solopaddler

The Sportspal is and always was made in North Bay Ontario. The American version is a knockoff.

Lew I feel exactly the same way. I was in a lineup at a Timmies drive through rescently and the guy right in front of me missed the garbage can and was stopped about 10' past it. He opened his window and proceeded to throw a pile of trash out onto the pavement. Even reaching into the back seat to grab stuff and add it to the pile. Normally I'm not one to start anything, but that was just too much. I guess I kind of snapped, ultimately making the guy pick all his stuff up and put it in the garbage can 10' away. People waiting in line around me were clapping LOL! When I got to the drive through window they'd seen and heard the entire altercation and my order was on the house. Mike Borger urban hero.

Great report, and congrat's on your success with the walleye! That area north of New Liskeard is actually an ancient lake bed. They've found many fossilized marine creatures in the hillsides surrounding it.

If you're anywhere near Atikokan call Canoe Canada Outfitters. From time to time they sell off their rental boats at a huge discount. I know for a fact that they recently had a couple of ultralight kevlar Swift Cruisers for sale for around $600. That's a design based on the time tested Sawyer Cruiser which was a staple for many many years. Brand new that boat is well over 3 grand.

Yep, they've had it out 4 times now as they've tried different fixes.

Actually I was talking about the old boat and the new boat. Never thought to as I've had it looked at by supposed professionals. Definitely can't hurt.

I believe you may be right! I'll get it figured out though. Worst case scenario I'll sell the '08 Merc and put something a bit smaller like an Evinrude Etec on it.

I agree, 100%! No it's not. Bad things happen like cameras falling out of boats. Not in my world they don't. "Bass Blaster" brings to mind another fantastic Bass product. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0BQFv83QJ2Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Mmmm...that's some delicious bass!

Why don't you ask Clarence at Bay City Marine in Hamilton who installed them for me after exhausting every other avenue. I wish I'd have consulted you before spending my money having several different marinas look into my porpoising issues. I could have saved myself a lot of time money and aggravation.

Unless she uses the oarlocks on the 12' Sportspal and rows it she'll be paddling in circles LOL! I do love the Sportspals though. They're a light, stable and surprisingly durable craft for hacking around in back lakes. I'd never consider paddling one on a canoe trip though.

In my case on both of my boats I had the placement of the motor on the transom changed several times, as well as different props were tried. Clarence at Bay City Marine was one of the guys who looked at the Lund. Nothing worked. For those of you slagging the trim tabs as a band aid, have any of you actually tried them yourself? Regarding the hole shot comment, any boat with properly installed tabs will get on plane faster and at a slower speeed. Do you guys know how trim tabs work?

In my case absolutely useless in that capacity. I put the pro troller tabs on the Lund and they did virtually nothing to slow the boat down. Total waste of the extra money. Performance as mentioned was another story.

Don't think so Lew. The inherent problem is simply too much power for the boat imo. (It's a very light boat, and only 16' long) When the guys had the boat out for a test a few days ago, everything was now fine, but the guy told me the boat was so fast at top speed it was slightly scary. My old 16' Lund was stupidly fast and porpoising out of control when I first put the 40 on it too. 36mph on the gps...

Very nice Brian.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, I'm only relaying my own personal experience with trim tabs. I would never steer anybody wrong. For what it's worth, and I havn't even mentioned this yet, I've been dealing with a similar porpoising issue with my new 16' Smokercraft Ultima. I have a 75 4 stroke Merc on it and it's basically ran like crap since it's been in the water this spring. Porpoising is the biggest issue. I've had it at the Merc dealer in Rouyn Noranda since our last trip up. So far they've adjusted the height of the motor, changed the prop and even installed a wedge behind the motor. Currently a hydrofoil has eliminated the issue but that's only temporary. I'm 7 hours south and the price they quoted me for trim tabs was ridiculous. I'll take the hydrofoil off next time I'm up and install the tabs myself. Until then at least the boat is functioning semi normally.

Not true. I tweaked my Lund before putting on the trim tabs and nothing helped.

Awesome weekend Dan! What is that some kind of goldfish?

Told ya. Very glad to hear you've solved the problem.

All Sportspals paddle like garbage scows.

My kinda trip, looks like a blast!

Very nice Will, thanks!

That was a pleasure to read, thank you.

Lots of great pics from everyone! This one is super cool, nice job Doug! This photo wasn't retouched at all. If it had been properly centered it really would have been something special.

It's not a question of will I destroy this new camera, but when.