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Anchor should have some scope on it anyway, in order to hold in any breeze an anchor needs to bite in so fishing right over them is scarce. I use my spot lock all the time....awesome !! However, I do fish for perch a lot....they like the bottom stirred up at times, so I use a small anchor and tie it off short so it bounces on the bottom to stir up a little silt. This acts as a perch caller and they come in to investigate and feed ! On certain days it works great...

One thing to add, storage spots are not only hard to come by, but reliability from year to year is not always good. Often a storage unit will change owners, raise prices, bump you out for a friend, local codes can change as to no more public storage......unless it is your own, or you have a long term contract, storage arrangements can change over nite !! I would never trust public storage, way to many horror stories. Find a fishing buddy with a boat is your best option...

The fact is " boats are expensive to maintain" no way around it !! If proper storage is out of your reach, then consider another hobby. Around me I see numerous boats that are less than 15 years old that are junk sitting in peoples yards because they could not keep up maintenance costs, some still making payments on them. Think about something very portable like a car topper or inflatable until you get into a position where you have access for proper storage and security.

I fish for different species depending on season and time of year. Not pickey about what is biting !!

While not a bass boat, I had a Starcraft 18' CC, one evening going down the river at night thru town, we hit a steel bouy at 30 mph. Caved the whole bottom up about two feet and made a big crook down the center. Had about 2-3 miles to get back to the launch ramp and made it. Didn't leak a drop !! Ins adjuster was quite surprised, but stated....if it had been a fiberglass boat, it would have shattered and sunk like a rock.

Big, large boats are typically shrink wrapped, to big for a garage. Not many small garage size boats in my area under wrap. If I had to store my boat outside, I woykd have a good quality tarp made at your local "semi truck tarp" facility !! Far vetter quality and long lasting, cheaper than shrink wrap and can be used over and over. Mine is 15 yrs old and still perfect other than dirty. Build a frame and cover with a quality tarp. Even better is to build an awning/ lean to type roof to park under to keep heavy snow off. But...without any doubt...inside storage is always best!

Methanol was mixed into gasoline for a short period of time and caused numerous issues, big time !! This started the alcohol war and horrible stories. Shortly after, methanol was removed and ethanol was used exclusively in gas. My merc manual says this motor is designed to run on fuels with up to 10% ethanol with an octane rating of 87. Higher octane rated fuels are not recomended and may even reduce performance. Ahead of long term storage, fuel should be stabilized to prevent future starting and running issues. Always best to follow mfgrs recomendations, but how many really do ??

Back in my youger days, I was sort of a car guy. This was when vinly roofs were popular. D&L hand cleaner with lanolin was the perfect cleaner and preserver for vinyl roofs. Smear on the greasy stuff and stubborn stains came off with a soft brush. Rinse and the vinyl is soft and pliable. Never saw a vinyl roof crack when treated with D&L. Neighbor is an old car guy, has about a dozen 70's performance cars. He still uses this stuff on his vinyl roofs and they look like new. Under a new name today but still great stuff. I also used it on my vinyl interiors, especially the seats. Gets the crud off and leaves the vinyl nice and soft, neighbor has no cracks in any of his seats, claims the hand cleaner has protected them.....

Then I wouldn't use it to keep the warranty in place. Make sure all your rubber fuel lines are E compatible, that is where issues arrise. I contacted Mercury about my 1983 3.0, about using E10 fuels, according to them as long as all fuel hoses were compatible, the engine itself doesn't care.

After iver 60 yrs of boating, I have learned that I din't give a hoot what color my truck or boat ir anything is. What does count is the fact that it is dependable, trouble free, I am comfortable when I am in it, and it gets the job done when I need it to !!! I well remember my younger days when fashion, color match was important, but then started adding up the cost of looking good !! Soon realized how much more I could enjoy life without being color coordinated...but to each his own !! I have to say though, by pure chance only, my current boat/ vehicle/ covered hauling trailer do all match!! Didn't buy them for color, just good buys on each when the time came along......have to admit though it is kinda cool when they match !!

What every is missing is the fact that "gumout" came out in the 50's long before E fuels were even thought of. Most every gas engine mfgr has recomended stabilizing or treating with something like gumout for decades. Yes, E fuels can degrade faster, but no matter what gas you buy, it should be treated for long term storage as recomended by most mfgrs !! It is highly recomended to use a stabilizer anyway so if you choose to spend the extra on non E, your call, but your motor mfgr still recomends stabilizing the fuel for storage. As a young apprentice at the local boat repair shop in the 60's, it was my job to clean the gunk out of carbs on motors brought into the shop after winter storage. Lots if gunk buildup as very few used the gumout or other fuel cleaners. Same issue today, your 15K fancy outboard warranty will not cover fuel system gunk if the fuel gas not been stabilized, no matter which type of fuel you buy !!

Once you remove the mold, be sure to treat the vinyl with something to soften and protect it. Mold removing chemicals can be harsh, many things out there to bring life back to vinyl..

And might even loose performance !! Many engine mfgrs have tested fuels with higher/ lower octane ratings. The conclusions have shown that using higher octane fuel than the engine was designed for actually lost power/ performance. At best, no increase in power or performance was ever gained in all the tests, by going to a higher octane fuel. Your money to spend as you please.

Good to know, but I will keep my older two strokes, so simple, run great, and no payments....

What ever happened to just being out on the water fishing and enjoying the day ? I could never remember what everything is for ! Whew !

Hate to guess the price on that bad boy....then again, if I have to ask, I probably can't afford it !!

When I was younger, I lived my canoe, but later, no one wanted to go with me, ended up going to a kayak. Still have fond memories of my canoe days !!

Not in my area....it averages between 60 cents up to one dollar per gallon...seafoam/ stabiil is about 10 bucks or less, my fuel tank is 18 gallons...at .80 cents per gallon that is 14 bucks more for non E, for ten bucks I can treat 4 tanks of fuel....definetly not worth the cost.

Been using E10 since it came out, just add a shot of stabil or seafoam and not one issue in all these years ! My roto tiller has E10 over a year old and still runs fine ! My snoblower has last winters gas in it and started right up! Adding a shot of stabil is by far cheaper than buying non E fuel !!! I haven't had to loose one minutes sleep over E fuels and no issues in many many years !! Watch where you buy your fuel !! Your money spend or waste it as you please!!

Different Walmarts get their batteries from different sources, just like there motor oil. In our area the walmart super tech is all made by Valvoline and their batteries are marked as made by Deka. Depending on where you live, your results may be different....

I have a small 12v fuel pump with a hose that reaches to the bottom of ny fuel tank thru the fill opening. A couple times a year, when the tank is low, I suck it dry and check for water or other contaminates. So far nothing, but...I do only use one local farmer owned fuel station to fill my boat. The tanks there are very well maintained !! Makes a big difference where you buy your fuel !!

Use whatever makes you sleep better. I only used savers on light weight aluminum hulls. Once I moved into better built, higher hp hulls with power trim and tilt, I haven't used anything. Had my fishing buddies follow me numerous times, never saw my motor or my I/O drive unit bounce, not once !! Even tried using the lower unit to see how much movement I could create, none. The hydraulic trim cylinder holds everything in place with no movement at all, so....why add another gizmo ?

None of my used boats ever had a formal name, often thought about adding one, but research showed me their is an actual ritual to go thru so the boating Gods are not upset ! Figured I wouldn't take the chance in offending any boating Gods so I left them alone.

Last year I had a courtesy inspection from CG, during the inspection the paddle question came up, because I don't carry one. After some friendly discussion about paddles, the inspector stated the best use for a single paddle was something to attach and wave the orange safety flag with !! We both had a good chuckle!! After seeing I had three motors in case of emergency, the paddle issue became a lost subject !

Glad you came out OK...