RatONaStick

Nice vid Kinda disappointed to see the pics I sent of my dad and I were left out, what happened?

I think I came out of the womb knowing how to make sauce. ;D We're from Western Pa and moved to NC when I was two or three. When we go back home we always stock up on goodies while were there. Gotta get some of Gram's sauce, canned peppers, sausage and Uncle T's homemade Vino. Luckily we have a little Italian market here called "A taste of Italy" when we run out of stuff from back home, which doesn't take long, we stock up on stuff there. I like to think I make good sauce and meatballs, but I got nothing on Gram's. I'm getting there, but she only has about 60years more experience than me. ;D

A few months or so ago I picked up a 87 Bass tracker tx-17 with a rebuilt 87 Mercury Classic 50 (45hp). The boat actually measures 16'4" with a 6ft beam. After re-propping the boat I'm getting 28-29mph with two guys and gear and 30mph(gps) with just me and my gear. Max recommended hp on this boat is 80hp. The 165 is about 4 inches shorter than mine with the same beam width. I believe the difference in length is in the rear of the boat. The rear deck looks to be about 4 inches shorter than mine. Otherwise it's the same boat. I would imaging this boat would be a little bit faster than mine due to the lighter weight. The 175 is a newer boat, it measures 17'10" and the beam is 1-2ft wider. The hull is also a pad type hull like a glass boat so it will have more performance potential. These boats are longer, wider, more stable, have more storage and will hold a larger engine. Unfortunately since these boats are newer you're going to spend quite a bit more money on them. While the 175 may be over a foot longer than mine, they have more decking so space in the center space of the boat is about the same. The rear deck looks to be about the same length but is wider. The front deck is quite a bit larger than mine. Now having said all that, I've found the deck space on mine to be more than adequate. The boat is very stable for an aluminum boat, but it does tend to get blown around a bit in the wind. You're going to have to deal with this with virtually all aluminum boats because they are light. I fish a 1000+ acre lake, the Cape Fear river and the intracoastal waterway in this boat. It does well in the chop, but I wouldn't think about taking it out in really rough weather. My advice to you is to get what you can afford. If you can afford the 175 by all means get it. It's really a toss up between the 17 and 165, If i had my choice I'd go with the 17. I would also look for one with the largest engine you can get. These boats aren't speed demons and don't respond well to the same tricks the high performance glass hulls do. The only real way to get a noticable amount of mph gain is to go with a bigger outboard.

Here's a pic of my brothers chopper, we built and tuned this bike. It has a polished S&S 96ci engine, JIM'S 6 speed trans, a 3" BDL open belt drive, open drag pipes and a 250mm rear wheel/tire. The ONLY thing we didn't do is the paint. He had this thind dyno tuned and it put out 105hp to the rear tire, the dyno operator said he has a good engine and that most of these 96ers have a hard time putting out much over 100hp. 5hp don't sound like much, but when it's on two wheel it is. I guess we did a good job tuning the thing.

Some of these newer vehicles are amazing, those are impressive numbers out of a 4200+lb vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick. What's even more impressive is they do it with no power adders and will putt along at 1200rpms down the highway. The new Z06 is absolutely awe inspiring. That car will run mid 11's off the showroom floor on street tires with a good driver. With minor mods like exhaust, air filter and computer programming that car will run 10's with a capable driver behind the wheel. My ride is a 66 Chevelle SS396 with a 11:1 compression .030 over 4 bolt main 427, ported rectangle port heads, forged pistons and crank, edelbrock intake, holley 750cfm carb(too small) and a 305 degree duration Comp cam. It has 2.125" headers, 3" exhaust, a nodular iron case/midplate super t10 four speed trans with a 12 bolt posi rear with 3.90 gears. Other things include a Mallory distributor, msd rev limiter, a two step rev limiter for the launch and a line lock to hold the front wheels during the burnout and launch, plus lots of other things. The first time I had this car to the strip I ran it on street tires which was an absolute waste of time. The thing spun down the entire track and got sideways at each gear change. The second time I came a little more prepared and ran it on slicks, best run was a spinning 8.28 in the eighth which equates to high 12's in the 1/4. So far I've only ran the car a total of 7 times down the strip, the car is still spinning on slicks, I've done absolutely no tuning to this point and am running too small a carb(should be an 850), I am not powershifting yet and I've been short shifting it 1000 to 1500rpms because of the tire spin. My goals are to run high 11's in this car, at that point I'll turn the little blue bottle on. All my pics of the car got wiped out when my last computer crashed. Here's a couple vids of the car at the track. Burnout Run 2 More video of the car is in my signature.

LBH Pics sent by email Thanks Brandon

Actually, it probably was. Probably, I'm sure you know the gist of the joke.

All throttle, no bottle and no traction. Actually, I do have a bottle. But I haven't cracked it open yet. Got some things to work out, most importantly getting the thing to stick.

Looks foul hooked to me. ;D

Ken Thanks, I know exactly the spot you are talking about. I picked up a couple packs of the swimbaits earlier this year but really haven't give them much of a chance. There is so much wood in the lake that it becomes frustrating at times. I've also been meaning to try the dropshot out as well, but never got around to it. I'm curious, during the summer months the action shuts off from what I've seen. I saw 100-110 degree water temps from late June to late August. Any tips on how and where to get on the fish during this time? You want to talk about hot, man it sucks out there in the summer. It will be 100 degrees out and the water is hotter than the air temp.

Looks like a heck of a trip!!! I've done quite a bit deep sea fishing, unfortunately I tend to get sick out there. Then again I've never been out on a boat that big either.

As was mentioned a steel header can be welded no problem. Cast iron can be welded too, but it's a pretty involved process that's best left to a pro. The piece to be welded has to be heated in an oven to a pretty high temp, then you have to weld it with a specific composition rod. Once the welding process is done the piece has to be cooled gradually in a controlled environment so it doesn't crack again. This process is usually used in the classic car world to repair rare cast iron pieces that aren't being produced anymore. By the time you find and pay someone to do this, you might as well buy a new exhaust manifold. I would also like to mention that in the newer computer controlled vehicles that an exhaust system leak BEFORE the oxygen sensor can and will cause bad gas mileage. The leak throws off the oxygen sensor reading and the computer compensates thinking the engine is running lean. *EDIT* I did a quick search on Ebay for Protege exhaust manifold. You can get a new manifold from $32.00 to $40.00 plus shipping. Check it out manifold 1 manifold 2 manifold 3 Do a search, you'll find more.

Jb the 75hp classic you listed is a different animal than yours. The classic is much newer and a 3 cylinder!!

Avid Call us both lucky. I'm lucky to have a father who helps me out in so many ways. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have skills or the means to own the Chevelle, the boat and many other things. Dad has had back troubles for a number of years( the belly sure don't help) and I do everything I can to help him out. It may sound corny, but he and I are best friends and do everything together, cars, drag racing, fishing, hunting etc etc, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Even if he and I butt heads at times. Congrats on your son getting married and the future additions to "la famiglia". Hopefully one or all of your future grandchildren will be avid fisherman too! Troutfisher Thanks. This is Sutton lake here in coastal NC, which is a cooling lake for a local power plant.

Way2Slow I don't believe he's asking how high he can spin that outboard. What he's asking is the recommended wot rpm range, which looks to be 5000 to 5500rpms. Car engines is what I know. I won't disagree with you about the port size, height, shape, valve sizes and their affect on power. But, the lift of a camshaft has little to do with where an engine makes it's power. The cam duration is what determines how high or low in the rpm range it makes power, like the port timing on a 2 cycle engine. For example, you could have two cams with identical duration. One has .500 lift and the other with .750 lift, the cam with more lift will have nearly the same powerband but will make more power across the board than the lower lift cam.

Mike Thanks, I don't photograph much but I will say that how you hold a fish makes a big difference on how it looks in a picture. In it's defense though, that fish should have been an 7 to 8 pounder, maybe more, had it not been skinny.

Nice fish and nice cow! ;D

From what I can find, it looks like the rpm range is 5000 to 5500 rpms. Take a look at this link, not exactly definitive proof but it's a start. http://groups.google.com/group/rec.boats/browse_thread/thread/94feeba96367f5cb/27a635617c5e7fc1?lnk=st&q=mercury+75+hp+rpm+range&rnum=1&hl=en#27a635617c5e7fc1 I've done two prop changes this year, one just recently on a Mercury 45hp and another on a Johnson 15hp, both with excellent results. The calculator I linked to below was a big help. http://www.rbbi.com/folders/prop/propcalc.htm Also, here is Michigan wheels propeller application chart. It lists both original equipment part numbers and their numbers. Once I figured out what pitch prop I needed I was able to go to Michigans listings and find the part number I needed. Then I went on to Ebay and found a used prop in good condition for next to nothing. http://www.miwheel.com/MIWheel/pdf/obsd_03.pdf Let me know if you need any help.

I caught a similar fish this past friday, it was 23 to 24 inches long but only weighed 5lb 13oz. When I first layed eyes on it I figured it was 7 to 8 pounds, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Either way, it's still a nice fish. Deep water fishing isn't my strong point either.

Thanks guys No punching the Bass, that's what the punching bag is for. That bass was thick but it didn't have much of a belly at all. Sutton lake is a power plant lake and the water temps get extremely hot during the summer. This year I was seeing 100-110 degree water temps depending on the location. We also had the second hottest summer on record this year. From late June to the end of August when a tropical storm passed through the action was non existant on this lake. I wouldn't doubt that by December/January that fish might just put on another pound or two. SPEEDBEAD, I've already got the carpet. I need to get a piece of plywood to replace the center decking on the boat. It's not rotten but the existing plywood is delaminating in a few spots. I might as well do it now so I don't have to mess with it later on down the road. Thanks again

Interesting story I did a little searching for lake maps of Orange lake and came up with a couple maps and a contour map on the net. It looks like Orange lake and Lochloosa lake are connected by a creek. Is it possible you had made a wrong turn and ended up in Lochloosa lake??

Beautiful fish!! 8-) Doghouse Any idea how much that fish of yours weighed?

SPEEDBEAD, Nathan, Thanks for the compliments. Check out my new post for my most recent outing.

Thanks guys. The fish is skinny for it's length and I wonder if it's not a large male. This is the first large bass I've caught or seen out of this lake that was skinny like that. All of the larger fish have been fat, except for this one. Dan This isn't my all time best, just the PB for the year. My all time PB is 7lbs caught when I was 5 or 6 years old. As a matter of fact that was the one that got me into bass fishing, up until then I didn't even know what a Bass was. I had been away from freshwater fishing for a few years and been doing some saltwater fishing. Got a late start this year but got back into it heavy, next year my goal is to beat my PB and want a 10+lber badly. They are in this lake, I saw one not too long ago that made that 5lber look like a midget.

Here's dad and the 1lber