Way2slow

They are lighter because they don't have the liquid but more important they don't have as much lead, which also means they don't have as much capacity. This also means they are not going to have as much run time. Don't care who makes it or how it's made 160 minutes reserve is not going to give the run time 225 minutes will. No more than 60 amp hour (Ah) is going to give the run time 120 Ah will

I think most states require one for night and low light conditions. Some states will mandate the lite at a certain height above the boat, some will just say it must be visible from 360 degrees, so check your state boating laws on the placement of the lite. As for mounting it on the motor, you would just secure it to the top of the motor, and put a quick connector inside so you can unplug it to take the cover off. You would have to run the a positive wire from the lite switch to it, the negative wire can just be connected to the metal on the motor somewhere. Just make SURE you have it routed and secured in a way it can't get into the flywheel. Something like this is probably what you are seeing http://www.marineengine.com/products/accessory.php?in=2820946 There are some cheaper ones around also. Now, with all that said, I personally would not want it there because it's too low and the lite will be bothersome. I like mine up high enough so it's not putting white lite in the boat and I'm not looking into it when I look back to make sure it's clear to make a turn etc. Nothing like a little white lite to destroy your night vision. If you do much running at night, you will see what I mean. My favorite one is one I think was made by Perko (I've had it for years so wouldn't swear to it) and puts almost no light in the boat and you barely even see it when you turn to look back but gives off plenty of light and is easily seen by others, but it mounts on a pole.

Regardless the laws, the warrantee and anything else, any 1448 jon would be very dangerous with a 40hp tiller. The motors weight (140 pounds or so) and the operator all sitting in the very back will make one foul handling boat with just you in it. I have a 1436 I put a 25 Merc on sometimes and turns can still be a bit scary A number of states have sever penalties for over powering a boat. If operated in coastal water, the Coast Guard will fine you for an over powered hull and insurance companies will not usually insure an over powered hull and you will find a number lakes owned by power companies etc, that do not allow over powered hulls, many will actually have hp limits. So, before you consider over powering one, do your homework on the laws for your area and where you plan to use it.

I never really check mine but one time when I was going to make fairly long trip so I filled it up, that's one of the few times I've ever filled the boat. I had one of my modified motors, which get very good fuel economy If you stay out of the gas, I kept the RPM at 4,500, the gps showed I was running 47 mph, and when we got back to the ramp, it show we had been 92 miles. After the trip, I filled the boat again and it took 16.2 gallons of gas. This was steady cruising other than, I had to get on plane at both ends of the trip and had two no wake bridges I had to go under so that was six times total I had to start off. Just in case your wondering, I was meeting another guy and we fished out of his boat, but it was actually a whole lot closer and quicker to go by water than by land. By the way, this is a 20' Javelin Renegade DC and the motor was one that puts out over 320 hp. The boat will run 80 mph with two people and gear so having it only burning approximately eight gallons per hour or I guess you could say over five miles per gallon ain't too shabby. Now, when I'm feeding all 326 of those horses, it's a little different story. As for how much I burn in the boat fishing, that totally depends on how the fishing is and how much running and gunning I'm having to do. I have gone, the fishing was good and I never got a mile from the ramp and not run motor 15 minutes all day. On the average though, for a two day trip I probably burn about 20 - 30 gallons. However my problem is the 250 miles total I drive when I go fishing and my truck only gets 13 mpg when towing the boat.

Actually that's plenty CCA. CCA has nothing to do with running all the electronics and other stuff all day that todays bass boats have. The CCA number is just how much current a fully charged battery can deliver in a quick surge. The number that counts when it comes to running all the electronics etc is the RC number. That's the one that needs to be as high as possible. If you had a battery with 2,000 CCA but only had 100 minutes RC. It would crank a MAC truck but wouldn't run your bass boat all day and crank it at the end of the day without the motor doing a lot of charging of the battery. The battery switch is a good point but make sure it's a battery disconnect designed for a large amount of current and not just a switch. Remember, anything you use to disconnect the battery needs to be able to handle that several hundred amp surge needed to get the starter motor spinning. I don't like using anything to disconnect the cranking battery because too many of them have the potential to create and arc when opening and closing the contacts. Arc's in today's motors can be dangerous to the SECMs and charging system. That's why it's dangerous to connect jumper cables to the cranking battery. Pop one of those and it will ruin your day.

That is true, but that's not just the Rud's that's the old crabbed Johnson's as well, and that's not my reason for saying I would take the Evinrude's over other makes. First off, no way under the sun would I take a brand new, close to $20,000 motor and do anything that would void the warranty, I don't have that kind of money. For the hot rod stuff, I find those that have already been retired from service for one reason or another. My first 3.3 Evinrude's I bought to modify just happen to be two of six from a commercial fleet the guy had used and replaced them with new E-techs after four years and over 3,000 hours on each, and one I got had over showed over 4,000 hours. When I tore them down, I've seen old motors with 500 hours have more wear then these did. Like I say though, that's one of the reasons Baskin Robin's has 31 different flavors of ice cream, everybody has their own favorite. I remember back in the 60's I was a die hard Ford man, now I don't think Ford makes a front wheel drive vehicle you could give me if you told me I would have to keep it running 200,000 miles. I base my opinions on the facts as I have them, not hearsay,

I guess most people in your area know what's the best motor. Contrary to what you might read on this one eyed monster from those very few that have had a problem and the other million that have probably never even been in a boat with an E-tech, pick up on those few and post it like they are the experts on them. All manufacture's have a certain number that's going to give a problem, but if you had any way of looking at the MTBF and the percentage of failures, I think you might be surprised. However, I don't think you are going to find that info publicly available. Sorry, but I will take an E-tech any day of the week over any other motor out there.

Sorry, I guess I just don't know anything about batteries. First off, both Dual Purpose and Deep cycle batteries are usually called deep cycle, but have a slightly different plate design. A true deep cycle will usually never have the a MCA/CCA number on them because they are not designed or intended to be used as a cranking battery. A lot of companies just call theirs deep cycle, marine batteries which are in reality dual purpose batteries. Any "deep cycle" battery that has a published CCA/MCA number is also intended for cranking purpose. Industrial, deep cycle batteries can have thick, solid lead plates. They put out current over a long period of time but can't put out large amounts without have lots of plates and last number of years if properly taken care of. Making them very large, very heavy and very expensive The next step down would be something like golf cart batteries. they to can have solid lead plates but just not as thick as industrial grade batteries. You will probably never see a CCA number on a golf cart battery. Then you have the TM deep cycle. Some of those have solid lead plates but much thinner than the other two because the cost and weight but most have a very fine grid type plate to increase the plate surface to give the large amounts of current many of the new TMs draw and still have a reasonable size battery. The fine grid, while produces more current than the GC or Industrial, still does not do cranking amps enough for a big motor. The dual purpose battery has a cell design that about 20% of the plate surface is a much more open grid, greatly increasing surface area, and the rest is a fine mesh grid for the deep cycle function. The dual purpose will produce large amounts of current for a short period for cranking the motor while still having the ability to operate in the deep cycle mode. It's main draw back as a cranking battery is, if the motor does not start within a short time, it does not have the ability to keep supply those large numbers of cranking amps like a cranking battery can, because cranking batteries whole cell has an open mesh grid, but they won't handle deep cycle use and can't handle many full discharges. AGM's are a different animal that flooded cell batteries. I guess I should has said flooded cell, lead acid batteries, which I made the mistake of making the assumption that was what he had, because Deka does make one of the best AGM's on the planet also.

I've run Deka batteries for many years. Those and Trojans are about the only two I will run. There is always the possibility his new battery could be bad or could have been sitting on the shelf too long before he bought it. A number of things could be the problem and a combination of things. First, what type battery is it. Deka makes a group 27 deep cycle and they make a group 27 dual purpose. If he's trying to use the deep cycle, that's part of his problem. Deep cycle batteries do not deliver that large surge of cranking amps necessary for bigger motors. They do ok when fully charged but after it's run down some from use during the day, they can't do it. This is the design of the battery and not a fault in the battery. So, make sure it's the Dual purpose and not the deep cycle. Next, fully charge it and have it tested. A "good" new battery is going to test at least 10% over it's rated CCA capacity. If it's below it's rated capacity, it probably sat on the shelf too long. Does he charge the battery every time he returns from the lake. If he has an onboard charger, does it charge the cranking battery as well at the TM batteries. If not, that's his main problem right there. The motor's charging system is usually not enough to fully charge the battery when running all the electronics, live wells and other stuff unless you are making long trips. Even the bigger 60 amp charging system have a hard time keeping up if you are making lots of short runs. The bulk of the time, the cranking battery can be at less than 80% charge at the end of the day, After a couple of trips, you have a dead battery that won't crank the motor. There are some other things that can happen also. It's possible something could be placing a drain on the battery when not in use. A bad rectifier or a number of other things can do that. You would have to use a current meter and measure to see it there is any draw on the battery when everything is off. Then it could be the charging system in the motor is not large enough or could have a problem so it's not putting out at full capacity. At then end of the day, there should be nothing specific about the boat that should have any affect on the cranking battery as long as the main power switch is turned off when the boat is loaded on the trailer. There is a hellavalot connected to the cranking battery, if it all does not go through the main power switch, then something could be getting left on. Doing the current draw test will tell that.

Get the largest dual purpose battery you can fit in the boat. It's going to be about 20 pounds heavier than your Optima, but it's also going to have one and half times more power reserve minutes than your Optima has. As for what make, that's why they make so many different brands, everybody has their own favorite, so I will leave that one up to you. I run Deka by East Penn Manufacturing, batteries but those are also the same ones NAPA, Bass Pro Shop and a lot of other name brands put their label on. You have to remember, there are only about five battery manufactures left in the US with Johnson Controls being the biggest. However, with that said, that doesn't mean that everything Johnson control ships out under different labels are the same battery, they are not. I don't mess with imports, however, some of the batteries out of Japan are excellent batteries, the others I would not touch. Don't forget that Ficht needs a lot of CCA/MCA so don't skimp there.

I've had a couple Stratos and the gas tank is behind the seat. Don't go drilling holes anywhere in that flat panel behind the seat back, that whole area has fuel tank back there. Some may have used an L shaped tank that part of the tank went under the seat also. If you have storage compartments under the seats the tanks does not go under there, if not, I would try to find out for sure. My Javelin (made by Statos) had a small cooler there and I happen to be lucky enough to find the optional center seat on ebay and installed it.

"NOBODY!!" makes a bullet proof motor. They are all subject to catastrophic failures, certain makes and models are more subject to give a problem than others but that's usually based on a particular year, size. Even though a particular model year has a higher percentage of failures, that doesn't mean the one you get is going to be one of those high percentage failures. You hear about all the Ficht problems, but at the same time, there are a hellava lot of them running that has mega hours on them and has never given a problem. Then there's all the mid 90's Johnson problems, again, they came out with service bulletins that fixed most and those that did not get fixed then have probably failed and been repaired since. Mercury's OPI-MAX has the knick name OPTI-POP, because of problems many of them had. The Verado's had it's problems also. They all have lemon's, that small percentage that fail are the one's you hear about on the web, you don't hear about the other thousands that have run hard and long with no problems. Do your homework, have it checked out by a professional, and keep an extra couple thousand in the bank for repairs. Or, you can just buy a brand new one with a long warrantee and trade it when it runs out.

Will it suddenly fail, most likely not, unless the seal just totally went out and let all the fluid out. As for the leak, I guess that depends on you and how bad the leak is. If constantly having to add fluid, and it's making a mess in the boat, then I would fix it. If it's just having to have fluid once a year, and not making a mess, I would probably leave it alone. If it's sucking air in, and you are constantly having to bleed the system, again, I would fix it. I'm assuming you are positive it's only the helm. I have a lot more problem with the seals in the cylinder back at the motor leaking than the helm. I've driven boats for a couple of years with the cylinder leaking but I only had to add a several ounces of fluid every several months.

I would recommend you go ahead and get new axle seals. If it's a small trailer, you can get kits that have new bearing, races, and seal for little of nothing. You need to knock the inner bearing out, clean everything up good, inspect all bearings and races (cups and cones if we want to be technical) to make sure there is not pitting or discoloration. Also insect the axle were the seal runs on it. Many times I've found bad places and welding slag there that damages the seal. If everything looks good, pack the bearings with the same grease you will be using, fill the hub with the same grease, put the inner bearing in with the new seal and slide it back on the axle. Put the outer bearing in, the washer and nut, and tighten it down until it's snug. The wheel should have some friction when turning it and not be able to wiggle it back and forth. Now back the nut back off about a 1/16 of a turn so the well turns freely and you should be able to feel just a very slight wiggle if you grab the tire and try wiggling it back and forth. Install the cotter key, making sure you don't bend it over the end of the axle, that's not good on the bearing buddy. If you have to turn the nut to get the cotter pin in, you may have to loosen it a little more. NEVER tighten it enough that there is no wiggle in the tire/wheel. This will not leave room for a grease film and will burn out the bearings. A little extra wiggle is better than none at all. Install the Bearing buddy's and pump grease in until the disk the fitting in starts to move out, and stop. Take you grease gun with you when you take it to the lake, and just before backing it in. grease them again until the disc starts to float. Grease them again when you get back home. You may have to do this a few trips until you get all the air worked out. If you get too much, it will start slinging grease around the tires. The Bras are handy items to have on them also. As mentioned. don't mix greases. If you don't know what kind is in there, it needs to be cleaned out and fresh installed. Mixing one grease with another that's not compatible, and they can make soap, not grease.

If it's the helm seal that's leaking, you may be biting off more than you wanna chew. I have not had a SeaStar of BayStar helm apart but I have had plenty of similar steering units apart and there is plenty of room for an "OH S**t!!". There is a whole bunch of stuff sitting right under that cover that has to come off. On some, the cover will come right off, let you replace the seal and go right back on, no problem. Other's not so easy, when the cover comes off, a lot of stuff comes with it and it's a nightmare trying to get it all back in place. So just be warned, if you take it apart, have it locked in a vice with the shaft up and go about it very carefully. Keeping pressure down on the shaft as you try and lift the cover off ever so slowly so at to make sure nothing else comes out with it. Found this pic of a SeaStar helm. Looks like it's not quite as bad as some I've dealt with. It's nothing but a pump, so you don't have all the ball valves and stuff to deal with as with some. http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/310594-seastar-helm-pump-rebuild-pics.html

I don't think any amount of tightening will keep them from flipping over sideways. I did finally put two large lag screws in each corner at the bottom of the loop, but then who wants to screw and unscrew them every time you use them. I don't leave my seats in the jon boat because some time's, it may be a year between times I use it. I finally went with the system I showed, many years ago, and made life simpler. I still have a few of those old brackets and still have a seat on one because on rare occasions I may go in someone else's boat, and with my back, I have to have a seat. If you want to make a permanent mount, you can just bolt the swivel directly to the boat, or bolt it to a piece of plywood to spread the stress, so it doesn't tear loose over time, and then bolt the plywood to the bench.

Let me fore warn you, the ones like this will make you loose a lot of your religion. You go to lean over sides ways to get a fish or something, and it will fall over with you. Pitching your butt in the water of making you drop anything in your hands to try and grab on. I've got a couple of them somewhere in the shed. http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Jon-Boat-Seat-Clamp/product/1212071538/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL. As for seats, I like these. They come in different colors and you can find them cheaper elsewhere http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Padded-Folding-Molded-Boat-Seats/product/12090705081912/ I've been using this mount, front and rear for years now, and they work great. The only thing, I don't lock it under the small, rear channel, I turn it over and just let the seat sit on it, makes it a whole lot easier to get in and out and to adjust from side to side. Or you can just leave it off all together, it's really not needed and if you want to use the boat without the seats, it's not there to have to sit on. http://www.basspro.com/Wise-SureMount-Seat-Brackets/product/10210432/ You will still need one of these for each seat. http://www.basspro.com/Boat-Seat-Swivel/product/421852130/ Again, all this stuff is cheaper if you shop around.

By the way, just to make sure you are clear on something, NEVER put brake fluid in it unless it's an absolute emergency. The idea behind that is it will soften and swell the seals that are leaking but those couple external seals that are leaking are not the only seals in the system. The brake fluid does not know the difference, it softens and swells all of them, internal and external seals in the helm and cylinder, and can totally ruin the whole system so it either has to be completely rebuilt or replaced. I would recommend never use anything but the manufacture's fluid, or check around Bush or Daniel Field at the aircraft maintenance shops and get the mil spec hydraulic the call for. You will hear a lot of people say you can use Dextron ATF but I would not. The manufacture gives that as an alternative in an emergency but it also voids the warranty when you do. However, it is the safest of anything else other the aircraft fluid of manufacture's fluid. For a bleeder kit, I use a $2 barbed fitting, a piece of 3/8" hose (clear is best but fuel line works) and the cap off bottle like gear oil or something that has the long tapper to it so if goes in hole. I also take it one step further and put pieces of hose on the bleeders and feed them back into a bottle I sit in the splash well to catch the fluid. If it's good, clean fluid, you can just reuse it and not let it dump on the ground. Even if you don't want to reuse it, it keeps from making a mess all over on the ground of driveway. It also helps if you have someone holding the bottle of fluid or funnel you are putting it in with so it's doesn't keep falling over.

I have a 98 4x4 Chevy full size PU I use almost solely for towing my boat. I live in a small town (only a few hundred people) that's 25 miles from anywhere, so anytime I need/want anything it's a 50+ mile trip minimum. The lake I mainly fish is 95 miles, so that's a 200 mile trip. My boat is a 20' glass with a 225, so it takes a full size truck to tow it. For what it cost to drive that truck, I just find it better to keep a small truck to drive daily.

What you should have said, what's the best under $100. That limits it to only about one battery, and that's Walmart's. You might find some cheap import for less but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Couple of things you are going to need to do. First, what is the current output of the solar charger. To maintain three batteries, its going to need to be at least 1 amp. Next what is the maintenance voltage from the charger. Most deep cycle batteries require approximately 13.17 VDC for the proper maintenance voltage. Cranking batteries are usually 13.2-13.4 VDC, depending on the type battery. 13.2 will work on the deep cycles but you have to keep check on the electrolyte level. As mentioned, the batteries will need to be fully charged before connecting to the maintainer. The next thing is, how are the two TM batteries connected. If it's a 24 volt system, the batteries are connected in series and you will have to disconnect the interconnect cable between the two batteries before you can connect them in parallel to connect the maintainer. If it happens to be a 12/24V system with the run/charge switch on the front panel where the TM plugs in, then you should only need to put the switch in the CHARGE position. Provided someone hasn't gone in and bypassed it. Please note, I had a typo error for the run/charge switch, switch must be in the Charge position, but like FR stated, do it carefully. The safest way is to disconnect the inter connect cable between the two batteries.

My first was a wooden boat I built out of a bunch a scrap wood and plywood I rounded up when I was about 12. A couple of friends helped drag it about a 1/2 mile to a little pond where we would use it, not sure there were any fish in it because I don't remember ever catching any but we had fun trying. We could use it about an hour before we had to drag it up on the bank and dump the water out. My first real boat was a 17' Grumman canoe my dad and I went in halves on for $40 in about 1961. I even had a sail you could attach with a rudder and keels that went on each side of the canoe, but don't think either one of use ever tried to use them. Since then, I've had too many to count but always kept the canoe until someone stole it from one of the pounds on our land last year. My first power boat was a 14' Glass Master with a 65hp Merc I bought in 1965 and paid $1,427 for boat, motor and trailer.

It's been a while since I've had a hub replaced but my it's not that expensive, less than $100. It' not something you can usually do yourself because they are pressed in. The last two digits in that number are the pitch, so a 23" pitch prop is what you are looking for. Changing from an aluminum to a stainless prop should keep about the same pitch, but there should be a noticeable gain in performance. If the motor was only a couple hundred over max, I would stay with that pitch, you will get much better hole shot and performance when the boat is loaded.

Not sure just what you are looking for in help but as far as checking one out, I might be able to help you out. I'm a couple hours from where you are talking, actually very close to Warner Robins myself. However, I do know my way around boats and motors pretty well.

To many problems get blamed on the VRO. If you are replacing it with a new unit, I would not worry about the VRO. There have been many upgrades to the VRO's built prior to approx. 1999. Actually the new pumps are not VRO pumps, but CRO pumps. The pumps produced for the past decade are pretty much bullet proof. I actually reinstall new pumps on used motors I buy that someone has bypassed the pump on. For me, it's a lot nicer just having to add gas to the tank without having to mess with measuring and dumping oil in with it. Now, some mechanics will not warrant a power head with the VRO/CRO installed. If they give you that song and dance routine, then you need to leave it disconnected during the warrantee period.