SlowPoke

The only weight difference would be in your wallet. The 90 & 115 is the same housing and powerhead. I'm betting it would make a noticable but not drastic difference. Whether or not you need it is a different story.

Does anybody have any feedback for me on the 2007 Mazda 5 GS? I have a line on one with 100k, well below wholesale cost and described as a 'clean trade-in' from a friend of the family. I would be buying this sight unseen since it's in Ottawa and I'm trying to find one locally just to have a look at/test drive to get a feel for it. No luck finding one locally and I might have to decide by tomorrow! I'm larger than the average bear, will I be somewhat comfortable in this thing? Fuel economy? Repair costs? Anything else you have to add?

Whew! I thought it was dock rash Great looking boat.

Wow... not much more you can say to describe that. Something tells me you might be late going north again this year.

not all motors will have a trim sending unit... that might make your decision easy. I would go Tach, Speedo, Fuel, Volt. Most 4 gauge packages come with those; I paid $129 for mine.

"Holy ^%$#, this doesn't look Canadian" is what I said when Drake took the stage. "Never before have the Juno's left me wanting more" is what I said when the credits rolled. I will admit that throughout the show there was quite a few "Who's that?" comments but fortunately I was watching the show with a couple musicians that knew many of the artists personally or knew people that played with them. I probably wouldn't have watched the show this year but a friend of mine was nominated. Sadly, he wasn't chosen for Blues Album of the Year. (The Johnny Max Band - It's a long Road) It was a great show for me and an even greater experience for my friend Wayne. He enjoyed a week of Juno festivities, met a few icons in the industry and is looking forward to going back! He said a lot has changed since his last nomination ten years ago.

kijiji is great and bizcaf is gaining momentum too. Use the bonus bucks for all the new black and white counter appliances LOL

My favourite has to be the phone app. It allows you to punch in 10 digits and talk to someone.

Great post, thanks for sharing!

It's not the easiest reel to learn on but there are many newer; more expensive, fancier reels of less quality giving people fits than the Abu. Start by casting heavier lures/weights (1oz) and use a slow, deliberate arm movement to cast. No flicking and whipping the rod. Don't worry about distance before you have a handle on technique. The extra five yards you're looking in a cast might cost you twenty yards of tangled mess. It might be easier to control backlash if you can understand why it happens. When you start a cast, the weight of the lure is pulling line off the spool. The lure will never accelerate once it leaves the end of your rod; it begins to slow down. The spool's inertia must be controled to match the decelleration of the lure otherwise it will be pushing the line through the guides. That's when things get ugly; it's like trying to push a piece of string. You can put the odds in your favour by using a stiffer line; 12-15lb mono for example. Another trick is to make a fairly long cast then strip another 5 yards off by hand. Then apply a piece of tape over the line on the spool before you reel in. The tape will stop a massive backlash.

Talora's are nice but not cheap. The benefit of the Talora lineup is that you can pick and choose for your purpose. I use Shimano TDR's for downrigging, inline boards and leadcore. Daiwa Heartland's serve me well for braid dipsy, wire dipsy and muskie trolling. If I had a pocket full of cash would I upgrade the boat rods to Talora's? Sure. Let's keep in mind, we're trolling not finesse fishing. We can get away with cheaper rods as long as they will withstand the punishment. Tekota 600's are sweet. No complaints from me other than the clickers could be a little bit louder. Okuma Catalina's are very nice too.

If the mechanic says "excellent shape for a 91" then you got a good deal. Fuel and brake lines as expected and it doesn't surprise me that the linkage and suspension was fine. Pretty durable bushings and they're not hard on steering parts (or they have huge tolerances lol). Aside from constant wear items, keep an eye on transmission lines. Enjoy!

Depends on price. If it's $500-$700, and $200-$300 to get it on the road then yes. I've seen lots sell for $1000 that would appear to be in better condition but I haven't seen that one in person. For all their deficiencies, it would probably be perfect for what you want and might even last another 10 years. They're damn near bullet proof but far from pretty!

Rockers are shot and so are the wheel wells. It will pass safety body-wise but you can bet the floors are in tough shape too. Do not remove those wheel flares unless you are prepared to replace the 3 brackets that hold each of them on; they will fall apart in your hands. They're scarce from the dealer and it might be cheaper to go with aftermarket flares should you decide to repair the rust. 95% chance that will have the NP231 transfer case and a Dana 30 Front axle / Dana 35 Rear axle. Great transfer case and easy to find should you have a problem. The NP242 Case (selec-trac) is also great but harder to find. Dana 30 fronts are good, Dana 35 rear are prone to axle break when abused. Normal driving and they're fine; just not as tough as a Dana 44.

Can't imagine who would do something like that. Couldn't they take into consideration how it would impact the family? Maybe they're unable to think of anyone but themselves. Then again, I'm sure we all know someone willing to ditch thier morals over a strangers cat.

The floors may look 100% but you won't be able to see the prone areas until the carpet comes out. Take hammer with you and tap the floors from the sill towards the driveshaft tunnel. The center section over the U channel frame rots first.

Very hard on gas in the city, highway mileage is average. Known for exhaust manifolds blowing out. Rusty floors can not be avoided; they rust over the frame channels. Easy fix. Rust around the windshield is common. It will rain inside the day after it rains outside. Expect to put fuel lines/brake lines on for a safety.

Optima's weigh about 30% less than conventional deep cycle batts.

If you want an auxillery/backup motor, you have one. If you're looking for a positioning motor for that boat; Terrova 80 would do nicely. I really wouldn't recommend a bow mount as a backup.

Not to worry Cliff, if the front had gone through you would have been thrown well away from the water hazard I'm glad you were able to share the story; it might prevent someone from doing the same.

Late start is right! Not only did I forget the time change but I had my Blackberry alarm set for 3:30 WEEKDAYS. I eventually got up on my own at 4:50... or was that 5:50... I still don't know. It was a tough day on the ice but worth every minute! Here's a shot of Emil in action

I'm looking for another Fenwick twist rod. They're amazing for trout and walleye.

Sounds like a nice rig! I know you didn't ask but consider outfiting your rig with; - track system for rod holders (Bert's, Cannon, Persuit) - down speed/temp (Cannon, Depth Raider, Subtroll, Fish Hawk) - kicker motor speed contol (Trollmaster, Troll King) Reels: Okuma Catalina and Shimano Tekota are about as slick as it gets. Okuma Convector and Daiwa Sealines are good. Okuma Magda, Daiwa Accudepth, Rapala, Rhino, Walker, Dam, Shakespeare etc. are likely to disappoint. Rods: Shimano Talora, really nice and lots of use-specific selection. Shimano Triton TDR (for riggers, planer boards) and Daiwa Heartland (riggers, planer boards, dipsy)are great values. Don't waste your time with anything cheaper than the TDR or Heartlands. Convert a 9' Heartland rod into a roller tip wire dipsy rod with the Torpedo roller tip. Ultra slick. Line: 50lb Suffix or Power Pro Braid (riggers, dipsy, planer boards) 30lb Trilene Big Game Mono (riggers and planer boards) 30lb Courtland Flea Flicker for the flea season (riggers) 30lb Torpedo 19 Strand Wire (dipsy) 30lb Cortland Kerplunk Leadcore (long lining on a soft rigger rod) Spring baits: Lymans, J-plugs, NK size spoons and smaller, jointed rapalas. Trolling speeds: 1.5 - 2.5, lots of turning to cover water and intice lazy fish

I've been driving a truck for a looong time and I still don't understand why they like to park like that in the winter. Thanks for sharing the report; looks like good numbers, good food, good company and a really nice cabin!

Have you found this to be true for all sizes?