Dv8oR

HEY!!! Better read this one! Forum: Court ruling could doom boating By F. NED DIKMEN In a recent case meant to control the spread of invasive species from large commercial ships, a California court made a rash decision that could doom recreational boating. The court closed a loophole that has allowed commercial ships to discharge enormous amounts of ballast water into the Great Lakes and, thereby, introduce foreign aquatic species into our sweetwater seas. Environmental groups alike applauded this move. However, in clamping down on commercial shipping, the court misguidedly applied these same stringent regulations to recreational boats. This one court decision could wreck one of the Great Lakes region's most vital economic sectors -- and ruin one of our most important pastimes. As it stands currently, a regulation put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1973 makes most recreational boaters exempt from the permitting portion of the Clean Water Act known as the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This regulation exempts runoff from properly functioning marine engines, laundry, shower, galley sink wastes and other discharges that occur in the normal operation of a vessel from regulation under the act. The new ruling would change that and require the owners of almost every boat, including vessels as small as jet skis, to apply for a permit through the EPA. In attempting to address the highly important invasive species issue, the judge's overly broad decision has virtually eliminated the protections that enabled everyday boaters to avoid burdensome compliance with the strict standards of the NPDES. Although the judge and the petitioners are rightly concerned with regulating the ballast water of large ships, it is illogical to treat a small recreational boater in the same manner as a massive commercial cargo ship that can carry up to 10 million gallons of ballast water and typically dumps it every few weeks. Additionally, it is extremely difficult to imagine how the EPA would feasibly go about creating a permit system for the 13 million state-registered recreational boats and the more than 25 different types of vessel discharges that could be affected. Further, few, if any, of these boaters will be aware of the new permit requirements without a costly massive public awareness campaign. The result of these new changes will be nothing short of disastrous for the boating public and the EPA alike. The 4.3 million boaters in the Great Lakes region spend nearly $16 billion annually on their hobby, and more than 107,000 people are employed in some aspect of the recreational boating industry. This court decision would drastically reduce the convenience and fun of boating. That would drive down participation. And that would weaken a powerful sector of a struggling economy. The changes that will occur if the court decision is allowed to go into effect will burden boaters with complications and red tape. If Congress doesn't reverse this ruling, nearly every person with a boat will be forced to comply with new burdensome and complex regulations starting this September. It is imperative that boaters make their voices heard and compel Congress to change this vastly overreaching decision before Sept. 30, 2008. About the author: F. Ned Dikmen is chairman of the Great Lakes Boating Federation.

Power doesn't smoke speakers, distortion smokes speakers. You can run 50w into 35w speakers as long as its clean power. (50w probably only has about 35-40w of clean power before distortion) This will get deep, I probably already said too much! Nice Deck Caz man but your still going to get your butt kicked this year!!! p.s. My stereo is louder then yours...lol....

HEY!!! Mee Too!!!!

You mean people with 2 engines???? hehehehe..... I've said it before, it can be 5.00 a gallon I don't care, I'd still use my boat! And..... Exactly! If I remember right, we had a similar thread, exactly a year ago!

Man! Wish I'd a thought of that..... Actually sounds like a time saver but I wonder what it does to the capacity of the boat????? Not to mention the speed.... I don't mean this in a bad way I just wonder if it actually changes the capacity.... I mean, it has to.......

If I remember right we both have 03 Silverados and 02 Impalas? Something tells me your Impala is newer then mine (04 comes to mind) but anyway, wait until we get into the Impala brakes together . The little Impala's warp rotors up nicely! A little brake maintenance can save these too!!! Ebrake on the ramp here as well. Depends on wether I'm launching for speed or not.

I'm going to help here as much as I can without starting more pissing matches....lol... Rear drum brakes don't normally wear as fast as front disc. Of the dealers I spent time at 4 wheel disc systems (some foreign included) rear disc brakes wear first usually do to (in my opinion) a minor design flaw, too small. (They are not usually as big as the setups in front). The rear disc brakes on our Silverados actually have a drum style shoe set inside the rear rotors so this will not help with keeping the rotors "clean" It will just wear out the drum setup inside the disc (which we, well I never use anyway because its an automatic) I do work my e brake pedal though occasionally just so cables, etc stay moving/used! This is like everything else, you talk to 4 people you get 4 opinions. You want an honest opinion on how to keep the brakes lasting.... Have someone pull everything apart every once in a while and clean/lube/adjust (where applicable). This of course is going to vary by application. I have 80k on my 03 and you have 20k.... So every 10-15,000 miles for me and once a year for you! Back to my opinion.... Dirt and crap gets caught in the caliper and keeps it from "squeezing" the rotor to its fullest potential. The TSB I talked about earlier stated to put a mud flap on the front (yes front) of the rear wheel well to slow down the dirt and crap. Thats why I said "ugly" idea. As far as the "weight" or "cost" question, I have the "real" answer but I would rather not post it on the world wide web. PM for phone number. When I tell you the real deal, your jaw will drop, as did mine once I found it out.

No pissing whatsoever, it sticks to stuff....lol.... I was just making sure an informational website like this one, stayed with factual information. The reason people go to forums like this is for information. Since automotive repair is my profession, I was puttin my .02 cents in to! I LOVE my Truck as do we all!!! Next GM is the Duramax!

Those articles are about ABS malfunctions not rusted rotors. This is going to get long..... The older style Wheel speed sensors used to junk up and would cause ABS to actuate without there being a need for ABS. There are a couple of comments in there where people had to replace rusted rotors but the bulk of this is completely unrelated to what your talking about. I'm going to make it shorter..... Where did you get the term "Soft" recall? A Recall-Owners are notified and NO out of pocket for SAFETY concerns. TSB's were put on early '03 on the brakes of GM Trucks. Ugly idea but it may have helped! You went in with a concern and the dealer helped from a customer service standpoint. And..... 03' models all brands come into my shop with similar RUSTED interior brake rotors and evidence of calipers hanging up. Not 94s that warp rotors... Rear disc brakes are a bad idea on a truck PERIOD. You don't have the stopping power that a Rear Drum offers.

04 is actually when they went back to drum brakes. I own a '03 Silverado with 80,000 on it now and did the rear brakes at about 37,000 miles. Its not a big deal to me since I'm in the automotive repair field. (Actually worked at a Dealer when I did my brakes, Chevy dealer at that!) Some dealers may take care of you and some may not! The Dealer I worked for would not have been so nice since brakes are a wear item and are technically only covered for 12 months/12,000 miles whichever comes first. (Most new car warranties are the same) 20+ years in the car repair business speaking 10+ at dealers..... Need any help/info let out a shout!!! I can tell you that I used American made steel rotors for replacements and I acutally used a ceramic pad as a replacement too (Not GM parts) wink wink!!! Careful buying rotors, most will have made in China stamped right on them even if the box says made in USA! And lastly...... Not Just Silverado, I've got F150's and Dodges that come in with rear brakes (disc) looking the same. Sometimes not using a vehicle enough is just as bad as using it too much.... Know what I mean?????

Its like everything else... If you don't know about something, don't do it! Anyone remember just a year or two ago... the boat that got caught in Ludington, some really poorly marked nets, caught the rigger balls of course and pulled the stern down to ultimately sink the boat???? GLF fishes around and through the nets and stresses me out!!! (Back to poorly marked is one thing, Trusting the markers is the other) I'd also like to see the "LAW" stated earlier that requires someone to stay away......

^5's and Welcome!! Great Gang!!!

That is sweet!... LOL Can't say I ever heard that before. I can't say I like any 1 more then the other 1. As long as I'm on the water with rods set it seems to appeal to me equally. I frigging love it man! I hang out fishin' with you guys in the a.m. leagues which of course sparks an idea to me....... Night League Date!!! Dv8oR's Lair Tourney Only the Strong Survive... Maybe an August event??? Come on Rich man!!! September??? Maybe a Tuff Man kinda thing!

Find a local rebuilder bro and pick their brains on bumping the 2 you have up!!! 2ndly, The Delcos are definitely the way to go on GM 4.3's if you don't have those rebuilt! I wish I could find a good rebuilder for my shop in E. Lansing vs buying them out and installing remans........ T

Some basic mechanical inclination and some tools and yes this can be done yourself! I have pictures I'll have to find of replacing an entire floor including the foam/floatation underneath. My better half is a freak about taking picures of my projects throughout the project. I did this to a 16' Starcraft that I found on the side of the road that was completely water logged and had been burrowed out with varmints storing black walnuts! (found the pics, I'll scan them and post them later) Bought the boat/motor/trailer for 600 bucks (the rotted tires even about fell off 2 miles from the house) Stripped it, rebuilt the floor and dashboard, used it for 4 years or so and sold it for 1500ish if memory serves me correctly. You have to think this kind of work is fun though or it won't be a good time at all, it will be a pain in the arse unless you like to do this kind of work. I think I had less then 200 bucks into the floor. 3/4" marine grade plywood, indoor/outdoor carpet, adhesive, etc etc. (the original floor was riveted down and I used deck screws to reattach) *NOTE* Obviously make sure the screws don't go through the hull!!! I'd be willing to give a hand or just be there for questions etc, shoot me a pm if you need! T

I'm going to keep with the perch. Fierce rod breaking action........ It may be fun to watch me have a hard time reeling in a perch, but it would never compare to the bottomless beer Rich had at a certain tourney camping trip! (not to mention the scope-eye he caught a couple of years ago!)

How's the Double D doing anyway T?????

This is going to end up like a Chevy VS Ford thing...... Obviously I'm going to say 4Winns or Wellcraft GLF will say Sea Ray, etc etc etc..... Not my exact 4Winns, but give me a 22ft downer, or a 28 ft Wellcraft Coastal (which you might see me on anyway this year) and I'd be good to go! They both build a hell of a hull!

Best quote I've seen yet. For us trailerable I/O guys, Ice out baby, spring browns, hug the shores with those boards and throw a drop light in the bilge, in the weird case scenario that if tries to "hard" freeze!!!! I usually watch for a week straight of comparable lows. 7 days with lows no lower then XX whatever number you feel comfortable with........ .02 more!

And their favorite colors are all CLEAR......lol Tim!!!!

GLF has a sweet setup for lighting!!! Pics Mike (GLF), Pics!!!

WELCOME!!! SWEET PICS!!! Thanks for sharing the spectacular views! Enjoy!! T

WELCOME!!! ^5's!!! Great bunch of fellas, as you probably already know!!!!!

*SLAPS THE DUDU OUT OF GLF* Why the heck didn't ya call me instead of leaving a PM here?!?!?!?!? I got the PM at oh.... 9:45am! Can't get there in 15 minutes!! T

Silverado Truck Window size Bro! You know I support your ugly mug !