Bernie

I was talking to Frank on the weekend. Unfortunately he has sold the camp and is moving to Ottawa. Really too bad cause he is a great guy. I hope the new owners are as conscientious as Frank. Little Angler, I believe I have seen you and your family out fishing when you are here as I pass by to my place. Great end of the lake for bass. All kinds of them. Don't often fish for them but sometimes will flip a few things out. Just seems to depend on the day. I just keep moving along the shorelines and keep on trying different baits. Usually don't stay in one place for the bass as they tend to spook easy after a few flips.

My buddy is Hobbes. Hard to get out the door without him. Somehow he knows when I walk in the door after work if I am headed for the lake.

Some engines require a battery. I believe the Optimax needs one. You have to be careful with this folks. Check your service manuals. There is a risk of damage to some engine electrical components as well. Also on old Johnson/ Evinrude with the electric shift they went to forward gear without power. The risk was when rope starting that more than a few guys went overboard.

This was in the local North Bay Nugget a couple days ago. http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=976327 Never bought anything there, it's a little out of my way. Can't really feel too bad about it. My bait supplier catches his own minnows locally.

It sure looks good Bill. I have never tried a fly rod. Maybe a few lessons in May?

I might have tried Mike but I gotta wait until all them little creeks that have recently turned into rivers to drop. And I think by that time it will be almost pickerel season. But the smelts may soon run down at Eagle Lake west of South River....this week I suspect. Wouldn't mind a pail of them!

Happy Birthday douG! His birthday must have been yesterday, he hasn't woke up yet......

Are they sacrificing the durability of the engines in our vehicles to satisfy emission standards or is there another reason? The engines they are recommending this 5w20 in are not necessarily hi-revvers. No one I have talked to in the oil industry seems interested in talking about it at length. CONSPIRACY!

Geeez Dawg. Dont tempt me Have to wait until May 19th for open season. Then I can go and see if I can find 'em.

What I have found strange in the motor oils specs recently is the fact that there are several automotive companies that are requiring 5w20 weight oils. So all the stuff that I was taught in the past about multi-grade oils being better was hogwash? So why are they going to a lesser range of multigrade? Emissions is the only answer from my suppliers. Have heard many different ideas why, but nothing concrete.

I was just surfing and found on the 15 and 20 HP Hondas they call for 10w30 or 10w40. I don't often work on the outboards anymore so I get out of the loop on some details. It seems to me in this climate that Honda recommends 10w30. A hard working engine in warmer waters may be better off with the 10w 40.

15w 40? seems a little heavy...U have one of them diesel Hondas?

Its supposed to get close to 20 here by Friday. I might be able to plunk a boat in this coming weekend.

Its been 4 years since I ran the Honda but I think it called for 10w 30 then. I just wanted a little bit more cold protection as the first trip often still had ice on the lake and the last trip was freezing up again.

I ran 5w30 synthetic in my 130 Honda Pete. The 5w designation gives it a little better flow when cold. The 30 w Is its resistance to thinning hot. It will be fine.

I always thought you went to bed before it got dark. How else do you get up at the crack of dawn?

Skeeter, unless they changed it recently using a web cam and a microphone was only one person at a time. Sorry I got a little mixed up there. Live chat does not mean using a microphone.

Quite a few folks I know on MSN that have it. But we rarely use the feature. Trouble is you can only yak on it to one person at a time. Well now that you mentioned it from that perspective Wayne, it may be alright after all.

Ya and the next thing would be live chat. With Wayne around nobody else would get a word in! Sorry to pick on you Wayne but I think you are topdog on the post count.

Think my foots been in my mouth on many occasions.......but not that bad. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Lots of beavers around our way. They can be a real nuisance sometimes. Did you notice in your pics(#6 and 7) the sticks stockpiled by the beavers? They like to store that stuff in boathouses up here. God what a mess to remove. This past fall, after most had left their cottages, a beaver chewed a large poplar behind my uncles cottage. It fell on his roof. It was discovered mid winter. Of course by then the damage had increased from a crushed roof to inside water damage. Awful mess. It's sometimes hard to get along with nature. Washed out dams can flood and wash out roads. And if the dam is on your private property and it washes out you can be liable for the damage it causes. Found it hard to believe but apparently it's true. A fellow who works with me has this problem. He tries to get rid of them but they keep coming back.

Great attitude Jen! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Said I wasn't going to touch this but I find myself discouraged with some of the replies. I was born and raised on Johnsons so I feel sad about some of the replies. Maybe I am a little biased but I would not tell anyone this if I felt it wasn't true. You can look at any engine made and find evidence of engine issues. The E-Tec has not had any more issues than the Mercs or Hondas we sell. Like I stated earlier they are all good engines, especially if you compare them to engines made in years past. Of course the price of all of them has gone up substantially in the same time period. Have over 300 hours on my 175 "Rude' without a problem. Very good on fuel in comparison to the Honda 130 I ran before, and it was good on fuel too. Don't get me wrong here folks. I'm not advocating you should run out and buy one. All I'm saying is keep an open mind. There are advantages. Tybo the E-tec in the sled is in fact a 2 stroke. I cant tell you if there is a problem with them as the one demo we have has not too many hours on it yet. It starts and runs very quiet with very smooth power throughout the powerband. We have suggested a couple of improvements in the suspension to BRP for the next years model run but other than that works very well. We have found that it will run 100 mph plus in a 1/8 mile radar run. They also were claiming 25 mpg. We actually got better than that with it. Not bad I would say. I hope they prove to be more reliable than you say. I believe they will.

Sorry I didn't get back to you jat. Was hooking up a wireless router for my brother. Anyway, is it usually a single clunk when you apply the brake or does it continue? Usually a C/V joint will click/clack when you turn and accelerate from a stop. If you have a brake caliper loose, broken caliper pin or loose brake pad it can cause a clunking noise. Does your brake pedal pulsate on application? Loose front end suspension parts can also be an issue here. As far as your oil leak goes they can be tricky to locate if the engine is old and dirty. sometimes a small leak from above your oil pan can seep down and run around the top part of your oil pan. Look for a leaking valve cover gasket or maybe a bad oil pressure switch. Ok, thats a start. Any more info you can give me will be a help.

What is the symptom? Clunk, chug, rattle, shake? Maybe I can help to diagnose the problem.