NBR

I trim all the way under for hole shot. Punch it with full throttle until I get on plane then I back the throttle off a bit and trim out until I reach what I call the "sweet spot". You should recognize the "sweet spot" by engine noise and no prop torque at the helm. On my boat you can loosen your grip on the wheel and go straight down the lake. Then I increase the throttle to the desitred speed and still go straight down the lake. All of this takes only seconds and your boat is very stable. I go straight down the lake with no steer torque when I have the boat set up properly. I do have a plate on mine called "The Edge" which is just a metal plate with the trailing edge turned down a bit. It seemed to give me a slightly better hole shot. If you reduce the throttle you will hit a speed(throttle position) where the boat starts to porpoise. To stop the porpoising you either tuck the engine under a bit(I mean just a tap or two) or give it just a bit more throttle. On occasion I get stupid and forget to trim under before I start out and you are right the bow comes way up and you don't get up on plane. It is dangerous since you can't see. When I get stupid I back the throttle off and trim under; then go again. A huge number of bass boats go down the lake trimmed out way too far with a huge rooster tail. I have read and it applies to my boat that the rooster tail should not be higher than the engine cowl. I should have mentioned that when I trim out I just tap the switch a few times to reach the "sweet spot"

If the oil drained from you lower is the color of new oil and much different from the leaked oil I am at a loss. I don't know where the leaked oil is originating. I would haul to a good marine mechanic and ask his opinion. Don't assume neither your seals or bearings are shot. Re your prop it probably can be repaired. A stainless prop will be more efficient so you can run at the same speed at lower rpms or have more top end speed. I changed my prop to stainless and kept the old rebuilt aluminum as a spare. You don't say how big your motor is but from the picture I guess it is 90+. The damage to your prop looks more like sand or silt than rocks and stainless stands up very well to these. Rocks really do a number on both. My stainless is in for repair right now. You might be able to find a good used stainless for a fraction of the cost of a new prop. Try and find a good prop guy or shop to help you with any selection. In MHO props are at least or more imporant to boat performance than tires are to cars and trucks.

Having worked for the company that supplied Merc and OMC with their seals it looks to me like your seals are shot but check the other options noted first. The number 1 destroyer of seals in an outboard is fishline. The same goes for the seal in your trolling motor. Your prop looks like it has been dinged a few times. If it is running to far out of balance that can also cause a seal leak and could cause some bearing damage.

My boat is covered on my home owners policy. Yes if your boat or your wake causes damage to another's property you are liable for the cost to repair or replace.

The 4 stroke will weigh more than the 2 stroke so a 2 stroke of the same horse power should push your boat a bit faster. I can't answer your question re ticketing but over powering would likely nullify your insurance.

You can get fogging oil at most if not all marine dealers. Spray it into the cylinders when you have the sparkplugs out. Also turn the motor over before you put the plugs back in the motor. Put either new or the old plugs back in for winter.

Drain and refill lower unit. Put Stabil in a full gas tank. Run engine to be sure the Stabil is throughout the fuel system. Spray fogging oil into the engine until the engine stalls. Sometimes mine won't stall so I just shut it down after I'm sure there is fogging oil through out the engine. Pull the plugs and squirt some fogging oil into each cylinder. Turn engine over a time or two. Replace plugs. Make sure all of the water is out of the boat and through hull fittings. (I had the livewell fitting freeze and crack one year then break while I was fishing and they sure fill with water fast). Check and refill battery water. Charge batteries and not a bad idea to recharge occasionally during the winter. Looks like a lot but I can do the job in less time than it takes to get the boat to and from the marine shop and I'm only about 10 miles.

Your 20' Cuddy will never be an effective casting platform. Put a moderate horse power kicker motor or a trolling plate and troll.

I replaced a MG with a MK about 2 years ago and a difference I liked was the foot switch on the MK. Different strokes for different folks. Also I think the MK's framework is more rugged.

I fill mine about 1/2 full and put in some bilge cleaner. Then I pull it around for awhile, drain and rinse well. Fair resultes.

If it is just chewed up a bit it (they) can most likely be repaired.

I think you should run new wires. Your new sounder will most likely have a fuse and holder with it. If not the instructions should give you the fuse size. If I recall correctly the fuses to my sounders are 1 amp maybe 2 certainly not 5. The reason you run the sounders from the cranking battery is that on occassion there is signal feed back from the TM to the sounder.

You just can't compare a $60 reel with one that costs 50, 60 or over 200% more. They function the same the line flies out and the line comes in but the subtleties are so different. I think the low cost reels are made for the occasional fisherman or someone who just wants to try baitcasting and not strain the budget too far. And, yes you can learn to bait cast on an inexpensive reel. Maybe not as far nor with light lures but you can learn and then make the decision for higher end gear. A $60 reel will not have the features of a $100 or $200 reel if they did why anyone buy an expensive reel.

Good information George. I have no objection to having the guide fish. If he is catching fish and I'm not then I have a technique problem and he can help me.

My gut feel is that at 85hp you won't notice the difference. As previously said wait until you need a new prop or decide to carry a spare and buy the stainless then.

I have a 150 Merc on an 18' fiberglass. I added a plate by Cobra called "The Edge". This aluminum plate is just straight with a tipped down trailing edge. After adding my hole shot was much better. With my rig I have found that porpoising is a function of the amount of trim out and throttle position. I can be running down the lake flat and if for some reason I reduce the throttle the boat will start to porpoise. The solution is either increase the throttle or reduce the trim out a bit.

I am not a prop expert so you might want to visit a prop shop for expert information but here is my $.02 worth. Stainless props are more efficient than the aluminum props. They don't deflect as much under load and the trailing edge is cupped pushing more water back rather than having it slip off radially. If you run 4 or 5 miles an hour faster in the same time frame you will go farther using the same amount of fuel. Thus more mpg. What kind of a boat and motor do you have. How big, how much horse power? If I had a big motor on a pad hull boat I would buy the stainless and keep the aluminum as a spare.

Your plan to push a large fully rigged bass boat with a small motor just doesn't make sense. You just won't be happy in the long haul and the boats resale value will be next to nothing. I'd suggest gettin by with the TM until you can afford to purchase a kicker and/or look around for a used kicker.

My standard procedure for getting trimmed is: 1) Tuck the prop all the way under. 2) Full Throttle until the boat gets on plane. 3) Back the throttle off a bit. 4) Trim out until you feel no steering torque. On my boat about 4000 rpms. You can release the wheel and it will go straight up the lake. Also I get a different sound which I can only describe as sweet. All of the above comes together pretty fast. Now you are pretty well set to increase or decrease throttle to suit your needs and conditions without getting steer torque and on my boat you are set for a dry comfortable ride. If you start to porpoise you have too much trim for the throttle your choices are trim the motor in a bit or increase throttle. All boats can be a little different but this sure works for me.

Although I keep a very few bass to eat I do think that with the explosion in bass competions the resource could become stressed. I don't believe anyone has a grasp of delayed mortality from catch and release let alone tounaments. There is no scientific data in this but it seems to me that the average size of bass has gone down on lakes that are heavily tournament fished. There is some scientific data that shows bass confined in live wells during hot weather have a higher mortality rate than in cool weather. I keep very few bass during the course of a season and none from lakes that with heavy tournament pressure.

What is the warrantee on the rebuilt? If it is Yamaha rebuilt it may be as good a warrantee as a new lower.

Always start with the motor tucked all the way under - much faster hole shot.

You can't run a 12v anything on 24 volts but you can hook it up to one battery. If you have 2 TM batteries and a cranking battery for your engine hook your sonar to the cranking battery.

Ben and Hooterz are right on target. After you have trimmed out to the sweet spot if for some reason you need to back off on the throttle and you begin to pospoise your two choices are to trim under a bit or increase throttle. Sweet Spot is hard to define but it is where the boat gets up on pad. There is a sound that you come to recognize and steering torque doesn't exist, i.e. release the wheel and you continue straight down the lake.

Hair dryer, then I use one of those plastic gizmo's that are used to scrape left overs from teflon pans then clean with GooGone.