rob v

mortgage life and disability insuarance through a bank is priced similar to group insurance to keep prices manageable and coverage simple. Premiums are based primarily on your age, the amount and ammortization of your mortgage and in some cases whether you smoke or not. Typically there aren't alllowances in the premiums for other health aillments ie they don't charge you a premium for less insurable risks like some private policies might. As someone pointed out, depending on your age at the start of your mortgage the coverage you get vs cost may actually be cheaper than private coverage, but as your mortgage gets paid down your coverage decreases vs the stable premium. Having said that, most private policies have premiums that increase with age for the same coverage, but your coverage doesn't usually go down. The other thing about private coverage to keep in mind, once you've got it and you keep your premiums paid you keep it. With creditor insurance, if you should happen to change homes and take out a new mortgage if it isn't with the same lender/insurance company you may or may not qualify for coverage then - for things like health reasons etc. In other words private insurance is a bit more portable/flexible. As well, if something should happen, with private coverage your beneficiary gets cash instead of a paid off house - which could be important at a time like that. Arranging insurance through your bank is usually much simpler than private coverage (one stop shopping). bottom line, as someone else mentioned, it's not black and white, and not just about cost. Many people are taking the private insurance route, and many others take their insurance out through their lender. But you shouldn't feel pressured by your bank - bank's have to be careful about "tied selling" , ie. giving their customers the impression their mortgage approval is contingent on you taking their insurance also. Most of the time life insuarnce overage arranged through the bank is supposed to be an optional thing - and if the bank insists that your mortgage be life insured you still have the option of taking out a private policy and assigning if necessary. Just a little insite from someone in the industry. Rob V .

Mike , can you give me a bit more info on the t-bar system i.e. how does it hook up and where can you buy it ? thx.

depending on where you are on the st clair and the time of the year you can catch just about anything, i.e. walleye, trout, salmon, bass. In the spring lots of guys catch plenty of walleye from shore, and at the mouth of the river in the spring and fall plenty of trout are also caught. Bass haven's website (above) is a good resource. there a few other web boards based in michigan that can be helpful also.

Linweir - what do you mean by a "starter" on board ?

I would have to agree that mounting directly to the transom is the best option. But, if a person had his hands on a short shaft at little or no cost and had a tight budget is there any way to use the kicker bracket effectively ? My thinking is that the kicker bracket would allow me to use the short shaft motor for the time being.

Excellant info guys. Appreciate your help.

Sounds like there's pluses and minuses for each . My existing charger is nearing the end of its usefull life I think and if I'm going to spend the $'s I may as well look into the on-board units. Sounds like it's hard to go wrong - although from my initial investigation they're more $'s. Randy - I'm using it primarily for my deep cycle battery. I assume that the number of "banks" represents the number of batteries the unit can charge at once ? Also - obviously you don't have to disconnect anything when you charge with the on-board unit. Is it that necessary to discounnect things prior to charging - maybe it's more important to do so when you charge at with higher amperage ?

Besides not havig to lug a regular deep cycle charger around or having to disconnect electronics while charging - are these on-board charges worth the expense ? What other benefits are there to them ? If the existing (standard) charger you have functions okay why would someone consider purchasing one of these units ? Also - if I,m just running a 12 volt system is a "multi-banked" charger necessary ? Again - I know there's people on this board with experience to share. Thanks.

Thanks - I might just take your advise and get a second cranking battery. Perhaps put the new one on the motor and use the existing/old one as a spare - I'll just have to remember to keep it charged.

I tired the bacon wrap method once also - but I found that the bacon didn't cook nearly as fast as the walleye - perhaps the bacon should be pre-cooked somewhat .. say 1/2 cooked ... so after wrapping the fish with it by the time the fish is cooked the bacon would be as well ? Haven,t had a chance to do it again since.

Thanks guys - is the charger in question an automatic unit, i.e. shuts itself off ?

in this week's flier there's two things I"m somewhat interested in. 1) Nautilus "intelligent batter charger" - supposed to charge twice as fast - 15/10/2 amp - anybody have any experience with one of these units ? 2) All of the boats/motors I've owned in the past had pull starts (or electric start with a pull start on them also) but the boat I'm using now has a 115 hp motor on it that I wouldn't either know how to pull start or wouldn't be able to physically do it anyway. I get a bit worried about being out on the lake with a dead cranking battery. Do most of you with units like this carry a pair of booster cables (boost from the deep cycle or from someone you flag down) or would one of the units advertised this week at ctc be a better option to carry around ? For $29.99 - 300 crank assist amps - mobile power pack. I know the booster cables might be easier to store in the boat but this thing doesn't look too big either. Any thoughts / inputs from people with experience ? Thanks for the input. Rob V

I bought my interstate deep cycle battery 210 reserve capacity minutes for $95 at sams club - london about 2 weeks ago. best rated batter I could find for the money. Having said that - I was just in w-mart yesterday and noticed they dropped the price of their deep cycle battery, energizers (cranking/deep cycle batteries) to about $79 (from $99)

I've got exactly the same problem. But only with this site also.

Thanks very much for the info - looks like I'll keep my eyes open for a coleman or eureka. Great stuff.

Yes - I'm really just looking for a drive in camping type tent. Maximum 4 people - maybe 5 - but usually just two. where does one buy a eureka tent ? thanks again for your input.

I'm getting tired of lugging our old nylon tent with the aluminum poles that weighs about 50 lbs. It's time to look for something lighter, and easier to travel with. We won't be doing any extreme camping, just some spring/summer nites while travelling or fishing. I know there's people on this board who know plenty about tents and I'm hoping you can share your recommendations. I'm looking for something reasonably priced say $150-$200 +/-. Are any of the tents that crappy tire carry any good ? Thanks.

I moved to north london about 8 months ago. Sarnia 10 years prior to that. Rob v

Lots of platitudes and good advise here. But this is the kind of decision that only you can make. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer - the only one that matters is what you feel right/comfortable with.

Don't forget to check with your lawyer e: liability issues and how to protect yourself. Best to check with the municipality also - what if any permits may be necessary and/or zoning regulation issues.

Great report - thanks for sharing. sounds like a wonderful place/experience. Just one question though, what's a "fall fish" ? I've never heard that term used before.

The bass pro at auburn is well worth the trip also. I recommend that for sure.

My engine is a 2005. I found them at a couple of spots on line (west marine) in the states $15-$16 each - while I'm still saving money after adding $20+ for shipping I think I may wait until my next trip to Port Huron and just go into their store and pick them up there. I checked at one more Mercury dealer and the price was similar. So I guess I,ll have to pick some up the next time I'm in the states. If anyone has any other ideas I'm all ears. thx.

I just bought a used opimtax 115 - the local mercury dealer (Hully Gully) quoted me a price of about $30 each - yes I doubled checked - $30 each. They're an NGK plug (I don't have the exact plug number on me right now) and I've called everywhere else (napa, part source, batter supply etc) and no one has them nor can they get them in. As much as I'd like to patronize my local business person I don't want to pay for his entire business ! Anyone have any ideas on where I might find these at a bit more reasonable cost ?? Thanks for the info.

I like shows that have a bit of everything. 1) nice location - but not too exotic because I can't relate to that, 2) informative - but not a big commercial or yak session about how much the host knows, 3) a personable host - someone who can relate to the weekend angler and some of the frustrations and issues he/she encounters from time to time, 4) good conversation/banter between the host and his guest/co-fisherman - my most memorable fishing experiences usually involve spending time with people I enjoy being with. And of course 5) some fishing action - gotta catch something every now and then. Good luck with your paper.