CudjoeDon

Saw this over at THT. Groupon appears to be legitimate. I just did the deal and the vouchers seem OK. http://www.groupon.com/deals/national-marine-manufacturers-association-1?c=dnb&p=3 CudjoeDon

Wife and I will be there 19th and 20th. Not in "trade-up mode", but will be looking at 150-200HP motors and boats in the 22-27' range [especially cats]. Have hotel reservations, now looking for any discounts on the tickets. CudjoeDon

Wife and I will be there 19th and 20th. Not in "trade-up mode", but will be looking at 150-200HP motors and boats [primarily] in the 22-27' range, especially cats. Still looking to see if anybody is doing discount tickets for the show -- we already have hotel reservations. CudjoeDon

Wife and I plan to be there 19th and 20th. Looking primarily at cats [and some v-hulls] up to about 27'; outboards 150-200HP; and dreaming about the yachts and other expensive toys. CudjoeDon

Sorry to hear that, especially since it's about 80deg here and I'm about to put my boat back in -- it only comes out for maintenance. Hope you have a decent winter. CudjoeDon [formerly Framingham and class of '76 Bellingham, MA]

Excellent motors overall, only issue is a design defect that can lead to a exhaust corrosion hole in the engine holder. Easy to check by taking off the left side [from rear] mid-section cover and looking all around the screw-in plug. To replace the engine holder is around $1500 [$800-$900 parts, 4-5 hours labor], so not something you want to miss on your inspection. They can turn larger props than most, but the 2.50 gear ratio means you have to be more selective to get the right prop. CudjoeDon

If it meets his needs, sure. Worth it for the parts, but expect some things will need to be fixed before it will be "perfect". CudjoeDon

What, no color-coordinated screen cover for the Garmin? Low-class all the way! [just kidding] CudjoeDon

I believe that's the guy originally from Glacier Bay boats. The Aspen is an asymmetrical catamaran with only one engine in the wider hull, none in the narrow hull. Supposedly more efficient and less drag, don't know what it means for handling at higher speeds. CudjoeDon

Be careful in your selection around Cape Coral. There are bridges and locks that seriously affect boating. Also, too far up the river and the no-wake zones are a hassle. Much of Cape Coral is made up of filled in land so homes can have serious settling cracks and structural issues. Generally the best long-term value is in the older "yacht-club" area of town. Closer to open water and unrestricted access. Homes and lots are often smaller, but hold their value because of the more desirable boating. Look for "sailboat" access -- deeper water and no low bridges. CudjoeDon

1bandit, normally I agree with the separate units -- but this is a 17' skiff. Not likely that there will be trolling spreaders over secret waypoints, etc. Even with the split screen, the screen is a little bigger, more importantly, it's brighter and the controls can be used while moving compared to a handheld. I find I rarely need both on screen at the same time -- chartplotter while going to a spot, then sounder when there. No problem if he has the space for a separate chartplotter-only, still better than a handheld unit. CudjoeDon

I have a Garmin 440S with the G2 card [same rebate deal which is why I did it]. This replaced a Garmin 72 handheld and Garmin 120 fishfinder, then I replaced the 72 with a Lowrance H2Oc color handheld. I found the handheld screens too small and not really bright enough to use on a moving boat in daytime -- plus none really seem to have enough marine chartplotter features. I would not go back to the separate units unless you would use the handheld a lot for other things. The G2 card covering the Keys seems to be very accurate. Much of the other stuff it has is largely "fluff" [photo's, marina/restaurant/services info, etc.] for most people who are not cruisers. Looks like the only things the 441s has different from the 440s is more waypoints/routes and NMEA 2000 support. For your purposes the transducer change isn't necessary unless you want dual-frequency and temperature [if your current one doesn't have these]. CudjoeDon

Cudjoe Bay generally has 3+ feet at normal low tide. Biggest issue is the transition from canals to the bay. Canals usually 5-10 feet deep but the "intersections" of them to the open bay often have a "hump" of 6inches to a foot. Usually this is only an issue at lowest tide -- depends on your draft and whether you can be patient for a 1/4-mile or so at slow speed until reaching deep enough water. Other side where I am [Venture Out/Spanish Main Dr] is somewhat better [and has always 6+ feet the back way along the US1 bridge channel] even though we have a "hump" just after our channel markers. Lower Sugarloaf, Ramrod, and Summerland canals farther from the open water have long idle-speed runs to deep water. HTH, CudjoeDon

Colts win 23-17

You either need to go the dual battery route [my preference] or carry a portable jump-start battery pack. With what you have invested, plus the time and distance you are going, you need something for safety. CudjoeDon