TheRodFather

There will always be exceptions to the rule. I pulled my powerdrive apart this year and greased the gears, I imagine it will last longer now than if I hadn't. Perhaps you took good care of yours as well. Products are designed and built to last long enough for the company making them to honor the warranty, the retail price of the product includes an average of costs they may incur having to do warranty repairs on the units that come back. Appliances, vehicles, everything. I personally shoot for my vehicles to last double the length of time I made payments on it, anything double the payment terms and I am winning. It's a business model. How does, lets say Toyota, "recover" from a 2 billion dollar recall on their product, because a part failed and led to uncontrollable acceleration causing crashes? Is Toyota in danger of going out of business? That payout didn't come from them borrowing money to honor the warranty, they already had it stashed somewhere, you and I filled the "stash" account for them when we buy a new vehicle. It's all funny money, shifted around so they are insulated from major, and minor problems they may have with a product. I am sure humans have the tech to make a vehicle last a lifetime, and yet that vehicle has never been made. Why is that? Perfect example is what I found when I rebuilt my outboard recently. The crank and connecting rod bearings are all needle bearings. Vehicle engines use bi metallic shell type bearings, the same tech that has been around for probably 100 years. 50% or more of the energy produced by an automotive combustion engine is lost to friction and heat. If an outboard from 1983 can be manufactured using such low friction bearing tech that allows them to get so much HP in such a small package, why haven't auto mfgs followed suit? Because they don't have to, the consumer expectation is that once the warranty is up, it's time to get another one. Throwaway Society is the new norm, driven by consumers always wanting "new". Sorry, turned into a rant :).

Well I got the block back Friday afternoon and spent that night till about 10, and this morning till about 2 reassembling it. I have been cleaning all the covers and bolt on stuff in my spare time so everything was ready to assemble. Chamfered the ports to break the sharp edge. Mercury ring gap spec is .018 to .025, 1 and 3 were .020, cyl 2 was .024, so the machinist did well so far. I don't have telescoping gauges to check diameter and taper and such. I will just have to trust the machinist. I put the pistons in one at a time and then laid the crank in the journals and connected one con rod at a time, rather than the way Merc wants you to do it. Checked all rings for springback through the ports to verify none broke during install. The rest of the assembly went well until I went to put the lower unit on and realized that the exhaust tube has to be put in the driveshaft housing from the top........ So I had to pull off the powerhead, with all bolt ons already on it, off the d shaft housing. Not fun, but better than loosing hours pulling all the accesories off just to save a little bit of weight. It fired right up on the muffs, just to prove the trip to the lake for break in wont be a waste of time. Lots of different opinions on break it, but everyone seems to agree 25:1 oil. Crowley Marine says: Allow 4 hours at idle speed only for break-in of new pistons or rings. Avoid continuous full throttle operation for the first 10 hours of operation. Liquid cooled engines require that the engine be brought gradually to normal operating temperature to avoid cold seizure resulting from pistons expanding faster than the cylinder liner. DO NOT RUN ENGINE AT CONSTANT RPM FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME. After gradually bringing engine to normal operating temp., operate engine in gear at approx. 1500 RPM for 20 minutes. Operate in gear at no more than 3000 RPM for the next 60 minutes. Cruise at 3/4 throttle or less for the next 4 hours. Occasionally reduce throttle to idle speed for a cooling period. During the final hours of break-in you can operate at full throttle for periods of 2 minutes or less. 4 hours at idle??

Is that Power Poles latest offering into the trolling motor market?

If it was me, and the crack was well above the water line, and I was pulling off the outboard (less weight on the transom causing stress). I might think about buying it and making a repair just for cosmetics, or not repair at all if doesn't look terrible and isn't letting water in when sitting in the water. A glass boat is going to be a lot heavier than a tin, so a large trolling motor and plenty of battery will be needed. Not sure how big the water you want to fish is, but a standard 55lb 12v trolling motor is going to be slow going. Repairing the glass isn't all that hard, especially if structural integrity isn't a big concern.

Just like most everything else these days. Made just well enough to make it to the end of the warranty. And the cost of any work you need done during the warranty, well that's included in the retail cost of the product, so you pay that too.

Yes, everything looked good on the bottom end, I didn't find any metal below the pistons. All reed guide gaps are within spec, reeds fit tight etc. No evidence of anything banging around down there. Just on top of the piston. Yes, 518 is the product I am going to use.

Thanks for the tips! If they don't chamfer the ports, how much massaging are we talking here? just breaking the sharp edge, or more?

Ok, so I got my WSM cast pistons and rings in the mail, all .030 over. Gasket kit, bearing kit, rod bolt kit, and carb kit are in the mail. Cylinder 2 is already 30 over, skirt to cylinder wall clearance is tight to the spec, so a quick surface refinish wont do any harm. Ring gap is also still within spec on number two. He should have up to .001 to work with to hone before the ring gap opens above spec. But realistically, I am sure it will be fine, I don't really run the motor that hard. Heck, Mercury recommends trashing the block if the cylinder needs more than .015 to re bore, which is silly because there are oversize pistons to .040 available. I am dropping the block and a piston at the shop tomorrow. Guy says 3 or 4 days, 38 dollars a hole. Maybe he will only charge me for two since number 2 is already bored, just needs a quick hone. I will start to clean up the covers and caps and small parts while waiting on the block. Lots of bolts to keep track of at this point! I finally took the lower unit off tonight and the impeller that I put on a couple years ago is in fine shape. I will put a new one in anyway, but what this tells me is that those bits of rubber I found in the cooling passageways of the block during initial tear down, have been rolling around in the block since at least as long as I have had the boat. I plan on installing a temp sender in the cylinder head plate, and a gauge on the dash, so I can keep an eye on engine temp in the future. A tear down was bound to happen, those rubber bits just happened to finally find a place to lodge and she overheated.

Truth! When I buy a car I pull off every connector I can get my hands on and put it in the terminals. I have never sold a car due to "electrical gremlins". Despite manufactures using rubber seals on connectors, corrosion in the electrical system is the biggest killer of vehicles that are otherwise well maintained, boats, cycles, cars, anything that uses precise electrical signals. Not only does it keep moisture out, it helps maintain conductivity of the connection.

I used some of the closed end pop rivets in the restoration of my tin boat, but, I did not use them below the water line, I used them for interior sheet metal connections, and some of the gunnel connections, etc. I hammered and dollied all the solid rivets I suspected were loose, then used the West System G flex epoxy on any rivets/bolt heads, or seams that looked suspect. All of my rivet heads appeared to be tig welded to the aluminum skin after the boat was riveted together when they built it, so that helped. Another product that I would go as far as saying was instrumental in my restoration was the West marine G flex epoxy. That stuff is amazing, a little goes a long way and it seeps into any crevices or seams of the boat. I finished about 2 or 3 years ago and everything is holding together great. She gets a little water in the bilge after a full day fishing but nothing that is even close to above the intake level of the bilge pump, so no sense even turning it on. Maybe a pint of water when I take the plug out.

I did some digging and found a local outboard shop that has been around for 40 years, that works with a machinist that does blind holes and is familiar with the old mercs. So things are looking good for the machine work. He said to order the pistons and send them along with the block. Wiseco pistons run on the large size so the 30 over cylinder wont have to go to 40 over. 40 over is on the edge of a resleeve, so I'm happy to stay away from that.

Saturday morning the boat started missing and carrying on a little, but not too bad, felt like too much oil in the mix. By midday we decided to head back in and while heading to the dock it lost power and wouldn't rev over 3000rpm. Started looking into it, cyl 1 had no compression and what I could see of the piston it looked pitted like there had been metal bouncing around in the cylinder. Tore the power head down and the number one piston is shot, rings broken, etc. The cylinder doesn't look too bad, I think I can hone it. Cylinder 2 is .030 over, 1 and 3 are standard. Cylinder 2 and 3 had about 95psi, which is lower than it should be, but about where it was when I first purchased the boat/motor. I also noticed some rubber pieces (impeller) stuck in the hole in block where the water comes out to the water tell tale hose. I haven't pulled the lower unit off yet to see if the impeller I put on about 2 years ago has broken, or if it's left over from the impeller I pulled out when I first got the boat. These motors are known for burning up the #1 piston due to fuel starvation, but it looks like it might have been lack of cooling water flow. From what I have read, not many places can bore these motors over (1983 merc 70hp) because the bores are blind holes. So I am going to do some more digging and see what my options are. From what I can tell right now, my options are: A rebuild for about 600 bucks in parts, maybe get it bored out if it's cost effective. I don't need it to last another 20 years, so a quick rebuild with pistons/rings and honing the cylinders will be fine. Buy a remanufactured powerhead (if one is available) for about 2000 bucks. Find a used outboard, though I haven't had much luck looking for a decent 50-70hp. I have been looking for a couple years knowing my motor probably wouldn't last much longer. Buy a new outboard for about 7000 bucks. I am going to be in the market for a different boat in a few years if all goes to plan, so I really don't want to repower with a new outboard, but I also am not in a place to get another boat right now. Are there any other options I am not thinking of? Has anyone else been through this scenario? I would love to be back up and fishing so as not to miss the fall bite, summer has been rough and I have been looking forward to less scorching heat and better fishing.

1 and 3: Yes, but with some variables. Depending on depth, that fish "could" be many feet in front, to either side, or behind the transducer. The cone that WRB eluded to. The depth that you are in, determines the size of the circle that the sonar sees on the bottom, and up through the water column. For example, if you are in 10ft of water (and the boat is moving), the cone is about 3.3 ft wide, so that fish you see could be smack under the transducer, or it could be 1.5ft behind, forward, or to the side of the transducer, or anywhere in between. If you are in 100ft of water, there is more than 15ft in any direction that the fish could be from the transducer. Not only that, the fish could be moving, while you are moving, and be gone by the time you spot lock and drop your bait. If you are spot locked and you see a straight line that starts, then ends, that is a fish moving through the cone, you saw him come into, them move out of, the cone. If you are spot locked and you see a straight line that stays and just goes on and on, that fish is holding in the cone. How close he is to the transducer can be estimated by your depth. Might not be a bass though :). 2: Quality of the installation, and I'm sure to an extent the quality of the transducer is the reason for the sonar not being able to give a clean return as you speed up. The scroll speed of your screen also plays a roll in this I think. Basically, turbulence creates water that is not uniform in consistency and the transducer can't see through it, bubbles, swirls, etc. You can play around with mounting depth and placement to find a way to keep clean water going across the TD. My boat will give me "decent" returns up to about 7mph, and read depth up to about 20mph. Any much past that it starts blinking, which I think means the unit has lost the bottom (I have the same unit as you on my console) My boat is aluminum and has rivets and strakes, dents, and scratches, it's a mess under there. I just use the chartplotter to stay in the deep water as I run from place to place. I ran into the same issues you describe, trying to drop anchor and hit that fish on the head with my bait that I just saw on the graph. But what I am learning as time goes on, is that you want to use the graph/chartplotter to give you clues as to where the fish are holding (depth, structure like points, channels, etc), and then find several of those places on the chartplotter and fish them. Later on, you sneak up on that "spot" so as not to spook the fish, you know they are there because you graphed over them a couple hours ago, and you caught other fish on similar structure in other parts of the lake. Fishing offshore is tough, it is what I have devoted my foreseeable future of bass fishing to, until I get the hang of it and learn bass behavior. Graphing and figuring out the spots on the lake that the fish are holding should be done before ever dropping a line. Admittedly, I do still fish previous "spots" sometimes, where I caught fish before, but you may be wasting time if you assume they are there today cause there were there yesterday. I had a "spot" that I was catching fish on consistantly for 3 weekends in a row. Then all of a sudden on the 4th weekend, they vanish, never to be seen again :).

Not interested in an argument, I admittedly overreacted. Carry on. Aldi's prices are good, but a lot of it is processed foods, and so not the best from a health standpoint (that's my wife's stance anyway).

I have garmin touch screens, it is nice to have. I wouldn't say it is any type of must have though. What IS must have IMO is shortcut buttons. 95% of what I do with my graphs is switching between combo screens and or sonar views. Shortcut #1 on my console unit is a combo with chart and sidescan, for running, and scouting structure. Then #2 is full screen sidescan to take a better look at structure from far away without getting close to possible fish, #3 is 2D full screen, #4 is full screen down view. So I can take a closer look at the spot I'm on with one keystroke. The bow graph has different combos, but same idea, easy button push if I want to look with different sonar etc. The setup is pretty new to me, so it is evolving based on how it works for me on the water, but the shortcuts save a ton of time for me. It seems like people are running multiple units at the console, and multiple units at the bow, just so they can look at different info without pushing any buttons. I don't have that kind of money, so the shortcuts are my way. I think HB has 3 shortcut keys, and Lowrance you have to go back to home to change views. But don't qoute me on that.

No doubt not helping with the cost of groceries........ I have the option to check out and bag my own groceries nowadays, where is the discount passed on to me because they saved wage and benefits not having a cashier?

I agree that it is good on her for learning work ethic. What about the work ethic of the guy having her carry his groceries? The fact that you intuitively "turn it down", or you "find it awkward", is the same reason I find it unpalatable to have someone do something for me that I am capable of doing myself. That's how we were raised. We were not raised to let others do for us, what we can do for ourselves.

Yes, you guys are probably all correct. It's been a rough week, I'm a Plumber, it's 104 with heat index to 115, and I did a water heater in an attic yesterday. The heat is getting to my brain I think. It IS a service at Publix, but it left me speechless to see an able bodied man allow somebody else (the fact that it was a young girl adds to my amazement) to walk the groceries out to the car, and then load them. Call me old fashioned I guess. No shame in that guys game. It is really strange where I live, mostly white collar folks who know how to do nothing for themselves. Guess I shouldn't complain, I will always have work, being a plumber. That service is for the old and or infirm, or moms/dads with small rugrats in their arms, etc, etc. Wont happen again.......carry on.

I watched a grown man allow a young(ish) girl push his cart of groceries out to the parking lot and load them in his car at Publix tonight. I don't even know what to say. There could be more to the story, but he couldn't have been more than mid 40s and looked perfectly able bodied. Unreal. This area is full of people that gave up, or never had their man card, it sickens me. Rant over/ Sorry

There is one 2 miles from me, I had never been to one until we moved to NC. I would say it is better than Dicks, but not as good as Gander MTN, bass pro, cabelas. I agree the h20 rods are great. For some reason the Academy near me doesn't carry a single reel in left hand. Combo or reel, same with Dicks. Luckily there is a bass pro and a cabelas within 20 min of me. Though their selection of lefty reels isn't great, they at least have some. I go to Academy for necessities, terminal tackle, weights, some plastics, but if I'm looking for a certain color in a 10xd, 6xd, and squarebill for my "set", they probably wont have all that. In the same way you can get lots of things you need at a convenience store, but if you need groceries, that's not the place to go.

You are about an hour and a half away from some of the best river smallie action in the country........ I have a buddy that guides the Susquehanna near Harrisburg/Duncannon that will put you on the fish and get your excitement level back up. I can PM his info if you want. I live in NC now, and I'll tell you, I miss living right near the river in Lancaster PA. Smallies are more fun to fish for if you ask me. More aggressive, fight harder per pound, etc.

Definitely nice, and I am a sucker for a case for my stuff, tools, fishing, guns, anything really. It reminds me of the Milwaukee packout system for tools, everything is modular, stackable, etc.

I remember dipping a berkley 10 powerbait worm and I forget if I was talking to someone or what, but by the time I pulled it out the tail was hanging on by a thread. I guess I should not have said "all" plastics, my bad.

Funny story, I was messing around with the bottle off JJs that I bought years ago, dropped it in the kitchen and stained the heck out of the grout on the floor. Wife was less than pleased. It will eat all plastics if you leave them in there long enough, or reapply. It's gnarly stuff.

I have used Smelly Jelly in crawfish, and baitfish scent when fishing for smallmouths, and I found that it makes noticeable a difference in catch rates. For Largemouths, I have tried JJs magic, megastrike, and I forget what the other one I have is, it is the same as JJs, (chartreuse dye and garlic). I can't say for sure if it makes a difference yet.