(='_'=)

thanx way2slow, hopefully i can fix or replace the rpm gauge, you have been a great help.... and LuckyGia, my transom saver puts the prop and lower unit really low, its very easy to hit it on the dirt roads around here... in fact last weekend i already had to take off the transom saver and tilt the motor up to pass a small dry creek that crossed the road, it would have definitely hit it if i hadnt raised it more... so its either use the rest, or get a longer saver...

im in Mexco, so burritos and beer....

i was about to modify my transom saver to make it longer, since as it is the prop hangs very low... but ill also try what way2slow recommends and see how high the motor gets, i think that could be all i need... thank you!!

i found this pic and im pretty sure thats what you mean, and yes, my pics show something like that.... so does Johnson recommends the use of that lock for towing, and ditch the transom saver???

thanx, when i took the pic i didnt notice, but now i see the clip you mention and i think i get it now.... tomorrow ill try to do as you mention... and thanx way2slow, ill keep that in mind and keep it on low rpms if not loaded... whats a good rpm under load?? at WOT??

theres also the tinboat forum, lots of well built tins in there...

are you set on "a boat similar to the one pictured above"?? i just got this one for a bit under $4200.. i know you said max 25HP, but its something to consider, if you shop around you can get a boat way bigger than that one... and with seats haha

yes, neither do i... my old Johnson had one, i attached a string so i was able to pull it from the rear deck, but on this one i dont see it... and i get it know, ill do the test next time im at the lake... i have the "ear muffs" for testing at home, but im not really confident on using it, plus having a lake really close to my house, i prefer to wait...

thanx! by surface mount do you mean they protrude from the floor?? i plan on using this one: and on my boat the fuel tank is under the seats (bad design IMO, no storage space under them), so, i think theres nothing where i want to drill, right next to the console...

heres my motor, i dont know which trailering rest you mention.... maybe its not there?? also, is it correct to have the pin in that hole?? i see a lot of holes, im not sure which one to select... im assuming it only determines the lowest position of the boat??

haha, yes, i got a little bit confused... i want to run the LEDs independently, and since they will be using the front pedestal, they will be removeable, so at night i would remove the front seat (leaving the pedestal in place), put the light bracket in the pedestal, and it will have a cig lighter plug to go in the socket.... i dont want to mess with the stock wiring, thats why i wanted to wire directly from the battery... and ill have to check if my switch can withstand the LEDs, which i think it does.... if not, i dont mind adding relays, i have wired a lot of aux lights on jeeps using relays, the only time i dont use them is for led strips.... and yes, the boat has the stock nav lights, but i need something to provide enough light for me to drive around... on my other boat i used a spot light clamped to the battery.... and what about the third seat?? can i drill and install it on the boats floor?? thanx!

hey. i have 3 pedestal seats, but the boat only has the 2 regular bases... since we only fish for fun and most of the times theres 3 people on the boat, i was thinking about adding a third base plate in the middle of the boat, next to the console... there is no deck there, so i would have to drill directly to the floor... the person could seat and rest the feet on the rod locker (it needs to be a high post)... or maybe i will eventually extend the deck and the person could stand there... so the question is, can i drill directly to the floor? once i saw a bassboat with this setup, but it just passed by me on the lake so i dont know how the third seat was fixed.... now, question about wiring... i need two 12V sockets, one on the front to run LED lights, and one on the console to charge phones... i saw these sockets: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U4ZZPK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER and im planning on running these lights or something similar for night driving, i will fabricate a base for them with a pin to put them on the front pedestal... i fish a lake which is basically a dam on a canyon, and we normally fish until 9-10 pm, so i need the light to exit the canyon, as the moonlight is not enough inside the canyon... i live in Mexico so theres no regulation regarding these lights... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FQ0ROZS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_5&smid=A13GV43BQXAUUP so, on my jeep, i just wire directly from the battery, i run a positive (fused) and a negative wire directly from the battery to the blades on the socket.. i guess on the boat it will be the same, using the cranking battery, but i want to make sure... .i would use a relay for the socket on the front, so i can add a switch on the console for the lights... and eventually i will add led strips to the storage compartments, and again, on the jeep i wired the strips directly from the battery, to the switch, to the led strips (no relay for such small power)... can i do it the same on the boat?? im pretty much sure its the same, but i want to make sure as someone told me it works different, i had an automotive switch on my other boat and a boat mechanic told me i was going to fry the computer... it worked good, so im not sure if he was correct or not...

thanx, i get it now!! ill print your explanation and take it to the lake on saturday, fortunately i have a lake 20 minutes from home, so i can go and test it and hopefully figure it out to fix it... theres only a couple of gauges not working properly, so i would like to have it all in working condition.... and i couldnt find the rest you mention, ill post pics tomorrow...

yesterday i found this video unfotunately the audio is barely audible, so i closed it after 15 secods... seems like a good video, but bad execution...

thanx, i will!! thats what i wanted, to go with some idea and dont waste time discovering things i could have learnt on youtube or reading...

i had a locking pin became unlock while driving... i drove to the lake (2 hour drive), fished all day, and when i got back to the truck, i loaded the boat and headed home.... about 10 minutes later, the boat collided with the bumper.... the pin had fallen off, and the boat, hanging on the chains, hit the bumper, no major damage, only scratches to both boat and bumper.... fortunately i was in a dirt road at very low speed... to date, i dont know what happened, i had driven 2 hours in the morning, and left the trailer and truck all day at a public parking lot, but i dont know if someone did something to it on purpose or what...

i saw an add once that featured a small torpedo strapped to the rod.... when in contact with the water (at least 5 feet deep i believe), the torpedo would react and launch to the surface, with a string attached to it..... you would just retrieve it and pull your rod.....

thanx, ill have to go to the lake and play with it... i still need to know how to scroll around all the menus, so i hope i finish reading the manual (143 pages) by saturday...

well, i got a new to me boat and it has a Humminbird 587ci HD DI at the console. so, i have some questions about it. first of all, the previous owner glued the transducer to the bilge. i dont know how he glued it, but its there, instead of outside. i did a quick search and found out its a good spot and a lot of people recommend it. but, wont that affect the temperature readings?? and, does it affects down imaging? owner said he think it does, and that he never used the down imaging.... i havent had time to play with it, all i have used is the speed and depth readings.... but i want to gather as much info as possible for when i go to the lake, or to make the necesary adjustments (maybe taking the transducer to the outside) before going.... now, is there a good tutorial about understanding down imaging?? i have searched for a while but almost everything i find is about side imaging. my previous unit was very simple, i used it mainly for depth and temperature, so now i want to learn how to get the most out of this unit... thank you!

thanx, ill work on that this weekend, i still have a lot to learn...

thanx!! thats great info, thank you for taking the time to explain it to a newb.... so, heres a pic of how the boat sits on the trailer while being towed ( i know i need a longer hitch, ill get it before i trailer the boat again). you can see the transom saver in place... so, i lower the motor low enough for it to press slightly on the transom saver... thats why i asked, if i could modify it to make it longer, so the motor wouldnt need to be so low for it to press on the transom saver.... and yes, i tilt the motor almost all the way up for launching, and i lower it just enough for it to pee for backing off the shore (almost no docks or boat ramps in this part of Mexico)... i lower it until im 5 or 6 feet deep.... so, as you mention, with the proper trim steering should be neutral... i will use that as a reference of how much trim i need until i can fix the tacho... however i didnt understand this "(the max you want to turn on a hose or out of gear with no load on prop)"... i will take my voltmeter to the lake on saturday and test as you mention... im assuming you check the tach signal, at the gauge itself? to see if its getting current??? BTW my motor is a Johnson... i plan to be on the lake on saturday, and im not even taking the rods, my plan is to burn some gallons of gas just learning how to drive the boat, trim and sonar are the main things i want to focus on... but ill open a new post about sonar....

thanx! that makes sense, however, if i reached the tilt stage, i passed through the sweet spot in the trim stage without noticing it... i will pay more attention to it next time, because i know when i reach it i dont need much force to keep the boat going straight, and i also think fuel economy, efficiency and speed will improve.... how can i check if i need the tachometer gauge, or i need the mechanism?? on my other boat i was told i could check the electric resistance to see if the fuel gauge worked.... something similar for the tacho?

hey. for the past years i had fished out of a 1977 boat, with a 85HP Johnson. the boat had a basic Humminbird, a small trolling motor, bilge pump, and livewells. no gauges, no trim/tilt, nothing. it served us well for some years, but now, i progressed to a newer boat. this weekend i purchased a 1994 Javelin with a 150HP. everything is working, except the trim and rpm gauge. the speed gauge didnt work either but its because the pitot tube bends backwards, we put a small piece of wood to hold it in place and the speed gauge worked... we have gps on the sonar though, so thats no problem.... now, i have a lot of questions regarding the trim/tilt... first of all, the motor hangs really low, we have a transom saver for trailering, but i would like to put the motor higher for highway driving, can i use a longer transom saver? is there a problem if i use one long enough to put the motor almost between the trim and tilt phases??? some lakes require up to one hour of dirt roads and bumps, im afraid to damage the prop, which is not even dented now.... now, regarding the boat operation, the owner told me to put the motor as low as possible at the start, and then as i increase the speed, to trim it up a bit... he said he trims it until the sound of the motor changes a bit.... what i did this weekend was to trim it up until the water splash was behind the driving seat... i noticed if i trimed it a little more, the boat would began porpoising, so i trimmed it down and the porpoising stopped... i also noticed small (1-2 MPH) speed increments when i trimmed it up.... however, i did notice one thing that bothers me.... i had to hold the steering wheel tight, because the boat would have a tendency to make a very, and i mean VERY sharp turn to the right... i mentioned it to the owner, but when he was driving, he could completely let go of the steering wheel and the boat would keep true... when i was at the wheel, only once i managed to do that, i think it was when i found the optimal trim setting, because i noticed that depending on the trim angle, the force required to hold the steering wheel straight was more or less..... i also felt, but im not completely sure, that if i was at 40 mpg or so, the trim wouldnt work, im not sure if the force of the motor prevented the trim from lifting the motor... finally, where can i get a trim gauge replacement?? or a way to check if its only the gauge or something else not working?? thank you!!

thats correct, tomorrow ill be getting an adjustable hitch to level the trailer...

yes, i have a lot to learn about how to handle this boat.... my previous one didnt even had a trim, so i know very little about it, basically only what the PO told me on the test ride and some youtube videos i have seen... he did show me how to adjust it somehow, but without the trim gauge, i need more hours behind the wheel to know the boat.... BTW where can i get the trim gauge replacement?? and is my motor a Johnson Faststrike?? 68 MPH is a lot, today i got it to 48 with 3 people and i felt i was fast enough, at least for the small lakes we fish here...