k4phd

Hi, I have a 14 Foot jon that I hauled it on a short bed F150. It went in transon first then I used a rope to go through the eye on the front of the boat and back to the corners of the bed. The bed was a 6 i/2 foot and the tailgate down made it 8 feet.It hauled very well. Later I went to Northern Tool and bought a trailer kit for it. I extended the tongue and also put guides on th help with loading. It works great. I would look on Craigslist. I have seen jon boat trailers there priced very reasonable that would have suited my needs without all the work. Good luck. Jim

Just can't describe how nice the pictures were. Reading your post and looking at the pictures at the same time makes you feel the chill in the air and almost feel like we were there too. Great job and thanks for sharing that with us. Please do that again . Jim

Something to think about. I bought a new Crestliner 1436 with live well from the dealer several years ago. We were talking about weight capacity and ratings. He said that with the flotation built into the boat the rating was for the weight it would support filled with water. My wife and I or a friend and I do just fine with the 1436, but you have to keep in mind what you are on and act accordingly. I can haul my 1436 in the back of my F150. Two people can handle it easy. Good luck with what ever you get, but just enjoy. Jim

Farm Town and Farmville both are fun. You don't have to worry about "Mother Nature" interfering with this kind of farming. Jim

Sounds like the experience of a married man talking. Amen. Happy Father's Day. Jim

That's a nice boat at an unbelievable price. I hope all is legit and you can get it. Please let us know so we all can be happy for you or jealous. Ha! Jim

Hey Chris, I changed the impeller on my 6 horse Yamaha and I have never done that before. I did a little searching on line about what is all involved before I started. I guess it took me an hour or so to do the job. I found the impeller on E-bay for $14. I don't think the impeller had ever been changed and the motor was made back in the 90's but not used much. It did "p" water out at idle before the change and picked up when running, but with the new impeller it really "p's" it out now at idle. If you could do it yourself with a little help from someone who has done this before it could save you money plus give you hands on experience how to do the replacement again someday. Good luck. Jim

Hi, Be sure the vent is open on the gas tank. I had this happen to me once. A new gas can and I did not realize there was a little vent cap on top of the filler cap. We were running along just fine and it just died and would not crank. I noticed the tank looked like it had sunk in. I saw the little vent cap and opened it and the tank went back to normal shape. After that the first pull and it started right up and ran fine. This was on a two stroke motor, but I don't think that would be any different than a four stroke. Good luck and I hope it is something simple. Jim

Hi, I have a 1436 Crestliner I bought new from the dealer. We were talking about boats and motors and the dealer told me that the capacity rating was a little deceiving. He explained that because of the buoyancy built into the boat , it would support the rated weight when it was full of water. If that is true it makes me feel safer knowing it has some bit of safety built into it. Jim

The good life. Jim

First of all, good luck and I hope you sell in a timely manner. One to think about that by selling it yourself, the amount of money that the realtor would charge would be a great savings for someone wanting to buy. That could make the difference whether to purchase or not. I have had bad luck with one realtor and and ending up selling the house without the realtor. Actually the house sold itself. Again, good luck, Jim

Hi, I have a 1966 Fairlane 500, 289, also with a 5 speed. The transmission really works well. It has 74,000 miles. Jim

Hi, I hope you can get more ideas, but one option is to get a piece of plywood and cut it to the size of the seat and mount it by using sheet metal screws around the perimeter so to take advantage of the strength of the bends near the edges of the sheet metal, then mount the trolling motor mount to the plywood directly. I believe mounting directly to the sheet metal with it being as thin as it is could cause flexing and maybe later have to be repaired. The foam is flotation for safety, but I have read where some remove the foam. I have a 14 ft. Crestliner jon boat I purchased new and the dealer told me that the weight ratings on the tag on the boat was misleading. He said that with the flotation foam in place that the boat full of water would still support the weight that your boat was rated for. I think your polar kraft is rated for 325 lbs., so it would still support that much weight full of water. Good luck and enjoy your new boat. Jim

I have a Crestliner 1436 with a live well. It wieghs 185 pounds. It is a nice little boat. Alumicraft and Lowes are also excellent. One thing to look for is the one with the most ribs and also the bracing that supports the sides of the boats that goes across the inside of the bottom and up each side. I have seen jonboats that had the bracing inside the bottom but not up the sides. I bought mine to use on a private lake and never thought I'd need a trailer, but now I have a trailer and take it to a larger lake. Larger is better within reason. I have hauled mine on a F150 with a short bed and the tail gate dropped and it hauls fine. I bought mine new for $930. Have fun and let us know how things go. Jim

Hi, I have a Humminbird 323 which is the non GPS version I believe, and it is a nice little Fishfinder. Jim

I have never fished there, but there is a high mercury warning for people eating fish out of Fontana and another lake there. The link to the article is below. Good luck with your fishing trip. Jim http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880910031

Hey, I have one of those reels. Walmart had these. There is a Walmart in Asheville, NC that still has one in the case for $119. My wife and I were on a trip a couple of years ago and we spent the night in Goodland, Kansas. After eating we dropped by the Walmart Super Center just to look around, and naturally I go to the fishing department. I found the same reel for $49 and bought it. They were discontinuing some products I guess. They had a lot of reels and other fishing supplies marked way down. I saw one in another Walmart here at home marked down to $40. I have used the little reel quite a bit and it seems pretty good. You may look on E-Bay and see if they have one and price it by that. Jim

I have also seen the price difference. I have two of these reels and I bought one at BPS and an Extreme Rod as a combo and I bought one at Walmart. At the time they were selling for $119 new and when they discontinued the green Curado I bought one at Walmart for $99. That was in 2005. They are good reels. I think if I was going to spend a hundred dollars for a reel I would save a little more money and buy the new E model. If you can get a green Curado on E-Bay for $65 that is a good deal I believe. Jim

Hey, I would go ahead and have it welded. JB Weld is a good product. If you repair it with JB Weld and it cracks again, you will have to have it welded for sure. Aluminum needs to be really clean to weld correctly. I would ask around and I'm sure you will find someone that works in a shop that welds and will be glad to do it for you for a small fee. If you are lucky the welder is also a fisherman. I weld for a living and I have friends that bring articles into the shop that needs welding and I am glad to do it for them, but I hate it when they bring things in that are really dirty, for I have to take time to clean the mess before I can weld. If you take your boat in, be sure to take a wire brush and clean the area around the crack really good, or take sandpaper and clean the paint down to bare metal. The guy welding it will really appreciate it and may not charge you much at all. Also he will be more inclined to weld it immediately if it is already cleaned. Good luck and let us know how it works out. Jim

I bought some Marine Epoxy and glued the transducer mount to the boat and it seems to be fine. We'll see how long it lasts. Jim

Hey, I just extended my TM wires about four feet. I have an Endura 40 and I bought 6 gauge wire from Lowes. It is stiffer than what is on trolling motor, but with this application it won't be a problem. I found connectors to splice with at Lowes also. Over in the section where all the nuts and bolts and screws are I found copper lugs that will crimp in to the end of the cable and they fit on the 3/8 threaded post on the battery. Be sure to check the wires while trolling to be sure they aren't getting hot. Good luck. Jim

Thanks Viper, The little motor is in as new condition. I just wanted to be sure so not to cause any problems. Jim

Is it safe to run a 2 cycle Yamaha 6 horse motor at wide open throttle for extended periods of time? Jim

This is an old picture but a pretty simple solution. I'll bet it would work. I don't think I would want one. Jim http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/K4PHD/NewBoat.jpg

Hey, You may be able to find Crestliner or Lowes boats where you are. I bought a new 14Ft. Crestliner with a 36 bottom. It is a nice boat. The reinforcing ribs across the bottom and up the insides is very important. It is not as stable as the 48 inch bottom, but still a well built boat. It has a live well which I use for storage. I bought it at a dealer here in NC about two and a half years ago for $930 out the door. At the time it cost around $100 more than the Tracker 1436 with a live well. You can shop around and find some pretty good deals used if you are patient. When I was looking for a boat I couldn't find a decent one, but in a few months and even now I can find them daily for just a few hundred dollars. Sometimes they have a trolling motor and a few even a trailer. Be patient and good luck boat hunting. Alumacraft is an excellent boat . Jim