RandyLinden

Hi, I remember that there was a recall on TNT units on certain Etec's and if my memory serves there were models that had a single ram that were problems. As far a I can remember these were not repaired but replaced because they were defective. Here is a link to the Etec owners group look at the I-3 catagory and search for trim, you may find some useful info... Barnacle Bill's Marine Supply (etecownersgroup.com)

Hi There are usually not many negative things when maxing out the HP on a boat. Maybe a few dollars more but I suggest that you consider the benefits of the 25HP before deciding. The 25HP will make the boat perform the way is was intended to work. It will get on plane in a shorter distance and in the most efficient way (I have experienced better fuel economy with a 25HP over a 15HP because the engine isn't working as hard) You will get the best speed performance and I know you indicated that speed was not a factor for you but its nice to have it when you want it. Just because it will go quicker doesn't mean you have to run it fast all the time but maybe if you want to get off the lake because of a T storm you might appreciate the extra speed. As I mentioned before your fuel economy should also be good if you don't need to run it hard. Another thing that might be a factor is the weight or load you have in the boat. If you only ever go alone with your fishing gear that's a pretty light load but what if you decide to add an extra fuel tank, maybe a battery or two and a nice bow mount electric steer/spot lock trolling motor? What about bringing another angler and his gear plus a cooler etc.? You might not do any of these things initially but down the road you may want to and the boat will be ready for that with the 25HP. I upgraded a similar boat (Lund) from a 15 to a 25 and the difference in overall performance was night and day. It also increased my travel range because it was faster and made the boat work properly. I actually traded in that new 25HP only a month old for an upgraded 25HP with electric start and power trim/tilt and I would highly recommend this as well. It is worth the extra money without any doubt. The power trim/tilt, it makes a huge difference in the way the boat works including being able to dial it in on those rougher water conditions. You will need a battery on board but that was also a bonus because I added running lights, a really good sonar/gps and a plug to run my radio... It goes on and on but at the heart of it is the 25HP. Best of luck and enjoy that new boat!

Hi, The Cuda utilizes a monoplug transducer/power cable. If you have the correct transducer it will have a cable from the transducer to the plug and another cable coming from the plug that is the power cable. Within the black outer jacket of this cable you will find a black and red wire (positive/negative) Hope that helps

Hi, This boat is rated for 175 HP. Generally boats will perform best with an engine that is at or close to the rated HP. In my opinion a 150 HP would be the lowest acceptable HP on this boat. If you intend to do a lot of trolling I would suggest that you look for a boat that can accommodate a kicker. You will appreciate the ability to get your boat speed adjusted correctly instead of trying to force a large engine to idle down. The other big and often overlooked benefit to having a kicker is that you will have a back-up engine in case of an engine problem. Although I personally prefer a fiberglass hull there are quite a few nice aluminum versions available, check out a Lund Fisherman as an example. If you are buying a new boat my advice is to buy something that it is made for what you want to do with the boat. If trolling is the primary application then a bow mount remote steer trilling motor and a kicker are the way to go. Yes its expensive but it is the right tool for the job.

Looking good and will be awesome once she gets her final coat of makeup. I love it. Nice sleeper and a bit embarrassing for the fart can fleet when they want to show off!

Hi, I agree with using the marine wire, 6 AWG would be fine for your application. Similar to AKRISONER I use a Blue sea power post to make the connection to the trolling motor wires. I would also install a good quality circuit breaker or at minimum a fuse (carry a spare) in a location that you can easily access and is close to your batteries. In case you are looking for a good place to buy these items I purchase my stuff at marine outfitters in Kingston they have a good website and you can order online and have it shipped.

Small is different for everyone and it really depends on what your cooking but picture this... Bacon and eggs with hash browns for 3 On that griddle you will have bacon taking up most of the room so no place for the rest. You cook the bacon and move it off to a platter and then you cook the hash browns again using most of the cooking surface then you clean the grill and cook the eggs. It's all OK but the bacon and the potatoes are now cold. I find that if I undercook everything but the eggs I can prepare an individual plate one at a time by finishing up the bacon and potatoes and cooking the eggs. If the griddle were larger I could possibly do it all at the same time or at least do the bacon and potatoes at the same time. I still find cooking eggs to be best in a small frying pan on a burner. Another example might be when I do my cheese steak sandwiches, there only enough room to cook one at time... In my opinion this particular griddle is very good but really it's just a replacement for a 14" frying pan. (Keep in mind that the sides don't get that hot and the actual cooking area is smaller than than the 22" size). I bought this one initially for my RV because of the size and for 2 people its not bad. I sold the RV and now use it at home. Hope that helps

I have this griddle and it works well. Good for bacon and eggs, home fries, pan cakes and I use it for grilling mushrooms/oinions and it is awesome for cheese steak sandwiches. Also great for burgers when you want something a bit different than the good old BBQ. My only criticism is that for my uses it is too small. All to often run out of space on the griddle so I'm thinking of buying a larger version and selling this one. Cheers

I used to work in the electronics industry and also operated a service center. Things have generally changed and failure rates after the warranty period are quite high for most brands. Reliability is not that good and serviceability is actually a thing of the past for most brands if not all. The bottom line is that it is not cost effective to repair electronics anymore unless it is a very minor repair. Looking back the traditional Japanese brands like Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, NEC, Sanyo, Mitsubishi etc. were the best. Then we started to see the Korean lower priced brands like Daewoo, Samsung, LG etc. come along and even some other more traditional low end brands like RCA. Some of these products were actually not to bad and were comparable to the more expensive Japanese products. Others had very poor reliability and service along and obtaining replacement parts was a problem. The result was that the Japanese products had to be less expensive to compete and that for the most part meant that cheaper components and overall quality had to come down. When it comes to TV's in todays market I would still buy a Japanese one over any LG or Samsung even though they are all fairly similar now. When they fail outside of the warranty period be prepared to scrap it and buy a new one. In the more recent past the LG TV was in my opinion better than the Samsung in terms of the circuitry and electronics but that may now have changed as well. Samsung has kind of climbed to the top with innovations, larger displays and aggressive sales and marketing etc. but it would not be at the top of my list if I was looking to purchase. I 100% agree with staying away from LG and Samsung appliances they are definitely unreliable and totally unserviceable. They should not be allowed to import and sell those products.

I don't often comment on a lot of posts but in this case Bell Canada has earned one. Bell Canada is probably the number one example of a company that has become so big that it no longer needs to make customer service any kind of a priority. With very few exceptions I find their representatives are arrogant and downright condescending. The majority of technicians I have met seem to have a bad attitude and a chip on their shoulder. Some have made it clear that they don't care and that they hate their job. Bottom line is that customers are generally just a pain in the butt. My experience has been that if it comes to the need to resolve a bigger issue this company is completely handicapped and unaccommodating. This problem is evident from the presidents office all the way down the line. It's a shame because at one time Bell was the company that set the bar, they were highly respected and regarded as one of the best companies in the world. Today they offer good technology and it's all ok until something doesn't work as planned or there is a problem. If something arises it is unlikely that they can support the customer and actually resolve the issue. Bell Canada is a giant in the industry and getting bigger in spite of their bad service and poor customer relations.

I also will add my dissatisfaction with Bell Arrogant service reps. Technicians that are openly and obviously unhappy and annoyed that they are actually expected to do some work. Service requests that are directed to off shore call centers that employ people that can barely speak English and are not capable of handling even a simple request, wait times and being put on hold for ridiculous time periods while trying to get answers and solutions from who knows how many levels of supervisors and so called managers...Sadly in many instances not only are they not interested in correcting any problems they actually deny that there is a problem and do not care if their services work or not so long as they get paid. Plus Bell is probably among others that treat their existing customers like they are not even worth talking to anymore after they get your business. Offering new customers deals and promotions and never rewarding their long time customers with anything but an arrogant and rude attitude is the sad state that Bell is in today. When they had a monopoly on phone services they actually provided the best phone services in the world. Then the government came along and forced in competition and the sharing of Bell's infrastructure. Now look at the crap we have ...

Here is a link for the K-Drill from Radioworld: https://www.radioworld.ca/kdrill-idrl08 Looks like it's up a bit in price (Cdn Dollar is killing us on US product) Here is the link for the K-Drill site: http://kdrillauger.com/8-inch-k-drill-ice-auger.html Hope that helps Randy

Hi I just got a K-Drill not the least expensive option but is very light weight and is specifically designed to be used with a cordless 1/2" drill. Been using it with an 18v Ryobi and 4amp lithium battery pack. So far not even thinking about ever using a gas powered auger again... Highly Recommended Bought mine at Radioworld Cheers

Hi The primary reason that any of these units are not serviceable and only replaceable is that when they are manufactured they are sealed and then purged with nitrogen. In order to service the unit the seal would be have to be broken and there is no way to re-seal it and then again purge with nitrogen. If these units were not sealed in this manor they would not be waterproof and would have problems with condensation building up in them as a result they would fail quickly. You may have seen or experienced a unit with visible condensation on the screen, this is a product of a broken seal. The broken seal is often caused by dropping, bouncing jigs off them, and banging them around. Maybe some day in the future the manufacturers will build purge fittings into the case's so they can be disassembled, repaired and then filled with nitrogen to be put back into service. Cheers Randy

Hi I don't comment often but thought some clarification might help. Contrary to North East Sharks opinion The new Etec's are far from junk and is why you see them on more and more new hulls. The new Evinrude 2 stroke technology is actually cleaner than the 4 strokes and provides comparable or even better fuel economy while delivering all round better performance. They are quiet (comparable to the same HP in a 4 stroke) don't require any oil changes and in my opinion on the larger HP models are less costly to operate. As far as Ranger boats are concerned you can order any one of their boats with any brand of outboard you prefer. Ranger is not affiliated with or married to any one brand of outboard. There is no penalty or below wholesale credits etc. applied to the cost. The boats are typically ordered from a dealer that sells and services specific brands of engines and the customer can choose which brand and what HP model they want on their new boat. I suspect that the shipment in the picture was headed up to Orleans boat World in Ottawa, but I'm not sure. Cheers Randy

Hi Both are good boats and personal taste, likes and dislikes will be deciding factors. I would suggest along with others that you max out the HP. I can tell you that the LOWE FM-165 is a great boat with 90HP 4S Merc. If you are concerned about spending a bit more now for the extra HP don't worry because you will see it back when you decide to trade or sell... remember twofootitis...You will not regret buying the maximum rated HP plus fuel ecconomy is very good with the 90 (it wont have to work so hard) The Lowe has a great layout with the two livewells, and center rod staoage. I would also get the rear deck extension/seats it makes it real nice for casting and fishing off the rear deck. One downside is that it only comes with a 12V trolling motor and if you are a serious angler a 24V is almost a must...Before you buy look into converting it into a 24V, the standard single 12 TM battery is located under the center rod storgage compatment and unfortunately will not hold a 2nd battery so you will need to wire another one into the rear...I would also upgrade the standard X4 Lowrance Sonar to an Elite 5 GPS/Sonar, you could keep the X-4 and mount on bow.. Just some ideas. Best of luck on your decision and enjoy your new boat!

Hi Sorry to hear about your trouble. - It is not common practice for BRP to not honour warranties. BRP just like any other manufacturer will honour their warranty but in this case the BRP warranty has expired. - BRP will honour warranties for both US or Canadian purchased engines but they need to be registered with BRP and in this case with the 3rd party warranty company. - The engine in question here has no BRP Warranty since it has expired. - This engine had 3rd party warranty that was not registered to the original owner nor was it transfered to the new owner. - The original selling dealer did not do his job. - The engine has not been properly serviced or maintained since it is operating with outdated programming, has the engine been serviced previously and do you have proof that the 3yr or 300 hr service was done? - I suggest that if you can get the extended warranty transfered and registered in your name for $100.00 that it is a good deal considering the alternative. It is easy to check the warranty status of an engine all you need is the model number and serial number, go to any good BRP dealer and they can check on-line as to the status and can also advise what if any warranty work was done on the engine. Best of luck sorting this out and I hope that the third party warranty comes thru for you. Randy

Hey Dano Don't Feel Bad for leaning on your friends.... That's what real friends are for and what real friends do and it's your turn to do the leaning... Hang in there... It will get better... like most things time is the key... keep your head up... You will start to feel better... even though it looks like it is taking forever... I bet showers are a real struggle and a pain with the pic line....I remember it was so good to have a shower but keeping the knee waterproof and the pic line waterproof was a major problem and often it was even better just getting back to bed... Hope you start to feel better soon...!!!! Randy

Hi Dano Thought I'd share my experiance... I'm not sure what happened to you to cause the infection but I just went thru a similar situation. My knee did not look quite as bad as yours but Over 2YEARS ago I had a very routine orthoscopic surgery done on my left knee (walk in walk out) within a couple of days I was back at the hospital with a severley swollen knee (could not bend the knee at all) After more than 3 weeks in the hospital and another operation (to find out what went wrong) they finally diagnosed the cause of the infection (VRE positive, some kind of hospital based infection) I then had pic lines and IV's along with IV pump connected for over 2 months requiring nursing attention to change IV's and maintaining the pic lines at least twice a day. The infection eventually subsided and even with physio therapy twice a week my knee is still not back to normal but I am thankfull that I am not undergoing treatment for the infection any more and that I am now able to walk without crutches. I have a good idea of what you are going thru. I missed fishing most of all. Dano You will get over the hump and it will improve, hang in there, one day at a time... it will be a long battle just keep fighting and tuff it out... Once they get the meds sorted out you will experiance improvement.. Best wishes and hang in there.

Bucktail You can download Lowrance Manuals from their site as well. There are even updates available for manuals. Here is the link: http://www.lowrance.com/en/Downloads/Manuals/

Tranducers have changed Over the years there have been a number of different frequencies used. The common one today is 200Khz but there are a lot of 50Khz, some combination 200/50Khz as well as 192Khz models. There are also 3 beam transducers, and wide multibeam verisions like on some Hunninbird models. Then there are the puck style transducers for trolling motor applications with or with out temperature probes, some have paddlwheels for speed sensors built in. The various styles of skimmer type transducers again with or without temp, thru hull, shoot thru hull models portable versions etc. etc.

Excellent boat! You will love the way this boat works, this is arguably one of the best if not the best fishing boats available today. Congrats I bet you can't wait to get your hands on it!!