Way2slow

I have a couple of concerns. The first is the fact the rpm is the same at both speeds. If that is true, I would have to quetion the tach. Next, 5,100 rpm is way two low. With you and your normal load, you should have it proped to turn 5,800 to 6,100 rpm. I would think a 23" would be closer to the right pitch, but until you can be sure of the tach readings, there's not much you can do with setup. I've not had any dealing with the Xtreme but the 19' Stratos normally only runs in the upper 60's with a 200 and average load. I would set my prop at 4 1/2" below the pad and then start adjusting up from their 1/4" at the time. However, like I said, you have to be sure of the tach first. Something else I would do is a compression test on the engine.

I would look at my fuel pickup/delivery system first. My first test would be, when it's doing it, try squeezing the primer bulb and keeping pressure on it and see if runs better. Also, pull the cover off and pump the bulb up firm to check for leaks. Anyway, it's sounds like it's either sucking air, the carburator dirty/needle sticking, a restriction in the fuel line, like a dirty filter or something or the fuel pump is not doing it's thing.

I think what you are hearing about is the early, Lightning gear case. This was their smallest, fastest gear case used on the HO motors. Their were more failures with the early lightnings than others but a lot of those were on modified motors putting out much more than their rated HP. I was thinking by 2004 they had made some changes that increased the reliability. I'm running the Lightning case of my 1999 225 Ficht for almost 700 hours and it's still going strong. A friend had one one his 225 HO explode with less than 200 hours, but he was running 290 hp. I've been out of the high performance game for a few years so you might want to check a few other sights. A lot of the guys on Scream and Fly have run these, but again, most of these are on modified motors. A couple of the other bass boat sights might be able to give you more info. You might also want to do a search on the Lightning Gearcase and see what you can come up with.

Part is going to depend on how high the bow is. Get one too long and you have to raise the motor up so high in shallow water, the head gets in the way casting. Get one too short, and as mentioned, it will spend more time out of the water than in fishing white capped water or an are where you get lots of wakes. I like to be able to stick the motor three feet deep with the head all the way down. This will handle all but the roughest water and keep the head at a reasonable height in shallow water.

No, you can not use a standard DVM (digital volt meter). They read rms and will not show enough voltage. For instance, you plug you DVM into a wall outlet and it reads 120 volts AC. Use a peak meter to read the wall outlet and it will show approx 160 volts. Plus the pulse is going to be too fast for most digitals and make the reading even lower, so you can't do the mathematical conversion from RMS to Peak. Switch them around and see if the skip changes cylinders. The wet plug should be the one skipping but just to double check, pull a plug wire, if it keeps running with no change, then that's the one. Swap the coils and try it again. If the same one is still skipping, then you can feel fairly certain it's not the coil or wire. It could be getting too much fuel to that cylinder and wet fouling the plug. Like I said, it's a matter of determining if it's fire or fuel. Either will cause a skip. since it only has one carb, I that would be my last suspect, but it does run twin reed plates and it could be a broken reed, I've never seen one break but nothings impossible. Like I said, you just have to go through a logical sequence of troubleshooting. Easy enough for me to do but trying to quess and explain is rough.

Ok, I did a search and if you go here, there is a post that shows you how to make a DVA. This will keep me from having to reinvent the wheel. http://forums.iboats...ad.php?t=371144 This is a basic DVA and will not let you check the voltage from the timer base but you could probably find one that uses op amps for that, but that one might be a little over your head. Here's a ready made DVA you can buy. http://www.maxrules.com/fixtools640.html

There no way to say exactly what's causing the miss fire. As a minimum, you need a peak volt meter and make sure both coils have approximately 250 to 275 volts peak to them. This will tell you if it's before the coil or the coil/plug wire. It MUST be a peak reading meter or an adapter plugged into the meter to read peak voltage. The adapter is made up of a diode, capacitory and resistor, but there is no way to check it with a standard VOM, it's going to read a whole lot less. If the peak voltage is good, on the coil input then the coil or coil wire might be bad. If one of the peak inputs is low, then it could be the power pac, timer base or could even be a weak magnet in the flywheel. It requires a manual and know how to trouble shoot those parts. This is just checking the electrics side, it still could be a fuel problem. Spray a fine mist of fuel in each carb and see if it stops skipping. If it does, then you have a fuel delivery issue. The plug that's wet is the one it's skipping on. No, do not install hotter than factory plugs. On carb motors, the plugs are always going to be black when it idles. The way you check the plugs and jetting for proper mixture settings is run the motor at WOT for about five minutes, then while still at full throttle, cut the ignition switch off. Then when you pull the plugs out, they should be a paper bag brown color.

As long as the 36 volt is on two lugs that were used for the 24v, it will work. With that said, I would not run it with the 12/24 plug for a number of reason. First look on the plug/receptical and see the amp rating, most likely its only about 35 amps, that motor is going to be pulling way more than that on high. This will overheat the plug/receptical and after several minutes of max power, you may start seing smoke rising from it. Another reason is the way it's wire from the factory with the 12/24 volt system, you wiring length is doubled when running in 24 or 36 (in your case) mode. Also, check you circuit breakers, seriously doubt they are 50 amp, unless someone has upgraded them. If you look, most likely you have two black cables and two red cable going from the battery to the 12/24 receptical in the bow. I take that factory receptical out and connect both black cables to the negative side of an SB-50 connector and the two red cables to the positive side of the SB-50. You will also need to install a SB-50 on the TM. In the battery box, I connect the two reds to the same positive termnal so they are in parallel and connect the two blacks to the same negative terminal so they are also in parallel. You will need one 50/60 amp ciruit breaker. It can be connected to either the positive or negative but you need it on one of them. Also, I serously doubt you are going to find one of those little breakers in a 50 or 60 amp, so expect to come off a few bucks for the breaker. By connecting the cables in parallel, it's the same as upgrading to the next size larger cable.

It's easy enough to check the primer solenoid to see if it's working or not. Pump the primer bulb up until it's firm, while holding some pressure on the primer after getting it firm, (not extreme pressure or you can push the needles off the seats and make it leak down) have someone turn the key on and push in on it to activate the primer. The bulb should start going soft fairly quickly if the solenoid is working. You do understand the primer only works while the engine is turning over. The engine has to be spinning for the fuel pump to be working and the fuel pump has to be pumping to pump fuel through the primer solenoid to prime the engine when the key is pressed in. Now, what I have seen is a weak battery or one that does not have enough cranking amps (or bad connections) the solenoid will not energize when cranking because the starter is pulling the voltage down too low. A way to check this is to crank the motor for a couple of seconds to build up fuel pressure, quit cranking and immediately press the key, do this three or four times quickly and then see if it starts. If your electronics cut off when you crank the motor, you can just about bet the solenoid is not energizing also.

As mentioned, if you are talking about an elevated deck to mount pedistal seats, you had better be talking about a fair size jon, and make sure you are never without your PFD on while using it. I put a carpeted deck on the fronts of mine just to give a place to secure a bow mount TM and anchor roller/guide. Even on my 1436, I would not even stand on the thing to fish.

That's the reason for folding the carpet back under and having it between the aluminum and the wood. I will admit, aluminum is the way to go, if you have the money to spend. Usually aluminum requires some time on a metal break and some tig welding if you're going to do it right. The wood and carpet is less than $100, even if you have to buy a whole sheet.

If you are talking about a deck, just go to Lowe's or Home Depote and get you a piece of pressure treate 3/4" plywood. Sometimes, they will have pieces in their 1/4 sheet bins, if a 1/4 sheet will fit where you want it. Then go to the capet section and get them to cut you a piece of their cheap loop pile, indoor/outdoor big enough fit over the size board and give a two inch wrap underneath. Go buy the hardware section and get you some #12, #14, or 1/4" stainless screws for metal about 1 1/2" long. Take all this home, cut the board to fit where you want it, wrap the carpet around it, drill holes about a foot to 18" apart a little smaller than the screw threw the wood and into the center of the top bead around the boat. Do just one to hold it, swap bits and drill a hole through the plywood large enough for the screw to slide through. Fasten that one down, go to another point a ways away from the first and do the same thing again. Once you have those two points secure, drill all your small holes for the rest of the screws. Take the whole thing off one more time or raise it up and stick a piece of steel under each hole as you drill and drill all the large holes in the plywood and fasten it down. Don't be smart and try to drill the plywood larger with it in place, you will most likely drill all the way through the aluminum rail you were wanting to fasten it to. You will fold the carpet under the edge so it's pinched beween the plywood and boat to hold it in place. I never glue it when I put one on mine

I don't think there's any way you are going to find someone to do it for $350. Several years ago the average price was $500 for 20 oz carpet. I would think you could find someone that would do it for $750 but that's not a dealer. Most dealers labor rates are around $100 per hour and it takes several hours to replace the carpet. Here's a link to a boat carpet dealer to give you an idea of what the carpet will cost. http://www.boatcarpe...ductselect.aspx Not saying this is the best price there is, just an idea. Depending on the age, yours probably has 16 or 20 oz in it. I think it was in the 2000's when they went with 20 oz. If you go with a heavier carpet than what's in it, the lids stick and you have to shave the edges to get the to open without major difficulty. Do not even consider the newer 22 - 28 oz, you will most likely run into all kinds of problems with getting the lids opened and closed. You will probably need the 6' wide and 25' - 30' long and at least two gallons of glue, maybe even three, depending on what kind and how heavy you lay it. I don't use carpet glue, contact cement works better and a whole lot easier to work with. If you are somewhat the mechanical type, it's not a job you couldn't do yourself but it is a lot of work for someone that does not have the experience and tools. Just make sure you get on here and ask questions or you will probably screw it up. One thing people don't think about is all the pieces have to be kept in the same orientation. If you put a piece on a lid that's you changed the bias on, it will look a different color.

Awlgrip was the one I was refering to when I said start saving. I would recommend and use it when not doing gel coat. I've never tried Imron,simply because I saw a boat a friend did years ago with a two year old Imron job and it was not holding very well at all.

Actually, if its the one of the Checkmates that has the riser hull and not smooth curved bottom, it's a project well worth doing. I would do it in a heartbeat on the riser hull. I would not do it if it was one of the first Checkmate hulls with the smooth, rounded bottom they use for the first couple of years they made them. When they went to the riser hull, they became very sought after boats and if he does the work right, it will be worth way more than he will have in it. One more word of advise, go ahead and start saving your money as you can, so when you get ready to paint it, you can afford to do it right, and to do that, the coatings you will be using are very expensive. The pretty finish will probably cost more than the whole project up to that point. Gel coat is nice, but gel is not designed to air cure (it goes in the mold first then everything else goes in on top of it) and you have to put a wax additive in it to seal if from the air so it will cure. Unless you have done some gel work, I would not recommend that being your practice project. Way too many things can go wrong, even with experienced guys. It may not grip the original surface, it may not even cure to start with, it takes a very large orfice gun to spray it and if it has metal flake, it can be splotchy. You open up a whole new can of worms when you start using gel coat to air cure. Plus, you have a ton of finish sanding a work to do to get it smooth. It doesn't lay down like paint. Some people will actually brush or roll it on the top, clear coat on because it's going to take a ton of work either way.

Piecing together a stringer???? It's your boat, you can do it anyway you please, but there is no way in he** I would want to ride with you in it. That's no different than having broken stringer and if you catch a wave/wake just right and you can split the bottom of the hull If you don't take the cap off, you don't have to worry about supporting the sides. Set it in a bed of sand to support the bottom, that way you don't have to worry about bunk boards etc pressing it up or letting it sag when you take the stringer loose. The bottom only has to bet out of shape a minute amount to affect how it goes through the water. Let it convex an 1/8" and it could have an uncontrollable porpose, let it concave 1/8" and it can create a lot of extra drag. That's why I flip every bass boat I get over and blueprint the hull. I want it straight, with a 320 grit finish on it. Now, with that said, if you think you want to do yours, understand some hulls have a hook built into pad right at the transome, know what you are doing before screwing with it. You take that hook out of an Allison hull, and you just ruined it.

I would not try doing it on the trailer,it's not stable enough and willl not support the hull the way it needs to be. I do mine on the ground and make me a sand bed to support the hull. Getting the sand firmly packed under the whole bottom. Then I would bury two 4x4's set with quickcreet so they are just below the gunwall/cap seam, the first about 1/3 back and the other about 2/3 back and then using whatever it takes to get the hull firmly support by the 4x's. Stingers are tough to replace because of their length and getting boards long enough to make them. My last set, I made out of 7 ply, 3/4" plywood. I did 14" overlap, taking one ply at the time, leaving 2"s of each ply so when they are glued together, it looks like the orignal ply. I pressed the joints in a hyd press to make sure they were like a German virgin, good'n tight I assume you are up on your fiberglass skills Getting the cap off can be fun. I have same metal frames I made to use from A-frames above the hull to hook into the sides of the cap and lift it off. Most likely, you will not get it cut loose good enough to lift it off by hand. I have lift the whole hull trying to get the cap to turn loose. On piece of advice you really need to pay attention to. After you get the wood cut floor, lay it in the floor and fit the cap back on to make sure the pieces are propely cut. Once satisfied, take the cap back off and seal the bottom sides. Normally it will bond to the top of the stringers, if so make sure you mark the stringer on the plywood so you get it in the proper position, but DO NOT bond it to the sides, this will be done when you lay the glass mat on top. The reason you don't want to bond the sides, you will be extremely wise to fit the cap back on before bonding the floor to the sides. If you bond the floor to the sides and the sides are open any, you may not get the cap back on. This may be a lot of old useless info but just trying to keep you from getting in trouble.

I deleted my long answer because I realized I had kinda hijacked someone else's post, but the short answer is: Yes I am, big time, and have been since I was a kid. I can put "The Tool Man" to shame.

Actually, I think we are down to only five battery manufactors here in the US. Johnson Control is the largest, by far and they make many brands, including Wally Worlds. With that said, I surely hope you don't think that just because a number of different batteries come out of the same plant, they are all the same battery. Most all manufactors produce a number of different name brands, but they are not all made to the same spec's. EastPenn Manufactoring is probably making some of the best batteries on the market right now but you won't go to Wal-Mart and buy one. They are producing a huge number of the OEM batteries, and they also happen to make most of Bass Pro Shops.

I guess I've been a fussy, anal guy for a long time. I've had a grahics shop do mine on my last three boats. I actually had one game warden more anal than me though. I had a set made with a metal flake material in somewhat of italic font, because the boat also had a metal flake stripe I had to put the letters/numbers on, he didn't think there was enough contrast. I asked him where in the book it said they had to have a certain contrast, it just said they had to be contrasting. I spent 10 minutes waiting while he was on the phone with his powers to be. I guess they ruled in my favor because when he finally got off, he said I was ok but I should probably change them because I would have this problem again. I used it another five years and he was the only one that gave me a problem.

Yes, you can charge them in parallel but you have to use twice as much charger. You should use a 15 - 20 amp charger if going to charge them. The recommended charge rate is 10% of the batteries Ah capacity. If you have two 105 Ah batteries in parallel, that's 210 Ah, which for optimal charge should be 21 amps. A 10 amp charger can do it, but you are looking at a long time to charge.

Identical batteries are recommemd for optimal performance but not totally necessary when in paraller. If in series, the MUST be identical. If you want the most run time, connect them in parallel, you will get as much as 20% more run time over running one battery at the time. If you want that safety cushion and know it's time to head back to the ramp, run one at the time. When the first is run down, you will know it's best to start heading home with the other. The heavier the load on a battery, the fewer the Amp hours they will give. A 105 amp hour battery may only give 75 amp hours of use under a heavy load (TM running on or near max). If there are two batteries in parallel, the load is cut in half so the two 105 Ah batteries will equal 210 Ah and that same load that was on one battery will provide about 180 Ah of use. That's 15 more Ah per battery than if running one at the time. Keeping the TM speed at about mid speed or lower will give you max run time.

Personnaly, I think both are short on hp. When I feel like wiping the grin off a bunch of Triton drivers, I have two motors, I play with. One is 318 hp @ 6,100 rpm, the other is 326 hp @ 6,200 rpm. Either one will push my 20 Javelin over 80 mph with two people, livewell full and full gear and plenty of gas. My next project I'm considering is a 3.3 Rude @ 450 hp. For a tow truck, put a twin tubo's with six inch exhaust on a DuraMax. That'll take care of any hp and torque numbers anyone could want for tow vehicle.

Keep it charged and run the crap out of it. It's pretty much a dual purpose battery so you should be good. 720 Cranking amps should be more than enough for a 150 Yamaha. If it has probablems suppling enough cranking amps, your electonics will be shutting off when you crank the motor. Even if that happens, you need to double check and clean all battery and terminal connections before blaming the battery.

How heavy the load, how fast you tow it, what kind of terrain, and what kind of weather conditions will determine what your tow vehicle should be, and how long it will last. I know with todays fuel cost, fuel economy has to be a huge consideration. Between what the boat is burning and it's costing you to get it to and from the lake, fishing trips are getting very, very expensive. As for a Diesel truck, of almost any kind that's big enough to tow anything bigger than a canoe getting 29mpg, even without a load, I feel that one huge B** S****! Look at what the Pro's who tow boats for a living use. You won't see many mid size or light duty full size trucks backing up to the ramp. Even with the FLW and small league guys that don't get those big sponserships, and have to pay their own way don't use those kinds of vehicles because they won't last and are too dangerous with a heavy, full size bass boat behind them.