Syn

I heard you, I've been getting cabin fever lately too. Whats keeping me sane is buying lures on ebay and watching fishing videos like this to calm my nerves http://www.catchingtheimpossible.info/catc...ible-films.html

Nice catch, thought his zipper was a long string of pike slime at first.

Mike, I bought that that model FishEasy 245 DS Portable last summer. Never tried it on ice but during summer I mostly used it as a depth gauge. IIRC Can Tire, Basspro, and Lebarons were selling it all within $30 of each other, but I ended up getting it from $150 http://radioworld.ca/product_info.php?products_id=1750 Canadian Tire now selling it for $220 lol http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/Sp...ble%2BSonar.jsp Over all I'd rate it a 6.5/10. In shallow water 12 or less it was marking every weed as a fish (turn fish ID OFF!!!) and givng lots of interference lines even after reducing sensitivity, but it does an excellent job of showing you bottom hardness and depth which I found very valuable. It works better in 30ft+ of water. Having dual transducers was nice. My big mistake was thinking this fish finder would mark fish from the boat and all I'd have to do is drop my lure on their heads lol. I'd need an more expensive 3d side scan fishfinder to make those type of accurate casts. btw get a set of rechargeable batteries 8 AA, you'll save tons of money in the long run.

Links to both: http://www.fishandboatshow.com/ Feb 12-15, 2010 International Centre. http://www.torontosportshow.ca/ Mar 17-21, 2010 Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The floor plans are not quite filled in yet. Curious to know how much vendor overlap there is for both shows. Any one from last years Fish and Boat show remember if vendors sold lure parts (0.062 wire, big Colorado blades, 4/0 trebles, powercoat paints, etc)? edit: thanks bigugli.

That sounds like the perfect winter fishing day (must have been -25 cel?). Much better than spending it indoors staring at a computer screen. Fried perch looks delicious, wish I could reach through the screen and grab one off the plate.

Can't wait til summer to try my new glidebaits. The slo motion part was awesome (great job turnip): http://www.trophy-clips.com/view_video.php...30c7a6ebef3753e

Its not on my tv channels anymore. Once there were 3-4 fishing shows in a row on during the weekends, which was awesome during winter. Probably have to get satellite dish to get the fishing shows back, but still able to view fishing shows via internet.

I use to watch his show way back when it was on TV in my area and I was still a spring chicken. Good memories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs

Sharpening my treble hooks, applying my devcon 2ton to my muskie glidebaits, and thinking of 2010 summer fishing. http://wtfcalls.net/reddit/xmas_light_wtf.php

Awesome job. Looks like a nice fish. ahhh the joys of muskie fishing.

Yep, $400 is still money I could have put towards a laptop computer. Morally I think I did the right thing and I can sleep well at night because I don't think I was 100% blame free. Yamaha should be held accountable for at least $250 imo. Non floating cowling bad design! I met the Yamaha president in the east end of Toronto last year. I might write him a letter! I may or may have not won a court case, sometimes it could all come down to if the judge likes your face or not and that determine if you win or lose. I did not want to go to court and neither did the marina owners.

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Hello all, I've been so busy this week finding odd jobs to make money for this Visa suprise. Talked to a paralegal, talked to the marina owner, my fishing partner (who was a witness) called the marina too once he heard about the $800 charge. Now I've read many of the posts here and listened from friends advice and thank you all for the replies, there sure is a wide range of methods of resolution. My decision of what to do is based on my financial situation as well as the moral values of my upbringing. I can't just walk away and shirk off all responsibility, cancel my credit card and have the marina chase me through small claims court. To me thats just wrong. At the same time I can't just let the marina walk away either and let me to take the punishment for their "hot potato". If the cowling did not fall off on my trip it would have likely fallen off on some poor fisherman in a future rental. I'm glad to say I was just called by the marina owner and we have worked things out so that we are both satisfied with the solution. We split the cost down the middle, so each of us pay $400. $400 is better than $800. Facts: I left the marina with a cowling and returned without one. I did not fully inspect the motor and boat before leaving the marina. All I did is start up the motor, let it idle to warm it up and we headed off. I should have been smarter and realized I could have used the net to try to scoop it out of the water when the cowling was sinking. I started to unbutton my shorts and was ready to dive in but the waves and wind put too much fear in me. I think that was a wise move though, I could have drowned. Knowing the cowling on that boat was loose on a previous trip a few weeks back I should have remembered to check the cowling or brought duct tape to tape it up. But I could not have imagined the cowling would have come off. At first I thought we were hit by a bird or the motor had exploded. I was in shock to see a naked motor when I turned my head. Ironically the thing I always worry and watch out for on a boat rental is the prop, and if that had fallen off instead of the cowling, it would have been cheaper to fix. I thought a cowling was worth about $80, dock hand quoted me $100 or less. Go figure, a plastic shell and decal $800. Marina owner admitted on the phone on Tuesday during a conversation with my fishing buddy that the cowling on that boat is "wobbly". So now that is two people: dock hand and marina owner admitted it was not totally secure. Should the cowling fit securely like two halves of a kinder toy plastic egg shell??? The picture of the cowling in this thread shows a clip on the back side of the cowling, was it unclipped? I don't know because I could not see it from sitting in front of the motor. Yamaha: Should be sued by everyone who ever lost a cowling due to accident, act of god, or simply if a mechanic working on his boat at the dock drops it in the water. Why does the cowling NOT freaking FLOAT?????? Could have saved $800 due to not having a piece of Styrofoam built into it. Marina owner sent me the invoice and receipt. It is totally legit. $800 is what it costs. Crazy price but true. If it had been a computer part, I would have done that in a split second and got them the best price on the item. I know nothing when it comes to marine, not even where to start or if I'm getting ripped off. The marina owner could have replaced it with a used cowling, its a rental after all, not a customers boat. I know in my heart these marina owners are good people. Money is what causes problems even between friends. I talked with them and their staff many times during the summer, we were there every week like clockwork. We got along very well. I would not want to hurt them financially forever because when the name gets out publicly on the internet its out there forever. If you want to Pm me then I will tell. Anyone goggling would find this thread. I don't think they left the cowling loose on purpose, imo either the cowling could be replacement from another similar motor or maybe the clip is broken? or maybe the motor is old and the cowling loosens off naturally???? I've seen boats fly around on Gpool many times faster than us (9.8hp vs 50hp, 100hp) while we were fishing in the same conditions and they were hitting the same waves and their cowling never fell off??? I think it is something I didn't do that did contribute to the cowling coming off and I learned my lesson the hard way. When some one rents you something to use check it over thoroughly before leaving the marina. All I did that day was start her up and off we went fishing for pike and muskie. I touched the steering handle and pull cord. Cowling was not touched by anyone in fact, not even the dockhand. Al he did was fill us up with some gas, I was already in the boat so I strted it up to save him the trouble. He never checked the cowling either. I doubt the dock had would come to my rescue in a court case. He's has a job and his money from the marina not me. I'm applying to the military so I can't have an upcoming small claims court date or they won't let me start BMQ. Also credit issues would also be discussed at the military interview by the recruiter so that won't look good. I don't remember any insurance papers but I will be sure to ask net time. I want to try georgian bay next time. Thanks for the offer, much appreciated ,but its all worked out now. I was in shock when it happened too and said "oh my God" a few times in disbelief. Water conditions were not great that day, windy and I was going over some bigger waves so it was not like we were puttering around in flat bathtub water. I wonder what the marina owner thought. But he did admit later that the cowling on that boat does "wobble" and the dockhand was not suprised when we came back. If you have the time leave you cowling loose or maybe unclip it and go over some wakes on a windy day and then let me know what happens. Not new at all, looks well used. I don't understand why they did not just try to find a used cowling for the rental. A new cowling probably cost more than that motor. But I can't dictate to them where they buy from so they have every right to buy brand new.

Feel free to ask anything, I told the marina operator I enjoyed her service in the few times we went there this year, and it breaks my heart to have to never go there again for fear of huge visa bills. The service there was relaxed, the guys just fill up the boat with gas and we're off. Had I thought the whole plastic cover had the possibility of flying off I would not taken the boat out especially now that they are charging me $800. I can't see there being a labour charge for installing the top cowling? So unless I see the parts invoice I won't know for sure if they decided to fix anything else on the motor. We returned it in perfect working condition. Only the top cowling was missing. oh I contacted Visa tonight and they have opened a dispute but all they do is get a bill and look at it and then decide in 45 days if the bill is valid. What they won't do is investigate it as a possible fraud investigation. They told me to fax them any quotes to back up any proof if I am being overcharged for the part. Visa rep said things like witnesses and what the marina guy said about the cowling being already loose is dealt with small claims court not Visa. All Visa wants is the money they don't care who's screwing who as long as its not them.

I won't mention any marina name until I can (hopefully) prove that the top cowling does not cost $800 by getting actual price quotes from boat motor store or if any of you guys work in parts and know of the price once I get the part number. If in fact the top cowling turns out to be significantly cheaper I'll post the marina name with OFC site admins permission as a public service to warn others to help them avoid the same trap. If the top cowling is $800 from multiple quotes then I'll have to keep quiet and not post the marina name in the public forum and pay up. I'll tell the marina name to those who want to PM me though. I would not want other to get into the same situation as I am in now.

The lost cowling sank like a rock and we were wondering while they don't make them float. I was tempted to dive in for it but the water was rough and very windy. Yep I hear a loud quick sucking sound while going over some waves and I looked back and the cowling was off.

That's exactly what my fishing buddy who came on the trip with me said. I wanted to do the noble thing and take responsibility for the repair because I was the boat rentee. Marina operator manager is denying that the cowling was loose. The problem is she has all the paperwork that I signed that the boat and motor is in perfect condition so I'm on the hook for any repairs if I go to smalls claims court. I did not think to check if I could pry off the cowling before heading out. Obviously the guy I talked to at the marina who got our boat ready is not likely to admit anything to his boss now. This story is also a good warning to boat renters. All I think I can do now is to get real part quote from marinas and try to dispute the charge if she indeed is overcharging.

Not quite Gordy. Had a boat rental out less than a month ago. Cowling flew off while hitting some rough waves and wind (it was loose on a previous outing same boat rental a few weeks before that). My buddy and I never checked for looseness or even imagined it was loose enough to fly off (or I would have duct taped it up). One of the young guys who gets the boat ready for us knew it was loose admitted after we brought the boat back. I wonder if the there is a clip on the front of the motor that was missing. Can't imagine how it would just fly off otherwise. The same guys at the marina said probably less than $100 to replace. I said ok fair enough. Checked today and even called the marina, they still want $800.

I just checked my Visa bill and I was charged almost $800 for a Yamaha outboard motor 9.8HP Top cowling. I'm flabbergasted and I called a few boat part stores to get a part quote but they are closed now. I'll call again on Monday. I thought I would check with some of you guys to get an indication if that is anywhere near the correct price. I'm going to have the repair part invoice sent to me so I'm sorry I don't have the year of the motor or the exact part number yet.

Very nice catch. The fish looks so beautiful.

You pay your mortgage while in the shower washing your hair? Wow that's some awesome multitasking. But how do you keep your laptop from getting wet? I'm briefly on the cellphone sometimes while in the shower, but you take it to a whole new level. Maybe scratch the conditioner bottle cap with a knife and then you can tell which is which be feeling it. I did that to my left earbud so I can tell which is the the left one when playing my mp3 player in the dark.

http://newteevee.com/2009/09/17/meme-analy...-obama-listens/ now the internet is full of them. http://www.zimbio.com/Kanye+West/articles/...n+Sparks+Latest It might cheer Ryan up.

Did you say something Syn?.... because I thought I heard... no?... ok... nevermind then... Kayne meme going around. I wonder if some of you will get it.

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