done

The spot where this crack is, shouldn't really flew much at all. It is right on the bottom of the transom on that weld that holds it to the bottom of the hull. It is a flat bottomed hull. before my original post I bought JB Weld and some LocTite Marine Epoxy (which is supposed to be for hull repair on metal hulls). I knew either way I would have to prep it, I wire brushed around the crack on the outside. Maybe 1/2 inch around it on all sides. One the inside, I had cleaned it off with some heavy duty cleaner and loaded it with JB Weld, I figured it would be the outside that would really matter. My father is coming in from out of town this week and I was hoping to get him out in the boat at least once. So if i cannot get a welder right away, I may go ahead with the marine epoxy on the outside, then pick up some paint, and primer for this thing. Anyone have a particular, primer they would recommend for a aluminum hull?

Thnkas guys. I guess I would be better to invest my time in locating someone nearby who can weld aluminum. I can get my wire brush out and prep the area this afternoon or evening, depending no how the Panthers are doing.

So then really you agree with him more like 95%

To clarify the cost discrepancy. The Citgo refinery is located in Lousiana, the Exxon in Texas right where Ike went through. So that explains why Citgo is still cheap, while Exxxon is not.

I hear ya. I was very familiar with the regs in NY state when I lived there. However, in NC, where I reside now. I knew nothing of the regulations. I had a tough time finding anything for my Jon boat as it was on the line at first because of the propulsion. I met a nice DNR dude when i was trout fishing in a streeam in the mountains who I needled for info when he asked to see my fishing license. Thankfully, he was more than willing to take time and answer my questions. He cleared it all up for me. I had the most frustrating time though really getting answers before I chatted with him.

LOL. I think burley is on the verge of a killing spree. I imagine the first post of an actual lawsuit will send him over the edge. While I agree with the concept that there is that beforementioned .1% of cases where an gouging laws are needed, I get VERY nervous when they user terms like "fair price" and "unreasonable profit" without EXPLICIT definitions of what those are. Having such vague laws is VERY dangerous. As to the vendors.... Off the top of my head, I know 1 of $4+ stores is an exxon and the lower ones still seem to all be Citgos with some exceptions the independants like "Wills" and "Clemmers" are all high as I imagine their distributors are not as nice to them. Also while I complain at the price at the pump, I know these guys have to pay distributors for gas and usually do not turn much profit off of gasoline. I would really like to see comparisons of prices from those distributors. Those are the prices that really set the cost of the pump. I mean if the dude is paying $4.00 /gal from the tanker trunk, he has to pass that off to the consumer. I would not expect him to take a loss.

I finally got my 6 yr old out on the boat with me this morning. Was a good time got out 6:30 thisa morning. We really did not catch much to write home about but she loved each one. It does me good to see her enjoy not just the fishing, but the entire experience. Helps me remember why I like it so much. Had one bad happen though. Back of the baot started leaking. Not anywhere near fast enough to overun the bilge pump, but considering the boat is 3 months old, I was miffed. Found a 1.5 inch crack on the weld on the bottom of the transom. On a 14 ft Jon, that seems pretty big. With the mods I have done to this boat I know they would give me issue with the warranty. I kept inspecting the welds and found a pretty good ding on the bottom of the hull about 4 inches ahead of the crack. With the shape of the hull, I could not pick a better spot to hit the hull to put stress on the weld that cracked. While I do not remember feeling anything that would have done that, somehow I felt better knowing it was a result of my navigating skills and not a flaw in the boat. The funny part is, I really consider it a good day. I had a lot of fun going out with my daughter, we did catch some fish, and still had a great experience out there. Guess the expense of the repair is nothing compared to the experience of going fishing with my little girl.

I found a 1.5 inch crack on a weld on the bottom of the transom on my 14 ft Jon. I was wondering, what anyone here though about using JB-Weld on it. I just do not want to go ripping off the motor, and bilge pump so I can take it to some shop and not be able to fish for who knows how long. At the same time, I do not want to go putting my faith in JB Weld to find out after messing around with it, that I end up hitting the welding shop after all. Any thoughts guys?

Now explain this to me. In gastonia corner of RedBud dr and New Hope 2 gastions one is $3.60 the other is $3.72. Now drive 2 miles down the road, same city, actuaslly cheaper area real estate wise, 3 gas stations ALL $4.58.

$5.35!!! Are you kidding me!? Is that just at one store or are there a lot around that range? Sorry, yadkinville, NC is starting to get closer to home.

Perhaps you could add, some type of small explosive device to obliterate someone trying to steal it! Kidding. 1. You could pick up a cooler from Walmart and small aerator and build a cheap mans livewell (if you keep anything) 2. On the seats, for your grandfather be careful on the height, I go out with mine quite a bit and even just the 11" post makes his nervous and uneasy, his balance is not what it used to be and he has 2 legs.

I have a 8 HP 4 stroke Mercury. Just about 3 months old. It is a 30 mile trip to the marina for service so before I go there, I wanted to check here. The first time it always starts up, runs like a champ. I will motor out to where I fish, shut it down, and fish that hole. When i go to start it up, it will give me a problem. I will end up having to totally open the choke, and really pull on it to start it up. Each successive time during the trip it seems to get harder and harder to start. I am not sure if it is operator error or what. Just does not seem right that a motor with <12 total running hours on it would be so difficult to start. When I first got it, that was not an issue. Just seems the last few trips out, it just happens. Anyone have any ideas? Things i could check? I am grabbing some of the rabbit ears this weekend to really check it out in the driveway, so anything you got for me to look at I would appreciate.

Yeah...that sounds like a PITA. I imagine you are really itching to get it out there on the water too. Well, it will give you plenty of time to do some mods if you want to.

Like I said, 99.9% of the time I would hold to this. But I think there are those .1% of special cases when public safety override the laws of capitalism. Such as in times of war (i.e. WWII rationing), or natural disasters. I do not think such exceptions should be made lightly however. Face it, capitalism, works. To go back to current prices. Gastonia now has prices all over the place. Citgo stations are all $3.59 a gallon still while others are $3.79 - +$4. Seems like a wide range and I have no idea why Citgo stations are so low still. Though a lot of stations in this immediate area are now running out of gas. Now that all the news stations in this area are reporting high prices and sporadic shortages, I expect it to get worse throughout the weekend. Never been so proud of my boats 3 gal tank and how little of it it uses, in my life. I will probably have the entire lake to myself this weekend. WooHoo!!!

Well, you knew as much about the second HIN as I did. Like I said, had I not accidentally drilled through it, I would have not known there was one. I can't believe though that the state does not have any way to compensate for that. I mean what if you rebuilt a boat from an old hull you found somewhere? There has to be a way to certify it....

Well to be honest, you are schooling me here. If you have not had anyone tell you and did not grow up around boats to know, your own ignorance can hurt you. Incidentally I did find my second HIN on my job boat in the starboard aft corner under a piece of the hull they had folder over. I "found" it when I drilled through it to run an electrical line. LOL.

Burley 99.9% of time I agree with the exact concept you put up in your last post. The .1% though where anti-gouging laws usually take effect though is where you are in Galveston, you got a major hurricane coming. You have all these folks who need to rapidly get out of town. You have a resource like gasoline that everyone needs to get out. Then you have a station who charges $20 a gallon for gas. Not because he has paid anything near that or because his supply is low. it is because in this limited scenario he does just about have a gun to the head of the consumer. To your point though, you do usually have to combine limits on prices with rationing (say no more than 10 gallons per customer) because this concept is as you say opposite to to supply and demand. It is really a temporary override of the normal system for the greater good. Though in NC, we have plenty of alternatives to the guys who placed the prices so high and no massive hurricane to escape so I would not apply our situation to gouging.

Well I got out for lunch. In Gastonia , NC the Citgo stations are holding at $3.59 a gallon. All the other stations are up to $3.79. So thankfully, we are nowhere near what Kings Mountain is at. Something fishy over there.

Kings Mountain, NC was $3.50 a gallon 5 pm last night. Same station, $4.59 a gallon now. The hurricane has not even made landfall yet! What is up with that?

It was $79 at BP, but believe it or not Walmart had it for $69 near me. I put a deep cycle in my Jon, and run it off that along with a little Sevylor electric motor for trolling (that one was free from a friend of mine).

I have the Eagle Cuda 168 on my 14' Jon. I have only took it out twice but for the price it works real well.

Plan it out, then look first at Home Depot/Lowes for some of the hardware (got all my hinges, latches, aluminum, wiring, etc from there. Next look at Walmart for boat parts, they got a ton of stuff. I got seat posts, seats, lights, live well aerator, battery, charger, Fenders, there. They had a ton. Next, there is likely going to be some stuff you need to buy that will cost more. My master power switch came from Bass Pro, or West marine. As did some smaller "Specialty items". If you have any marinas nearby most of them have some type of store, I had 5 I found, 1 of them had good stuff ridiculously cheap. Post some pics as you go, and good luck!!

I actually farbricated my own using left over aluminum strips from my mods, a deep 3" c-Clamp, and I bought a cheap bicycle tire tube. It fits real good. I wrapped the whole thing in Rubber to keep it from scratching the crap out of the hull and hold it in place better. It has the benefit that I can remove it in about 5 minutes. I keep meaning to post some pics. It is ugly, but works well.

I have to admit, I have a tendancy to think that way. I repress it cause I consider it anti-social and a bit rude. However, no matter how much someone is killing me, if they are willing to share what trick they are using, I am LISTENING to what they say. Pride or not, I want to catch fish and free advice is rare so I take it when I get it. On a recent trip I had with a friend, we both deliberately tried different stuff until one of us found something that worked. In half the time we found the rig, bait and color that was working great that day and we both caught a pile of fish. You did all you could. You offered him free advice in a respectable way and even went so far as to offer him some of the bait that was working well for you. That is the most you can do.

I saw this story http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39210-117.html and made me think, is there some secret society of people who just sit around and look for things to call in death threats on? I mean if someone farts in a mall and it makes the news, you can rest assured they will be receiving death threats shortly. There was that freaky dude who did the "Leave Britney alone" video on youtube who got tons of death threats. Now even Elmo is in on the act http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/21/toddlers-elmo-doll-makes-death-threats/ or this fellow http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2004/06/03/147583.aspx who threatens to kill people at Microsoft. Everytime someone makes the news there are a litany of death threats thrown out. Just boggles my mind. I imagine something like the justice league building except maybe painted black. And a room full of people who cruise blogs and see who can find the most inane excuse to kill someone and write a threat. Maybe they have contests to see who can find the most ridiculous reason.