TOXIC

I have been chompin at the bit to get back out there but the weather has been crap and I have some maintenance to do on the boat. One thing leads to another. I have to wire up my power poles which requires pulling the seats and while the seats are out I need to replace the sending units on both my fuel tanks (note: you cant just buy the seals, you have to buy the whole sending unit) and I have a coin box to replace my center flip up seat to install. Since I have to store outside, the weather is a factor and my buddy who has a garage big enough to get the monster in, has been out of the country for a while. I can't fuel up because the sending unit seals are leaking and putting a lot of fuel in the bilge...not good. On top of that it's show season and I have been to Hooker Bait and Tackle in Toano and Bass Pro in Ashland for sponsors and still have to go to Cabela's in Gainsville. I'll report back as soon as I can make it out again.

While I doubt your tongue weight is enough to cause a problem, you nay have a tracking issue with the trailer wanting to sway. It's a bigger issue with tandem trailers and heavy tongue weights. If it were me, I would get it as level as possible. Has it given you any problems towing? It doesn't look like you are too far off.

If you are like me and have a blacktop driveway, you will need to put something under the front jack wheel in the summertime or it will sink into the driveway. Concrete wouldn't be a problem. Remember, you are limited to "shimming" your front jack with only as much clearance as you have with the jack wheel fully retracted and the jack locked in the down position. Any higher and you will need to use other lifting devices.

Rust needs to be cleaned off. Particularly at the coupler. Steel wool and rust remover should do the trick. The coupler and the hitch ball sieze, its a pain. Easy peasy...General maintenance and can replace if needed. Winch needs to be cleaned or replace. I might just replace it. Another easy replacement. I would at least replace the strap. It needs to be cleaned. The compartments and bilge are filthy. Everything must be taken out and scrubbed with mold cleaner and bilge cleaner. Get after it but if you are going to replace the carpet, I wouldn't stress too much over getting it clean. I used a bucket, a scrub brush a mix of white vinegar and carpet cleaning solution that goes in the carpet machines (Bissel). Scrub rinse repeat. Purple Power from WalMart in the bilge. The port fuel tank might need to be cleaned. I need to see how much varnish is in there. Dunno how well adding gas and seafoam will work. Inspect the tank it is important to get any particulate out of there because it will end up in you motor or clogging your filters. The fuel lines need to be switched out. I ordered ordered a pair. Fuel line connecting tanks needs to be repaired. Good idea. Dont forget the bulb and engine lines. Batteries need to replaced. Already have one for crank. The trolling motor batteries will be replaced later, not important now. You need good batteries as soon as it's affordable. They will strand you on the water. Surprisingly, the important gauges seem to work. Verified tach and trim. Fuel gauge doesn'ts seem to work...need to inspect that. Check continuity at your sending units. That being said the wires need to be cleaned and the terminals need to be cleaned of corrosion and rust. Double check ground wires. Most all electrical gremlins are ground related. The engine won't turn off. Both key and killswitch don't work. I verified the killswitch switch is sending a "stop" signal today with a circuit checker. Little disappointed because that would've been an easy fix. Now I have to check the CDI. I found the white wire that needs to be connected to the ground. Just need to check it.....Help from anyone with experience in this would be awesome. 1987 Yamaha 150Pro V. I thought kill switches interrupted continuity to the motor. Just check all of the wiring including the ignition. The trim jack seals are leaky, I need to replace those. Parts already ordered. The tool to do it is $150. You can get it for ~$70 online. Sort of ridiculous. I replaced the rams and seals on my Yamaha with parts from SIM Yamaha and I don't think the tool was that much. I would replace the rams AND the seals. They come in a kit. Transom screw holes and keel chips need to be plugged. The hook eye at the front of the keel is a little loose. Need to fix that. Access through the nose, pull front panel, put locktight on the threads. Fiberglass restore and polish This deserves it's own post. Wet sand, compound, seal, polish. Recarpet. This will be a huge pain and I'll do this last. Anybody know if trailer bunk carpeting will work? Only on the bunks. Deck carpeting is different. Lots of suppliers. You didn't mention anything about the motor or trailer (other than the coupler). On the trailer you do need tires and the bearings repacked/replaced as necessary. Lights all work? The important thing is the motor. New filters after you put all of the new lines in, water pump/impeller and lower unit service. I would have a leak down test done at the mechanic to see if your seals are holding. Pressure test lower unit, check prop seal. I would definitely spend some time with the motor AFTER it is deemed runable. Decarbon/filters/plugs, etc.. Let the journey begin.

Personally, I would throw a senko and a Spinnerbait/Chatterbait.

Don't forget the Yamamoto Zako. When they don't want a lot of tail action.

Don't mix any plastics from different manufacturers. I spray a light coating of WD40 in all of my frog boxes/Jig boxes/Spinnerbait boxes and in my hook/weight boxes. Keeps plastic skirts fresh and rust off the hooks. I do not spray any of my Yamamoto plastics. They are all stored together by color.

Never enough. But I will retire in a little more than a year and then it's game on!!

Enjoy. The lines are a pita but easily done. Just remember, it’s a Ranger and was top of the line and built well. Keep us posted on your progress. I really like seeing the old boats brought back to life.

You are correct. I don't get too technical on interchanging terms between braking systems since different reels have different types of brakes. Normally the 2 types of "braking" are the magnets (in or out adjustment) which requires popping off the side plate and the "dial" on the outside of the sideplate or a knob depending on the reel manufacturer. The suttle adjustments to those 2 systems is what I am referring to as a replacement for your thumb. Personally, I normally release all of the magnetic unless I have a very sensitive reel and believe me they are all different.

The bilge will always get water in it. The key is to not let that water sit in there for long periods of time. In my case it was for a very long time and mold got established. Easier to prevent than to cure. I am very picky about condition but I am forced to store outside so I crack open the compartments under the cover and put a fan in there whenever it is stored. I am in the forest in Virginia and mold is a constant problem on everything we have outside. BBQ, Smoker, Lawn furniture and even the 1100 sq feet of decking I have. The pic is of the tanks after 2 scrubbings.

Good gear. When I was on pro-staff for Bass Pro, it's all I threw.

A white/chartreuse chatterbait on the Potomac will get the rod ripped out of your hands by cats up to 30lbs. Not unusual for cats over 50lbs on cut bait.

Believe me, I've read and read and done tons of research. First myth debunked is bleach. Although bleach will kill and remove the color from mold, it will not get to the "roots" and mold will re-grow. When I first got the boat, I left the plug in and poured a biodegradable cleaner in through the front of the boat (over a gallons worth) and towed the boat around with some added water to get it throughout the bilge. Parked it nose down to get the cleaner well distributed. When I took the plug out, it drained like syrup, black syrup. You couldn't even read the battery manufacturer on the 4 batteries in the bilge and you couldn't tell what color any of the wiring was. It was all black. Mold on every one of the undersides of the compartment lids and heavy in the carpet. All of that took a lot of manual scrubbing. Pulled the seats and there was 1/2 inch of mold on the fuel tanks. We wore masks and looked like coal miners every time we worked on it. I bought an industrial mold product that supposedly also kills the roots and have been slowly re-mediating it for 4 years. I still get flare ups. It's a pain.

In my experience, if you are going to back the drag or brakes off to get maximum distance, you need to be more proficient with your thumb on the spool. I call it educating your thumb. My technique when trying to get the most distance (normally in freespool mode) is to keep my thumb very close but not touching the spool. That way any line trying to over run is stopped by my thumb and will be captured as more line feeds out in the cast. As you near the end of your cast and your lure is about to hit the water, you need to have some pressure on the spool from your thumb since when the lure hits the water it stops.....your spool won't. Result...loose line or over run. If you are willing to lose a little distance, adjust the brake to take over the job of your thumb. The brake will keep the line tight and stop an over run at the end of the cast. That's why expensive reels have top notch drag systems.

Honestly doesn't look that bad. You are going to need new trim seals and some MarineTex will patch the keel. After patching I would put a KeelShield on it. Still need to check out the motor, fuel, and fuel lines. For reference, my rig before I bought it sat out for 2 years under a bad cover and although I have had a mold problem that I am dealing with, there was no real damage.

Main thing was presentation and although I was used to fishing a tidal river (Potomac) the tide swings on the St Johns are brutal. Also the cover and structure are different. He made me weight a Senko which I said I would never do and now it is part of my regular presentation back in Virginia.

You need to decide whether or not you need the motor or if you are going to set up whatever you get as a TM only rig. If you want a rig with a motor then you really need to concentrate on the motor because it will be a big part of your purchase price. Personally I would want the motor in better condition than the boat. I don't deal with small hp motors so I'll have to defer to someone else who can tell you what repairs are likely and what the cost is. My 250hp Yamaha is a maintenance hog!! But you gotta pay to play with the bigger motors.

The SPRO ARUKU Shad lipless uses a nose down running style to mimic a feeding shad and has fewer hangups. It has loud rattles but as an aside, the SPRO cranks have tungsten wrapped rattles to give them a unique and different thump in the water.

Complete the sale "Pending your outboard mechanic's inspection" Normally, if it were me, I would put a deposit on the boat until my mechanic could do a full once over of the motor. I wouldn't even try to crank it before my mechanic looked at it. Just from the pic, my concerns would be the tires/bearings, floor decking and electrics. Any evidence of mice? If you can't tow it out of there to your mechanic, it would be a no go for me. After all, your big $$ is in the big motor and chances are you are going to need new steering cables as well. Good luck and I hope it checks out.

Good luck on your search. Remember you have 2 qualifying factors 1. You want to take a friend and 2. You don't need a big motor. Once you put 2 in any smaller boat, it changes things dramatically. Weight becomes an issue especially if you have 2 batteries for your TM. I had a Bass Hunter PVC boat on a small trailer that I used for all of the electric motor only lakes around me and even in some stretches of the Shenandoah River. It was great by myself, it was good with my daughter (child) but when I added another adult, you had to be careful. Granted mine was only 8 feet but it was tricky enough for me to stand and fish alone and it was an effort with another adult. Safest was if we both sat. I know there are bigger and more stable PVC rigs out there now. And you can run 24 vs 12 volt TM's. As for the bigger Jons, weight was always an issue for me but I have seen some pretty tricked out ones with 3 TM's, butt seats and casting decks, that 2 could stand and fish out of easily. Another thing to remember is that either style, wind will not be your friend.

There's a LOT of experience in this thread!! Takes a lot of years to build up that knowledge!! Kudos for you gents willing to give it out!! Nothing I can add except for a couple of lures that have been phenomenal for me on the South Fork of the Shenandoah when I used to fish it every weekend......a Kalins 3" Salt and Pepper Grub on a 3/16th jighead and a 4 inch Senko texas rigged on a 3.0 EWG hook. I did venture up to the Susky every once in a while as well. Those 2 rivers fished a lot alike.

When I temporarily moved to Florida from Virginia to a house on the St Johns River with a dock and lift, I thought I was going to wear the big bass out as soon as I dropped my boat in the water!! After all, I was a guide with a lot of experience under my belt, I knew how to find fish, read the water and had fair electronics. WRONG!! 30 days later of fishing almost every day after work and on the weekends, I still had not caught a single bass!! NOT 1!! To say I was frustrated was a total understatement. Then I hooked up with a true Floridian who grew up on the river and was a tournament fisherman and he showed me what I was doing wrong (almost everything). I learned that I was where the fish were but I was fishing for them all wrong.......and it showed.

On my Ranger Z21 the built in cooler is huge and I could never see filling it up although it has no problem keeping ice all day long in the summer. I normally use freezer packs to keep from having to drain the cooler into the bilge. If it's just me, I have a RTIC that fits inside of my built in cooler. If I freeze water bottles, I have to take them out or they won't thaw enough to drink.

I'll relay one lesson I learned the hard way...Never, never, never, palm the reel when you hook up with a striper.