Sandy

No question they will help plane earlier and help keep on plane at lower RPM and that can certainly improve economy. The downside of these tabs that can't be adjusted underway is that they would tend to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. If, for instance, the passenger load shifts toward one side , the tab on that low side will tend to give and the high side extend to limit providing opposite of optimum effect. Same in strong crosswind . Likewise, heading downsea in big waves most planing boats are safer with more bow-up attitude, but these tabs hold the bow down into the lower back of the next wave. That just doesn't sound that "Smart" to me.

BW Pirate- Is that last a solderless PL-259 connector? Too Reel mention Shakespseare screw-on "instead of solder on" & I thought all Shakespeare solderless screw-togethers were non-corroding gold-plated Centerpins, no? The pre-installed Digital mini is great for threading thru small holes but the solderless Centerpin is darn handy as a finish add-on.

The Prop Scan and some HaleMRI scans are free, so you know exactly what condition your prop or set of props is in and can decide whether they are in good enough shape or to elect to have service done with price provided beforehand. A lot of props are out of spec right out of the box. I take mine over to Mike at Ocean Props (PropScan shop) in Middleton,RI. who does a great job and very congenially answers my zillions of questions about my props and theory. An after-service scan is also provided so you have a printed record of before & after condition and can match the after on another prop if desired and can also see that a set is well matched to even the load on multiple engines. I'd venture very few props stay within ISO I for more than a season as we all at least have encounters with flotsam. A search for PropScan explains the system and Iso classifications. Most rec boaters get their props serviced to ISO I, but if you get them serviced at a non-scanning shop they may be way off that spec. and have no way to know for sure just using the wooden pitch-blocks and eye. .

Have 1 cat 1 GPIRB, 1 cat 1 EPIRB, 1 PLB & 1 SPOT.

Little dings can make a big difference and also indicate a strong likelihood original pitch had been knocked back for that blade. One usually can't see the difference between a somewhat out of original spec prop and a good one. Prop-scan & sometimes MRI scan is free in most cases , so you can get a printout & consultation & decide if you want to get it serviced. Being there while the prop is scanned and discussing what you observe can be very educational. For most recreational use the prop should be tune to ISO 1 spec. . This is explained on the Prop Scan site. Ideally the prop should be scanned and tuned up about every year or any time you notice a change in performance or vibration or have felt a prop strike. In many cases the tune-up will pay for itself in fuel savings, less vibration, better performance. .

Davepen- I believe Tooreel was referring to these Centerpin Solderless connectors. http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/connecto...ick=PL-259-CP-G They are so fast and easy and just as reliable as soldered if dielectric grease is applied to the cable and pins before assembling, then the connector is wrapped with self-amalgamating tape after. Should last forever.

Anywhere from 0 to 120 nm I believe.

It may be that the other one should not leak when the macerator is not turned on. If it has a rubber impeller , check to see if it's still intact and not worn and wear plate is not scored.

Crusader factory tech told me 27 ft-lbs for my 5.7L MPI's . Same for yours.

You could clean out the macerator pump so liquid without solids may drain through as on the other box, or perhaps wire in a Water Witch bilge pump level sensor to the macerator pump circuit and leave the circuit energized like your bilge pumps.

1st boat I actually owned was an 8' hydroplane I built in (jr?) high school wood shop (while everyone else was making coffee tables or bookshelves for their mom's) . Built from scratch from plans only that I enhanced, not kit, purchased through Popular Science or Mechanix. It was either the legendary Glen-L MinMax or very similar and was repeatedly proven completely unsinkable with it's 4 large sealed flotation chambers , & very stable when not flying into a NE'er in Vineyard Sound . Great pretty easy project (A+ in the class-it was the shop teacher's favorite by far) and very fun little craft. I recommend something like this for your kids.

Definitely replace. And always check/reset the timing (in timing mode)when replacing (or even just cleaning) cap & rotor. Suggest vac'ing out any corrosion particles that may have fallen down to the plate or below as well. And put a few drops of light oil on the shaft bearing wick under the rotor. Midway- Good suggestion, but would a 2004 still have mechanical advance?, ..dunno.

In light of the Obama administration's new mandate of industry average of 35.5 mpg for truck & cars by 2016 , it hard to imagine there could be huge support at least for any increase in ethanol % in gasoline or we may all be driving around in ~ 100 hp vehicles if driving at all. The future of motor boating is a whole 'nother question.... . It's getting plenty hard enough to justify the 22 gph cruise of my 27' boat, think about the 100 +/- gph of a big Viking, Hatteras, etc., etc. .

If the H/H you get has a lithium battery, it will stay at essentially full charge for a very long time stored off the charger.

Aren't you concerned it may burn down your house?

"but it's just too small for our use" . Sounds like we are hearing a bigger garage in your future. That one looks like a darn nice spunky craft. Good work.

Not sure, but I think the backwards-compatible e-loran has been in effect for a while now . Sitex is the only mfgr I am aware of which had put e-loran receiving equipment on the market & that as an add-on to their GPS units. As I understand, it the proposal is to eliminate funding for the loran system at the end of fiscal 2009 (Sept. 30th) and new editions of USGS charts would no longer have loran line overlay after 2009. Sounds like serious stuff for you curved-line die-hards out there, but you never know 'til the plump lady squawks. .

If you put it in your car or truck, I suggest you make sure you filter it well 1st. Many vehicles today have fuel filters integral with the fuel pump inside the gas tank, so the tank has to be dropped to get at it , which is just as well because by the time you find out your filter is clogged the pump may be shot as well. I take bad gas to the local gasoline distributor who is happy to take it & just puts in in his huge 50,000+ gal storage tank so it's potential detrimental effects are neglible and eventually I get to buy it back "refreshed" at the corner gas station. Semi-annual haz-waste collections are another option & take it for free here no matter how bad the stuff is.

Centek Industries, Metcalf Marine Exhaust, Unicraft Marine Products.........

If this is an I/B or I/O check the sight hose from fuel pump to carb to see if the pump diaphragm is leaking, otherwise the float valve may be stuck open. Either way it needs fixing before running.

You could cover the boat and give it a brief (1-2 hrs?) shock treatment by a commercial ozone generator ( not those silly little things like sharper image used to sell). The will supposedly kill existing mold/mildew but you still have to figure out how to clean those harder to get to areas. Most of the bigger yards have the o. generators these days. Ozone is corrosive to varying degrees for various materials so weigh potential benefits vs possible risk.

It looks afwfully familiar but what ever it is apparently it's SOLD. Can't quite place the lateral ridge on the upper hull side. Did you take a peek at the first several letters & numbers of the HIN?

2 Cat1 EPIRBS, 1 w/ gps plus a PLB and even a SPOT & 4 man offshore raft, 5 survival suits, etc. . Don't forget to check your registration, battery and hydrostatic release ( & raft inspection) expiration dates to keep them effective & legal.

They are probably revealing to him The Meaning Of Life or The Universal Cure For Cancer or even just How To Catch A Fish Without Even Trying in a frequency you can't begin to hear.

If you are able to see over your rail , you could just add a glare shield as a larger version of what some of us have under our all-around white nav lights or move the mount back as XV2PS suggests. If you need to look through the rail, you might consider raising the spot on a mast so you can see what you need to but still shield out the rail and bowdeck.