ScarabChris

I have been to the Bouncer seminars, very good information offered by one of South Floridas top fishermen. If you live near Dusky and enjoy fishing this is a great way to learn some new tips and tricks.

Wow the pictures of that engine bring back memories. My father bought a 19 foot Bayliner bowrider brand new in 1982, I was 8 years old. At the time is was a nice boat for the money, it had the same exact engine and drive as that boat. With that power plant the boat actually moved pretty good even with the entire family on board. If I had to guess I would say the boat hit 30 MPH light and 25 ish with a few people. I know this boat is bigger and heavier then the one my dad had but it can't be by much. I would think the engine should get the boat up on plane and run at a decent clip, considering the power it has. A problem my dads boat always had was moisture in the distributor cap. He had to take it off and dry it out constantly. When it was wet it would lose power or not start at all. Aside from that the engine ran flawlessly for 10 years and then a rod came through the block. If I were you I would first make sure you're burning fresh gas. Get any old gas out and start fresh. Then look at the timing and distributor cap. Make sure its dry inside and no cracks in the cap itself.

Yup time sure does fly. Congrats Wiley.

I remember this when it happened. I was out on that water that weekend, but I always stay the night to avoid running across the bay at night as something like this happens pretty much every year at this event. I remember reading that the two towed boats were not lit up at all. Clearly this was a huge contributing factor. And being that the captain of the Intrepid was not intoxicated and did not flea the scene and actually contacted the CG and tried to help I would say he was probably not at fault at all. But you have the families of the victims that want someone to pay so they go after the guy that hit them. Unfortunately that is not the person that deserves to pay. The person(s) that organized that tow flotilla in the dark of night with no lights is the party responsible. A tragic accident, but one that could have been avoided by exercising some basic boating common sense. Trying to lock up and sue the driver of the Intrepid is as bad as towing two boats with people in them with no lights at night on the busiest night of the year in an open bay that has no speed limits. I would equate that to hiring a skydive company to teach me how to skydive. On my first jump they let me jump with no parachute, I hit the ground and die. Then the police try to lock up the owner of the property I landed on instead of the skydive company. And to add insult to injury the property owner gets slapped with a civil suite.

What seahorse said. Depending on rates in your area it seems the average "3 year/300 hour" service is around 500 bucks.

As long as you didn't hit hard bottom (rock/reef) then you should be ok. I have done it quite a few times over the years.

Now you're talking! That boat is going to fly.

New news. it appears that disgraced lawyer Scott Rothstein was the rat that got these mob guys busted. For those of you that don't know who Scott Rothstein is just do a quick google search. He ran the biggest ponzi scheme in Florida. Something tells me Scott is now on borrowed time.

The "E-Turd" 115 has been a very reliable engine. That said I wouldn't say the Opti-bomb is a bad engine. But it will be louder and use more oil than the E-TEC.

Ironically the arrests were made at a restaurant called "Sopranos Cafe" on Miami Beach. Arrests also made in Brooklyn and Italy. Members of the Gambino crime family. Its been so long since I have seen any MOB activity on the news. http://cbs4.com/local/Mafia.Cosa.Nostra.2.1550653.html

I have been to a couple of Bouncers' seminars at Dusky Sport Center. There is tons of good information shared. If you want to learn some tips and tricks from a real professional then you should check it out. In person if you're local, if not then tune in to Wiley's live cast. I would go this time but I'm busy that night.

LOL.....You guys are losing me, I'm no computer guru by any means. I need to keep this simple or I'm liable to get frustrated and smash the computer and hard drive with my sledge hammer.

Yeah I'm not crazy about the online back up. Any recommendations on a particular brand and size of drive for what I am looking to do?

Sorry, for some reason I missed this thread. Slingbait.....shoot me an email, we can work something out. Woftam.......just use a 120 volt-12 volt converter. Radio Shack sells them. jdhunts.....You would defiantly be better off with a pair over one in the center.

I know there are some good computer guys here (Wiley)so maybe someone can point me in the right direction. I need a couple of backup hard drives. I need one for my business computer. God forbid my main hard drive crashes I would be screwed. All the financial and customer information would be lost. So I need one that I can hook up to the main computer via USB so I can back up this information say once a week. The the wife wants one to store pictures on. Since the baby we are accumulating thousands of photos. She wants this drive so she can take it to her moms house so she can load pics from their computer or take pics from the hard drive and load them into her moms computer. Help me out.

I always liked these boats. From my understanding they are based off the older Contender molds. A proven design.

Wow that is bad news, but I wish you luck. I really hope you can keep inlet cam going as I use it multiple times a week.

Its an unfortunate situation for Contender and the owner of the boat in question. This could have gone so many different ways and had a better outcome. I haven't looked at that thread on THT since like page 10. Its got to be over 100 pages by now. The boat owners accomplished their goal, to create negative buzz about a company that they felt burned them.

I used my wife's credit union. As for larger institutions Key Bank used to be one of the leaders in boat loans, not sure if they are still on top.

Thanks for the kind words guys. Feel free to ask any questions.

Got this in an email from a friend. He says his mother got nailed by it. New Area Code 809? VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ Be sure you read this and pass it on... I checked it out with AT&T and snopes - it's true. Please read all of this. 809 Area Code We actually received a call last week from the 809 area code.. The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen . Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly.. I have something important to tell you.' Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809We did not respond. Then this week, we received the following e-mail: Do Not DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284, AND 876 THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809 This one is being distributed all over the US ... This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this and pass it on. They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc..... In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away... Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.. If you call from the U.S. , you will apparently be charged $2,425 per-minute. Or, you'll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. WHY IT WORKS: The 809area code is located in the Dominican Republic ...... The charges afterward can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call... If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong. Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.. AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE :http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045 SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp

The show Modern Marvels is showing the history and current capture and use of Tuna. Very interesting stuff. In Japan there is an auction 6 days a week where they bid on Tuna much like we (Americans) bid on high end cars at the Barret Jackson auction. The average Tuna sells for between $2K and $20K. The most expensive one sold for over $160K. And its not just about size, they inspect the "fatty red belly meat" and the best belly meat gets the most cash. Anyway...its on the History channel. Check your listings, its worth watching.

Wow what a terrible day for that guy. He just bought the boat that day so i would guess he was so excited to get on the water that he forgot the drain plug.

Just any standard compression checker? I saw one at sears for around $30 bucks. Sorry to be so ignorant but I have never messed with a boat motor. Thanks David Yes, any automotive compression tester will work. There are only two thread sizes for all spark plugs and the tester should come with adaptors to make it work with any spark plug size.

On those old Evinrude/Johnsons the knock could be a bad wrist pin or just the way it sounds. Your first test should be a compression test. Its done just like on any engine. Remove the spark plug and screw in the compression tester. Remove the other plug wires so the engine doesn't try to start. Turn the engine over a few times and look at the gauge on the compression tester. Allow it to sit for a few seconds to determine how long it takes to leak down. It should hold the pressure for a few seconds at least. Do this on all cylinders, they should all be within 10-15% of each other. Also check the plugs when you pull them. Make sure none are damaged. If you have a damaged plug with a crushed electrode the piston is slapping the plug. That means the engine must be torn down.