gabassman

Hey Hawk, how much drag are you thinking? Use a 40lb trolling motor mainly in ponds. What percent drop in power would you guess I would lose and would there be much difference with 4 inch pvc?

Thanks for the reply, it's stable enough to fish but would like more with the new deck.

Here is the pic of the deck that was put in last weekend

I guess nobody has tried this with all the lookers and no replies so I will be the guinea pig and let you know how it turns out. Going to put together this weekend and will post some pics. Hope to gain the stability for the new deck.

I have a 14ft aluminum and just got a brand new Minnkota 40lb Endura for $133 total off of Ebay. Had to watch a few auctions but it paid off in the end. Motor has plenty of power for the boat and for about $45 you can get a new motor over repairing the old. Just a thought. Got it from websbestdeals and I think he has more up now.

Need help!! I own a 14ft aluminum boat that has a narrow profile. Read some ideas on putting pvc pipe on both sides to stabilize the boat. I am thinking of using 6 inch x 10 ft capped but I'm not sure whether to mount them at or near the bottom of the boat or another idea would be to mount at the water line with the boat empty so no matter how many people got in the pipe would be in the water. Which would be the best place to mount for added stability? I use the boat mainly for pond fishing and occasionally go to a smaller river and all I use to power it is a 40lb thrust electric Minnkota. Any suggestions would be a great help even if the pvc idea isn't used. Thanks

Thanks again guys!!

Thanks a lot. Info was very helpful. Reel is definitely clean so I'm going to try the worm/pawl. Two more questions, is there any advantage to a ceramic pawl and where is the best place to buy both? Thanks for all the help!!

Thanks for the info. I did take the pawl out of another Abu I have and the same problem with the sticking and that pawl from the broken reel works fine in the other reel. Don't have any magnification at the house to inspect the worm gear and unfortunately it looks fine to the naked eye. If I replaced both do you think that would fix the problem and how much/were to buy those parts? Thanks

Have an older Abu 5500-c3 1999 model that's fowling up and I need to know what you guys think the problem is. When you reel it in the level wind gets stuck on the left side and all the line winds up there. Took the reel apart and cleaned everything thinking some dirt was in there but the problem persisted. If I replace the worm gear/pawl would this fix it? Help! Thanks

You have to go to the pass and permit office on hwy 144 and pay $30 for a year permit. To fish an area you have to call in to see if the area is open and check in if so, then check out when you leave. Be prepared for DNR to inspect you because they are out there quite a bit. Fishing can vary because there is some pressure out there but the plus side is that areas can be closed down for a while and this helps the pond settle. Been fishing there about 5 times. Outside of the small ones I have caught five 2 to 3.5 lb bass. For more info they have a pretty good website. Hope this helps