rob v

Retire ? - I'm sure you're looking forward to it some day ! You look pretty busy to me. Looks like a great place to get away from it all. Does the better half enjoy this seclusion also ?

Like north east shark said - before you replace anything try to make sure something just hasn't gotten itself jammed in the pump. That happened to me once - a metal shaving got stuck in the pump - removed it and it worked like a charm. Also - make sure you have a manual bailing system (at least a bail bucket) on board. good luck.

I haven't got a water seperator filter - where's the best/cheapest place to pick one of those up ?

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into the valve you're talking about taper - never heard of the vaput lock problem before. I was also hoping to have some type of quick connect linkage close to the t or valve so I don't have all that extra hose laying around - any idea what type or where I can get one ?

I got my hands on a 7.5 horse honda that I plan to use as my kicker for trolling Erie for walley this summer. Since it's a four stroke I don't need to mix fuel and I would like to splice into the main fuel system of my boat. I was hoping to spice into the main fuel line with some type of quick connect system - but I'm not sure of what I need. Anyone have any suggestions / info on this process ? Obviously I need to splice a tee joint into the main line - but from there I'm kind lost. thx.

Beauties - looks like a great day. I'm at a loss though how you guys do that in the dark !!

usually whatever I can get a the gas station - but if I'm on the ball a couple of cereal bars, a sandwich or two and a couple of pop. frankly when I'm out on the water I really don't think that much about eating - half the time I end up eating my "lunch" on the way home after pulling the boat.

some info here. I just bought one of these - for less than $200 I thought it was okay - I don't think I'm going to travel/trailer with it, but it should keep the weather out while it's parked. http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31325

Ya - that's the video I was referring to - has anyone used/tried it ?

My flyer lists this boat cover on sale this week. I'm looking for something mainly for while my boat is parked outside in the driveway (stored inside during the winter) and I'm not really worried about trailering with the cover on. Anybody have good or bad experience with this type of cover ? http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/Sp...oat%2BCover.jsp

Did a bit of surfing on the net recently - looking for some practical instruction on the proper use of a lowrance (or any other for that matter) fish finder. I came across this - anybody try watching this video (Finding Fish with Modern Technology - Learn to Properly Read & Tune Your Sonar, ) http://www.havefunfishing.com/bass_fishing_videos.htm I know there's nothing like on the water experience to learn but i thought this might be easier than reading the book. Any input/experience ?

I think Tinbangger hit the nail on the head. Apples to apples most units are going to meet your needs - and I,m sure every manufacturer has a lemon every now and then. What can really make the difference with anything you buy is the after sales support. Nothing worse than buying something you like and finding out after the fact the dealer/salesman etc couldn't care less about your issues/problems or questions.

Nice set up Emil - pm sent. rob v

here's a picture of the dash - where the garmin is mounted is where I put the new unit. that section on the top of the dash is a thin layer of vinyl/plastic and about and inch below that is a section of framing that would make it very hard to re-inforce from the bottom. Lew's idea for mounting on the side makes sense - but if I could reinforce that dash somehow it would be my preference to mount it there.

thanks guys - and stonefish your idea may be helpfull. it would appear they've changed the counsol somewhat from the model they put in your crestliner lew - mine definitely has nothing solid like you're describing on the top of the dash to mount this too. I'll have to work on the re-inforcement or the side mount ideas.

Thanks Lew - that may be a good option to consider. My dash is very similar to what yours was. I have mine mounted where your fish finder was (on the right)- but I have it on the ram mount. Not sure what yours was like but that bit of plastic beisde the guages is not very solid - and I'm not certain I can get under it to re-inforce it - there's another ledge of structure just below the top that forms a gap between it and the top of the dash - about an inch and a half of space between the bottom ledge and the top. So unless I can brace that up somehow I may have to mount directly to the dash which limits the positioning options - or perhaps consider your side mount idea. The way you had your GPS mounted - did it bounce around much while you were running ?

I don't know what model ram mount I have - the base is about two inches in diameter. The unit doesn't slip on the mount itself - i.e. I think the unit/ball is large enough - it's just the dash. I'm not sure I'll be able to get underneath of it to re-inforce it but like a few of you have said that may be the solution. It's kind of tight under there and I'm not sure how easy it'll be to re-inforce it from the bottom - I'll have to have another look when I get a chance next weekend - the boat's kept close to the lake vs my driveway.

I've heard a lot about mounting my new fishfinder using the ram mount system. So I picked up the appropriate size mount and mounted it to the dash of my crestliner. I must say the theory behind the system is good. I can angle/manouver the display in a countless number of positions. My problem however is the area on my dash that is available to fasten the base is a bit flimsy - its an area of relatively thing plastic/vinyl that already has a few holes drilled into it for mounting previous units by the previous owners. Bottom line the unit bounces around like a bobble-head. Is there a solution to this problem ? Do I need a larger base ? Or should I try to reinforce my dash somehow ? I have a windshield on the dash that prevents me from mounting the unit anywhere else. If I can't stabilize the dash/unit should I resign myself to just mounting it directly to the dash ? Any suggestions from those who know would be welcome. Thx.

I was able to make it to the show in London - I must say these guys did a great job. It's not often you get to learn something and be entertained at the same time. I'd like to thank their sponsors also for putting on the series. I'm sure that without the sponsors this kind of thing would not be possible (esp at the entry fee they charged). Subway is definitely going to see more of me and the equipment/tackle sponsors will see more of me also. Great job.

Than do it ethically- slice off it's head/sucker - quick kill. job done.

Aren't you supposed to hold these things horizontlly and support them properly ??

T.J. - is there a free version of eset ? anybody else know of any free antivirus software that's decent ?

I am really not in agreement with this quote " you can bet that if we had a right to carry in Ontario that person would have thought twice, in fact any crook would think twice" . So when a 16 year old has to work in the convenience store are they expected to use the "company peice" ? And I really don't know about the kind of person who thinks he needs to rob a baitshop owner. Unbelieveable dirt bag.

Hey thanks Fisherman - sounds simple enough - I'll probably give'er a go in the next couple of weeks. I assume if things aren't lined up properly than it's take things apart again and try re-aligngin. If I run into trouble I may have to contact you. thanks for the input.

Thanks for all the good information guys, but most of what you've mentioned I've tried or ruled out. I did some additional research on line and found out a bit more info. There's a small screw on the side of the carb (not the idle screw/needle). I've had it open up several times so far but couldn't really figure out why it was there. Ends up there's a small jet ( that I had made sure was clean) that leads into what I thought was a dead end chamber underneath of this screw. On a different forum I found out that there's a really (and I mean really) small jet that leads back into the carb perpendicular to the jet coming into the side of the chamber. I got some compressed air into it and a single strand of copper wire (hair thin) to open the jet. Put it all back together and it ran better, but still quite a ways from perfect. On that same forum I figured out how to check the timing settings - there's a small dot on the to of the cam that's supposed to line up with a T on the flywheel. I checked that and it didn't look lined up very well to me (but the belt tension felt good to me). I was a bit hesitant to take the timing belt off cause I don't have a timing light and I didn't want to make things worse. Bottom line I slipped the timing belt off and after eye-ball lining up the dot and the T, put the belt back on. One pull and she was running like a top. After spending about 5 or 6 hours trying to figure this darn thing out I finally got it running really well. So Bernie the timing definetly needed adjustment and all the carb cleaning, de-carbing & seafoam (thanks sinker) I'm sure helped also. Big Cliff - the serial # is BF 75L 1700986- now I think I should change the impeller. There's a pretty good stream coming out of it, but since I have no idea how old the one that's in it is I don't want to take a chance. If you've got a manual and could give me some direction on how to go about it That would really be great. thanks. Bottom line she's running great - I can't really believe how nice a 4 stroke this size sounds when it's running well. Quite a difference from the old two stroke ! Rob V