Team_Dougherty

I have been worried about this same thing myself for a while. I never wanted to drill a hole in my aluminum boat. What I did was use 3M 5200 to hold the transducer on the transom. No holes and it holds pretty good, no problems yet. Paul

The non fishing stuff I have onboard is: extra prop for outboard and trolling motor extra spark plugs for outboard small toolbox with tools to change plugs and props 2 pints of 2 cycle oil extra drain plug whistle fire extinguisher pfds extra line (rope) several clean hand towels baby wipes 1,000,000 candle power spot light paddles bait/bailing bucket anchor bumpers/fenders depending on what you call them I also bring coolers for food and drink and other stuff depending on weather. But none of that stays on the boat full time. Paul

DeereRun97, read here for your battery care needs. www.batteryfaq.org Paul

Muddpupppy, Like you I am trying to justify a bigger motor is well. I am very satisfied with how my boat performs now. But I guess I am like everyone else, always looking for something a little better. Or, perhaps I am just trying to talk myself into it as well. As far a fuel usage if I get the bigger motor I could always throttle back. Paul

Huntr104, I would buy the biggest deep cycle battery you can afford. The higher the Amp Hour rating the longer your run time. I can recommend the everstart from walmart and the ac delco m27 something. I have had both for several years without an issue. More important than the battery is to purchase a really good fully automatic battery charger and keep the battery fully charged. Paul

Flatfish, I agree My boat is great for the kind of fishing I do now. But that big lake in canada. It would be nice to go to other end in 15 minutes versus the 25 or 30 it takes now. The scenery along the way is great though. Back to my original post. Is the increase in speed worth the extra cost in fuel? Or the money spend on another motor. I guess i'll have to ponder that some more. A used, long shaft, tiller, 50 HP is rare around here. Ones that run anyway. These guys http://www.smalloutboards.com had military surplus Johnson 55HP tiller outboards for $2250.00. I should have jumped on that. but they had this pump jet technology I was unsure of. http://smalloutboards.com/pumpjet2.htm they have brand new ones now http://smalloutboards.com/etec405060.htm but they are way out of my price range. Maybe they will get the used ones in again. since I brought it up. What do you guys think about the pumpjet technology? When I inquired about them the owner said they where more efficient than a prop because the trust is more directed. He said the rest of the motor was the same. only the lower unit was different. Paul

nb1226, OK, I thought there was something like the boat could not handle it or something like that. I am looking for a used 50 I do not think it would hurt resale. I am not looking to get rid of the boat anyway. Thanks, Paul

Mo_Tick, If I get a 50 I would definitely get rid of the 25. I just need to come across a good deal for a 50 that runs as well as my 25. For a 20 year old motor the 25HP runs like a top. It gave me a little issue at the end of last season. Fuel pump diaphragm. But I rebuilt the carburetor and she, once again, runs great. Paul

nb1226, Did the dealer say why it would not be a good Idea to put a new motor on and older boat? I am curious to find out why that would be a problem. My boat is a 2001, the motor is a 1985. I do not think a brand new 50 is in the cards right now anyway. But I would get a used one if I could find a good deal. Paul

Here is my Boat. It is a 16' Crestliner Angler 16. Right now it has a 25HP Mariner outboad on it with a 11" pitch prop. If I am by myself it will go 25 MPH if I put another person and their gear in it will go 20MPH. If I switch to the 13" prop it will still go 25MPH, with a slower hole shot, by myself but it will only go about 15MPH with another person. So I use the 13" when I am alone and switch to the smaller one when I bring a friend. These speeds are OK on the river where I mainly fish. But I go to Canada once a year on a good size lake and would like to go a little faster. So here is my question. The boat has a HP rating of 50HP max. Does anyone here have a similar boat with a 50 on it? What size prop do you have? How fast does it go? I want to get a 50HP if it is worth it. I do not want to use twice as much gas only to gain 5MPH. I have looked around but could not find the data I was looking for. It seems there are many types of boats around here someone might have my answer. Paul

Triton_Mike, Those Digrams are Correct for 24V. have you used a voltmeter to check the voltage at the motors? Paul

here are some electric outboards hat have more power than a regular trolling motor. http://www.rayeo.com/motors.htm http://www.outboardelectric.org/ here is a big one by minnkota http://www.minnkotamotors.com/products/motors/electric_outboard/e-drive.asp Paul

Minuteman, I have a 1991 S10 Blazer with 4.3 liter with 4 wheel drive and 189,000 miles. I use it to tow my 16' Cresliner with and have no problems with it what so ever. I even tow this boat with the blazer 8 hours to Canada every year. I just have a regular 2" square hitch on the back. This is a great tow vehicle for my boat. I this the boat weighs 750lb the motor around 80 the trailer 250 and with all the other stuff I think it weighs 1500lbs total. Paul

I like the idea of using a portable charge with the "float" or maintain charge. This way I can us it for the lawn tractor, car or what else needs a charge or jump. The one I have has a 2/10/50 amp setting. I just leave set to deep cycle and 10 amps and hooked up to the boat battery all the time. If the car or something else needs a jump I just move it to the vehicle set it for regular battery and 50 amps and in about 5 or 10 minutes it will give enough charge to start it. My boat spends most of it's off water time in my barn so this works for me. But I can see if your boat spends its time outside you would want a water proof on board charger. When I go on vacation my boat spends the whole week on the water. It would be nice to have an onboard charge then so I do not have to worry about whether it will rain that night and short my charger out. Paul

Here is a great resource about batteries http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/ Paul

jeffp12, congrats on the new purchase good luck with it. I'll answer your questions in order. 1. I use to go to the car wash to clean the carpet in my boat. It is an excellent way to get the gunk out of the carpet. I have since purchased $99.00 1200 PSI, the same as a car wash, electric power washer from lowes. It saves a drive to car wash and money. I have also found other uses for it. Cleaning the pop-up, side walk, the house etc... For stubborn stains, like gas or two cycle oil, do not ask, I use a waterless hand cleaner like goop and a scrub brush then hit it with the power washer. 2. I only have three rods in my rod locker, they do not get tangled so I can not offer anything here. 3. For your toolbox I would recommend the following. This is what I have. Spare spark plugs and tools needed to change them. Spare prop and tools to change it. Two pints of 2 cycle oil. Just incase I am out longer than I plan and get gas on the water. I have two portable 6 gal tanks. Extra fuses for trolling motor and other electrical items on the boat. Bilge pump, livewell pump etc... Extra prop and shear ping for trolling motor and tools to change them. I do not need them, my motor is only pull start, but you might, jumper cables or one of those porable jumper boxes. Please do not forget the other safety items that are not in a tool box. Fire extinguisher, flares, if you need them, pfds and a first aid kit. That should be about it. I am sure others can recommend more. Paul

Yes, the tire does clear the winch stand. The winch stand is moveable and can be moved from the coupler to the center of the trailer.. Paul

I agree, Go with the 25 HP. you can never have to much power. I have a 16' Crestliner, rated for 50HP, with a 25 HP mariner and with three people it will plane nicely and go 20 MPH. Paul

I live in Oaks. I fish the Schuylkill River, Perkiomen Creek, Beltzville Lake and I keep a small boat at Green Lane Resevoir. I am going striper fishing on Raystown Lake for the first on father's day weekend this year. Paul

A friend of mine has good luck with this. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0002747011637a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=No=60&noImage=0&Ntt=live+well&Ntk=Products&QueryText=live+well&Ntx=matchall&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=4887&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.22&returnPage=search-results1.jsp Paul

I think the best way is 3/4 into the waves. You do not want the waves hitting you directly on the side. The waves may come over the side if you are already low on that side from a previous wave. The same thing is true if you hit them head on. If your bow is down from a previous wave the next one might break over the bow. In either case and you could swamp your boat. So the best is to have the waves hit you, or you go into, the waves at a 45 degree angle. Paul

Try here. http://www.rubbercal.com/Comml_Matting.html Paul

Cousin Eddie, I feel that in 10-15 MPH wind any boat will be blown around and the bigger (longer and/or taller) the more it will move. The only things you can do to try in the same spot are either a trolling motor, anchor or drift sock. The latter is like a parachute in the water and is used if you are drift fishing to slow the boat down. An anchor can only be used to hold your boat in one spot and you can fish all around your boat. A trolling motor is the best to hold your position along a shoreline so you do not move closer or farther from the bank while you are working it. You can never have too much power so I would get the most powerful motor you can afford. I have fished in 10~15 MPH wind and it is not fun, especially, if the wind is blowing perpendicular to the shore. It is much easier to fish the shore if the wind is blowing parallel to the shore. Paul

I am a big fan of this trailer ever since I bought one. If you are handy it is not to hard to put together. Plus it is only $10.00 to ship. Here is a picture of it under my boat. The winch and jack were not included.

try this. http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0001390010655a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=hasJS=true&_D%3AhasJS=+&QueryText=hole+repair&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.22&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=hole+repair&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jsp Paul