Turfwrench

Try this. I have a Delco alternator from DB.

http://www.dbelectrical.com/p-2282-mercruiser-volvo-omc-43-350-marine-mini-starter-pm300-marine.aspx

I had no luck with DB electrical starters. The first one I got from them for my 140hp Mercruiser blew the gears out within 2 weeks, they sent a replacement and within 4 months the new one went out too. They were both Chinese made and not worth the time and effort to try a third one. I went back to the original OEM starter and haven't had a problem since.

Have Direct too, too bad it wasn't carried on their channel line up as I would enjoy watching it. Have done a lot of fishing in Traverse City, good fishing and a beautiful area. My avatar pic is from Elmwood Marina west bay Traverse.

Yes the side cabin windows are done with the automotive film. I dismantled the windows out of their frames and applied it. The front cabin window was made from smoked acrylic glass. It sure helps keep it cooler inside the cabin.

I am looking to build an arch with forward extension so I can add a vinyl removable top. I plan to add a drop from the extension to somewhere near the front windshield not only for support but to add the reels there. This will give me easy access to the reels from the helm. Remember though, the further forward you run the riggers the more prone they can be to be swayed under the boat and into the prop either by large waves or currents. Best bet to keep them back.

First off great price on the Chieftain. I too have a 72 24' Chieftain that I completely restored. It took me 2 years to complete and was finished in August this past year but well worth the wait.

Before and after pics:

I have her outfitted with 4 downriggers mounted to the boat on a board via Eagle Feet. The manuals have since been replaced with electrics. I run a dual planer mast off the bow. I deploy the boards through the front hatch although it is a tight fit. I plan on mounting the reels toward the windshield to alleviate that. I have 2 sets of rod holders mounted on the gunwales for the planer rods. I am sure you will love the boat as she has a lot of room and can handle some water.

Good luck with her and lets see some pics. A brief version of my rebuild can be found here: http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-repair-and-restoration/completed-boat-projects/8996487-1972-starcraft-chieftain-restoration

It is the flex. Plenty stiff enough to go through bones and scales yet flexible enough to get the ribs out.

Have had this one for 2 seasons of fishing now and I have to say it is a pretty good knife. I have used it for salmon, steel, lakers, and walleye and have yet to have to sharpen it other than hitting it with a steel every use. The handle, yea it is great, no slip and the finger grip is nice.

Or how about the boats running their lights off arches inside the pier heads. Very hard to drive behind these boats, they blind everyone.

Agree 100%. Got behind one last year @ Frankfort, he had them on all the way from the harbor and just out in front of the pier head. It was blinding and a call out on the radio was just ignored.

Usually run the deep diver on a 2 - 3' lead and the spoon 6 - 8'. Tangles have not been an issue. I always allow some tension in the line while deploying so the body bait is diving thus keeping the lures separated. Yes it will work on riggers too but you must lower slowly so the diver can dig while being lowered by the ball. Be sure your diver bait runs true otherwise it will spin and tangle.

Looking at a 19.5 ft Century and a 22 ft Sea Ray both are cuddys as i have kids.

Cuddys are great especially with children. It gives them a place to go play or nap, etc. if they are young and a place for older ones to get out of the sun or rain. It also provides a dry and out of the way area to store items without tripping over things ie coolers, backpacks, or toys. It would be best to take both boats out (if running) and see how they feel with your family included.

As far as inland lakes......well I can't say I have heard anyone complain that their 24' pontoon is too big for the lake. Unless you are talking about some real small lakes I don't see the problem. I hear bigger is better but I have seen some smaller boats handle waters better than bigger ones.

Turfwrench - How much for the Big Jon plate?

Hotdog now owns the plate but thanks for the interest.

I have one of the plates you are looking for. PM sent.

My to do list is to complete my project boat for spring. New floor and transom installed, new cabin bulkheads, cabin carpet and vinyl almost complete, upgrading to hydraulic steering with auto pilot in the future. Got the outdrive transom assy in last weekend and will be installing the engine this weekend. Still have to remove downriggers and transducer from my Thompson and get them ready to install. I keep hearing spring is coming but so is christmas.

From the old the new is reborn.

Big Jon band busters and rubber bands. Simple and reliable.

Let me date myself a little......remember the Rebel Fastrac minnows. I always had great success running them off the boards fishing the scum lines out of Frankfort and had pretty good success running them on downriggers too. The old color selector colors of red, orange, or purple were my favorites. The C.C Shads were also killer for coho up high. I still run them in Saginaw bay for walleye and on Lk Huron for silver.

Hey Brandon, as you know we fish out of the same port most of the time. My program usually consist of 4 riggers starting out set 35, 45, 55,& 65 down with free sliders. I then deploy a wire diver off each side one usually at 140 out and the other at 170 out. Then I will send out highlines running deep diving body baits and spoons on a 3 way swivel. Although we don't have a lot of salmon around we do get a few and usually I get them 50-85 down. The Atlantics I have caught came from the top 35 fow along with the majority of steelhead. Some days you will note a lot of fish marking 15-30 down and I have found these to mostly be walleye suspended over the deep water. So basically I have deeper sets for the salmon and higher sets for walleye, steel, and Atlantics. I rarely drag close to the bottom for lakers as they usually will hit the deeper rigger or wire lines.

I run both all season with success. A lot of the time I will run the deep divers on a 3 way swivel with a spoon trailing behind. Sometimes they go for the body bait and others they take the spoon. Over here in the southern end of Lk Huron we get into the walleye over deep water and then the Mann's 30+ series seems to kick some butt. So in essence I kinda use the plug instead of a smaller dipsy to get a spoon down fishing off the boards. As we don't have a lot of kings over here it is effective for the steelhead, coho, and walleye.

Al, I have not spent any time on the southern end of the island near Windigo (which is the closest from Grand Portage) but I would assume there is great fishing on that end of the island. We would go over in groups of boats either from the N entry @ Houghton or preferably from Copper Harbor which was 20 miles closer to the island. Have spent time in Malone Bay, Caribou Island, Tobin Harbor,and Todd Harbor. Always was some great fishing around middle island passage but my favorite area was near Scoville Pt to Blakes Pt.

I would suggest Isle Royale for some dandy lakers. When I lived in the Keewenaw we used to run over every spring around Memorial Day for several days. The lakers were usually right up on the reefs and not uncommon to catch 20+lbs just highlining. The largest our group caught was 32lbs.

Well Grant as you know I am in the midst of a boat restoration. It is the hull that I wanted and I feel it is well worth my time and effort. I certainly know this boat well inside and out and will be confident when I complete it that I will indeed have the fishing rig that I will be happy with. Guess my point is that if you really like the hull and don't mind the labor involved then it would be worth it (personal satisfaction) to restore it.

We are heading up Friday thru the following weekend. Will be fishing Frankfort and Traverse City....Probably do Frankfort early in the weak and Traverse the latter end of the week. Just don't want to fight with all the boats doing the Frenzy next weekend. Good luck to you, maybe we will see ya out there.

Good luck with the new rig Brandon.

It boils down to personal preference and what you believe works best for you. I run all singles and they seem to bury deeper into the fish and they stay hooked up. Sure, some will slap at the spoon but not hook up but I feel the hook up and catch rate has increased since I switched a few years ago. Also nice that I don't have to fight with getting treble hooks out of the net. Best advice is to run some singles for yourself and compare your results.

We all have plenty of pics of fish that we have caught over the years but do you have one that is your favorite? If so, post it and describe why.

This is one of my favorites...this King in certainly not the largest I have caught but it has a special place in my heart. We were fishing out of Pt. Sanilac on Lk Huron in early August of 2011. It hit a rigger line 74' down over 119fow. It fought long and hard and the excitement of my grandkids was priceless. They had never seen a fish that size. It was also exciting to know that since the crash on Huron that Kings of this size existed in the southern end of the lake. A very special day for me and the grandkids!

I have owned boats for over 30 years....owning a boat gives the opportunity to go fish where you want and when you want. When I ask someone if they would like to go I don't expect them to pay, only to enjoy the trip. Several times I have been given or they have tried to give money but I just tell them it is not necessary. A couple of years ago a friend that I know from the port I fish out of had never been to Frankfort but was unemployed. I took him from the lower east side of the state up to Frankfort and spent 3 days there fishing, never asked him for a dime. He had a great time and we have been great friends since. Now we plan 1 - 2 trips a season over there and he insist on splitting the cost...which for these trips is fine..we now can do 2 trips for trips for the cost of one.

I guess what I am saying is I don't look for people to pay my way to fish on my own boat.