Way2slow

As mentioned, if you just need more run time, adding a second battery in parallel will help that. That should almost double you run time. It you want a more speed and run time, then the 24V upgrade would be required. For the upgrade, the batteries will need to be connected in series. Series batteries need to the be same, same type, same size and same age or you will damage the new battery you stick in it. You will need to upgrade your charging system. You can buy a new 3 bank charger,, or you can use your existing charger to charge the two TM batteries and buy a single bank charger to charge the cranking battery. Check your cables going from the batteries to the TM, as a minimum, they need to be 6ga marine/battery cable. I prefer 4ga. I always use Anderson SB-50 connectors. There are a number of different connectors you can use but Anderson connectors have been the industrial standard for many years, they are very good and inexpensive. You will also want to make sure you have as a minimum 50 amp circuit breaker. The Bussmann or MinnKota like this in a 60 amp is the one I would recommend. https://www.wholesalemarine.com/minn-kota-60-amp-waterproof-circuit-breaker/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlJXkm6e87gIVkfLjBx2K6As9EAQYAiABEgLTDvD_BwE Usually you can find the Bussmann 60 amp a lot cheaper, this link was just to show you.

That old, it's possible it's had another powerhead on it. They generally either stamp in into the aluminum block or in a disk that looks like a freeze plug. I looked at this 2005 4cyl 90 block I have and they just stuck a bar code label on it, which can easily be destroyed.

Nope know very little about them. Mariner was the salt water version of a Mercury. Normally the serial number is used to determine the model year, but other than model number, don't have clue how to determine HP. Sitting that long, the whole fuel system will need to be gone through and carefully inspect all the lines for dry rot, hard and cracked. Water pump impeller must be replaced, it will be too hard and have too much memory to properly pump. The next thing is inspect all the wiring and make sure the insulation is still good and not cracking off. If they are dry and cracking, you might be able to paint them with liquid tape and salvage them.

Yep, I rarely eat Vienna sausage or potted meat except when on the water. They just don't taste the same. Pull into a quite cove and just enjoy the surroundings,, watching the wildlife, maybe an eagle or osprey flying over or nesting close by. That junk food seems to taste like a gourmet meal. You get so relaxed sometimes you hate to go back to fishing. That's another nice part about the south, the lakes I fish have have plenty of wooded areas all around them. I should also mention that's the best nap in the world. After eating, lay down in the boat and get about 15-20 minutes of shut eye, dang it feels good.

They ought to pay him a royalty for that one, think if how many times that's going to pop up.

DIXIE, one I made myself.

I don't have the balance problem, but when the prostate ain't the best in the world, you can end peeing on the boat almost as much as in the water. Ain't too fond of that.

My wife's grandmother was an outstanding cook, and I wouldn't pass on anything she cook, except her chicken soup, with chicken feet. She also liked them fried. Jig Man I grew out of that fishing intensity many years ago. When fishing became more to the point I no longer enjoyed it. Found it a lot more enjoyable when I slowed down, and quit the running and gunning. It's very common for me to lay down in the bottom of the boat and catch a little shut eye when the bite slows. So, definitely don't have a problem grabbing a bite to eat along the way. I also rarely spend all day on the water. Usually, by noon time, the boat's on the trailer and then back in the water a few hours before dark.

I like chicken soup made with chicken, but I ain't eaten non of yours. I will eat chitlins, if they are fried, sous meat (aka head cheese), brains and eggs and most anything else but possum, and I ain't eaten no soup make from chicken feet.

A few essentials on my boat, Toilet paper in zip lock bag, paper towels, and good unscented natural bar soap to wash hands with, and something to pee in. I keep one of those they give you in the hospital but a quart plastic jug works. This is so you don't have to stand on the back of the boat and advertise to the world you are taking a leak. Plus, there may be times other people are around. I keep hand towels to wipe my hands with as I'm fishing, but sometimes you might have to handle something like gas or oil you don't want to take a chance of getting one your hand towel, so that's where the paper towels come in.

I know all about the banana on a boat no, no., and because of that, I would never take a banana on someone else's boat. This is my boat and have never believed in any of that voodoos crap. Been taking banana's with me for over 50 years, and will be still be taking them with me when I go. Haven't had any gremlin's get me yet.

I'm surprised, must not be many southerners on here. Vienna sausage,, potted meat, Van Camp pork and beans, beanie weenies, and soda crackers stay well stocked on my boat. I will usually crab some whoop cheese or sharp cheddar and maybe some boiled eggs, and some fruit, like banana's and Gala apples as I head out. If it's real cold, I will take something hot in a large thermos to drink, but there are always plenty of bottles of water on it. Just because the fish might not want to eat, don't mean we have to go hungry too. Forgot to mention the Norwegian small, two layer sardines, always keep a few cans of those also.

First, let me say, I have not owned a new boat since I got married in 1969. There's nothing about one I can't fix myself so I have no problem buying somebody else's junk for a nickel or dime on the dollar, fix it up for little of nothing, use them until I found a buyer, make a couple thousand and buy another. I've probably owned close to 100 boats in my lifetime doing that. I guess I would have to change that to a 75, since it's seems most tin cans that size are not rated for a 90. Now, here's when my thoughts are on a new boat or make suggestion to someone that has never owned a boat. I would start off with something like a 17.5 - 18' aluminum with a 90hp motor Mercury, Yamaha or Honda. Those three have excellent reputations. The Suzuki seems to be pretty good also, but never had any dealing with one of those. I think Honda is about the champ in the four stroke world, they've been doing it a long time. Fiberglass boats look nicer, and ride a lot better, and that's that's about all I have ever owned, for a bass boat. The problem with glass boats,, they have gotten very expensive to make, they are heavier than aluminum and when you get into the 18' range, even though they a done a lot to trim weight off them, they are still heavy enough you will just about need a full size truck to safely tow one, mostly for getting one stopped in a panic situation. I've had a 18' Stratos with a tow weight of approx 3,100 pounds, push me completely through an intersection a car ran the light on and stopped in front of me, and just by the grace of god, I managed to avoid them at the last second, while towing it with a 4WD Toyota pickup. There was a young girl on the back seat looking straight at me as I was sliding toward her door. Totally not fun. So, while shopping, you need to consider what you are going to be towing it with, because you average mid size vehicle is not going to be able to handle much; Since I'm doing very little fishing now, I'm going to 24' pontoon I recently bought. Something the family and relatives can go to the lake in and just enjoy a day on the lake. However, I also know of several guides that use pontoons and say they wouldn't use anything else, gonna find out.

One thing I should have mentioned. It's not the maintenance that makes one expensive. It's when the new wears off and you've found out how much it cost to go fishing in it each time. That's when they start getting expensive. You look and see it just sitting there and how much it's costing you each month in payments and insurance, that's when it starts getting expensive. Then you decide you will get rid of it to get out from under that monthly waste. That's when it really gets expensive. You find out it's only worth about 3/4ths of what you owe on it and it's going to cost you a few thousand out of your pocket just to get rid of it.

Biggest thing is the age and condition of the boat and motor to start with. The older, the more apt it is to break. It's the breakdown repairs the eat your lunch, not the factory recommended maintenance. A whole lot of people over maintain their boats/motors. There are a lot of things people do annually that does not need to be done, but it gives the peace of mind they've done all they can do to prevent a breakdown. Four stroke motor is more expensive to maintain because of the oil changes etc, but, at the same time your not having to buy that high price two stroke oil at the rate of approximately a gallon for every 50 gallons of gas you burn, and with most outboard, it really doesn't take that long to burn 50 gallons of gas. Again, depending on the size but most larger outboards can burn 10 - 20 gallons of gas and hour. Older, large, two stroke motors can burn more than that. A lot of the factory recommended maintenance can easily be performed by the operator. Every three years or so, the water pump impeller needs to be changed, again, not a major task if you are familiar with it, but many let the shop do it. That alone can be several hundred dollars. In cold climates, winterizing is a must, again,, something you can do yourself, but many have a shop to do it. That can run a few hundred bucks. Also, you said your buddy says they service his at the lake, if they don't have a way of getting the boat out of the water, he's getting ripped off, there's a lot of stuff that can't be done with the boat in the water or over the water in a boat house, it has to be out on dry land.

Never had any dealings with those cheap motors, but I don't put any more faith in those than I do any of that other junk that's make to look like something that works, it's not made to work or last.. A good name brand motor probably won't show up at your price. Get one that's not running good, and you can easily spend that fixing it. I should mention, if you are good with motors, and don't mind having to fix things about them fairy regularly, those cheap things might give you a couple of seasons. If you have to pay someone every time something messes up on it, don't get one. When I was working, the company put an air compressor in my van that had one of those Honda look alike motors. It lasted about six months. I tore it down and found, they use bushings a places that should have been bearings. It didn't have a sleeve, in it, just the aluminum housing for the rings and piston to run on. I didn't see any sign of having steel valve seats in it. I pitched it in the trash and bought a Honda.

It's probably not mounted so it's square at the front and back and not letting the locking bark engage when down. If the mounting surface if not perfectly flat, you have to shim under the low points so the motor mount is not being pulled out of square (twisted) when tightened down. If you get it to lock down, and it's hard to get it to unlock when you pull the cord, you are still out of square.

Actually,there's probably less caffeine in mine than someone who drinks a couple of cups or a large cup of Folgers or Maxwell house. The quality beans I use are much lower in caffeine than those big brands. They use a large amount of robusta beans which are a low grade bean but very high in caffeine.

I guess you would think running a 200 on a 15' ProCraft rated for a 85 was genius. Did that for a few years. Even twin 135BHP racing motors on a 16' Allison for a while. That was nothing compared to the day I was cruising at 65 in that 285 Pro when I had a jon boat blow by me like I had dropped anchor. I nailed it and caught up with him, he was running just a touch over 78 on my gps. I meet up with him at the ramp, he was testing his racing jon (looking like about 16') with a 3 cyl OMC cranking over 150hp, he wouldn't say just how much over. It has a scream to it that made it sound like he was turning at least 10K. It's not how much horse power you have and how fast you can run, it's knowing how and when to use it (and mainly when not). I've been doing it since the late 60s when I had that Allison, so I do have a little experience.

I always do a 18 gram shot for mine (the standard double shot is 14 grams) That's for an espresso or cappuccino

Big problem with commercial coffee's is you are getting the bottom of the barrel for bean quality. The best beans never make it to market. They are bought up buy the 5 star hotels and restaurant's visited by the elite ultra rich. They will pay mega prices for the top quality beans. I'm talking $30 a pound from he same regions that I buy for $10 a pound, and that's after the whole seller has added his markup. (at $10 a pound, it still cost over $15 by the time you add sipping and 15-20% loss in roasting) These are from small co-ops family farms. These beans are sold in small lots, highly graded and sampled for the best. The buyer's that market to the home roaster and small independent commercial roasters get the left overs the buyers with deep pockets don't get. These guys are buying bags full. The commercial roasters are buying by the warehouse full and the beans are from the mega growers that are trying ot produce as much coffee as they can, as cheap as they can, at probably 30 cents a pound. Kind of like going to a local farmer and getting eggs from yard chickens and Walmart and getting eggs grown in the giant egg barns. No comparison in taste.

I see I'm not the only one that roast his own. Been doing that since 2000, when I bought my Livia 90 espresso machine. It didn't take long to find out you had to have fresh coffee beans to make good espresso. I Build my own roasters and computer controllers to program and control the roast. I prefer the AeroPress for brewing a cup, but if the espresso machine is on, I prefer that and make a cup of Americana. Once you get to taste a real cup of coffee, it's very hard to drink any other. I don't drink store bought coffee or restaurant coffee, most of that stuff is nasty.

This is a laptop that stays by my chair, it has not been shut off or rebooted in probably a year. If I do, windows wants to run it's update that screw it up so I have to go back and remove the latest update. I'm just getting tired of having to go in a delete a pages full of needless emails for here.

So, you're saying the only fix is to quit logging in. I can do that.

Been using nothing but Dove since 1980. Back then I was playing GI Joe and spending months at the time in the field. when you did get a chance to wash off, there was limited water. Since Dove is more of a cleansing cream than a soap,, it rinses off much better and doesn't leave a soap film on your body. You will probably find a lot of Rangers, Special Forces and other units that have to travel light with limited support/supplies use Dove.