BenLubbs

Never heard of it before Shannon, where/what is it?

Welcome Herb.

Does anyone happen to know a replacement part for the steering cable on a Slickcraft 235SS. I looked over mine tonight and the only number I saw was American Mercury 48226 which comes up with no results in a Google search. Any help would be appreciated. The boat is a '74.

Welcome Jess.

Well Shannon's thread about his new boat got me wondering what everyone else is working on this winter. Anyone else got any big projects going? I know a few guys have purchased new boats and I like looking so post pictures if you have them.

For me,

Have to install my new HDS 7 Gen 2 Combo unit that I picked up from the Outdoorsman this weekend. (Special thanks to Aaron aka Line Dancin for his input)

Going to replace the steering cable and see how much it helps my steering/autopilot issues.

Going to mount some track and rod holders toward the front of the boat for storage.

Need to get cup holders mounted so I stop having to clean beverages off the boat every trip.

Try to find a better rod storage solution for in the cuddy.

General organization projects to make fishing less hassle.

I use one. I usually set up all my rods the night before fishing and then I have a spoon rack with suction cups on the side window that holds my backup program. I keep the Special Mate in the cuddy and get it out if I need another spoon. Not complaints here.

Wish I could go but will be in Colorado that week. It was a great time last year.

yep, Nick is correct, Pull the copper with a Tx44 and cores will run just fine outside that with regular walleye boards.

I would recommend getting the Tx44 Church boards to pull your 300 and get you out away from the diver farther. I did that this year and I don't think we had a single tangle between the copper and the dipsies.

My Mom got this recipe from Meijer and we tried it out tonight and it was actually really good.

4 - 4oz. salmon fillets

1 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. Ground ginger

sesame seeds (optional)

In a small bowl combine sugar, mustard, soy sauce, and ginger; set aside. Season fillets with pepper to taste. Place skin side up on a broiler pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.

Preheat broiler to high. Broil 5 minutes. Turn salmon; brush with glaze. Broil 3 to 5 min. more or until sugar melts and fish flaks easily with fork. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired), and serve.

Recommended Sides

Brown Rice

French Style beans with sliced almonds

I have run it for two seasons and seen no issues. No breakoffs, just make sure you take care of it and remove any sections that get "curly" or where strands get broken (only had that once).

Thanks for your support and your great products!

Since you started a new thread, I'd like to get $40 a piece for the Blue Diamonds. I live in Holland and as SeaCat said there is a swap meet coming up in a few weeks that I will be at. If you plan on coming I will have the rods there. This is only the rods - no reels or anything.

If I had to pick 2 of my three it would be the 300' and 250'. I don't run any longer than that and those two are really productive. As far as wire rods, where are you located? I have a couple of 8' Okuma Blue Diamond rods that I'm looking to sell so I can upgrade to some Taloras.

If you watch the episodes on Vimeo you can just skip over the commercials.

I am seriously considering adding an autopilot to my boat (24' Slickcraft) this year. My question is mainly in regards to my steering system which is not up to the task in my opinion. I currently have cable steering and it is very stiff and there is quite a bit of slop in the rack as well. There is no power assist on the boat currently, although I have the a transom plate, oil cooler, lines, and pump in the garage. I'm wondering if I were to change to Hydraulic steering (about $900 from the prices I've seen), would I still need power assist or would the mechanical advantage of using hydraulics make the steering smooth enough. In the case that I would still need power assist I would probably stay with cable steering and replace the rack. If I need to install the power steeing my next question is where do I find a pump bracket. I have a Merc 888 motor and have not been able to find one with power steering on it and I have not been able to find one in an automotive application that uses V belts. I can always make my own but it would be so much easier if there was just one I could buy.

Glad everything is alright Nick.

Like Sherman said i doubt you will have a problem with the weight bending the arm. More than likely someone hit a dock with it or something. I had a 12#ball snap off from a large wave this summer and.no damage to the arm.

I run 15's with no problems but I have the new high-speed motors.

Nice job Matt. Thanks for the tip on where the fish were.

Nothing special. Blue dolphin and monkey puke close to bottom took most of the fish. Marked a school of what I thought was bait hugging the bottom in 95 FOW but apparently they were perch I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

I used them for short cores and mono rods to run on riggers or flatlines. At one time I did have a 10 color squeezed on one but lets just say the retrieve rate makes that not a fun rod

So far I've lost:

1 124mm deeper diver with snubber, leader, swivels, and diverdock - less than a minute into the first trip of the year, somehow got caught on the butt of the rigger rod I was setting and flung over the side of the boat

2 spoons, one of them nomobeggin's when a steelie decides to have fun behind the boat

1 12lb cannonball with blacks release lost when some J@#% J%$ on his way to Saugutuck on autopilot turned at the last second to miss running me over

1 aci high plug that broke off right at a hit

1 berts rod holder cap

1 okuma classic rod that I snapped the tip off on accident

1 Convector 45 that I stripped the drag out on but will be rebuilding this winter

1 Order of the engineer ring that came off while loading the boat on the trailer

1 Mercruiser outdrive that cost a cool $2300 to fix

Stuff I got:

1 walleye board with no name/number on it

1 250 copper with leader, aci hi plug, and catfish attached

1 124mm walker deeper diver with aci high plug attached

1 washdown bucket and sponge

A ton of awesome memories with friends

This is good. I know the Outdoorsman in Jenison stopped selling Deeper divers because they were having a bunch of issues with Walker supplying them. Hopefully now they will be easier to find in local stores.

I've spent a bunch of time researching and trying to make mine work. It seems like they are hit or miss whether they work good or not. I've decided to stop messing with it and get a new autopilot over the winter.