Bernie

1996 18.5 Seaswirl Striper with a 2000 175 Evinrude Ficht runs at 50mph at 5500. 19" SS Viper propeller. Love this boat, don't know what I'd replace it with if the day ever comes.

Broke the tip off of a Shimano in a ceiling fan. Wasn't the same after as it lost sensitivity.

I was grinning as I read your report Will. Wished I was there!

A quick test I sometimes use in a pinch to find a drain and how much of a drain on smaller machines is to use a couple of fuses. Turn off everything and disconnect negative terminal. Start with a 20 amp fuse, touch one end to battery,other to cable. Ideally, the fuse shouldn't blow. Look for arcing when you touch them together. Then go to a 10 amp, do the same thing. Progress down until the fuse blows, that will give you the approximate amperage drain. Once you determine for sure the drain is below 10amps you should be able to use your multimeter (if you have one) in line to get the definitive number. Reading should be almost zero on anything without radio or computer controls. Even a 1/4 amp is enough to kill a battery over a few days.

So sorry Wayne. She has fought an amazing fight and we all have been rooting for her. My heart goes out to you and your family.

More news today. Close to 20 thousand walleye netted in only a few days, during a moratorium. http://www.nugget.ca/2015/07/27/estimated-19760-walleye-caught-during-moratorium#.VbalCZWYrIY.facebook

Holy moly Gerritt! Sorry it happened to you. Glad you are doing OK. Wake up call time. Many of us are guilty of poor health choices, some make it through, some don't. Quitting the smokes is really tough, but the consequences are even worse if you don't. Take care!

Hello Lew The water level is a little high right now. My docks are OK but some docks that have sagged over the years are underwater. There has been a lot of rain over the last month and it's raining heavy this morning again. Haven't paid much attention to weed growth but I'd say it's behind normal.

Not everyone is as diligent as others. Trailers I see come into the shop that have bearing buddies are almost always OK. Those that are not are usually empty of lube.

Personally I like them. When backing a warm hub assy. into the lake the small amount of pressure provided can help keep out water when the hubs are contracted by the cold water .

Heli coils when properly installed are stronger than original threads. Don't be concerned about sealing the threads. The seal surface is after them.

Nice work Brian!

Thanks for the comments folks. Thought about the wife rebuild but it may cause trouble The old girl will get on a transom again this year. The electric start is handy as it has good compression and is a good tug on the rope when it's cool out. I'd like to get a pair of them done up and run twin engines. Have another but not electric so need to do some parts searching. It's all part of the fun.

Always depth when it comes to the walleye.

Last year myself and Fisherpete swung a deal on an old outboard. The guys brought it up on one of our fishing trips. I ran the old girl some last year and it ran well enough that it was worth spending some time on. This is the result. The original hood. http:// primed. http:// Checking the gears and resealing the case. http:// http:// Freshening up inside. http:// Hood just about done. http:// Very close to completion. http:// And done. http:// http:// http:// Looking forward to hooking it up and ripping across the lake again.

I have experienced on a couple occasions using an electronic battery tester where it passed the battery but it clearly wasn't any good. I like using a tried and true carbon pile tester. This will put an actual load on the battery to test its amperage output. In a case where a battery is 10 years old I wouldn't waste my time testing it to be honest. Especially in a boat.

Good soil, sunshine and elbow grease is a great start. Start mulching everything from your kitchen except meat and dairy. Bury fish remains, great potassium. Don't let weeds take over. Soil with too much clay can be loosened up by tilling in manure, sand and loam. Soil should be well drained but able to retain moisture. Do lots of reading. I personally find gardening therapeutic and satisfying. Lots of the stuff I grow never seems to make it to the house, gets eaten right in the patch.

This important subject affects us all. Remember to thank your buddies, spouses and co-workers. http://theweek.com/speedreads/450160/study-smelling-farts-may-good-health

Mayonnaise was the word of the weekend alright. But if it wasn't that, we would find another to have fun with. Good times gentlemen. Certainly didn't expect we would catch as many fish as we did. Hopefully they grow quick. Thanks for doing up the report Cliff, good job on it too.

Plumbed my house with pex 25 years ago. The copper to the bathroom upstairs was so built up with deposits that if someone used water downstairs nothing came out upstairs. Also use pex for air compressor lines. 150 PSI and never an air leak for over 20 years. Personally I wouldn't use copper even if I could afford it

Enjoyed that report Andrew. An interesting perspective. I work with many of the residents at the DeBeers mine and am getting to know some of them well. I am really enjoying learning their perspective on life and points of view. Many are shy until you take the time to sit down and have a quiet conversation. Have not yet made the trek to Attawapiskat on the ice road. But still a possibility this year. Apparently the ice road this year is the best one ever. Smooth and thick.

Back in the late 1990's we had a Seaswirl Striper 2100 dual console with a 150 Johnson on the transom for a demo. Took anything Nipissing could throw at it. All glass, inside and out with a self draining floor. Loved that boat. Every once in a while I'll take a look for a used one. See a few come up in the USA. Someday maybe I'll pull the trigger and go get one.

It was a pleasure meeting you today Mike. Thank you for your insight on fishing for those big ones. I'll give that beauty lure a try this summer for sure.

Thinking of heading to it on Monday. Need to think a little bit of Spring/Summer. Anyone been to check it out yet? Worth the trip?

Sorry Chris. Just seen this. Gotta PM me You figure it out?