. Moral: If you are going to invest be ready to practice or expect dissapointment. Then another friend went from spinning to baitcasting and bought midpriced gear think Quantum or KVD BPS reels and doesn't use his spinning gear at all anymore and has no trouble -Moral it still takes back yard practice and time on the water.

Never been to Shooting Star but unless I missed something you are going to burst your budget!

I did business with Mercury Marine in Fon du Lac for years so when the E10 thing came up I called an engineer friend. He stores his outboards with full fuel tanks and a treatment of marine Stabil. uote name='lew' date='30 January 2011 - 08:10 AM' timestamp='1296393037' post='545393'] I do all my own maintanance on my lawnmowers, snowblower, chainsaws, generator and outboard motor and have never had any problems with anything. Everything is 4 stroke and I run regular 87 octane gas in everything and also use Stabil and Seafoam. In my 150 Yamaha I use Marine Stabil. I was talking to a small engine repair guy the other day who has many years in the business and he tells me I'm doing it totally wrong. He says anything that will be stored for any length of time should have the gas completely drained out including carbs and only re-filled when their going to be used. He also says I should be running hi-octane gas in the small engines even though the manuals call for regular. The generator is a back-up for power to the house and I'd rather not have to be refilling it in total darkness one night in order to get it going. Does anybody know ABSOLUTELY FOR SURE if everything should be drained completely or is it OK to leave stabilized gas in them and also, do they require hi-octane ?? For what it's worth, I run the generator for about 20 minutes every month just to be sure it's always ready to go when needed. Sorry for the long post but this is something that everybody has a different opinion on and I'm just wondering if anybody knows FOR SURE.

Get my gear ready for spring than pout until ice out!

Becareful with this stuff. My wife had the flue for about a week and then went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. After 6 days in the hospital she is now home with oxygen and the hospital staff saying she will be completely well in 30 days.

I would be pleased to participate!

If I remember correctly you tighten the drag as tight as possible and back wind the crank.

Wayne, I should have added I worked the rubber car, appliance and aircraft industry for years. Ozone attacks most rubber to one degree or another and it attacks stressed rubber more agressively than unstressed. So when the rubber is folded those area on the outside of the folds are in tension and more subject to attack. ASTM ozone testing puts the samples in tesion then into an ozone chamber for varios times and temperatures. If you put the samples in a dynamic situation it increases the attack.

Get a set of the hangers that hold the boot from the foot. Hang them up away from extremes of heat or cold and away from electric motors. They should be fine without any spray.

If they put the bison down to end it's misery and left it there some critters would have dined well.

Manitoubass, you sound like you have planned well but just a word of caution. Almost always when planning a business the planner(s) will over estimate revenue,under estimate costs and miss start up costs by a mile.

I worked for the company that makes most of the seals for Merc and OMC for 35 years. Leaving the motor outside has nothing to do with seals aging nor do inside temperatures (unless they get over 100C). I winterize my motore exactly the way a Mercury engineer does his, fill the gas tanks, change lower unit oil, lube all points necessary, fog the engine, make sure I run the engine long enough for the stabil to be in the enginemake sure the batteries are fully charged and have proper water levels ( I usually recharge every month or so during winter, for the engine, remove the spark plugs and put a tiny amount of engine fog in each cylinder. Now since I can't get anything but gasohol I put in Marine Stabil. In the spring I pull the prop, check for fish line and lube the spline charge the batteries and start it up with the muffs. This usually is on the second crank.

If you are not charging the cranking battery every time or two times you go out you might be pulling the cranking battery down. Outboard built in chargers don't put out a lot of charge. I learned this the hard way which is why a part of my boat equipment is a set of jumper cables.

Without a moments thought I'd put the outboard motor at number 1.

I have fished barbless for years and this plus the In-Fisherman hook removal method solves most problems. For those who fish with me and are not barbless I have a thing called a Barb-Bit that cuts the barb off and has magnets to get the hook pieces out of the fish. For those fish that I am sure won't make it I call them tasty.

I fish for bass in the states and add pike and walleye when I am lucky enough to get up to Canada. For years I used only mono from 4 to 17 pound test, either Berkley XT or XL. The lakes I fish in the states, like some I have fished in Canada are very clear. Currently for bait casters I use 12 pound flurocarbon (I like Bass Pro's XPS because it has worked well for me and is not as pricey.) for nearly every thing except Carolina rigs where I used 50+ pound test braid (usually Power Pro) with a 12 pound mono leader. For surface baits I use 12 pound mono, usually Berkley XL. I use my spinning outfits almost exclusively for finesee presentations and normally I am spooled up with either 4 or 6 pound mono. Again most likely Berkley XL but any ultra limp is fine.

I disagree on the hot foot. I have a nerve problem in my right leg and can't hold it in the same position for very long. I do fasten the kill switch every time I start the big engins. I think hooking up the kill switch should be the same as putting on your seat belt.