Star Man

What I've found out so far is the Minn Kota Endura 50 should have a 60 amp circuit breaker installed as close to the battery as possibly. That is there at this point but being ordered now. There's a lot to check when buying a used boat! I have to replace the registration number as well because there are no dashes or spaces between the letters and numbers as specified by Va. law. Just because someone had it this way for 21 years and didn't get cited isn't going to help you when you do. Steve

I took the wife out this morning and after having no luck fishing decided to just survey the lake for depth and structures so I had the trolling motors turned up higher than normal. Going along at a fair clip, no-one around fishing, I lost the bow motor but the stern mounted was doing fine. I checked the foot pedal and no issues found. I also noticed that the fish finder had gone blank. After getting back to shore on the stern motor and packing the boat up I made a few quick checks but didn't see anything obvious. At home, I backed the boat into the garage and took everything out, looking closer at the bow motor. Still didn't see anything obvious. I checked the other equipment and found that the bilge pump, horn, lights and so on didn't work either. The stern motor seemed to be the only working electrical thing operating. I checked the battery compartment and found a hot wire that runs to the console with the fuse holder, glass type fuse, melted but the fuse still good. Couldn't begin to guess what the fuse was rated for but obviously was too large for connected equipment. Now I've done AC and DC control wiring for years in HVAC equipment so I'm no stranger to these types of wiring. What I don't have is the ability to read DC amps so I can't say what the amp rating on the trolling motors should be. What I do know is that the individual components should be fused separately and according to load rating. So, the real question, where can I find load ratings on older trolling motors? The Minn Kota may be in the manual but the Evinrude Scout is any one's guess. I can't find any information on that motor and there's nothing on the motor, at least exposed. The bilge pump and horn should be no problem, as well as the live well. At least they should have some data plates. I need to find a fuse panel that these can all be routed to as well, preferably with blade style automotive fuses and with a cover. Any suggestions? Thanks,

Well I managed to get a manual for the Evinrude 25 HP OB, even if it did cost me $45 by time S&H was added, from a third party. Minn Kota e-mailed me a PDF on the Endura 50 trolling motor. Now if someone could be kind enough to assist with the Evinrude Scout trolling motor manual I'll be set. Doing a Google search leads me to believe that either Evinrude has been bought and sold so many times they don't have records or they don't want to claim this neat little trolling motor as theirs. Even a parts search comes up empty. Anyone have any information on where spare parts can be obtained and where there might be a manual? I'd be happy to pay for someone to photocopy one if they have it. The motor has all kinds of patent numbers but nothing in the way of serial numbers or any other identifying information unless it's on the foot control which I just realized I haven't looked at.

While I'm new at this myself, what I found out was that getting a 2 bank charger, even though I currently now only have the one battery, allows me to double up the charging leads now and later with a second battery, have both charging at the same time. But most importantly, I bought a dual bank that has 10 amps per bank. My XPSi 10/10 made by Professional Mariner for Bass Pro has a total of 20 amps. Some of the other models of chargers I looked at had model numbers like abc 10 and being a dual bank charger, each bank was only 5 amps each. So I learned that some models show total amps versus others showing amp per bank. Big difference.

I contacted Lowe and they are sending a generic owners manual and I had to order a manual for the Evinrude motor from a third party source as Evinrude doesn't keep them past a certain year. The owners manual on the gas motor is mostly for doing any regular maintenance that I should be doing but I doubt it will get used much as I fish mostly the smaller lakes where 9.9 HP is max. I didn't see anything for the trolling motors. Do they require any maintenance other than battery charging? Attached is an image of the boat. Thanks,

Well I took delivery of my used boat today after spending 3 hours out fishing. Signed the titles and paperwork but what wasn't there were any manuals. So far the only one I can find and downloaded was for the Humminbird Platinum ID 120 fish finder. I've been searching the web but come up empty on manuals for Minn Kota Endura'50 bow mounted trolling motor, Evinrude Scout rear mounted trolling motor, and the Evinrude 25 E25ELCEB gas outboard motor.

I was talking to my insurance company today and the car insurance does cover the boat and trailer. Thanks.

Looks like the 3/4" Atwood is just the ticket! From one of the charts it looks like I need a AB style 3/4" pedestal for the console position and all of these are B for the platform seats. It's a great start though and gives me a place to start. Thanks Jig Man!

I contacted Fred of oldfloridalures/fribb and his reply was "Hi Steve, the number you gave me is a serial number and not a lot number. I have a shipping record for #375551 being made in 1964. No specific month was given but it's 26591 units later than yours. This tells me that your Ambassadeur 5000 is no later than a 1964 model. Without knowing the month made for the other one, it is possible your reel could be a late 1963 model too. You could certainly fish it as the reels built from the 1950s throughout the 1970s are virtually bullet proof. A little cleaning and oil and it should work perfectly. The other two reels, I have no expertise with. Sorry I couldn't help you with these. Thanks for visiting my site and if I can help further, just give me a shout. Regards, Fred" So that puts that reel question to bed! Thanks guys.

Two additional reels were found. One is an old Western Auto V 7345 Red River casting reel and the other is a Heddon Dowagiac P51 casting reel. No dated info on those at all. From what I can glean on the net, the P51 was only in Heddon's 1952 catalog.

After a bit more digging, I found the original manual dated 1962. On the left side is the mechanical break. It also has a centrifugal brake and star drag. It is red in color with 4 screw holding the left side and 2 on the right. Double checking the stamped number again is 348960. It also has a service kit included in the case. I was surprised at the spare parts price list, most expensive part was the complete frame for $7.70! It also came with a leather case and a "Service Guaranteed for Life". The card reads "Your Garcia Ambassadeur reel is guaranteed to be mechanically perfect. We will replace any part of this reel that fails to operate properly because of defective parts or workmanship. In addition, if this reel should ever need service through normal use and wear, we will put it proper working condition for $1.50 - to cover cost of handling, postage, and insurance...plus actual listed cost of any necessary parts. This guarantee is void if reel has been subjected to abuse or willful damage." I haven't seen a warranty like that, well anywhere. Wonder if they are still in Teaneck, NJ?

I was going through some of my Father-in-Law's old fishing equipment and came across an ABU Ambassadeur 5000 Sweedish made reel with the #348960 stamped on the bottom. It was mounted on a Heddon Pal #6308 Mark IV 6' rod. Other than the eyes needing remounting, it appears to be in good shape. Is there a way to determine the age and usefulness of this rig? Sorry to say that he passed away 9 years ago so asking him is not possible.

Thanks Guys. Looks like I'll need a good battery charger and then just keep an eye on the battery condition and make sure it stays charged. I have a Sears trickle charger, should that be used when the boat is stored over the winter?

The 1989 Lowe Crappie boat I'm getting this week has two seats that are moved from the console location to the decks, depending on if you are fishing or driving the boat. I noticed that the seats have a pin that inserts into the boat for moving the seats. Not sure I'm explaining this properly but what I'm hoping to do is get at least one extra seat so the driver's seat at the console doesn't need to be moved back and forth. Hope this makes sense. So now I'm looking for the extra seat and not sure what to look for. It seams there are many seat available but how do I get the pin arrangement that fits the boat?

The guy I'm buying the boat from has one of thesehttp://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20186&id=0001356312740a&navCount=1&podId=0001356&parentId=cat20186&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QL&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true It isn't as pricey but it certainly looked strong and large enough. Anyone try one of these?