Way2slow

All you have to do is chop the power without triming down first on my boat with it stretched out like that and it does that automatically, it just goes right instead of left and a whole lot sharper, don't have to worry about turning the wheel. Alli guys call it the bat turn. After a few of them, it's almost fun but still not something I've tried just for the thrill. One thing though, for most, you don't have to worry about doing that. That boats ways flying the hull a lot more so than most average boats could ever hope to. THe boat has to be fully on the pad and flying similar that to realy make it work or do a bat turn on it's own if you chop the power too quick. Now, if you have yours stretched out and if feels like it mostly floating on air and just feeling the back of the boat kinda skipping along on the chop, then all you have to do is quickly let off the gas, or turn the switch off and hang on.

I was not refering to using an onboard charger. I guess I should have made myself a little clearer, I don't think any of the onboards are High Frequency chargers like I refered to. Something like this http://store.schumachermart.com/sc-1000a.html is what I meant, but there are a number of brands. The space concern was the fact he only has a 12" battery box. A group 24 is 10 7/8" long, group 27's and larger are over 12" and will not fit in his box. A group 24 is going to limit his runtime, which may not be a problem if he's only fishing small ponds/lakes where he doesn't need to cover a large area.

Those cheap Wal-Mart covers are not worth the time it takes to one on, as much water goes through them as off them. The one I'm using is also a failry cheap cover (about $140) from Acadamy but I've had not complaints with it. I've been using it two years, it's Towable, it keeps the boat dry and very reasonably priced. A couple of things you should always do when you cover a boat. Prop all hatch lids open, I use my markers for this and keep a small blower/fan under it to keep the air moved. I have a little 10' fan I paid $9 for I lay in the splash well so it pulls fresh air in the rear and blows it out the bow around the TM. This little $9 fan has been running 24/7 for three years while the boat is covered. I recently found another and bought it as a replacement for when this one does finally quit.

Your battery space just killed you. You are going to pretty much stuck with a Group 24. When I start recommending brands, too many different opinions so I won't go there. I also don't recommend running the depth finder off the same battery as the TM but there are lot's of mixed opinions on that one to. For a charger, I would recommend one that states it's High Frequency, SMART or Inteli charger with a float mode. They generally cost a little more but are much better on the battery. Again, not going to get into brands.

I've got a number of boats, the biggiest/heaviest is a 20 Javelin Renegade 20 DC with a 225 Evinrude ficht on tandom axle trailer, approx 3,500 pounds with my fishing load. I tow with a 1998 4WD, extended cab 350 CI chevy pickup 1500, but has a heavily modified transmission and a rather large auxillary cooler.

Rat, I have an old saying, "Don't start no crap (mild version) and there want be any" You apparently was doing selective reading before you started. Rather make make a whole buch of quotes from pervious post, go back and "read" what I posted. I aknowledged, he can tow in OD if he pays close attention but why would he want to. The 55 mph came in when I suggested he keep his speed down to a reasonable 55 mph. You threw in the 4,000 rpm, making it sound the the addional 400 or so rpm he would be turning was going the make a major wear down of his whole drive line and engine. As for the OD in a Honda, you apparently have never seen one. I just replaced the one in my nephews 91 Accord. It's not something you want to strain. You was the one saying all he needs to be concerned about was the clutch. I strongly disagreed, knowing what he's dealing with for a 5th gear in the thing. Yes, refering to a Mack truck was the extreme, but like you said about your rpm, I was making a point, everything is built to handle a certain stress load and you make it sound like the clutch is all that maters In your own words, you stated less throttle opening means more gas milage, I'll bet a dollar to a dougnut, he will not have less throttle opening towing in OD other than when going down hill. I've towed with with many kinds of vehicles and towed in overdrive thinking I would be getting better gas mileage but over the years, with thousands of miles of tracking it, I've found I almost never got better mileage with a small engine vehicle. I had a 73 Ford Bronco that I put a beefed up 460 in with 4:11 gears and 33x12.50's and added an aftermarket overdrive behind the transfer case for rear wheels only so I could afford to drive it on the highway. It got better gas milage in OD towing my boat with that but that was about the only one I've ever truely got better with. I've debated the issue as far as I care too, so I'm done. He can read and weed through what makes since to him and follow what he feels is right. I only make suggestion, and how I would do something, I never try to tell a man how he should operate his equipment, it's his and he can operate any way he pleases.

I think the number on those are SB-50's and they are made for #6 cable, but those have already been used. IMO those are the best you can use for TM connectors. Pull them appart, look inside the end where the terminals are and you will see a flat piece of spring steel up against the bottom of the terminals. This is what locks the terminal in, push down on the piece of metal to get it away from the bottom of the terminal and you can pull the terminals out the cable end. Once they have been crimped, they are not much good so you really need to get two new ones. You can get them from Cabela's, BPS and Graingers. Grainger's number 3BY20 and are approx $7.00 each. The only draw back is when running a 12/24 motor, you need three terminals. To get that with those connectors, you have to use two sets. If by chance the cables were just soldered in and not crimped, you can reuse those.

My Renegade 20 had the Zercom CID-40. A real piece of junk. Zercom was bought out by Hummingbird and they still have repair capabities for some. It was a flat $75 plus shipping to have mine rerpaired/reconditioned. A parts buddy at a large boat dealership near me (was a Stratos/Javelin dealer for many years) said he's never seen one over a year old that worked and it would be a waste of money to have it repaired. I took it out and put a Lowrance 1240A in it's place. I did run into one snag doing that. The fill line for the Hyrdralic steering was too close for the 1240 to fit all the way in the dash so I had to make a 3/4" spacer and space it out 3/4". I did this because I still prefer my flasher when running at high speeds.

Hey Rat, using your logic, all a Mack truck needs is a one huge clutch and would work just fine with a Honda drive train. Get real, you know so dang much about your stuff, haven't you ever heard of stress loads. I guess as long as the clutch is big enough, the loads placed on the smaller bearings and small diameter shafts, plus the smaller gear faces mean nothing. I would also like to see a Honda turn 4000 rpm in forth gear at 55 mph, he might get 2,500. Again, you know so much, ever seen what rod bearings and main bearings look like that came out of and engine that was run a lot with it loading down. Guess not. I thought this post was asking about towing with a Honda Accord, not some cars with this gear ratio and some cars with that gear ratio and nothing was ever mentioned about turning a motor 4000 rpm. I've never seen and OD went from about 1,800 rpm at 55 mph to 4,000 rpm when you droped down to fourth gear. You're the super mechanic, I've only been building motors for about 45 years, that's ciricle track, drag, Aries blown hemi's used in national truck/tractor pull competetions and some pretty badass street rods so I'm sure you know a lot more than me about this stuff. You proved that with the comment, "the only pontential issue would be the clutch.". Just don't understand why all those companies building all those big, expensive drive trains haven't figured that one out yet. Oh well enough said.

Three speed automatics were only in the trucks with engines like the 454 or your heavy duty work trucks like the 3500's and some 2500's not in the 1500. They were just you standard Turbo 400 transmisson, they used those because the 700R4/4L60 would not hold up in those applications, it's was strickly intended for light duty use like in a 1500, S10's, Astro vans and the rear wheel drive cars. They later came out the with 4L80 for those heavy duty applications which is basically a T400 with overdrive added. The 4L80 is a much better transmission for towing than the 4L60/700R4 and has been transmission used in the 2500 and 3500's. May still be the same today, I haven't messed with any in a couple of years but my 2000 model 3500 van has the 4L80E. As for repair if/when your transmission goes bad, a factory authorizied rebuilt from a dealer will usually cost you approx $1,700 plus a few hundred dollars labor to install (in reality if yours is a 2WD it only take about two hours to swap out). I would do that before letting a transmission shop to rebuild it, some are good and honest but too many are not quit so. The standard rebuild most shops do, the parts and torque converter to rebuild yours cost them less than $150 but they don't replace any where near all the hard parts that should be replaced but they still charge almost as much as the factory jobs where they do replace all the necessary parts. For about the same as a factory rebuild, you can order one that has been modified similar to the way I did mine and they are almost bullet proof but very few local builders can/will build one like that unless you happen to live close to one of the companies that does build them.

I have a 1988, 16'9" Stratos (169V) with a 115 I-6 Merc that I weighed with my normal fishing load in it and it weighed 2,700 pounds. I have a 1989, 18'5" Startos 285 Pro, with a 200 Johnson on the back that weighs 3,250 pounds with my normal load. I have a 20' Javelin Renagade 20 DC with a 225 ficht on it, I haven't weighed it but I figure it will tip the scales at about 3,500 - 3,600 pounds with my normal load. I tow with a 1998 1500, 4WD Chevy 350 CI pickup with 165,000 miles. The weak point to your setup is the transmission. The 700R4's and 4L60E's (yours may have the 4L60E, it was about 91 92 when they went to them) (ECU shifted version of the 700R4) are not the strongest things made, they have a very small clutch pack for OD, and are not suited real well for a lot of heavy towing. A fairly large Auxillary cooler is a must, and keep it out of overdrive. I have rebuilt and modified my transmission so it will tow 6,000 pounds in OD if I wanted to (approx $700 just for the parts and me doing the work) but I still don't use overdrive. Towing my Javelin at 70 mph on fairly level roads in 3rd, I get 14.3 mpq, towing it in D (OD) I get 12.6 mpg, this is with several thousands of miles of records to prove it. A loaded engine burns more fuel than a free turning engine. On your truck "D" is overdrive, "3" is drive. Most later model vehicles have a button you can press to turn Overdrive off but you have to shift down to 3. ONe little note, if your transmission goes out shortly after you start towing, it was probably not the towing that caused it. You are getting into the window of when they are subject to fail reqardless.

Back in the 60's I towed a 15' GlassMaster, fiber glass boat with a 80hp Merc on the back using a VolksWagon Karman Gia. Towed it for two years and only had to replace one clutch. The ramp was fairly steep and had to ride the clutch pretty good to get moving up it with the boat on the trailer. I towed my 18.5" Stratos (over 3,000 lbs) with an 1986 4 cylinder Toyota pickup with over 300,000 miles for a couple of years in very hilly country and made 300 mile trips down to the St Johns river in FL twice a year. My point is, you can tow just about anything, with just about anything, if you do it smartly. Don't try to run like a bat-out-of-hell, and keep it out of fifth gear. Yes, if you pay attention to how the car feels and how the motor is trying to lug, you might be able to use 5th but my question it "WHY" would you want to. THere is a chance of a hole lot more to loose than to gain doing so. Gas mileage probably won't be as good as in fourth, that extra few rpm dang sure ain't gonna harm anything or shorten the life of anything about the car unless you feel you need to fly with it. As others have mentioned, just be aware it takes a little more to stop so allow a little extra room, and DON"T go backing down the ramp very fast or might just keep right on backing a lot further than you had planned on. After all, you are not talking that much weight, I've seen Accords with four fat bodies in them with more weight than you're talking about towing.

Avid, Can't help you much on the Optima in particular, I don't buy, or do anything with them except swap them out for another brand when I replace them in a customers equipment. I know the brands I deal with, you would have nothing to worry about. Normally, the only time a battery is going to vent any harmful vapors is during charging. After it settles, it should only vent a very small amount of air as heat builds up during the day and pull a small amount back in when it cools off at night. If they are gas valve regulated, they are suppose to be safe to use in and inclosed area. I removed this las line, I noticed you said inside the truck. Sit it on a rubber matt and don't worry about it.

Seen bunches of the river racers. First time I've seen them trench out a field, put role bars on one and go ralley racing with one.

In automatic or manual transmissions, overdrive or 5th gear in strickly a cruising gear, they are not built to handle much load or stress. If you did break 5th in your Honda, it's easy enough to fix, just unbolts and bolt another on, only take a few minutes but will cost you approx $300 for the parts. It's much easier on the whole car to just stay out of fifth gear. Even many of your full size pickups with five speed manuals have a very limited towing capacity in 5th gear. Most just say don't tow in 5th.

check out this video and some of the side clips, ever seen boats with roll bars, Just cut some ditches in a field and go at it.

Check with the Honda dealer and see what the towing capacity is for your car. I wouild not try to tow in overdrive if automatic or 5th gear if manual and keep your speeds down to a reasonable 55 mph. I would think if you did that, you should be in good shape

How would you like to have walked up on this http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Odd%20Pics%202/Grizzly.html

Word of caution!! NEVER USE JUST ANY CHARGER TO CHARGE AGM's or Gel's. You have to use a voltage controlled charger that does not charge at more than 14.4 volts if you want to get a reasonable life from them. You standard transformer based chargers that Sear's and everybody else in the world sells are not voltage controlled. You use a charger that specifies it's made for AGM's and has an AGM mode. This is also the case with Gel's. Actually you shouldn't use those things everybody's been using for any battery you are going to charge more than a couple of times if you want to get full life from them. Those and most standard chargers can reach voltages well over 15 volts and over 16 volts for larger chargers, this is harmful to any battery made. Even your deep cycle, flooded cell batteries should never be charged at more than 14.6 volts. Well, actually not battery made should be charged at over 14.6 volts. I know many will say they've been using them for years. I know, my grandpa used them, my pa used them and that's goodanuff fur me. Just shows they didn't know any more about batteries than you. Until bass fishermen and trolling motors came along, there was not real market for the proper type charger and those things were cheap and worked fine for an occassional charge. For the past several decades, your automobiles however have always regulated the charging voltage to approx 14.6 volts.

To answer your question, no, it will not hurt anything if you blow back through the tube. There is probably a plastic fitting back near the motor connecting the motors tube to the boat's, you can undo it right there. 30 - 40 pounds of pressure won't hurt, that's about what it takes to make the speedo work. While you have it disconnected, you can slowly apply pressure to the speedo end of the tube and check the speedo if the LU pickup was not plugged.

Don't use if for a cranking battery. You will need a gel charger, they are much more sensitive to charging conditions, even more so than AGM's. A good gel charger is going to be fairly expensive.. You will not get the run time a good flooded cell battery and not many will give the run time of the better AGM's. Properly charged, they will give more charge cycles (longer life span) than the AGM's or flooded cell batteries.

If it has a VIN it should be stamped into the trailer. Not real sure that was a requirement back then. I bought a 1983 Lawson a few years back and it's trailer didn't have a VIN. Georgia is not real pickey about the trailer so I just titled it as home made and used my SSN as a VIN. Many states have a form for home made trailers but you might run into problems, not sure. Like the others said, that's a seller responisbility to provide as necessary titles and paper work. This is to protect you more than anything else, if there is a lean against it and he holds back a title that shows that and you retitle it, the lean company can still come and take it, or make you pay off any outstanding debt.

As Al mentioned, you may get interference between the two must if they are all the newer model LCD unit's they do a pretty good job at cancleing it out. Your flashers line the 1240A console mounted untils will not cancle out the others and you will have to turn the others off if you run one of those.

Sounds like a great fishing platform, you will love it. Just be aware, with a new boat like that, most likely you're going to catch a lot fewer fish for the first couple of months, so make as many trips to the lake as you can before spring warm up starts. The reason for the fewer catches, you're gonna wanna ride and grin more than fish and make longer runs to other spots.

Now for a 180 degree view point from Al's. Accessories like the high dollar electronics and a few of the other upgrades are something that can be always be added as the piggy bank will allow. Granted they are nice and makes a great fishing platform if fully rigged, but the motor is their for keeps, there ain't no going back an upgrading a little along on it so if I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after they quoted my dream boat, I would start looking at dumping the easily upgradeable stuff before taking a cut in the motor. If I was going down and buying his rig today, I would not leave the dealership without, The boat, 200 E-tec, the jakeplate (hydraulic if I could afford it), the Hotfoot, 80# variable speed TM, (mine would be the MG digital) hydraulic steering and those gas springs to hold the lids up on at least the battery compartment and rod locker. The only thing I would consider changing from this basic rig would be to use a manual jackplate if I needed to save about $500 and the E-tec if that was an absolute deal breaker. Everything from there would be negotiable because it's easily added/upgraded. GPS is only mandatory if you structure fish large bodies of water where you can't get land marks, in most other bodies of water they are only a nice thing to have. I very seldom even use mine but 95% of my fishing is in areas where it's no more than a few hundred yards from bank to bank so I just cross vector landmarks and puts me right on where I want to be. Wow, just realized, while we are spending his money, forgot one very key feature for that size boat, the double axle trailer with brakes.