GTRIEM

Thanks for the opinion,A-Fish. I do believe that AP will be a awesome addition to the boat. I had looked into this a couple years ago and gave up since i didnt know anyone with it to see how they worked. I am going to buy it soon,(ap14r) Later, GTR

Steelhead,I'm afraid to call Darren. I have a new list of rods and tackle that I want to put on the boat. GTR

Well after pulling covers and crawling around the boat w/ my tape measure, I have determined that the Simrad AP14R will be the better unit to install.Our cuddy door slides under the steering wheel making screwing the torque bracket on the rayX5 to the bulkhead difficult. I am located near SouthBend IN. Do any of you know of a seller for the Simrad products? I like to buy from local( Northern IN and Southern MI )and reputable shops if possible, if not what online suppliers have you dealt with and recomend/or not. Thanks, GTR

All I can say is tow insurance,like from Boat-US. Its a good thing to write the check for it and not use it ALL year. Its inexpensive and with a radio and cell phone the tow service is on the way. Counting on other boaters to tow ya is not being prepared. Thats My .02 However I am glad to here of boaters keeping their ears open for boats in trouble.Thanks. GTR

Haha ok 1mainiac,i sure do understand how AP could save a marriage and some friendships-i too am tired of re-training anyone on the boat how to drive so i can take a leak or net or set gear,or jeez mabey even reelin a fish. Anyone who fishes w/ me gets a turn on the wheel but...it comes w/ its problems.AP would possibly let me go with less crew or let me go when some crew cant. also its just the convience of not going off course every time you let loose of the wheel. I dont see upgrading to hyd on this boat so i supose the ray or simrad is what im gonna decide between. Thanks for sharing your advice and your previous legwork on the AP units. Its all down to the money spending i guess. GTR

Thanks 1mainiac,I was re-reading the info on rays web as I have confused this and over thunk it i guess. that X5 seems to be the most straight forward. I will see what it cost to swap the control for the st70,at least i hope it can be upgraded as opposed to buying the x5setup and a st70. Do you know why or what those sterndrive acuators are for?why does it call for this when you use rays "system builder feature".Got me all confused and worried that AP would be WAY out of my price range. While the ray seems to have nice features and i think it will accept the wireless remote upgrade and the st70 has the patterns,I also will check the Simrad. Is simrad installed the same way as ray? Except the 11" space required behind steering box. I know youve had issue with rays slowness or cust.service ect.Is it your opinion that ray and simrad are equally reliable units? how about features that actually get used during a day of trolling and boating on the big lake.Alot of features that do not get used very often are not as important as the few features used every time. Thanks,GTR

1maniac,I sure appreitiate your input. So can the ray AP work w/out using their "universal sterndrive actuator" The way i'm reading I would need a - ST70 control - X10 corepack - Universal sterndrive actuator Is this it,or correct? Wait I should be looking at X5 this must be different. GTR

So does the simrad or ray require a new cable or a additional cable? Mine has the morse/sleeved single cable steering. On some insructions i've seen where an additional rotary and cable are added and the AP is put on it-does this leave the original steering as is? On simrad web,the install says it requires a msd50kit it appears to be mounted opposing the steering cable back at the hyd-assist. What is it? if the ray and simrad are the only 2 options without going full hyd-what of the 2 would be the best for the trolling /fishing & userfreindly,options to add gps etc. I have only been on a few boats w/ AP and didnt use them so I am not sure what i am looking for exactly. thanks,GTR

Hey all, I have done searches for AP for our 1986 23',mercuriser i/o.(alpha1) I'm just more confused now. What are you useing on your cable/assisted steering for AP? AP brands,all nessasary components for the install,how2's,pointers and tips-all greatly appreciated. Thanks,GTR

good luck! please post your report,as the "I Said No" will be going out Friday.From S.H. or Saugatuck. GTR

thanks guys, GTR

Hmm, I've never fished north of S.Haven. I was looking to expand our fishing area,not find a new way to compicate/frustrate my fishing. I usually try to trailer as close to fishin as possible as truck milage is still better than boat milage:) Would you guys suggest boating in from S.Haven or whats N of there,Holland?Thanks, GTR

Thanks, I did a search and could only find the launches in S.Haven and Holland I could not think there was not one for public use or a DNR launch. Thanks again GTR

Morinin' Where is the best/closest to LK. launch for a 24' Have never been outta Saugatuck before so any info would be great. Did SouthHaven a couple wk ago...is the fishin enough better toward Saug. to just keep drivin to there? Been to busy to get out since 2 wk ago...back to being layoff so time to get fishing:grin: Thanks GTR

Glad you caught 'em Thanks for the report We are going to be there Sat.morn. GTR

SPOONFED how long is your boat? I see you hav tri-axle. GTR

Yeh,that boat is my Pops. My brother and I get the privlege of using it and taking our Dad fishing. Thats Dad at the wheel. Even as adults we are lucky kids:D The boat is named "I SAID NO" Thats what Mom said when Dad was bidding on it at an auction. :eek:He bought it anyway. We needed a big lk boat as the 18ft Starcraft took hard wave about 12mi out on lk erie and put a 6ft split in the side.That was the last big water for that boat.(that was several years back)But you don't forget that much water on the inside of a boat! Hope to see if i can recognize some of you out on the water. GTR

Oh sorry forgot to say,we fished all the same stuff everyone else was using jointed rapalas(orange)Thinfins,wiggleworts,flies,spoons.Had 3riggers,3 dippsys,4flatlines...But this fish took my home-brewed fly:D I had never made them before a couple weeks ago,guess atleast 1 was right:) It was a flashy-boo(sp)Red on the tournement rig i also learnd to tie from here,thanks GLF is an awesome resource. GTR

Haha funny thing,kid talked his dad into seein about a mount and the next day the taxidermist weighed it at 16.5lb and 33in long. 10$ per inch...

I know this post is late, but i have pics. It was my Pop,Bro,Friend and his Son. We skipped out of work early on Friday and went to St Joe. Put in around 4pm fished till sun-down. We did'nt have the HOT action we had hoped for...but hey it was the first outing this year and it sure beat work! We trolled toward nuke plant and fished around challets. Picked up a real nice fish-I thought the kid might get pulled over the side He listened and didn't horse it and we landed it no prob...kid said his legs were shaking.hahaha. We did not get any more,so heres the days catch... Can't wait till the next time:) GTR

Thanks for the info,what you guys said makes sence in my mind but as i stated earlier i had read the thing about having tomany rods out when the box had someones limit in it.Im glad to know i can keep a full spread out if i choose to,and the only limit is my ability to keep it untangled:grin:Limits have never been a problem before but i hope i can learn to fish better and see if we can limit more often:) Thanks again GTR

Thanks Mainiac. Hate to ask these questions in the welcome center...so if this post needs to move say so. So what the 09 regs mean is: i can keep up to 5 salmon.coho and/or king. of the 5 fish limit,no more than 2 can be a trout species.Correct? Now where i am confused,and i cant find where i read it,is the fishing a full spread until the bag limit is reached. If there are 3 anglers on the boat.The law says its ok to have 9 rods out. when the box gets its 13th fish does the rod count need to drop to 6?and then 3 on the 14th as 2 limits are filled? I would not have even thought about this much as i figured reading the regs was good enough...but ive read of others who thought they understood but still paid fines.I would rather "know" if possible and put the money into boat gas:grin: Thanks, GTR

While preparing for this season I searched for info on this site as to interpetation of the bag limits,how many rods that can be out vs. fish aready in the boat.Other than the DNR regs is there an article or thread that does or will better explain the regs for the 2009 season in the state of MI.? Thanks all, GTR

yep thanks,i must of been reading that when you posted. I think its working now. The boats got the rigger board on w/ 4 penn DR's,we have to crank ours up and down the manual way-we made some new rodholders over the winter. We are ready to get out on the water. GTR

Thanks for the welcome. I'm on the IN/MI line,about an hour from St.Joe and its snowing! So i'm trying to see how to attach photos...bear with me if i screw this up. Brother and Dad -me on the camera- last april. GTR