[Line Cutters - prop shaft]

I've got a shaftshark style cutter. As others have said, I have no idea if they work because I've never had to stop and cut line off with them there.

Maybe ot did work and I just never knew it, or maybe I never picked up any line.

I'm just happy I haven't had to go swimming after sharking all day.

[Help,my boat has been broken into four times]

The problem with trail cams is that if they get stolen, so do the pictures. I can't remember how many threads I've seen where peoples cameras get stolen out of the woods and they are just plain sol.

What you can get is a camera that acts as a webcam and connects to the internet via wifi. They used to be expensive, but have really dropped in price. The advantage to these is they send the pics off in email or via ftp as soon as they take them via motion activated sensors. They do need to be within wifi range of your house though.

Otherwise, use pressure sensors (motion sensors will probably go off too frequently) and really loud horns and strobes.

[Generator Power Buy?]

The prices for the last honda buy were insane. I'll let some people on another site know. They may join up as a result....

[real boat question - ZF Gear]

Straight 30 weight.

I used to own a zf220a.

Check the web or boatdiesel.com.

My ZF tranny is labeled for ATF. There is a grade associated with it but I don't recall it.

[Fishfinder electronics problem, driving me crazy]

I had a similar problem, different brand, the fix was to wire straight to the battery. Something in the harness was causing the problem, the only thing affected was the ff. Maybe you could run new wires from the batteries to your fuse panels, both + and -, that would give a solid power supply to the fuse panes. Somewhere in your harness there is a bad connection that is causing either a loss of power or a momentary loss followed by a spike, that drives the electronics crazy, the reason that it will start right up or not.

The problem is your engines draw so much current starting it drops the voltage down below the thresh hold the electronics will tolerate and they shut down. Even though its momentary, it's enough to cause a shutdown.

You have two solutions, one is to install a dedicated house battery with a vsr or isolator between it and the starting battery. That will prevent the voltage drop due to the current draw.

The other is to add a circuit with a small battery that will carry your house load over until the current draw ends. I forget the name of that gizmo but you should be able to google it easily.

The house battery and vsr is probably cheaper and more effective ion the long run.

[Responsibility?]

Am I the only one who has a problem with boaters that like to brag about being stupid on the water? I notice that every other reply in regards to this post, supported what this guy was doing!

The internet is worldwide so basically we are showing all the other boaters in the world that we are idiots!

Yes I did some really stupid things when I was young, picture 1200 supercharged horsepower in a 16 foot boat! I like to think I have gotten smarter as I got older. I was also not endangering other lives in that boat. The big problem I have is the support this guy gets from the rest of the board.

If I am wrong to bring this up just let me know and I will go away.

Rick

At first I thought you were talking about the story of the guy who ran over a couple of people and was cleared of any charges. It would have fit that thread.

But in this case, while the crew may have been boneheads (friendly but loveable though), the captain made a point of stating he was completely sober. He didn't do anything most of us haven't done while heading offshore fishing. Running a boat at speed in snotty weather isn't always being a foolhardy and wreckless skipper. It might be, but in most cases it's sane and deliberate.

I at least didn't see anything wrong with the post. It was his bachelor party, and he was having a good time.

More power and more speed to him.

Or did I miss your point?

[Miami Beach man cleared in deadly Columbus Day boating accident]

If there was a proper system in place the owner/skipper of the towing vessel would have been charged with contrvention of the Colregs as well as basic human stupidity.

As someone who has regularly driven across a quite large bay down this way at 50 knots in pitch dark, but clear visibility, I know it's safe to do so, PROVIDED all others on the water are observing the Colregs.

How many of you drive country roads at the legal after dark, or do you creep along, expecting to meet a car travelling slowly and unlit?

The legal system may have delivered it's verdict - but justice was not done, and I suspect a FULL investigation was not performed either.

The difference here is that you don't drive along dark country roads at night with no headlights and in a position 20 feet from the bow of your car with the nose sticking up several feet.

The guy was clearly exceeding a safe operating speed for the conditions. He is responsible. So were the operators of the towing vessel, but to a much lesser degree.

He deserved everything he got, and should have gotten more. So should any of you yahoos who blast around in the dark at full cruise with no regard for others safety. And that is exactly what you are doing at 30 knots at night. Doubly so in a crowded bay during a party weekend.

Sorry, you can't fix stupid, but at least you can prosecute it once in a while.

[How do I remove a transducer thats in with 5200?]

I just did this recently. Use a small blowtorch and heat the transducer metal flange it should loosen the 5200 and be able to push right out.

I just did it last week as well, only I didn't use a torch. I really don't like open flames when boats are lined up like ducks on the hard. I don't have enough insurance to replace them.....

What I did was to just apply pressure using a bottle jack and some timbers. At one point I actually snapped a 2x4 I was putting so much pressure on it.

Anyway, it came out grudgingly, but it came out. Now that the rain has stopped I can go back and put the new thru-hull in.

[GPS signal on a plane?]

Yeah, I've gotten signals on the plane before as well. It's kind of funny to see your max speed at 400+ mph.

[My Take on the Boating Industry]

Fwiw, both the atlantic city and the new england boat shows both had/have "Affordability Pavilions". They aren't anywhere near the size of Miami, but they are the big shows in the northeast. Overall, there was a lack of big sportfishing boats, and even any large cc's.

Almost all the outboards were single engine, at least at the AC show. I'm going to the boston show tomorrow but don't expect a lot of high end models.

But remember, people still like to climb aboard and even talk to dealers about prices and financing, yet most probably won't buy a thing. What the dealers show up with isn't necessarily what people want to buy, and what they look at isn't necessaily what they will spend any money on.

Well, at least I'll see some shiny plastic tomorrow. I'd like to smell some fresh fiberglass, but most of the boats are 2008's and some 2009's. The new smell has long since faded away.

[My Take on the Boating Industry]

I wonder how much of that perception is florida specific?

I'm not disagreeing, it's just that up here, CC's aren't nearly as popular as they are down there. I don't see the 22-28 foot cuddy market dying out that quickly here. 25-28 feet is just way too practical a size for the types of inshore fishing and boating most people do.

[2010 Boating and Fishing Projects]

I usually have a couple of "wish list" items and a bunch of maintenance items. This year my list is the following:

-- FLIR (wl)

-- AIS Transponder, acr (wl)

-- mounted spotlight

-- underwater lights

-- shaft cutter

-- repair windlass motor (needs a tap to start)

-- new thru-hull temp gauge

-- some rewiring

-- add a high cap bilge pump

-- crash valve

-- voltage conditioner/stabilizer for electronics

-- prop reconditioning

I'm sure there is other stuff. It's never ending.

[ReelBoating Super Bowl Contest]

[Colts 35 Saints 7 Patriots 0

[Garmin question]

About $501, just kidding the 546 is nmea 2000 compatible so you can display engine functions if you have a suzie or etec.

One of the "bad" aspects of Garmin units is that, even though you CAN display engine functions, the screen is setup for an I/O, and can't be re-configured...even on a 5212.

That I believe is incorrect. The people using the new NMEA 2k monitor have complete info on the MFD for the outboard info. We may be thinking about 2 different things though.

I think I see where he is coming from. The data boxes you can display on the garmin mfd's are pretty inflexible. You can't customixe them to any meaningful (or satisfying) degree.

You can however get the GMI10 which is a small LCD display of just n2k data. That you can customize.

With Garmin, it's always something.

[Airmar TM260 Transducer NEW]

UPDATE:

After doing proper research, I sent the unit back and went with a new thru hull. Installed, glassed in, re-painted. Looks factory. Got too many reasons why NOT to have this external unit. Works like a champ.

What ducer is that? It looks like a B17 housing, but what are the internals? Just curious.

[Worlds Fastest Offshore Fishing Boat]

No doubt that Prop's boat is a fishing boat. It was the other one that is in question.

Woops, my bad. I thought it was aimed at prop, not homey. HE has no outriggers, no radar, no windscreen, no seating. He also has no cajones, and apparently no video camera.

[Boat Conundrum]

Ahh grasshopper, a sea fox in the hand is worth two in the lot.

[Worlds Fastest Offshore Fishing Boat]

He said FISHING boat.

That's funny Still waiting for the OFFSHORE bit and the FISHING bit

Oh come on, give the guy a break. It was a raw speed proof point. If you have a faster one, post it.

The boat has wind screening and an open array radar. Those have to cost mph, but are used for fishing.

My boat only cruises at 17 knots, but I can appreciate he actually fishes his boat and it's proven fast to boot.

Just a thunk.

[Going the "Joe Boater" route?]

ReelBoating.com Where the JoeBoaters meet.

Or BoaterJoes.com... Different sound to it anyway. Woops, then you would need a little sign that said "BJ Rules".

[Going the "Joe Boater" route?]

Being 2 months out from ReelBoating's 1 year anniversary I am a

Now that I DO have a chance for some feedback I am throwing this out to you. I would appreciate any feedback on this. I know many of you already simply think - just do whatever you want! Making a switch would requite a LOT of work on my part.

THANKS!

My guess is you made the right choice initially. In marketing, you never want to limit your audience, and that's what joeboater would do. People want to feel they are better than others, but the name kind of puts them in their place. Boaters especially think they are better than others. It's one of the reasons they spend as much on a boat as their house. It's why they will never admit that a bayliner or a luhr's were bad decisions.

There is a reason nobody likes being called a joe sixpack, especially joe sixpack's.

Just my opinion of course. I'd still come over.

[WOW! Yacht Fire in Port Everglades - Pictures]

Man, that's just a shame. Those old bert's are classics. At least nobody wass hurt.

[Single or Twins]

I am sure in a 23 foot situation we are talking outboards and not diesel engines, totally different animal so Sig is not in question.

As far as filters, whether you have a single or twins you should be carrying spares? Again, after one time of being stranded with weather moving in your opinion might change... Good Luck all

It's all good. I'm not saying you are wrong. My Parker had twin engines so clearly I felt they were needed in my situation. I could feel perfectly comfortable with a single though.

[Single or Twins]

If you are worried what little bit extra you might be spending in gas in a twin versus single situation maybe offshore boating is not the right sport...

Someone should tell Sig Hanson. He has no business being offshore with one engine.

The other thing to remember is that the bad gas situation will show itself much earlier than when you get 30+ miles offshore fishing...

Not necessarily. Filters will clog over time, and if you fill up just before heading out it could easily take 30 gallons of dirty fuel through a filter before you see issues.

But that wasn't my point. I was just pointing out that a 300 hp 4 stroke will use less fuel than two 150 hp four strokes of the same brand. That has nothing to do with safety.

Yes, all other things being equal two engines are better than one. But all other things aren't equal in this or any other world. You always have tradeoffs.

Some would (and do) say that going that far offshore in a small boat isn't safe regardless of how many engines you have.

[Three Garmin 5208's on 24 foot Boat]

I have a 2010 24 foot Bay Boat with a 300 Suzuki motor. On the boat I also have three 5208's. Question-If you were to go out 30 to 40 miles for Grouper--would you shut off the engine while fishing and still keep the 5208's on? My fear is that the 5208's would use too much battery power and I might not be able to start the motor??

Trolling in january?

You have $12k in displays on a "Bay boat" that you want to take 40 miles offshore, and you don't know if you have enough power to keep them going?

This is wrong on so many levels. But if you are worried about battery reserves, either add another battery and keep it charged and offline or carry a portable gennie. You can use it to run the blender; those mojita's don't mix themselves you know.

Just wondering what you would do??

What I did on my Parker was add a third battery that I kept in the "off" position unless it was needed. I didn't draw on it unless neither of my starting batteries would budge the engines. For overnight trips, I carried a honda eu2k generator. I'd run the gennie into the shore power outlet and keep everything running all night long - radar, chartplotter, vhf's, sonar, and lights.

When you are bobbing around 80-100 miles from shore in a 25 foot boat, you want everything on and working.

For shark trolling I just kept the radar off unless it was foggy out. That's what the safety battery was for.

Never had a problem.

My new boat has a generator, I just leave that running from dock till dock.

[Which electronics do you prefer?]

Which electronics do you prefer? Furuno, Ray, or Garmin....

Yes.