Fishing Rhino

If you have basically replaced what you have removed, being faithful to the original structure, you should be okay. The corner in question may be stronger than it looks in the pics. You are wise to use epoxy since it is much stronger and bonds better than polyester fiberglass resin, particularly when working with older, fully cured composites. Fiberglass, when laid up properly, forms a chemical bond, not an adhesive bond. The molecules actually interlock, making it all but impossible for layers to "delaminate". I was glad to see you applied new laminations around those corners that I questioned. You've done a lot of great work. I'd hate to see it ruined by a transom that wasn't up to snuff. If I were doing it, I'd use heavier plywood for the inside of the floatation compartments, and have it butt up against the front face of the plywood, not to the side/edges of the plywood you replaced in the transom. It will significantly reinforce the transom against the thrust of the outboard, without adding much weight or labor to the job.

Missing, and has no power under load. If memory serves, going back 30 plus years, the timing changes and butterflies open when throttle is advanced. If it doesn't miss/skip, at idle, but it starts to miss under load when you advance the throttle, my guess would be you have a spark plug wire or another wire that is shorting out when the timing is changed. I've seen it with a pigtail in an automobile distributor and a spark plug wire on an outboard.

Westport just had it's annual election for town officials, selectmen, board of health, highway surveyor, etc. I was not on the ballot, but I did get one write in vote for Fish Commissioner. Fortunately, for me, Everett Mills got eight write in votes. It was a "vote for two" on the ballot, and only one person was seeking the office. But for those other eight write in votes, I would have been elected, in which case, I would have refused to serve. Yours truly, the commish (almost)

Looks like photos you'd see in the National Geographic magazine. Outstanding!

I dodged a bullet today. Checking the trailer's (new) lug nuts and bearings to make sure they were greased, I found one of the grease caps was loose. Easily pulled it off by hand. Was about a quarter inch from being driven home to the ridge around the cap. Drove it home, and tried to pull it out by hand. No go. It is now secure. The bearings were greased, but it took about 15 pumps with a grease gun to force grease through the outer bearing. There is no way the grease cap would have made the trip to GA, then 'bama. Most likely that would have left me on the side of the road with burned out bearings. Tomorrow, all the gear gets loaded in the boat. The truck gets loaded with luggage, tools, and miscellaneous gear and spare parts, just in case. First order of business on Thursday will be to finish the last two hours of break in on the motor. Then I can spend the rest of the day fishing. Friday, all day fishing. Will see some of you on Saturday. Hopefully I'll have found something the like, and where they are lurking. Has the location of the W & C Soiree been determined? I'll be on the water with a couple of other members. Can be reached on my cell in case it's a last minute deal.

During my years as a commercial lobsterman, service was always more important than price. I could have saved a buck here and there on my Loran units, Radar, VHF radio, sounders, etc. In the long run, paying a few bucks more for electronics and getting excellent service more than made up for the extra cost. When I had a problem, they'd tell me to bring the piece right in. They'd put it on the bench and I'd walk out with the repaired unit. If they had to make a "boat call", they'd usually have me up and running the next day. I may have paid hundreds more for the electronics, but the service I got made me thousands. I do the same with my recreational stuff. I have BPS take care of my winterizing, and have them check the water pump at the end of each season when the winterize the boat. I have them change the fuel filters, grease all the fittings, and all other routine maintenance. If I have a problem, they tell me to bring it in right away. I've had nothing major but it's still nice to back it up to one of their service bays and have someone jump on it. The couple of times I've needed to have something checked, I've been on my way in less than an hour.

That's a bummer. But, the silver lining of this dark cloud is that it could have started at Guntersville. You've got a few days to get it fixed. There's never a good time for something like this to happen, but some times are worse than others.

Whatever you mix, do not mix bleach and ammonia. It will produce chlorine gas.

It's the second pinned thread when the "Bass Boats, Canoes, Kayaks and more" is opened. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/25418-website-for-ethanol-free-gas-locations/page__view__findpost__p__256604

My guess was wrong. Measured my Z-8, which Nitro says is 20' 1". That's what it is measured down the centerline of the boat from the outside of the rub rail at the bow to the back of the molded in bulges at the stern.

Most boats are measured along the gunnel/rail. I'm assuming that all fresh water bass boats use the same standard of measure. Whether it's a Ranger, Nitro, Triton or whatever, they'll all be measured the same. If your boat is called a 19' 6" boat, that's what it is. In the end, the technicalities of how it is measured matters little as long as it's measured by the same standards as boats in the same class. As far as what it fishes like, I'd guess it fishes like a 19' 6' boat.

The only days I have definitely booked are Saturday, Monday, and Thursday. Sunday is a definite maybe.

I'm open for Wednesday, and possibly Sunday. If need be, we can fish three from my boat on Sunday.

Initially, the wood provided the stiffness. The glass was just to keep them in place. Eventually it became evident that wood was not the way to go, and they started using foam, which was only used to give the fiberglass beam its shape. The glass was then made thick enough to provide the stiffness and strength of the former wood components. That eliminated the rot and degradation of structural wood parts.

For some strange reasons, boat are measured several different ways. Chances are that yours is measured along the rail/gunnel. Some boats are measured along the centerline from the bow to the rudder post. Others are measured at the waterline. My last lobsterboat was 45 feet long when measured from stem to stern along the centerline. It's documentation papers listed it as 39 feet because it was measured from the stem to the rudder post. (the shaft on which the rudder turns) The stern was six feet beyond the rudder post. Then you get into the way they measure the Bristol Bay salmon boats in Alaska. They have a length limit so they cut back on the bow making it square. They have the deck space of a larger boat while meeting the length regulations.

It looks like my Sunday partner might have to bail out. If he does, I'll have Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday open. Hey Scrutch, if there are enough boats, I'll be glad to share the ride. One day on your boat, another day on mine. I know Simp wants to fish with me one day, but we haven't settled on a day. We can fish three out of mine with no problem. Long Mike can sort it out when we all get there and have an idea of what's what.

Take care and stay safe. Thanks for your service.

How bad it is on fuel depends on where, and how, you fish. I had a Z-7 with a 150 EFI Merc. I wouldn't burn five gallons a day. But, it was a small pond, a mile and a half long and 3/4s of a mile across. It's a pond I've fished a lot in the past three years so I didn't do a lot of running around on the Merc. At Pickwick, and KY lakes on the road trip the past two years, I burned about 12 gallons per day, but launched where I did not have to make long runs. The boat would do nearly 60 mph, but most of the time I cruised at 35 - 45 mph. It is you who will determine how much fuel you burn, by how you operate your boat. The rule of thumb many years ago was one gallon per hour for every ten horsepower at WOT.

For the Road Trip gang, there's a Citgo station just across the lake on 431 that sells ethanol free gas. Lake Guntersville General Store and Deli.

Imron or Awlgrip if you want the best in marine paint. It ain't cheap, but done correctly, nothing can match it for finish and durability. Way too slow is correct about gel coat. In most cases it won't have orange peel, it will have grapefruit peel. The only cure is a lot of water sanding followed by a lot of buffing, something that you do not want to do on metalflake finshes.

One thing concerns me. The top of the transom. How are you going to reinforce the transom at the top. You have the cross member at the bottom which transfers thrust to the stringers. At the top, all that is currently supporting it there is the 1/4" to 3/8" thick fiberglass which is sandwiched between the plywood. I'm assuming you will lay up a thick layer of composite over the transom, wrapping it around to the back of the entire transom. Even then, you might need a transverse timber near the top that extends to the sides of the boat. That distributes the thrust across the entire transom to the sides of the hull. I just went back and noticed that the transom is reinforced by the inboard side of the floatation compartment. Make sure that panels is bonded securely to the stringers. It is going to take a lot of thrust from the outboard. Looks like you're doing a great job. Take care that you do not skimp when it comes to the transom. There was a photo of a Ranger, if I recall correctly, where the center section of the transom got ripped out. The sides of the transom were still intact.

Why do fish show as arches? Why Fish Arch The reason fish show as an arch is because of the relationship between the fish and the cone angle of the transducer as the boat passes over the fish. As the leading edge of the cone strikes the fish, a display pixel is turned on. As the boat passes over the fish, the distance to the fish decreases. This turns each pixel on at a shallower depth on the display. When the center of the cone is directly over the fish, the first half of the arch is formed. This is also the shortest distance to the fish. Since the fish is closer to the boat, the signal is stronger and the arch is thicker. As the boat moves away from the fish, the distance increases and the pixels appear at progressively deeper depths until the cone passes the fish. http://www.lowrance..../#Why-Fish-Arch

My parents taught me this when I was very young. Do not be jealous/envious of those with more. Do not look down your nose at those with less.

Priceless! No pun intended, but it does fit.

Looks like Petrino always had himself ready to play.