usmcpaul

Still waiting to get my gps puck, Had something come up that took priority. I have been playing with the program and that thing is really impressive. If a used notebook holds up for even a couple of years it will be worth it.

I have heard that the parts new are about $200-$300. The only things I need are the drive shaft and the the extension housing and gaskets. The gear case/powerhead are good.

Hey Guys, I just got a 1986, 15 horse Evinrude for my boat yesterday. It is actually "on loan" from a good friend of mine so the price is right.

Anyhow, it is only a 15 inch shaft, and I know that it is way to short, so I need to convert it to a 20 or 25 inch. I have done a little research and found out that it is possible and not really that hard to do; so they say. The only hard part is going to be finding parts. I really want to find some used parts if possible, but I can't seem to find anything yet. In all honestly, I can't even find new parts for it yet.

Has anyone ever actually done this; and is it was easy as they claim?

And the big question is; Does anyone know of a good source for these parts? I have already tried E-bay and a Google search with limited results.

P.S. Sorry for the typo in the title, it should read "Converting", If a Mod could fix that I would appreciate it.

I have a Garmin handheld (E-Trex) and it works great, however for the boat I wanted a larger, fixed screen, so I ended up getting a used Garmin. I forgot the model number ( gpsmap 320 I think), but I really like the 7 inch screen even thought the resoultion is not great.

It seems to work well and for 200 bucks it is a good place to start for me.

Paul,

I just went to Happy Days in Port Clinton and got everything ordered. I ended up getting a new 2007 Yamaha 9.9 high thrust from them for $2400. Bass Pro just wouldn't deal any on the merc. pro-kicker and you dont get bass pro reward points when you buy a motor or boat from them. which kind of ticked me off. But anyways i am getting the kicker installed and out the door for $4750. That includes the panther mounting bracket and the panther t4 electro steer.

todd

Thanks for the heads up. Wow, that is more than I paid for my boat.

I have no info for you, but would you mind giving me an estimate on what the entire rig cost's and what you got? Just so I know how much I need to save for next year.

The few times I fished the bay, we did better using Harnesses. Drifting over the many humps worked. Do you have a drift sock? If not, it would be a good investment.

I don't yet, however I am going to get 2 Beefy bags from Amish outfitters before the season starts, to aide with controlling my trolling speed.

Well I just got done making reservations at Bayshore resort for our (Dad and Brother) yearly fishing trip. I have never fished on Little Bay De Noc, but have heard some good things about it. I like the fact that you can fish for just about anything, just in case the Walleye bite is slow we can switch over to Perch or Salmon.

We will be up there June 26th to July 3rd and are staying in Cabin 6, so if you are in the area stop by.

Any tips on where to start for that time of year and what types of baits do well in general would be greatly appreciated. The plan as of now is to try trolling for eyes, but I am pretty flexible on that. My Dad and Brother are even less experienced than I am and numbers of fish are far more important than the size or type.

The lady that answered the phone, Naomi, said she is a Reef Runner dealer and says they do pretty well with them. Sounds like its gonna cost me a fortune, because they stock all the crankbaits they make:no:

I was running the SeaClear program off a USB and Compact Flash Card from my camera. You could get a USB flash drive and run it off that. It would be just as stable as a solid state HDD for a lot less $$$$. I haven't used it enough to know if you could save way points and other data to a flash drive. Rather than run a DVD on the pond or install the program to the HDD, the flash drive may be the way to go. You can get a 4 gig USB flash drive for $10. The charts are what take up the most room on the DVD. I wouldn't load them all.

That's a good idea Frank, but I am concerned about the HDD still getting beat around and causing future problems at the initial boot or while underway. I wonder if the HDD would throw an error if the arm moved while the machine is idle?

I have of course never tried any of this, so maybe I should try what you suggested just to see if it will work. After all, if it doesn't work I am out nothing really, I could just proceed with my SSD idea. I have 5 or 6 flash drives laying around that would work.

I am really excited to try this. I have been researching transducers that I could hook up to make a fish-finder also, but have come up short on that search. Cruz-Pro make one for about $850, but I have only found one "real world" review, so the search continues on that end.

I know some people are reading this saying to themselves 'WTF tightwad, just go buy something from Cabelas and be done with it", but that is not my nature. After all, why buy something for $1000 when you can make it for only $2500.

Rayman. Thanks for that site. I ordered something from them a few years ago and everything went well, but in general Newegg seems to beat them by a few bucks and their shipping is lightening fast, but I do like to check with them before I hit the send button just to compare.

Paul, If you are going to be @ the seminar I could bring you a DVD, or mail a copy to you.

Thanks Frank, I appreciate it. Unfortunately I can't make it to the seminar so I will PM you my address.

By the way, the solid state hard drive is looking like a good option right now. I am trying to decide on the manufacturer and style. I am considering this one

I would rather have an internal SSD but I am having trouble finding one that will fit into my old Dell.

I wonder if I can remove the current hard drive completely and just run the above mentioned SSD, by changing the boot sequence to boot from the express card slot?

Wow Frank that is great. Kudo's to you sir. I am going to try it.

So let me get this straight. I need to get the GlobalSat BU-353 USB GSP Navigation Receiver, and then the SeaClear II program loaded with all the NOAA charts?

From there, it is just a matter of loading it into the laptop?

I am in the process of researching solid state hard drives right now, which hopefully would eliminate the cushioning problem discussed earlier.

The way they taught us in B.E.E.(basic electricity and electronics) when I was in the USN was:

Bad

Boys

Rape

Our

Young

Girls

But

Violet

Gives

Willingly

I know....seems odd, but its easy to remember.

Old post I know, but I am bored.

Don't forget the tolerances..

Bad

Boys

Rape

Our

Young

Girls

But

Violet

Gives

Willingly

Get ............. Gold (5%)

Some ......... Silver (10%)

Now ......... No color (20%)

Keep this in mind. Is the Cannon unit the old version, or the new one?

Cannon completely redesigned there snt. The new probe dose not work with the old head. I have the old unit, and it works very good, but if I lose the probe I'm sol.

You can read about the new one here.

Captain Bill Ruth of Billy V Sport fishing did some testing of it and has some info on his site. located here.

Thanks for the info. From what your link says, I clearly have the old one. I guess I will have to be extra careful.

I still have about 7-10 days to return it, so if anyone knows of a good deal on a diffent brand or the new version please let me know asap.

I was just thinking, what about taking a sample and sending it out to have it analyzed. I think it's about $25 and the results will be very accurate and give you the exact composition of the problem. Since it's still winter, you have plenty of time, and it might save you a lot of trouble later.

I have no specific knowledge of this motor, but in general it sounds like either you have a super rich mixture or possibly the carb is leaking after you shut it off, and thus it lets fuel seep into the combustion chamber, past the rings and into the crank case.

I suppose it could be a gas tank venting problem that builds pressure in the float bowl and makes the carb drip after shut off, but a properly seated needle and seat should prevent that.

I can't think of any other way for fuel to get into the crankcase, but like I said I have not specific knowledge of this motor.

Before I did anything, I would change the oil and check it after each use just to monitor it and see how bad it really is. You don't want to thin the oil out, but you also don't want to chase a ghost problem either.

I also did a lot of research and had my eyes on the CP300. I do like the 3 year warranty. From what I read they are pretty good units. Let me know what you think of it. I plan on having one before the boat comes out this spring.

Hey Bill, looks like the roles are going to be reversed, hopefully you will give me a review of yours when you get it. I am still considering one next year if I decide to upgrade or my "new one" craps out on me before then.

I was within hours of hitting the send button for a CP300 when I got a call from a guy on another site that had a Garmin GPSMAP 230 for sale. I decided to go look at it and liked it. It has a 7 inch screen and comes with the antenna and 3 maps for Erie, St. Clair and Huron for $200. The screen resolution was not fantastic back then, but it is good enough for now. I have read some good reviews on this unit so I hope it works out.

Has anyone researched or thought about using a Laptop as a GPS in their boat?? It seems this may have been hashed over before. My boat has a hardtop so it's dryer than most open boats. Below is what I figure would be the cost.

$350 Used 13 inch Rough Service Laptop. Wouldn't need a super horse of a laptop but the rough service would be essential.

$40 GPS receiver

$15 NOAA Charts on DVD

Pros: Big Screen, Lots of inexpensive, Software, Portable Boat to Car etc.

Cons: Will the Laptop hold up? Would need to fab bracket to hold it.

The software for the GPS units is what has my shorts in a knot. If some geek came up with a reasonably priced, tough unit that would run all available software, I'm sure it would sell. I think more competition is needed.

I may still go with the individual Garmins, But I'm sure I'm going to be trying the laptop, somewhere down the road.

Frank you're reading my mind. I am in the same position as far as hardtop goes and I have been over and over this in my head.

My problem is the fish finder part. I have only been able to find one company that makes a black box for a laptop and they are in the Nertherlands somewhere. The company is called Cruzpro . The only reason I don't try it is I have found almost no reviews on how well it actually works, and I don't want to gamble with $900.

I bought my wife a Cannon E-20D 2 years ago and she really enjoys it. Lenses are freakin' crazy expensive though.

Funny how 'her stuff' is ridiculously expensive, and my stuff is not.

I kind of thought the same thing Matt. The seletion was better than GM in Utica, but not great in my opinion.

Why do you want the 6'6" rods?

I like the fact that they are easier to handle in a smaller boat, and it makes it easier to change baits for short people like me. Also the heavier action seems like it would make using leadcore a little more controlable?

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the tips guys. I have seen Bretts place on ebay before. I will have to check them out closer.

P.S. I found another guy who had the same problem with those rods, so it must be some sort of manufacturing error.

Thanks guys, am not overly concerned with rods breaking (as a matter of fact I have never even caught a fish on my boat yet:lol:) I was more or less looking for inexpensive rods that were in the length and action I want. I had a hard time finding rods in the 6'6" range at Bass Pro, most seemed to be in the 7'6" and taller area.

Does cabelas have a larger selection than Bass Pro at Great Lake Crossing? Is it worth taking a drive this weekend?(1.5 hours each way) I like to shop online for most things, however I prefer to shop for rods in person for some reason.

Also what do you think about my reels not fitting? Is this just freak thing, or is it something to be concerned with in the future?

Hey guys, I just got back from Bass Pro with 4 new rods to round out my lead core set ups, and damn it, my penn 210s don't fit:confused: When I tighten them up there is a ton of slop at the reel base. Has anyone ever ran into this?

The solution is obvious, take them back and get different rods; However, is this something I need to concern myself with in general when shopping for rods? My other reels fit them fine.

I bought the Bass Pro house brand, Power Plus trophy class. It's not really a big deal as I was probably gonna take them back anyway, because I did not like the upper grip portion(the grip portion above the reel). It seemed too small compared to my other rods.

Well now I am open to suggestions on rods. I am trying to scrimp a little on the rods and keep the price to about $25 to $35, and I have decided to try and get a rod that is about 6'6" long ( maybe a tad longer if I must) and has a medium to MH action for pulling lead core.

I might make the trip to Cabelas next weekend to see what they have in stock. Any thoughts?

Looking at that ray marine from Bethel

If you are looking on their site, make sure they still make it:grin:

Frank, I would be leery of the Lowrance HD models. Everyone I talked to that bought one last year had problems. They had to be reworked and Lowrance isn't real speedy when it comes to customer service. Maybe they worked the bugs out but there were a lot of problems with them last year.

As you know I have been researching all kinds of different units lately and I have heard the same thing, but have no actual experience. The salesman at Bethels told me they have had customers that have had the exact same problems from Lowrance. I am not against Lowrance, I am just going by the overwhelming reviews I have read.

Thanks guys for your input. I have all but decided to get a cp300 from Standard Horizon.

The entire set up will cost around $1300. That will include, a 7 inch 800 x480 screen, fish finder, and a C-map chip, and thru-hull transducer.

From what I can tell they seem to be very reliable units that have a good reputation and 3 year warranty. Anyone that thinks different, I would like to hear what you have to say. I am E-baying the rest of my MX gear, so hopfully I will order it next week or so.

It also gave me enough room to squeak out a Cannon Speed and Temp sensor That I found on closeout today at Gander Mountain for $399. COME-ON SPRING:laola: