Sans Peur

I had the SeaKey system on my old Hydra Sports. It worked off Satellite communications instead of cellular so it would work far offshore as well as on land. I would set the Geofence and not even think about it. A few times I headed out fishing and forgot to turn it off. I was a few miles from the house and the operator would call my cell phone and tell me the boat had left it area. I always thought that if they ever called and said it was moving I would find out where and go take care of it myself. The cops always complicate things. I try to leave them out of as much as I can. I know it would also allow you to send an OK message and let designated people "ping" you to check up on you while you were offshore. I had my wife check on me a few times offshore to see if it worked. She would tell me where I was and the speed I was traveling at. Pretty neat stuff.

Right now I would sell the boat and upgrade. It sounds like your needs have changed somewhat with grandkinds and all. I had a Cuddy when my kids were small and needed the cover and a bathroom. Once they grew up I went back to a center console. Now that I have Grandkids (at 48 ) I went back to a cuddy again, although I do miss the center console. One thng to think about is towing. Will your truck be able to handle a larger, heavier boat? It does make it more of a chore to use. I went from a 25' Pro Line Cuddy to a 28' Hydra Sports Center Console and the difference was remarkable. Weight, Length, Width, 2 axle to 3 axle trailer. Whole new ball game.

How many blow boaters does it take to change a light bulb??? None, They are to cheap to buy one!

I have always run my down riggers a little off to the side. It keeps the cable well away from the props in a hard turn or if the weight dodges inboard while retrieving. How do you plan on running it? I always put mine down and leave it there unless we have a large uncontrollable fish on. I have found the rubber band to a big snap swivel works well. At the end of the day I reel up the weight and remove the swivels . Much easier than pulling the weight up every time you get a hit.

On the pump there is a solenoid that directs current to the pump. Check to see if you are getting voltage from the up side of the switch at the solenoid. If it is going down but not up it is either the switch or the solenoid. The pump obviously works or it would not go down. You can also jump out the solenoid to see if that works. If you have power from the switch and it works by jumping it then it is the solenoid.

Better outlaw forks and spoons also. I'll bet more kids get hurt with those dangerous tools than water guns! Oh, and don't forget the Happy Meals! Those are damaging kids everywhere. Really? Is this a serious post?

2 Hours running like crap and 15 hours running OK. I would think if there was an assembly problem it would have shown up much sooner. I have a forklift shop and believe me, my mechanics do make the occasional mistake. It ususlly shows up pretty fast.

I have found a three wallets, Two with money one without. Each one of them had a drivers license in them and I was able to get ahold of the owner and return the wallet. All three tried to give me a reward and I would not take it. Honesty and Morality are there in good and tough times.

Don't have the Binnacle Manual. I have one of the aftermarket manuals and it doesn't do a very good job in the binnacle.

I would only caution you about removing one of the cylinders. The flow rate of the pump is probably designed for a high volume of fluid. If you remove 1/3 of the volume you will probably find the tabs a bit quick going down. Shouldnt hurt anything, but they will be fast reacting.

On my Yamaha OX66's I have a problem with the trim. When I push the "up" trim button for the Port engine BOTH engines go up. Only on that one button function, the down controls only the port engine and the starboard switch controls only the starboard engine. Somehow I am getting voltage backfed through the system. Is there a gate diode in there somewhere. I can not find any schematics for it. I know the button on the throttle handle is supposed to work both engines. and ties them together. I figure there must be some type of diode that stops feed back when the individual buttons are used but I can't find one.

I figure it is supply and demand. New the Cuddy is more expensive. Used it is cheaper. I just purchased a 28' Cuddy and paid $5k less than the same manufacturers center consoles I looked at. I had a 28' Hydra Sports Center Console up untill late 2009. The Center Console is a great fishing boat and handles rough seas better. I would have never sold it had my x-wife and her attorney made sure I had to. Now I have a cuddy mainly because I have a Girlfirend who wants to spend the weekends on it. I do like it, but every time a center console goes by I salivate just a little.

I had a facebook account for about a month and developed a stalker from 20 years ago. I deleted the whole thing and never looked back. One of my employees was buggung me about having a facebook thing for my business to "Help rateings for my website" . I told him if he wanted to do it on his "Own Time" have fun, but I wasn't paying anyone for it. Totally usless.

Have you pissed off any neighbors lately? I would add a Racor Filter to the boat. When the glass bowl fills up drain it and keep going.

When I was running my 28' Center Console offshore I would wear the teather. But I like to run fast and would air the boat out quite often so I felt it ws only prudent. The only other time I used it was if I was alone offshore. Then I would tie a piece of cord to it just long enough to allow me to reach the furthest back corner. This way if I went over while gafing a fish the boat would not leave me swimming. I would think the regulations would allow for no teather when docking, slow speeds or some other function. But then again it is the government!

I think the survey is a good thing depending on your mechanical skill level. When I purchased my boat I did a compression test on all cylinders, went all over the entier boat with a flashlight and looked at every nook and cranny accessable. Remove hatches, cover plates, etc,,, Also go over all the wiring, look at all the connections and test every system. With a little diligence and some knowledge a survey isn't always necessary.

Unfortunately not all of us have the ability to go when we want. I have had to develop allot of patience. The worst place is anywhere near a boat ramp. If you can't put up with the idiots of the world stay away from the water this weekend. 4th of July is amateur day. Usually I go down to the ramp at Port Canaveral and hang out at Grills. They have a elevated deck over the ramps and we bring a large bound book that has numbers 1 - 10 on the pages. We hang out and rate the people loading boats. Not many get above a 5 most of the time. Some people get a little pissed but there are usually more than a few of us so they don't come up and say anything. Great Fun and I dont have to contend with the Idiots.

I have been thinking about the same one. I had the SeaKey on my last boat and it worked fairly well. Set the geo fence and forget about it. Actually I did a few times and after I left the house the operator would call me to let me know the boat had moved. Pretty cool stuff.

I sent a deposit on my boat based on the pictures and a long talk with the broker and the mechanic. We signed a contract stating the deposit was Fully Refundable if the boat was not as presented. I drove 4 hours to sea trail and found a couple of minor problems. They fixed them promptly and I paid the rest of the cash. It was a little scary wire transfering the deposit, but I checked the broker and mechanic out really well and made sure they were legit and had been in business for quite awhile. Made it a little easier.

Fill the tank and restart. See if the alarm goes off again.

Isn't the Loran System still running? I know I have been busy and out of boating for the last year and a half, but last time I heard it was going to be kept up for awhile. I still have a couple hundred numbers (Really Good Ones) in the old TD format. I was planning on converting them over now that I have another boat.

That is a BIG TIle!!

Depends on where you are fishing. When I ran a flats boat in teh Mosquito Lagoon I had to use an aerator to keep bait alive. We were fishing in very shallow water and it would be hot with a low level of oxygen. If I ran the live well pump all the bait would go belly up in no time. With the aerator and a little fresh water every once in awhile to keep the amonia level down they would last a lot longer. Offshore, I run the live well pump continously. Fresh water with good O2 content and a good turn of water is best. It keeps the amonia levels down and the bait stays much healthier.

I know they say 5200 is not removable, however I have been able to remove a thru hull transducer with high speed fairing block that I personally installed with 5200 about two years earlier. I took a sharp thin blade putty knife and hammered it "Carefully" between the fairing block and the hull. I only put a few small marks into the gel coat and after I reinstalled the new transducer they were covered anyway.

Not to start a Major bashing, Why is it that people thnk anyone with money is Evil? or how they aquired it was evil? Personally I see things like that and it makes me want to work harder and smarter to try and obtain it!