Ski213

Can you kinda describe your process to get to 45? Does it fall off on its own or when you try to trim up a little to gain speed? Also do you have a water pressure gauge? Does it change when the engine starts running away?

Sounds like it could be the hub as WRB suggested. What's the prop pitch and do you know what rpms you're turning at 45? What rpms when it falls off plane?

If your leaking fluid that's a problem. Might not be the primary problem though. I'd check fluid level. If it's low add. If that makes a marked difference then I'd start with getting the leaks dealt with. Even if it doesn't, the leak probably needs to be fixed. It's a process of elimination. Could be a bad electrical connection or the trim motor. Others here are way more qualified to comment but hopefully that gives you a starting point.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by retracting rope. If I'm by myself I get her loaded in the parking lot and make sure plug is in etc. I put a couple feet of slack on the winch line and I make sure the trolling motor switch is off. Then I back it till I see the stern floats. I do the trailer walk and get on the bow. That's where the trolling motor off is important. I'm not wanting to accidentally turn it on when I'm getting on the boat. Unhook the winch line and I usually use the trolling motor to move to the courtesy dock. Launching and loading by myself made me really nervous initially. You'll get a feel for how your boat and trailer act on different ramps over time. The key is to remain calm and you'll figure out the system that works for you.

Your actual weight is going to be a fair amount more than that claimed dry weight. You have to figure fuel, batteries, trailer, outboard, etc. Not saying it won't do it just be careful as WIGuide said.

It's viable but I generally do my own work on stuff. I have a condition that prevents me from leaving anything alone. Sometimes that's cost me a dollar or $500 but its saved me alot more than that in the long run. I'm guessing that my silicone is 8ish yrs old so its time. Hard to believe you were the first person to ask for that. I may just use one of those then. Yeah 140 ft/lbs and a tapered fit I would imagine takes a heck of alot of force to get loose. Every time I break something like that loose there's a second or two where I'm certain that I have destroyed something. It never sounds like something coming apart to me as much as it sounds like something breaking in half. Thank y'all for your help!

You're right. I looked farther in to it and I think the OMC eye bolt is actually a part of a puller similar to what your describing fabricating. It has a tapered end like its part of a puller so I guess there's another piece to it I didn't see, Be alot cheaper to make what you suggested. Those cheap a** pullers make me nervous. I probably have some plate laying around. I actually saw where you posted about doing that in another thread and your post is what got me thinking about doing this.

I thought about doing something for rod organization on mine. I think it's mostly what is going to work for you personally. I opted not to. I felt like it was going to be somewhat limiting. Nothing against it, just not for me. I've been meaning to try the rod socks but i still haven't. Is this your first boat or is it the first boat without a rod organization system? If it's your first boat just try it for awhile without and see if you really need the organizers.

Thanks for the tips. OMC felt that it made more sense to not spend $2 to give me a built in hook when they can charge me $30 for an eye bolt down the road. Good to hear it's not a big deal to pull. I may still go that route.

Very sad. Prayers to all involved.

Looked at it today. Top bolts aren't an issue and when I raised the plate looked like the bottoms will be close but I'm pretty sure they'll make it as well. May just do them one at a time as you suggested. I appreciate it.

Cause I'm not sure that there is enough clearance to get the jackplate bolts out. I need to take a closer look for sure. One at a time would be a much easier route without question if possible.

I'm hoping I have luck similar to what you've had. I'm not bashing the box frame, just trying to make sure there's not something that I should be doing that I'm not.

I appreciate it. I'll see what I can come up with. I'm not having any problems yet but I have with other trailers in the past.

I appreciate the advice. I'll look into some options. It looks like I'd have to take a heck of a road trip to the nearest rust check dealer unfortunately. Hopefully I can find something comparable a little closer.

Thanks for the reply. I guess best thing for me to do is make sure all the holes are clear.

I'm planning to remove the outboard soon. My boat is a 98 and I'm concerned about the condition of the sealant at the thru hull fittings and jack plate bolts given the age. Not getting any water in to the hull just want to re-seal everything. I have access to a pretty wide variety of equipment but I'm leaning towards just pulling in the barn and using a chain hoist attached to a rail to hold it. I don't intend to un rig the outboard if I can avoid it. Just want to move it far enough away to get access to the holes. Anybody have any advice or tips?

Do you still have the old one to compare it to?

Very nice. I really like the way it turned out. I'd be curious to know how the top coat does. I'm new to painting and top coating is my biggest frustration right now. I'm better at shooting topcoat than applying epoxy but have been concerned about it holding up.

Im just curious if anyone does anything special as far as care of trailers with a box frame. There are things I like about them but there are things I don't. Things like having no idea what the internal condition of the steel is. Any thoughts?

I know you're looking for a quick and dirty answer. You should be able to get the 60s. I had a buddy that had your hull with a 150. He was low to mid 60s. I don't remember the specific setup and unfortunately asking him isn't an option. No clue what prop or setback or anything. I do remember that to get the 60s he had to do some real driving. Get that tach fixed and figure out for sure what your prop is and then you'll be able to get some solid advice as far as what you should be able to achieve and how to do it. Welcome to the top speed addiction my friend.

Let me ask a dumb question. Is the number in the picture stamped on the prop itself or is that part a washer? I'm thinking mine is stamped on the washer. If so, you definitely need to ask the prop shop what you have. I could be wrong on that but if I'm not I would think that the washer could mislead you as to you pitch. As w2s said the rpms are not an optional piece of info for good advice. When these guys are saying 65 is that GPS or speedometer speed?

If you know somebody at the phone company it would be worth asking them about wire. Unless there's been a drastic change since I was in that game, there is a lot of heavy gauge wire used in the powering of the equipment that makes your phone work.. I've thrown away miles of wire that would be perfect for what you want.

I can't speak to either. I've fished from trackers in the past but not ranger aluminum boats so I can't give you any useful information on a comparison. I'm not schooled on aluminum boats in general but you might also check out Lund and Crestliner or maybe even a Carolina skiff to see if they have something like you're looking for. As far as the salesman, if he spent the whole time bashing tracker rather than telling you what makes the ranger stand out, he's not much of a salesman. Do your homework on all that you look at. There are several folks on here who are very well versed on aluminum boats, hopefully one of them will chime in.

No prob. It may well have come that way from the dealer. I accidentally stumbled on that video the other day. Hope it helps.