billmac

Big'un, Are you going to get a regular cranking battery or a dual purpose? DP batteries are freaking expensive.

I'm on a facebook group for the I6 and they are saying No to AGM.

Should my batteries be AGM?

Other than cranking, what is the order of current usage by a typical boat's accessories? If I had to guess, I'd say trolling motor, livewell, then fishfinder. I have two livewells but I don't think I'll be running the smaller one, which is really just a bait livewell.

I know this is a long shot for a guy with a 31 year old boat, but does anyone know how I might go about obtaining an owners manual for an 88 Cajun Maverick?

I've always wondered by Rebel lures weren't more popular. I always considered them the affordable alternative to Rapalas (not so much now). I always loved the jointed rapalas and rebels. I had confidence with them and caught a lot of fish with them, but they don't seem to be as popular as their un-jointed brethren.

There's nothing easier to use than a crankbait but I've never caught many fish with them.

The TM is a 12V. No onboard battery charger.

So it's not a problem cranking with the deep cycle battery?

I feel like I'm overloading the board with all these posts, but here's another one. My used boat came with two deep cycle batteries. The previous owner said I would need a third if I was going to use the trolling motor for something like the whole day. But evidently he started the boat with the deep cycle battery. If I was to get another battery, wouldn't it make sense to get a cranking battery, and save the two deep cycle batteries for the trolling motor (and everything else)? Is hooking the deep cycle batteries in parallel a viable option, to prevent the need for switching, or is that a bad idea? One more question: I was also thinking of installing some permanent float chargers for the batteries so I can just plug the boat in when I get it back home. Is that a thing? Thanks, Bill

Thanks for all the advice. I will start with the compression test and new plugs and go from there

I've gotten 1 quote back of $200 for the tune up if nothing is wrong. I was pointed to a dealership by one of the other marinas and my radar went off. I haven't had good experiences with dealerships. $$$

Interesting. Of course, I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm just guessing at a lot of this.

Here's my fear. Because I don't know what I don't know, I see myself taking it in and having the guy tell me I need $3000 worth of parts. Maybe I've had too much experience with car mechanics. I'm poking around now to find a marina or dealer who can work on it.

What's the expiration date of line? I mean, if I buy 300 yards of whatever, and keep the spool out of the sunlight and weather, how long would you trust using it?

I'm glad I'm not the only one not super confident with jigs. Electronics are a whole other story. I have almost zero experience with fishfinders and now I have one.

It is indeed an I6. Is there a way to look up the exact vintage by using the serial number? The water pump was replaced last year.

Forgive me if this is a crazy question. I'm going off a suggestion I read years ago. Someone suggested not to completely replace your whole spool of line, but only a certain amount, corresponding to how far you typically cast, and perhaps a bit more. At the time it did seem to make sense that I not buy 330 yards of line each season, only to use perhaps 50 yards the whole season. I think I also read about someone who used tape or something to partially fill up the spool, but perhaps I'm just making that up in my head. It's been a lot of years.

Mobasser: Agreed. I think confidence is a much bigger factor than color, size, etc.

What are the lures you think you should be using but just don't have experience / confidence in? I've spent nearly all my life fishing smallies, trout, and pike in shallow rivers, wading and canoeing. 99% of the time I was using spinners or jig and spinners. Some rapala floaters and buzz baits for pike. I'm a short cast, shallow water kind of guy, and I like to keep moving. I have a friend who's go to lure is a zara spook, but I've never had a great deal of confidence in topwaters. So I know I need to work on that. I'm not a great jig fisherman, so I need to work on that too. What are the lures you think you need to use more?

I think Rapala is still its own company.

Can you tell me what, typically, a tune up entails? Thanks.

Yeah, I'm kinda thinking the same thing.

So now that I'm a new boat owner, I was thinking it would be a good idea to take it in to get a full tune up for the outboard (115hp merc, oil injected). Then I poked around on the internet and am seeing estimates of about 1/6th of what I paid for the whole boat and motor. Yikes. Do you guys do your own tune ups? I'm not a motorhead but am fairly handy and can follow instructions.