# Boat prep and refitting 2021



## OneidaEagle

Kroppe started last years thread, for 2020


Figured since I have boat away for winter, and refitting already, I’d start this years thread.


What needs done on your vessel and trailer?


What major refits will you do this season?

From Kroppe last year.

"My normal list is to clean the boat, change the motors' oil and filters, and verify function of all systems. Then inventory tackle and make a list of what needs repaired or replaced on the boat, trailer and tackle" end Quote



This year, I am looking to install a new HDS Live-12, and an Arimar transducer for my 2D. Going to move my HDI Transducer to the front trolling motor for Jigging. Then I have 2D and DI at the front, for Walleye & Salmon.


Looking to also replace an HDS Gen3-9 with a Live-9. Need to sell/upgrade another graph first.


Replace my SSHD (LSS2) with the newer Active Imaging 2in1 for my SI & DI.


Boat is already cleaned, carpet, cockpit vinyl.


I removed 15 foot of VHF Radio antenna cable, that was unneeded.


Itroll was returned for a free firmware upgrade.


Have a ratcheting Salmon rod holder I needed fixed, have that done as well.


Waiting on the new graph to see what kind of fabrication I need to get it on the dash.


That my start for next year,


What are yours?


OE


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## CrawlerHarness

1998 Crestliner 1750
- Install Minn-kota quick release bracket DONE
- Remove / sell Humminbird Helix G3N with MSI+ DONE
- Rebuild 4 carburators on Johnson 115 2-stroke
- Adjust/tighten throttle cable
- Replace fuel line to tank and new bulb
- Replace fuel filter
- Replace water-pump
- Replace carpeted floor / plywood with new plywood and vinyl
- install Lowrance TI2 12" and Active Imaging 3 in 1 Transducer
- Buy new Marine starting battery
- Inspect bearings
- Sand a few places that have dock rash and repaint with automotive paint
- Replace front red/green post with LED's


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## kroppe

Thanks for getting the thread going OE.

I MUST get two new trailer tires. Probably Goodyear Endurance.

I need to repower my Mustang self inflatable life vest.

I want to replace all small diameter rubber fuel hoses to the 4x1bbl carbs in the Honda 90.

I want to replace springs and shackles on the trailer, probably won’t do that.

I want to replace the timing belt on the Honda 90, not sure if I will do that or not.

The rest of it will be normal cleaning and small fixes.


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## OneidaEagle

kroppe said:


> Thanks for getting the thread going OE.
> 
> I MUST get two new trailer tires. Probably Goodyear Endurance.
> 
> I need to repower my Mustang self inflatable life vest.
> 
> I want to replace all small diameter rubber fuel hoses to the 4x1bbl carbs in the Honda 90.
> 
> I want to replace springs and shackles on the trailer, probably won’t do that.
> 
> I want to replace the timing belt on the Honda 90, not sure if I will do that or not.
> 
> The rest of it will be normal cleaning and small fixes.


Good Year Endurance all the way, as my current ones wear out, Ill replace them in pairs with the Endurance.

OE


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## Quack Addict

Pretty much did everything to my boat before putting it up for the winter. 

Best I can think of is I have a blown up lower unit to rebuild as a back-up sometime this winter. It locked up while cutting power after an 8 mile run a couple years ago. The magnet on the drain plug came out looking like a mouth full of braces so I'm expecting some pic-worthy carnage inside.


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## John Hine

I look forward to this thread! 

Oil change on my main motor & lower units on both. I plan on doing belts & hoses on the main just as a preventative. I’m also adding a second helm for the kicker motor, thought about autopilot but I prefer hands on steering, gonna go with a push pull lever not a wheel. Adding another rod holder to each side also for more dipseys. Adding another set of dipsey rods & reels. Of course I’ll buy a bunch of spoons, flashers & flies & meat rigs that I won’t use. Adding a new back up graph/gps, also, just ordered this one, it’ll be here Wednesday!


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## The Nailer

I must have missed this last year, but I find it an interesting thread as I have my list hanging on the wall in the garage.Below is my list.

Clean and treat boat seats

Purchase and install Rescue Step ladder

Grease and inspect wheel bearings

Re-carpet trailer bunks

Clean and lube reels

Re-spool reels that aren't braid

Purchase and install Humminbird Helix 7di on bow

Organize and replace tackle as needed ( I started this project yesterday)

And after reading one of the posts above I plan to re-arm my self inflate vest just for insurance

I already changed oil, oil filter, gas filter and lower unit lube and removed prop and inspected for leaks and fish line


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## OneidaEagle

Upgrades are always fun, & costly......

Looking to ge the new graph mounted and guess what, I should really take into account the width of the device AND KNOBS when measuring, CUZ it aint gonna fit.

Day of research, and found that Traxxtech solution. I can mount a 6 in track to the dash, to cover the holes that were drilled by prior owner.

I can then use an 8 or 10 inch Dual pivot to mount the new 12 inch graph & an additional support plate for larger electronis.

Also found that transducer should always be in the water for cooling. They actaully have a heat sink, similar to one that is installed onto a computer proccesor. 

This allows for cooling of the elements within the transducer.

I got the new Transdcer cable ran, and sticking out of the dash, was all proud of myself, then realized, I might have to remove it to mount the new Rytek Marine mountng bracket to the transducer and then run the cables.

So any work on the boat it at a stand still until the bracket arrived this coming Thursday.

some photos

OE


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## CrawlerHarness

OneidaEagle said:


> Upgrades are always fun, & costly......
> 
> Looking to ge the new graph mounted and guess what, I should really take into account the width of the device AND KNOBS when measuring, CUZ it aint gonna fit.
> 
> Day of research, and found that Traxxtech solution. I can mount a 6 in track to the dash, to cover the holes that were drilled by prior owner.
> 
> I can then use an 8 or 10 inch Dual pivot to mount the new 12 inch graph & an additional support plate for larger electronis.
> 
> Also found that transducer should always be in the water for cooling. They actaully have a heat sink, similar to one that is installed onto a computer proccesor.
> 
> This allows for cooling of the elements within the transducer.
> 
> I got the new Transdcer cable ran, and sticking out of the dash, was all proud of myself, then realized, I might have to remove it to mount the new Rytek Marine mountng bracket to the transducer and then run the cables.
> 
> So any work on the boat it at a stand still until the bracket arrived this coming Thursday.
> 
> some photos
> 
> OE


Thanks for posting the Traxstech name. I am looking for a better mounting setup for my also new Lowrance TI2 12". I was also following you on your other thread and got the same one. 

I am currently messing around with the TI2 on the kitchen table. I hooked it up to a battery with a 15-year old Lowrance Blue power cable. Made a screen calibration because the touch screen sensitivity sucked out of the box. Testing out the Navionics card on all the potential lakes I fish. And now trying to get the Humminbird waypoints brought over to the TI2.


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## OneidaEagle

HB Way points need to be converted. 

You can use the HumminBird PC Software, and convert them to Lowrance format.

OE


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## bowhunter426

Not sure I will be keeping my current boat so the current list is keep it clean and in working condition so it will sell when I find its replacement


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## piketroller

Here’s what I did back in the spring to make a 12” graph fit at the helm. Just a 1/4” aluminum plate to move the mount further from the windshield. Worked out fine.


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## sportsman98

Besides the usual motor and trailer maintenance the biggest items for me are:

Mount and install the new minn kota ulterra along with all the batteries and such.

Figure out where to mount my fish hawk display.

Add more led lighting next to the floor of the boat. 

And replace the blown speakers and outdated stereo deck.


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## perchjerker

Few things I need to do to the Grady

Install new Fish Hawk T/D. I upgraded to an X4 from a 840 a few years ago. Never did work quite right. The old T/D is supposed to be the same between all the Fish Hawk units, 70khz.

I fiddled around with the T/D location and aiming finally decided to get a new T/D. Looked at the old one is says 125khz!! No wonder its not working right

Also upgrading my downriggers. I have ancient Walker electrics that have served me well on 3 boats. Found some new never used Digitroll IV's (these are the ones that supposedly dont have the issues of the other versions, hope thats the case!)

Need to put new brake pads on the trailer, and get a new roller fairlead for the electric trailer winch

Now the other boat I have is my 16.5ft side console. Needs stuff too but I would have to look it again to remember all what it needs (all minor stuff)


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## bowhunter426

Nothing on the bass boat this year.

The other boat is getting a new high volume fuel pump, flow matched injectors and a Brucato ACU so I can get a better fuel curve and lower the rev limiter


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## John Hine

Right on time!!


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## OneidaEagle

John, that's nice. You get it due to marketing?

Just kidding, I got a buddy who ordered one, (Garmin) and keeps telling me that marketing line "Its a GAME CHANGER"

I just received a HDS Live-9 today and my 3N1 Transducer.

Waiting for my Traxstech items to arrive to mount the 12.

OE


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## OneidaEagle

John,
I was jelous, of your arrival until FedEx stopped at my place, dropped of the TraxsTech parts needed.

Spent some time in front of the TV, not watching it, but assembling the mount, and support plate for larger graphs, and in general tinkering with it.

Then it got the best of me, and at 11pm, there I am in the garage, mocking it up, trying to get what would be best, in my mind.

I have some more tinkering to do with the graph on the gimbal mount but will look something close to this.

Need tos ee if I can cover the holes in the dash from the old graph removal, and get the screen tucked in towards the windshield a bit more.

Also need to see if I may need to shorten the gimbal arms somehow. that will be determined when I can get some heat in the garage, and tinker all day Saturday. :coolgleam

OE


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## perchjerker

real nice!


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## OneidaEagle

Today was a play in the garage day.

My meat mixer fiasco is over and the new meat mixer arrived. Before working on the boat, 25# of Venison Summer sausage was mixed, then packed, and curing for 24 Hours, then goes into the smoker about noon tomorrow.

Thats my kind of food Pyramid.....


When done with that I tinkered in the boat, got the track in place, backing bracket provided by a Buddy of mine fit pefect, Just has to drill holes, and secure the track.

Then the frustrating part started, had to tinker with the mount.

I can make it work, but it not "Exactly" What im looking for, and one of the problems is measuring. You can look at somthing, and measure, but without the actual part, I am GUESTIMATING.

I doing so using an imaginary mount, and track, and only my graph, I thought an 8 inch mount would suffice.

Tinkering, and 4 hours later, I decided, I think I need the 10 Inch Tracxtech mount, vs the 8. I cant get the screen low enough, and far enough back to be "Comfortable"

As you can see in the picture, its pretty high, Id like it to come down to near the height of the dash curve, located over the speedometer. 

I do like the increased available dash space, and I can place items underneath it, on the dash now. That mount has so many adjustments, its insane, and I just did not think a 10 would work, I may have been wrong in my "imaginary measuring" when mentally mocking it up.

Ill have to see what I can work out with Traxstech later next week.

So I tabled working on that, and had to pull the transducer cable out, and run it through the Rytek mounting bracket. Have the cable ran through the bracket as needed, and then ran back through the boat, AGAIN.

Neeed the 3n1 bracket to arrive, and a new 1 inch chunck of Star Board is on the way, to replace the tiny mounting boad that was on the boat.

Once I get that, & the Rytek Mount for the AI 3n1 transducer, I can get that part done as well.

I hooked up the transducers, (Prior to that I paused all sonar) because the AirMar TM185HW is supposed to have "XID Technology" and sure enough, it identified that transducer, selected it, and was easy peasy.

Tomorrow, I will probably spend some time, figiting again, see ifI cna find a locaiton that I like, until I can see about a 10 inch mount.

Either way progress, was made today.

OE


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## CrawlerHarness

Thanks for keeping us posted mBirdsley. I suppose i will have to make it out into the shed after she gets above 10 degrees to take some pictures of my projects. 

I am presently pulling carburetors one by one and rebuilding them in the warmth of my house.


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## mbirdsley

CrawlerHarness said:


> Thanks for keeping us posted mBirdsley. I suppose i will have to make it out into the shed after she gets above 10 degrees to take some pictures of my projects.
> 
> I am presently pulling carburetors one by one and rebuilding them in the warmth of my house.


I had to buy a new heater to be able to work in the garage. Originally we had a oil heater in the garage the wife who is a insurance underwriter made me take it out. I’m kicking my self in the butt for that now. I should have fought that harder. Somebody would have insured the house with a oil heater. 

At the time though I was working a crap ton and wasn’t doing much in the garage. Which, can fit 4 cars if done right 


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## CrawlerHarness

mbirdsley said:


> I had to buy a new heater to be able to work in the garage. Originally we had a oil heater in the garage the wife who is a insurance underwriter made me take it out. I’m kicking my self in the butt for that now. I should have fought that harder. Somebody would have insured the house with a oil heater.
> 
> At the time though I was working a crap ton and wasn’t doing much in the garage. Which, can fit 4 cars if done right
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


By the way...I forgot to say it does look good. 

Do you have plans to go thru the old 2-stroke Mercury as well? 

I have a old Reddy propane heater in my shed as well. Like to get it to 45-50 degrees for working out there. I just think it is worthless when the temps are 5 degrees. Shed is insulated, but the temp just doesn't hold for very long.


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## OneidaEagle

Another weekend of getting things checked off.

Most work was getting the transducers mounted. I made one mistake prior to installing the new mounting board. That mistake was not taking into account the angle of the transom.
So the board when mounted caused a portion of it to protrude into the water flow.

So a router was borrowed, and that was not enough, took a utility knife, and cut away that lip, that was going to cause the issue, then a rasp file to file it down. Then for giggles, I ran the router again to make the edges look nice. Not that any one is UNDER the boat looking at my work anyways, but hey, you never know.

After all that it was check for motor clearance during a turn, and then getting them mounted. I got them mounted pretty close to what I expected, placed the side panel back into place, and attached.
Then looking, I found the back of change & Level, & $1.10 written on the bag. I had used the change, and level to get the old transducers adjusted properly and had left myself NOTES.

So I put the 4 quarters and dime into position, the level, jacked the boat into position, and then leveled the transducers. So I should be DANG CLOSE maybe adjust up or down depending on first tests.

Next up is, get the HDI transducer mounted to the trolling motor, and proper mount, oil & Filter Change, Gear Lube change, and wheel bearing check. at that point I think I'm ready for some fishing...


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## mbirdsley

CrawlerHarness said:


> By the way...I forgot to say it does look good.
> 
> Do you have plans to go thru the old 2-stroke Mercury as well?
> 
> I have a old Reddy propane heater in my shed as well. Like to get it to 45-50 degrees for working out there. I just think it is worthless when the temps are 5 degrees. Shed is insulated, but the temp just doesn't hold for very long.


NO the tower of power runs like a champ. She will push my fat $&@ up stream on the Saginaw or titt at 32mph according to my garmin. 

I have a master I guess you would call it a trash can heater and 3 kerosene heaters. It alone will get my garage 60-70 degrees in hurry. Burns a lot of propane though. Only about 9-10 hrs on a 20 lbs grill tank 


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## OneidaEagle

mbirdsley said:


> NO the tower of power runs like a champ. She will push my fat $&@ up stream on the Saginaw or titt at 32mph according to my garmin.
> 
> I have a master I guess you would call it a trash can heater and 3 kerosene heaters. It alone will get my garage 60-70 degrees in hurry. Burbs a lot of propane though. Only about 9-10 hrs on a 20 lbs grill tank
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I'm rocking with a Remington Kerosene heater while in the garage. The ceiling is insulated, how ever the walls are not. It stays around 40 in single digits, w/o any heat, and the doors closed.
Garage door is a R16 heavy MOFO, but well worth it.

I may do the walls eventually as well. It heats well, I place a fan on the floor and point it straight up, to circulate the air. 70 usual cut off point, but 75, if I want a t Shirt. Go through about 5 gallons in two days. I don't heat it often, but when I want to, I can do it. Its my best friend when I am out there for 8 to 16 hours dinking around.

OE


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## mbirdsley

Just ordered this from west marine . Very excited.. Hopefully it will be here by Wednesday 












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## John Hine

Cer


mbirdsley said:


> Just ordered this from west marine . Very excited.. Hopefully it will be here by Wednesday
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Very nice!!


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## mbirdsley

Tuff coat has been applied and I’ve got the garage a million degrees right now . First coat was sketchy after that it’s good to go. bottom side of the deck I painted in behr porch and patio acrylic paint. That behr paint is tuff as nails too. I’ve accidentally bumped some edges coming in and out of the basement to let it dry and not a scratch. After this I’ll let it cure untill next weekend in the basement 











































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## yellowbelly80

My current project
Building another river boat
Down to just motor rigging I’ll start that this weekend
would like to see how that tuff coat holds up


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## Crawfish

Hey *mbirdsley*, West Marine has the Garmin UHD 93sv with transducer for the same price! I ordered one last week and got mine a couple days ago. Not sure if this is a pricing error or what, but seems to be MUCH cheaper than anywhere else. One thing I noticed is that while this is the newer UHD version, it has the GT54 transducer, while some places are selling the Garmin UHD 93sv with the GT56 transducer. 









ECHOMAP™ UHD 93sv Chartplotter/Fishfinder Combo with GT54 Transducer and LakeVü G3 Charts | West Marine


Check out our ECHOMAP™ UHD 93sv Chartplotter/Fishfinder Combo with GT54 Transducer and LakeVü G3 Charts and more from West Marine!




www.westmarine.com







mbirdsley said:


> Just ordered this from west marine . Very excited.. Hopefully it will be here by Wednesday
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## georgeb

in a couple of week I will be dragging my boat to have a new 2021 60HP 4 stroke Merc installed in place of my 1994 60 Evinrude that decided to quit last summer. I am sure after it gets installed I will have lots of 4 stroke questions as I have no experience with it and after spending more money on it than anything else in many years, I want to make sure I get everything correct from the start. My plans include a water fuel separator and a tachometer before it hits the water for it's break in run. 

Any other items that I should consider adding or suggestions that will help are always appreciated. Thanks in advance...


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## Holzer

Yellow belly... that is a great looking Hull. What is it?


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## mbirdsley

Crawfish said:


> Hey *mbirdsley*, West Marine has the Garmin UHD 93sv with transducer for the same price! I ordered one last week and got mine a couple days ago. Not sure if this is a pricing error or what, but seems to be MUCH cheaper than anywhere else. One thing I noticed is that while this is the newer UHD version, it has the GT54 transducer, while some places are selling the Garmin UHD 93sv with the GT56 transducer.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ECHOMAP™ UHD 93sv Chartplotter/Fishfinder Combo with GT54 Transducer and LakeVü G3 Charts | West Marine
> 
> 
> Check out our ECHOMAP™ UHD 93sv Chartplotter/Fishfinder Combo with GT54 Transducer and LakeVü G3 Charts and more from West Marine!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.westmarine.com


Maybe that is why it was $100 cheaper. After you posted this I did some research and consensus is that maybe places are blowing the gt54 out to make room for the 56 transducer. I swear I looked at the 93 on west marines website and it was $100 bucks more. I’m not going to send it back. 

Bad things usually happen when I try getting cute and try the price matching game. Knowing my luck I’d send the 73 back and either that or 93 would get lost mid transit.

I know just playing around on the garmin website with different options that none of them came with a transducer. To add the transducer they hit you full retail. So it drove the 73sv up to like $950

I’ll play with what I have and maybe I’ll sell the 54 transducer to pay for some of the gt57. 


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## mbirdsley

OneidaEagle said:


> Another weekend of getting things checked off.
> 
> Most work was getting the transducers mounted. I made one mistake prior to installing the new mounting board. That mistake was not taking into account the angle of the transom.
> So the board when mounted caused a portion of it to protrude into the water flow.
> 
> So a router was borrowed, and that was not enough, took a utility knife, and cut away that lip, that was going to cause the issue, then a rasp file to file it down. Then for giggles, I ran the router again to make the edges look nice. Not that any one is UNDER the boat looking at my work anyways, but hey, you never know.
> 
> After all that it was check for motor clearance during a turn, and then getting them mounted. I got them mounted pretty close to what I expected, placed the side panel back into place, and attached.
> Then looking, I found the back of change & Level, & $1.10 written on the bag. I had used the change, and level to get the old transducers adjusted properly and had left myself NOTES.
> 
> So I put the 4 quarters and dime into position, the level, jacked the boat into position, and then leveled the transducers. So I should be DANG CLOSE maybe adjust up or down depending on first tests.
> 
> Next up is, get the HDI transducer mounted to the trolling motor, and proper mount, oil & Filter Change, Gear Lube change, and wheel bearing check. at that point I think I'm ready for some fishing...
> 
> View attachment 751184
> View attachment 751185
> View attachment 751186


What are those mesh coverings for at the bottom of the stern? 


I spent 3 days prepping my gunwales for paint. They were for some reason down to bare aluminum I don’t know if the guy before had stripped the paint off in prepping to repaint or not or if it just flake off. It looked pretty clean for just flaking off though I actually just got done sanding the primer tonight. Should be painting all day tomorrow. I think got to them just in time as gunwales were starting to oxidize and pieces of aluminum were flaking off. I made sure to check the rest of the boat but, it’s not oxidizing like that any where else on the boat. 

This week I will clear coat everything including consoles. I’m hoping next Sunday with my dads help we can start piecing it back togethe

Oh finally went to the secretary Of state and got my tags along with plate. Had to move that appointment 3 times due to work. 


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## OneidaEagle

They are intakes for various items.

I am not 100% as I have never traced & checked, but I think they are as follows.

One is for the front Livewell & baitwell on a separate pump.

One is for the rear Livewell, & recirculating, on a separate pump,

And one is for my Washdown system.

Good question though, and next time I am in the garage and have it heated, I’ll figure it out 100%.

But I think they are for as I listed above.

OE


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## OneidaEagle

Curiosity got the best of me.....

From left to right,

Front Livewell & Bait well.

Middle wash down pump system.

Right is rear Livewell.


OE


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## mbirdsley

OneidaEagle said:


> Curiosity got the best of me.....
> 
> From left to right,
> 
> Front Livewell & Bait well.
> 
> Middle wash down pump system.
> 
> Right is rear Livewell.
> 
> 
> OE
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Next project after getting the floor in Is I need to build a live well to do bass tournaments. That’s actually a good for location for intakes 


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## mbirdsley

Paint and the clear coating is done. Have to do some sanding tommrow but, it is done. Half of the one console is also clear coated


































Last 2 photos are before photos from the summer. I got rid of the cushion things on the side but, kept the fake wood grain up front. I wasn’t sure how that stuff would handle paint. Also, went through the gunwales and filled in all of the old screw holes with JB marine weld. Sanded the Jb weld untill flush and smooth. 


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## Holzer

Looks great! Keep us posted.


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## gunfun13

ETA St Patty's day. Of course it'll likely be well after that before weather allows me to fiberglass the transom.


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## ESOX

Ranger- I'm going to finally remove that useless E ladder I got in 2008 with the boat. I'm going to replace bunk carpet, maybe even the boards themselves. Need to figure out WTF is up with my Toll Master. Its ticking me off. Servo, or control unit? never acts up when I am trying to make it do so with a VOM in hand.............. And I am still going to run my generations old electronics. I find it hard to believe they would make a difference in that dishpan we call St Clair.
Lund- I'm going to Seacast the transom, hang a nice fresh Yammi 30 on there and sell the Yammimerk 15hp 4 stroke long shaft. Boat gets maybe 6 days a year use because its grossly under powered. (2006 SSV 14)


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## mbirdsley

4 gang switch came in the mail today and i just finished wiring it up. Works pretty good and every switch works. Orginally I was going to purchase one on eBay but, did some hunting around and found this one on Amazon. It is Jamgoer 4 gang switch panel which, this one had better reviews than the one I was going to purchase on eBay. Only difference is this is a 5 wire the one orginally was only a 4 wire. This one has an additional positive that feeds through the switches that I turn on and off. However, it works the same as the one I was orginally going to buy. 

It’s only temporarily wired in. I ordered a ten pack of inline fuse holders for the bilge, lights, and anchor and another 30 amp breaker between my isolation switch snd the bus bar. Should be here Monday 

I have my wiring in place for the striker 4 CV up front on the fishing deck. Last wires I need to run are for the new garmin echo uHD 73sv which, will be on the opposite console. Getting close I’m hoping I’m firing her up next weekend 



































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## georgeb

WOW... It finally happened

My new Merc. 60 is mounted on my boat and is in my garage. Now I can begin the retrofit of the dash where the Evinrude key switch was and rework all the other old wiring that I want to update. I am buying the same 4 switch module as mbirdsly pictured up thread as that will cover the dash holes and give me better functionality that just toggle switches. I broke my sonar transducer mount removing the old motor so I need to replace that. 

I also picked up a Mercury Vesselview Module that I have to install that will transmit the engine data to a tablet so I can keep track of all the engine information in real time especially RPM during the break in runs. 

Lots of things to do prior to the first splash, but I want to make sure I get everything right.










A 2021 motor on a 1984 hull Never thought I would see this.


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## mbirdsley

Front deck is on. Oh I forgot how bad that sucked from installing it originally. Elbows are not ment to bend that way !!


















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## perchjerker

georgeb said:


> WOW... It finally happened
> 
> My new Merc. 60 is mounted on my boat and is in my garage. Now I can begin the retrofit of the dash where the Evinrude key switch was and rework all the other old wiring that I want to update. I am buying the same 4 switch module as mbirdsly pictured up thread as that will cover the dash holes and give me better functionality that just toggle switches. I broke my sonar transducer mount removing the old motor so I need to replace that.
> 
> I also picked up a Mercury Vesselview Module that I have to install that will transmit the engine data to a tablet so I can keep track of all the engine information in real time especially RPM during the break in runs.
> 
> Lots of things to do prior to the first splash, but I want to make sure I get everything right.
> 
> View attachment 755828
> 
> 
> A 2021 motor on a 1984 hull Never thought I would see this.


Nice. What boat is it? Any other pictures?


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## georgeb

perchjerker said:


> Nice. What boat is it? Any other pictures?


Boat is a 16' 1984 Sylvan open bow fisherman I have had since 2000. It is in remarkedly good condition for it's age, it is garage stored unless it's in the water. Everything is the boat is my design or work from the stereo to the batteries. it had a 1994 60HP Evinrude that I believe the VRO stopped pumping oil and killed the motor. I am not interested in an old (*used) motor again, this is my retirement toy and the 2021 motor should get me quite a few years of fun.

Here is the business end with my custom downrigger and cooler mount.
















Here is my custom PVC rod rack, it will be re-made in ABS tubing in the not to distant future









Interior lights are from chevy pickup door mirror blinkers No red light can be seen outside the boat at night


----------



## perchjerker

thats awesome! I knew a guy with a Sylvan like that years ago. You did some great mods to it!


----------



## cwk33041

Expensive year for me but looking forward to the new season. Rewind back to Sept, I was up in Manistee and started my motor and instantly knew I had an issue. Ended up bringing the boat back home to Lockeman's. Turned out I had scorched cylinder and low compression. The 2004 Evinrude 250 FICHT wasn't worth the rebuild so they hooked me up an unsold Gen 1 Evinrude 300 for a great price with a 3 year warranty. Also had a Raymarine EV-150 auto pilot installed. Cant wait for the new season!


----------



## Holzer

Love the look of the Gen 1 Evinrude. Lockeman's = good people. 

I'm pretty sure I saw that motor in the front window of there showroom.

Enjoy your new motor!


----------



## gunfun13

New switch panel arrived today


----------



## OneidaEagle

I like it, “Eject”
For bad guests, and the gun for people who cut off your troll......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mbirdsley

We have power to the echo map !!!!









All I need to do is mount the striker 4cv up front, put windshield on, and my 6inch rail system and I’m done. Hopefully firing her up Saturday. Friday grandpa, dad, and I are heading to north woods and Frank’s. The wife is letting me have an advance on the stimulus money. 

My goal is to fish for some walleye before I transition fully to bass early may 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## CDN1

mbirdsley said:


> We have power to the echo map !!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> All I need to do is mount the striker 4cv up front, put windshield on, and my 6inch rail system and I’m done. Hopefully firing her up Saturday. Friday grandpa, dad, and I are heading to north woods and Frank’s. The wife is letting me have an advance on the stimulus money.
> 
> My goal is to fish for some walleye before I transition fully to bass early may
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm Running the same Garmins echomap 9 sv on the dash and Striker 4 on the bow hooked to the US2 transducer on my terrova. Works well. Kinda wish they were wired together through nema cable just to be sure the transducers don't cross streams. 
But have to upgrade for that to happen. You'll love the echomap enjoy!


----------



## ajkulish

Did you buy a map subscription? Or is that the standard Garmin map? I just powered my new striker 7+SV up last week and I have no map appearing whatsoever on it. My activecaptain app with chart is relatively blank too. Can see POIs, but no detail to any lake.


mbirdsley said:


> We have power to the echo map !!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> All I need to do is mount the striker 4cv up front, put windshield on, and my 6inch rail system and I’m done. Hopefully firing her up Saturday. Friday grandpa, dad, and I are heading to north woods and Frank’s. The wife is letting me have an advance on the stimulus money.
> 
> My goal is to fish for some walleye before I transition fully to bass early may
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## #1wallygator

ajkulish said:


> Did you buy a map subscription? Or is that the standard Garmin map? I just powered my new striker 7+SV up last week and I have no map appearing whatsoever on it. My activecaptain app with chart is relatively blank too. Can see POIs, but no detail to any lake.


Im not positive but I dont think the strikers have lake maps with contours.


----------



## piketroller

#1wallygator said:


> Im not positive but I dont think the strikers have lake maps with contours.


That’s my understanding. They will let you mark waypoints time a blank map but that’s about it.


----------



## ajkulish

Shame on me for not doing my research. I guess I just assumed that a company that forged its reputation on GPS capability would have a functional map. Oh well! I see I can buy chart upgrades on the app, but am still cautious because I cant even see the standard Garmin chart on the app, whereas online it has full depth contours.



https://activecaptain.garmin.com/en-US/Map


----------



## #1wallygator

You may be 


ajkulish said:


> Shame on me for not doing my research. I guess I just assumed that a company that forged its reputation on GPS capability would have a functional map. Oh well! I see I can buy chart upgrades on the app, but am still cautious because I cant even see the standard Garmin chart on the app, whereas online it has full depth contours.
> 
> 
> 
> https://activecaptain.garmin.com/en-US/Map


You can make your own maps with it I think. I dont know if it even has a card slot.


----------



## ajkulish

Well, now I have a bit of a decision with how I want to lay my electronics out. Maybe you guys can offer opinions. 

So I have a Lowrance Hook2 5x that I got with the ice pack for winter fishing, but I also bought the splitshot transducer for my old boat so I could swap it between the boat and ice pack as I needed. This unit has downscan, and GPS charts with depth contours, albeit not that accurate of GPS. 

I also used some gift cards to get the Striker 7plus SV on a good deal after christmas because I wanted a little bigger screen and side scan for locating fish when driving around. I was intending to put this unit on the dash and using it as my main screen. I was planning on putting the Lowrance unit up front next to the troller and connect it to the US2 on the motor.

I am now wondering If I should combine the striker with the trolling motor to have aimable side scan. I could, however, buy the maps from Garmin on my phone and link to my Striker unit, but I still think I could only share waypoints, not transfer the whole map to the unit. So maybe I use that for navigation? Not a fan of using my phone but it is one way....


----------



## piketroller

ajkulish said:


> Well, now I have a bit of a decision with how I want to lay my electronics out. Maybe you guys can offer opinions.
> 
> So I have a Lowrance Hook2 5x that I got with the ice pack for winter fishing, but I also bought the splitshot transducer for my old boat so I could swap it between the boat and ice pack as I needed. This unit has downscan, and GPS charts with depth contours, albeit not that accurate of GPS.
> 
> I also used some gift cards to get the Striker 7plus SV on a good deal after christmas because I wanted a little bigger screen and side scan for locating fish when driving around. I was intending to put this unit on the dash and using it as my main screen. I was planning on putting the Lowrance unit up front next to the troller and connect it to the US2 on the motor.
> 
> I am now wondering If I should combine the striker with the trolling motor to have aimable side scan. I could, however, buy the maps from Garmin on my phone and link to my Striker unit, but I still think I could only share waypoints, not transfer the whole map to the unit. So maybe I use that for navigation? Not a fan of using my phone but it is one way....


"Aimable” side scan isn't going to do much for you but cause confusion at what you are looking at. To make sense out of the images, you need to be moving in a straight line and fairly constant speed. With the transducer on the transom, if you are constantly going from 2 mph up to 5 mph and back to 2 mph quickly and doing tight S patters, the image will be like looking in a funhouse mirror. Now move that to your trolling motor and it will be worse. The Humminbird 360 works because the transducer is fix and doesn't turn with the trolling motor, and it scans at a constant rotational speed.


----------



## ajkulish

Makes sense, not really what I was looking to do anyway but had heard a lot of people talking about it in the past. I would much prefer to use the larger screen when I am driving. I guess, at the end of the day, the GPS sucks on the Lowrance anyway, and with the amount of time I spend on the lake, I should develop a map fairly quickly. Should make me explore new areas too...


----------



## CDN1

You need to ask yourself how serious you want to get when it come to electronics 
I like my dash mounted 9" unit for gps and side vu. Not so much for seeing fish but finding structure and marking it. My small 4" Striker lets me see water temp, SOG and depth when fishing from the bow. If you are getting serious with electronics you want big screens, exact same units, nema'd together so they see the same fish and mark the same way points and share info between each other. they can also be wired to trolling motors to lock on spots or follow contour lines. Im a weekend warrior not a pro I feel like I barely scratch the surface with the capabilities of my electronics, just due to the time I can invest into recreation.


----------



## mbirdsley

ajkulish said:


> Did you buy a map subscription? Or is that the standard Garmin map? I just powered my new striker 7+SV up last week and I have no map appearing whatsoever on it. My activecaptain app with chart is relatively blank too. Can see POIs, but no detail to any lake.


Standard lake vu map that came with it 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mbirdsley

Some of the strikers can do lake mapping. But, that requires the boat to be actively driving around to map the bottom of the lake. However, you can save what you have lake mapped. 


If it wasn’t for the installed lake maps on the echomap unit I would have went with the vivid series which, is in between the striker and echomap. The vivid series has side scanning too. but, the lake vu with the pre-loaded maps is why I jumped to the echomap 

My us2 cable came in yesterday and now I have my striker 4cv hooked up to my Terrova trolling motor. I don’t really need 2 but, since I have 2 garmin I might as well Use them. I’d like to buy another 14ft Tim boat in the future and I’ll put the striker on there

I’m so glad I bought the echomap and the US2 cable before this stimulus money started rolling out 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mbirdsley

Both the echomap uhd 73sv and the striker 4 cv are hooked up a working








I’m pretty much done. Just need to install my rod holders 

Went to north woods today and did my part to stimulate the economy. Grandpas used to it as this was our 2-3 trip up there. Dad I think was shocked with the amount of stuff I bought haha 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## CDN1

mbirdsley said:


> Both the echomap uhd 73sv and the striker 4 cv are hooked up a working
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I’m pretty much done. Just need to install my rod holders
> 
> Went to north woods today and did my part to stimulate the economy. Grandpas used to it as this was our 2-3 trip up there. Dad I think was shocked with the amount of stuff I bought haha
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have virtually the same set up. Gotta ask, when you say working together? I am assuming the 2 units are not conected together. Ie you can't mark on the Echo map then see the way point on the Striker ?? Or vice versa ( I guess asking if they are networked together? )
I wasn't able to do this as the Striker does not have the networking cable connections.
It's to bad the the US2 transducer only allows standard sonar and not down imaging to utilize your CV on the Striker. I have a helix 5 DI that i wanted to put up front but it is not comparable with the US2 transducer. It feels like a scam when manufactures do that.


----------



## mbirdsley

CDN1 said:


> I have virtually the same set up. Gotta ask, when you say working together? I am assuming the 2 units are not conected together. Ie you can't mark on the Echo map then see the way point on the Striker ?? Or vice versa ( I guess asking if they are networked together? )
> I wasn't able to do this as the Striker does not have the networking cable connections.
> It's to bad the the US2 transducer only allows standard sonar and not down imaging to utilize your CV on the Striker. I have a helix 5 DI that i wanted to put up front but it is not comparable with the US2 transducer. It feels like a scam when manufactures do that.


I ment as they are both are powered up and both are working and online. They are not hooked up together. Yes I know I won’t get the cv down view through the terrova on striker. 

Honestly, I bought the terrova before I knew what I was really looking for. To get the cv down imaging through the trolling motor I would have to spent another 550 bucks for the side imaging down imaging universal sonar. Also, I knew minnekota worked with humming bird and I was going to buy a humming bird fish finder to control the trolling motor through the fish finder. However that attachment is another $300 bucks. After spending $1800 for the terrova I’m not doing it. That’s why i bought another garmin. I should have only bought a $1,000 trolling motor and saved some money. I really wanted the ipilot hand held and I believe you get that with $1000 minnekota 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## piketroller

mbirdsley said:


> I ment as they are both are powered up and both are working and online. They are not hooked up together. Yes I know I won’t get the cv down view through the terrova on striker.
> 
> Honestly, I bought the terrova before I knew what I was really looking for. To get the cv down imaging through the trolling motor I would have to spent another 550 bucks for the side imaging down imaging universal sonar. Also, I knew minnekota worked with humming bird and I was going to buy a humming bird fish finder to control the trolling motor through the fish finder. However that attachment is another $300 bucks. After spending $1800 for the terrova I’m not doing it. That’s why i bought another garmin. I should have only bought a $1,000 trolling motor and saved some money. I really wanted the ipilot hand held and I believe you get that with $1000 minnekota
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You can always mount the Garmin transducer on the trolling motor.


----------



## mbirdsley

piketroller said:


> You can always mount the Garmin transducer on the trolling motor.


I may end doing it in the end. I just wanted to at least try the universal sonar seeings how I paid for it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mbirdsley

So I’m calling the major part of the rebuild done !!!! Installed the rod holders. In the back I have cannon ratcheting rod holders mounted on to a trax tech adapter plate( which I still had to have the engineers at work drill at tap to work) and the adapter plate is on a 6 inch piece of trax tech rail. Trax tech is produced like 3 miles to the east of me in chesaning. 

Up front on the rails I have 2 down east salty dog rod holders which, will work good with my mistaken purchased 9ft spinning Diawa salmon/steel head spinning rods.

At this point I primarily fish for bass. However, grandpa and dad want to walleye fish. So when they are with me we will walleye fish. They both seem really excited to fish. I haven’t seen my dad this excited to fish in 25 years. My brother takes him out salmon fishing but, he doesn’t care for them. For some reason my uncle and cousin don’t take grandpa out in the bay. He getting up there at almost 87 but, still wants to go


























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## Jiw275

Looks nice. Great job!


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## Holzer

Loved hearing about your dad and grandpa getting excited! That's 80% of the reason to own a boat!

Nice work!


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## ETW

mbirdsley said:


> So I’m calling the major part of the rebuild done !!!! Installed the rod holders. In the back I have cannon ratcheting rod holders mounted on to a trax tech adapter plate( which I still had to have the engineers at work drill at tap to work) and the adapter plate is on a 6 inch piece of trax tech rail. Trax tech is produced like 3 miles to the east of me in chesaning.
> 
> Up front on the rails I have 2 down east salty dog rod holders which, will work good with my mistaken purchased 9ft spinning Diawa salmon/steel head spinning rods.
> 
> At this point I primarily fish for bass. However, grandpa and dad want to walleye fish. So when they are with me we will walleye fish. They both seem really excited to fish. I haven’t seen my dad this excited to fish in 25 years. My brother takes him out salmon fishing but, he doesn’t care for them. For some reason my uncle and cousin don’t take grandpa out in the bay. He getting up there at almost 87 but, still wants to go
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I finally got around to reading this entire thread and especially enjoyed seeing your project go through its various stages of completion. You deserve a huge round of applause. I really like seeing old boats come back to life like this. Outstanding! 

On another note... 
I've been seeing people put out various posts in threads asking for a reference to a "good outboard mechanic" or "boat repair person" and all I can offer is a very sincere "best of luck" with that. This time of year you will not find any marina or dealer willing or able to look at your problem for months. Its just the way it is. I recently spoke to a marine repair place just down the road from my house and he told me that he has been slammed since last August and has a waiting list that stretches to June at this point. I consider myself very fortunate to be pretty handy with all things that consume fossil fuels so that I rarely find myself in the same position. (knocking wood)


----------



## CDN1

I'm not the greatest mechanic but being able to do some basic stuff sure makes for less headaches. I can do oil changes, plugs, water pumps, ok with minor electrical. It's things like pressure testing or big engine jobs that can get a little intimidating.
Cheers to all us amature marine mechanics. When you own a boat it's good to know some things about some stuff.


----------



## ETW

CDN1 said:


> I'm not the greatest mechanic but being able to do some basic stuff sure makes for less headaches. I can do oil changes, plugs, water pumps, ok with minor electrical. It's things like pressure testing or big engine jobs that can get a little intimidating.
> Cheers to all us amature marine mechanics. When you own a boat it's good to know some things about some stuff.


There is a lot of jobs that I'll do now that I never would have considered long ago. The "scary" ones are only that way because I've never done it before. I've found that now it is just a matter of having very good documentation (a real manufacturer service manual when possible) the correct tools and patience. I break it down into small parts and take lots of notes and photos. Having a searchable gold mine of how others have done it like Michigan-Sportsman's forums is priceless though.


----------



## The Nailer

This has been an interesting post to follow throughout the winter. A lot of projects and some very talented riggers out there. 

I finished my winter check list yesterday by greasing the wheel bearings on my trailer. I have my new Helix mounted on the bow, replaced and carpeted trailer bunks and guides, purchased and installed the "Rescue Step" on the transom (after reading another post about getting back onboard if I were to take an unexpected swim), re-spooled, cleaned and lubed all my reels and reorganized all of my tackle. Plus I added a couple new rods and far more new tackle than I need! The only thing left is to connect the batteries and I'm ready to hit the water. 

Now I have one question, can someone recommend an inexpensive pair of waders. Most of the lakes I fish in north Oakland county do not put the docks in until mid-May and I don't want to miss another pre-spawn season, but I don't relish getting wet launching my boat in cold water.


----------



## kroppe

Got a few things done: 


re-armed my Mustang Survival self inflating PFD. Good quality product, and the company has good videos on how to replace the CO2 system.
new leaders for dispeys and meat rigs
new main line swivels on 4 out of 6 rods
re-spooled one reel

There is nothing that prevents the first trip, however I like to check all electrical systems and fire the main motor before the first trip. Electrical checks will happen soon, if not today. Firing the main motor will probably be in a few weeks.


----------



## CrawlerHarness

Had to look back to post #2 to update my work....making some slow progress. But plan to get it out late this week to test the carburater rebuilds. My bowls were all warped.....and a friend recommended I can either replace the bowls, or sand them down to be nearly flat again. 

1998 Crestliner 1750

Install Minn-kota quick release bracket DONE
Remove / sell Humminbird Helix G3N with MSI+ DONE
Rebuild 4 carburators on Johnson 115 2-stroke DONE
Replace fuel line to tank and new bulb DONE
Replace fuel filter DONE
Change oil in lower unit DONE
Adjust/tighten throttle cable
Replace water-pump
Replace Rear live well Drain/elbow
Plug live well 1 and 2 intakes (to check for leaks)
Replace carpeted floor / plywood with new plywood and vinyl
install Lowrance TI2 12" and Active Imaging 3 in 1 Transducer
Buy new Marine starting battery
Inspect bearings
Sand a few places that have dock rash and repaint with automotive paint
Replace front red/green post with LED's
Change location of key switch (so I don't hit it with my knee)


----------



## Chad Fortier

CrawlerHarness said:


> Had to look back to post #2 to update my work....making some slow progress. But plan to get it out late this week to test the carburater rebuilds. My bowls were all warped.....and a friend recommended I can either replace the bowls, or sand them down to be nearly flat again.
> 
> 1998 Crestliner 1750
> 
> Install Minn-kota quick release bracket DONE
> Remove / sell Humminbird Helix G3N with MSI+ DONE
> Rebuild 4 carburators on Johnson 115 2-stroke DONE
> Replace fuel line to tank and new bulb DONE
> Replace fuel filter DONE
> Change oil in lower unit DONE
> Adjust/tighten throttle cable
> Replace water-pump
> Replace Rear live well Drain/elbow
> Plug live well 1 and 2 intakes (to check for leaks)
> Replace carpeted floor / plywood with new plywood and vinyl
> install Lowrance TI2 12" and Active Imaging 3 in 1 Transducer
> Buy new Marine starting battery
> Inspect bearings
> Sand a few places that have dock rash and repaint with automotive paint
> Replace front red/green post with LED's
> Change location of key switch (so I don't hit it with my knee)


Know that feeling


----------



## kroppe

Thanks @ETW . I will pull the cable out and fiddle with it some more. I am not against buying a new antenna. 

What goes bad on an antenna? If the cable isn't obviously damaged, what can wrong? Does it chafe inside the fiberglass mast?


----------



## ETW

A fiberglass antenna like that can fail internally but it's pretty rare. Most likely the cable has a short somewhere along its length. Probably at the radio connector or where the cable enters the antenna. If it were relatively new I'd say just solder a new PL259 connector on and see how it works but you said it was getting flaky for awhile so it's probably time for a new antenna. They really don't make it easy to replace the cable on those fold down antennas or even possible on some of them.


----------



## OneidaEagle

Kroppe,

I went with a removable antenna, they are in 4 & 8 foot.

Shakespeare QC-8 QuickConnect VHF Antenna - 8 foot | Defender Marine 

It might be an idea, going forward if the cable to the antenna is bad.

OE


----------



## ETW

OneidaEagle said:


> Kroppe,
> 
> I went with a removable antenna, they are in 4 & 8 foot.
> 
> Shakespeare QC-8 QuickConnect VHF Antenna - 8 foot | Defender Marine
> 
> It might be an idea, going forward if the cable to the antenna is bad.
> 
> OE


Pardon me for jumping in but I see it requires a special mount (not included) and you have to supply your own cable with a PL259 on each end? Is that right? I'm going to have to replace mine after this season so I'm seeing what others are buying.

Thanks


----------



## OneidaEagle

It does require a Quick Disconnect mount w/ cable. I was just posting it as a possible idea should he need to repalce.

Here is a partial cut and past from another thread.




I went with an IComm radio, and a Shakespeare quick connect mount and antenna. Since its line of sight, I got the 8 foot antenna. I can remove it and shove it in the rod locker when not in use.


Antenna:
Shakespeare QC-8 QuickConnect VHF Antenna - 8 foot | Defender Marine

Mount:
Shakespeare QCM-S QuickConnect VHF Antenna Mount - Surface Mount | Defender Marine

Radio:
Icom M330 Fixed Mount VHF Radio | Defender Marine

I was in Muskegon, and picking up Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin.
I attribute that to the 8 foot antenna. Its well worth it.

OE


----------



## Headhunter

I just mounted the QC-8 on my boat. The connector comes in the kit with the mount. No time to really try it out yet other than in the driveway but I wanted the flexibility to remove the antennae when not in use or on inland lake with the family. Same deal for me, take it off and shove it in the rod locker.


----------



## ETW

Headhunter said:


> I just mounted the QC-8 on my boat. The connector comes in the kit with the mount. No time to really try it out yet other than in the driveway but I wanted the flexibility to remove the antennae when not in use or on inland lake with the family. Same deal for me, take it off and shove it in the rod locker.


I see they include the crimp-on style PL259 connector. FYI, in a marine application (or any application IMO) a crimped antenna connection is a slowly degrading to failure condition waiting for the worst time to fail. Or, maybe it kind of works for radio checks and the sort but limits you to transmitting 1/2 the distance that it used to when you need it. If it were me installing it on my boat I would cut it off and throw it away. Solder a real one on and its one less thing that can bite you. Save the crimp on connectors for for your entertainment radios. Shakespeare should be ashamed for including that in a piece of safety equipment.

Its the little things...


----------



## OneidaEagle

I have not idea what the connector you are talking about, that's way more then I know on the matter, as far as connectors, but if its on any of the three links I posted above, I have had zero issues with those three items.

OE


----------



## ETW

OneidaEagle said:


> I have not idea what the connector you are talking about, that's way more then I know on the matter, as far as connectors, but if its on any of the three links I posted above, I have had zero issues with those three items.
> 
> OE


Good deal. Its the connector you had to crimp on to the end of the antenna cable as listed in the link you posted. I wouldn't worry about it now. Just remember that if you start having problems with that radio then the first place to look is that connector on the back of the radio for the antenna.


----------



## OneidaEagle

Gotcha,

I have enough slack, I can cut, re crimp if ever needed.

OE


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Headhunter

I used a crimp style on my last rig. Served me well so I thought I would give it a go again. Have a handheld for backup in case of a failure, and cell phone. Nothing is foolproof though so if it acts up at all I will give soldering a go.


----------



## OneidaEagle

More changes,

Got the brackets for the Lowrance HDI to mount to the front TM, Have that strapped into place.

UPS delivered the brackets for mounting the transducer cable.

Got everything in place, wire ran down the existing coiled cord, then under the front and out the side with the other wires.

I will now have 2D & Down Imaging, is Lowrance HDI transducer, on the front for jigging, and the DI for when I chase and need to hover over Crappie.

Boat was on water for a test earlier in the week.

Motors are good, all new electronics work as expected.

Picked up ALLOT more then I ever had before with the AirMar transducer.

I didn’t think to make Mark’s on my transom board for measuring.

Transducer was way to low, had a tower of water shooting up next the main motor.

Pulled boat out, raised it and now washes out when on plane.

So made marks 1/8 a apart, and can now get them dialed in.

So should be ready to go by the weekend.

OE


----------



## auger

georgeb said:


> WOW... It finally happened
> 
> My new Merc. 60 is mounted on my boat and is in my garage. Now I can begin the retrofit of the dash where the Evinrude key switch was and rework all the other old wiring that I want to update. I am buying the same 4 switch module as mbirdsly pictured up thread as that will cover the dash holes and give me better functionality that just toggle switches. I broke my sonar transducer mount removing the old motor so I need to replace that.
> 
> I also picked up a Mercury Vesselview Module that I have to install that will transmit the engine data to a tablet so I can keep track of all the engine information in real time especially RPM during the break in runs.
> 
> Lots of things to do prior to the first splash, but I want to make sure I get everything right.
> 
> View attachment 755828
> 
> 
> A 2021 motor on a 1984 hull Never thought I would see this.


You will love Vesselview, it should come standard on every new motor


----------



## ajkulish

Very productive weekend. Got the trolling motor wired, 3 bank inboard charging system installed, Lowrance unit wired to the front of the boat and connected to the TM, Garmin 73sv installed on the dash, and all wires tied up and hidden. Have to put the mount up front for the Lowrance unit, get a trolling motor support rod for towing and driving, and put in a new auto bilge then it's onto the water for the spring shakedown


----------



## Crawfish

Well, a couple months back I purchased a new boat that was sitting at a dealer in WI. Couple weeks ago I went over to pick it up, and I've been getting her set up for fishing. This weekend I went through the engine break in then fished South Haven and managed a couple fish in the cloudy water.

The boat is a Crestliner Commander 1850 with a 115 Merc Pro XS. I added a battery switch but still need to add a small fuse block in one of the stern compartments to eliminate a few inline fused wires that are currently going to the battery switch. That will clean up the connections to the cranking battery and switch.

Boat was prewired for a bow mount trolling motor. I added a Minn Kota 80# 72" 24V Terrova with iPilot on a MKA-32 quick release bracket, batteries, and a ProMariner 20A 3 bank charger. For now it is connected to just the two trolling motor batteries, but the third bank leads will eventually get connected to the cranking or a house battery. Although the charger is fairly "smart", apparently it's not smart enough to charge two batteries if one set of leads is not connected to a battery. So after some initial frustration resorted to taking a closer look at the manual, I realized I needed to connect the third bank to one of the two batteries until I get around to running wires to a third battery. Now it charges fine. Using the main motor for thrust and the Terrova for steering (most of the time set on 3), I trolled 12 hours on one charge and the batteries were still at 75% according to the motor battery monitor, or 50% according to the charger. iPilot is a game changer for sure.

I added a Garmin 93 SV UHD on a RAM swing arm mount, which mounted nicely on the flat top of the console. This mount is extremely robust. I can swing the screen to the corner of the windshield, or above the steering wheel, and I can swivel the head to watch it through the windshield when fishing from the bow. Only complaint is that the water temperature was varying widely (35-50 every couple of seconds), but I realized that I forgot to add the ferrite or iron noise reduction coil (supplied by Garmin) to the transducer cable, so I am hoping that will resolve the temperature reading issue.





  








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Crawfish


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Mar 22, 2021








For fishing gear, on each side I mounted a 36" Bert's track to a pair of the Crestliner Suremount downrigger brackets that attach to the built in Suremount track. On each track I have a Big Jon downrigger on a Bert's swivel base, a Bert's rod holder for a dipsy rod, then a rod tree from Superior Fishing Products. I looked at a few different rod trees and I was close to purchasing from rodtrees (dot) com when I stumbled across Superior Fishing Products. Right now, they are only selling rod trees but are working on some ratcheting rod holders. I hear they are currently waiting on materials but I would say they are worth the wait. I'm really happy with the trees and highly recommend them.





  








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Mar 22, 2021


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## Holzer

Crawfish - That is one bad rig! Congrats! I'd love to see some exterior hull shots. 

For the fuse panel, I highly recommend the Blue Seas Blade 6 circuit panel with the integrated negative bus. I forget the part number, but if you buy off amazon, make sure you are getting the PN that includes the cover. They sell it without the cover too. (I made this mistake).

I've got the same promariner on my 3 battery bank for my 36v XI5. It worked great for 2 years and then on bank / charge circuit flaked out. I proved it wasn't the battery and Promariner sent me replacement for free.


Nice job!


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## John Hine

Crawfish said:


> Well, a couple months back I purchased a new boat that was sitting at a dealer in WI. Couple weeks ago I went over to pick it up, and I've been getting her set up for fishing. This weekend I went through the engine break in then fished South Haven and managed a couple fish in the cloudy water.
> 
> The boat is a Crestliner Commander 1850 with a 115 Merc Pro XS. I added a battery switch but still need to add a small fuse block in one of the stern compartments to eliminate a few inline fused wires that are currently going to the battery switch. That will clean up the connections to the cranking battery and switch.
> 
> Boat was prewired for a bow mount trolling motor. I added a Minn Kota 80# 72" 24V Terrova with iPilot on a MKA-32 quick release bracket, batteries, and a ProMariner 20A 3 bank charger. For now it is connected to just the two trolling motor batteries, but the third bank leads will eventually get connected to the cranking or a house battery. Although the charger is fairly "smart", apparently it's not smart enough to charge two batteries if one set of leads is not connected to a battery. So after some initial frustration resorted to taking a closer look at the manual, I realized I needed to connect the third bank to one of the two batteries until I get around to running wires to a third battery. Now it charges fine. Using the main motor for thrust and the Terrova for steering (most of the time set on 3), I trolled 12 hours on one charge and the batteries were still at 75% according to the motor battery monitor, or 50% according to the charger. iPilot is a game changer for sure.
> 
> I added a Garmin 93 SV UHD on a RAM swing arm mount, which mounted nicely on the flat top of the console. This mount is extremely robust. I can swing the screen to the corner of the windshield, or above the steering wheel, and I can swivel the head to watch it through the windshield when fishing from the bow. Only complaint is that the water temperature was varying widely (35-50 every couple of seconds), but I realized that I forgot to add the ferrite or iron noise reduction coil (supplied by Garmin) to the transducer cable, so I am hoping that will resolve the temperature reading issue.
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## Crawfish

Holzer said:


> Crawfish - That is one bad rig! Congrats! I'd love to see some exterior hull shots.
> 
> For the fuse panel, I highly recommend the Blue Seas Blade 6 circuit panel with the integrated negative bus. I forget the part number, but if you buy off amazon, make sure you are getting the PN that includes the cover. They sell it without the cover too. (I made this mistake).
> 
> I've got the same promariner on my 3 battery bank for my 36v XI5. It worked great for 2 years and then on bank / charge circuit flaked out. I proved it wasn't the battery and Promariner sent me replacement for free.
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> Nice job!


Thanks, I ordered that exact same fuse block! Should be here soon.

Forgot to add that I knew the boat would be a tight fit into my garage. When I got home, it had about 1.5" of clearance from the fenders on each side, but the windshield would not clear the door with the tongue all the way down until I let some air out of the tires. I also struggled with simultaneously getting the trailer lined up while pushing it uphill into the garage. I added a Trailer Valet 5X last week and it gives me a little more clearance, and includes a hand crank (with optional adapter for cordless drill) for driving the trailer uphill, and tiller steer handle with an automatic brake. Pretty slick unit that solved a few issues for me. Now I can get in the garage with 1" of clearance at the top. 





  








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## mbirdsley

Nice!!! A ram mount is on my want list for my garmin 


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## kroppe

A couple of updates:


new o-rings and battery pack in the Fish Hawk probe
bilge pump works
live well aerator works
new bilge plug

I think I have decided to buy a new VHF radio. Upon detailed inspection, it looks like one of the mic wires broke at the PCB solder joint. Resoldering the small joint seems like risky business. I haven’t found replacement mics for sale online. Then the question is why am I trying to keep a 25 year old radio alive? Even if the mic isn’t the root cause of my issues, I’m thinking to go for a new radio and new antenna if that turns out to be the case.


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## CrawlerHarness

Crawfish said:


> Thanks, I ordered that exact same fuse block! Should be here soon.
> 
> Forgot to add that I knew the boat would be a tight fit into my garage. When I got home, it had about 1.5" of clearance from the fenders on each side, but the windshield would not clear the door with the tongue all the way down until I let some air out of the tires. I also struggled with simultaneously getting the trailer lined up while pushing it uphill into the garage. I added a Trailer Valet 5X last week and it gives me a little more clearance, and includes a hand crank (with optional adapter for cordless drill) for driving the trailer uphill, and tiller steer handle with an automatic brake. Pretty slick unit that solved a few issues for me. Now I can get in the garage with 1" of clearance at the top.
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Crawfish....what size garage door do you have? 


You can usually get about 2" more if you disconnect the garage door opener / cord and push the door back/up manually. 

Just surprising that a boat is built that is taller than 82" on the windshield. Since garage doors are 7' tall at minimum.....you can usually get the door up 82.5-83.0".


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## Crawfish

CrawlerHarness said:


> Crawfish....what size garage door do you have?
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> Just surprising that a boat is built that is taller than 82" on the windshield. Since garage doors are 7' tall at minimum.....you can usually get the door up 82.5-83.0".


It's a 7' door. The door already opens above the height of the framing and trim, which is about 83", but the boat windshield top was right at 84" with the factory jack at the lowest position. But I appreciate the advice!


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## Walleyze247

Rebuild looks great Goergeb, especially that new Merc. Where did you end of buying your hinges and latches from? Some of the prices from marine suppliers is ridiculously overpriced.


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## gunfun13

My 2 in floor coolers, which have served as fender storage since I've owned the boat, are now in floor rod storage holding 5 rods each. Drain fittings are getting removed and glassed over as soon as it's warm enough to do so.


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## ETW

kroppe said:


> A couple of updates:
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> new o-rings and battery pack in the Fish Hawk probe
> bilge pump works
> live well aerator works
> new bilge plug
> 
> I think I have decided to buy a new VHF radio. Upon detailed inspection, it looks like one of the mic wires broke at the PCB solder joint. Resoldering the small joint seems like risky business. I haven’t found replacement mics for sale online. Then the question is why am I trying to keep a 25 year old radio alive? Even if the mic isn’t the root cause of my issues, I’m thinking to go for a new radio and new antenna if that turns out to be the case.


Good choice. You can't go wrong with the Standard Horizon model that Amazon has for right around $134 I think. While you're at it get a MMSI number from BoatUS and you can wire that radio into your GPS and you'll have DSC working which is nice if you have people aboard who are not VHF experienced. One button distress call with GPS coordinates broadcast to any other DSC radio in range. But you probably know all that.


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## ETW

Crawfish said:


> Thanks, I ordered that exact same fuse block! Should be here soon.
> 
> Forgot to add that I knew the boat would be a tight fit into my garage. When I got home, it had about 1.5" of clearance from the fenders on each side, but the windshield would not clear the door with the tongue all the way down until I let some air out of the tires. I also struggled with simultaneously getting the trailer lined up while pushing it uphill into the garage. I added a Trailer Valet 5X last week and it gives me a little more clearance, and includes a hand crank (with optional adapter for cordless drill) for driving the trailer uphill, and tiller steer handle with an automatic brake. Pretty slick unit that solved a few issues for me. Now I can get in the garage with 1" of clearance at the top.
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## ajkulish

Removed the old transducer brackets, filled the holes, painted over, and installed new transducer with sealant, that should hopefully keep the little water I had out of the hull. Found that the upper wire guide screw was not sealed at all. Also installed a new bilge pump with a float switch. Waiting on a new set of seats and my front finder RAM mount (ordered the wrong one, shoot) then it is on the water.


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## mbirdsley

Seats are installed!!! Picked them up last weekend from Grandpa and my brother. Saved $60 total plus having them order through them basically, got them at cost. Normally retailed for $150-$160. 

Was supposed to go bass fishing tommrow but, the truck is still in the shop getting a couple of deer hits taken care of. Hopefully next Easter Sunday will be the first trip










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## plugger

Crawfish said:


> Thanks, I ordered that exact same fuse block! Should be here soon.
> 
> Forgot to add that I knew the boat would be a tight fit into my garage. When I got home, it had about 1.5" of clearance from the fenders on each side, but the windshield would not clear the door with the tongue all the way down until I let some air out of the tires. I also struggled with simultaneously getting the trailer lined up while pushing it uphill into the garage. I added a Trailer Valet 5X last week and it gives me a little more clearance, and includes a hand crank (with optional adapter for cordless drill) for driving the trailer uphill, and tiller steer handle with an automatic brake. Pretty slick unit that solved a few issues for me. Now I can get in the garage with 1" of clearance at the top.
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## ETW

ajkulish said:


> Removed the old transducer brackets, filled the holes, painted over, and installed new transducer with sealant, that should hopefully keep the little water I had out of the hull. Found that the upper wire guide screw was not sealed at all. Also installed a new bilge pump with a float switch. Waiting on a new set of seats and my front finder RAM mount (ordered the wrong one, shoot) then it is on the water.


If you don't mind me asking... Which float switch did you use? I just went through this after a lot of research and review reading and ended up getting a new version of what I had which was the Johnson Pump 36303 Ultima Auto Bilge Pump Switch. It fit the original holes and had better reviews than the usual suspects.


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## ajkulish

I swapped out my whole pump. Just went with a 750gph attwood with a built in switch. The mount on my old pump broke as I took it out to clean it so needed to replace it anyway. 



https://www.amazon.com/Attwood-4507-7-Sahara-Automatic-Bilge/dp/B001O0DEE4


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## ETW

ajkulish said:


> I swapped out my whole pump. Just went with a 750gph attwood with a built in switch. The mount on my old pump broke as I took it out to clean it so needed to replace it anyway.
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Sounds like you got lucky in that it broke while you were working on it instead of when you really needed it. I probably worry about bilge pumps and switches more than I need to. My boat is either on the trailer or on a lake with me in it 99% of the time. Occasionally I will get an overnight transient slip and this is where the worry creeps in. With an old aluminum riveted boat like this I have some slow leakage. Enough to trigger the switch overnight? Probably not. But maybe. What about rain? I don't cover the boat (yet) so there's that. Things can happen (Through-Hull fitting or hose fails, etc) and just because I'm hooked up to shore power on the transient docks doesn't guarantee that the pump will kick in. This is just one of those areas that I overthink when replacing or testing the components so that I don't lay awake at night when traveling. 

Which leads me to the question I posed to you. I purchased some Attwood items over the years and I just didn't care for any of it. OK, the price was right but the quality was consistent with the low price. I just couldn't rely on that brand for something as important as the float switch. That switch is kind of like an E-Brake or a seatbelt. (that's an exaggeration, I know) in that you really don't often need it but when you "really, really" need it you want to rely on it. When I was poring over reviews on switches I came across lots and lots of bummed out people who found their boats swamped because the switch failed to activate the pump. Who know how many of those were botched installations or other problems but it got me thinking. So I made my choice and even that unit has some crappy reviews but all in all it seemed to me to be the best candidate IMO. 

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## ajkulish

I must be lucky in that I have not had bad experiences with attwood stuff. I had this same style pump on my last boat and that rig was way more subject to leaking, dirty water, etc and the pump always triggered when it needed to. So I felt comfortable going for it again. I am like you in that I rarely let my boat sit in the water unattended for long periods of time. But, my boat is welded too, so that helps ease some of those fears. I rigged my pump to constantly have power to the auto bilge wire, and left the manual wire hooked up on the dash in case the float fails to switch power on.


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## OneidaEagle

Been quietly working on the boat still. Kind of kicking myself in the butt, as I only do one project a winter, so that I am ready to go........ Walleye are ready, but here I am, still correcting a minor issue.

The Transducer mounting board, I installed turned out to be to damn short to adjust the transducer. No matter how high I dared mount it, I was running out of backer, and had a rooster tail of epic proportions.

The solution was to remove the current, fill holes, seal, screw in screws, grind off screw heads, and get new board ordered.

Well, new board arrived last night, went over to Ready2Fish's house, got it cut, routed, anf got it home, and then mounted.

You can see in this first photo, I was out of mounting board.









This is once every thing was removed, holes sealed, then screws, and ground flush,









the electrical tape is markers for the transducer's height, so I do not have to start adjusting from scratch, and can hopefully get dialed in quick.


New board is in, should have plenty of room for any items I need to mount in the future. (Maybe a Fish Hawk, while chasing King Salmon?)

The shiny smudges are sealant from mounting the screws.










So hopfully, I can get out SOON!

OE


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## georgeb

My conversion from Evinrude to Mercury outboard is progressing slowly. I just finished the new power distribution setup for the starting battery. The starting battery powers the navigation lights, the bilge pump, the instrument lights along with starting the motor. All the other electronics and the trolling motor are run off a separate dual deep cycle battery setup so no alternator noise gets into the electronics especially the stereo system.

Below is the finished distribution setup that has 4AWG marine wire from the battery to the distribution blocks which then runs to the motor, and the dash switch panel. The battery maintainer / charger is connected here also The distribution blocks are rated for 400 Amps and are way overkill, but that is how I roll.










Next up is the dash re-do which involves a saws-all to make the new switch panel fit into the dash and a lot of new wire and soldering. the old key switch, nav lights, bilge pump and trim switches were slightly bigger than the new switch panel, but I can live with the not perfect fit as it is a 1984 boat.


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## Lake Boy

Got boat out of storage and back from marina.Have to wash and wax it.Load all my fishing gear in it and get it down to rack and launch at Bolles by the 15th.With this nice weather coming,cant wait to get it down there.This will be the earliest that Ive gotten it down since Ive owned the boat.Hey Badger,any tips for me on this early fishing?


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## mbirdsley

I’ve had the boat out twice since Friday. Everything thing has been working good. Only issue I have is had to put a new ignition switch in this last December. Which, involved dropping the control box and taking it apart. Seems like it is clunking into gear more than what I remember. I might have to have my grandpas mechanic’s show me how to adjust the transmission wire 

She is ready for the bay as soon as I get over this crud. New trolling bag came in today 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ETW

mbirdsley said:


> I’ve had the boat out twice since Friday. Everything thing has been working good. Only issue I have is had to put a new ignition switch in this last December. Which, involved dropping the control box and taking it apart. Seems like it is clunking into gear more than what I remember. I might have to have my grandpas mechanic’s show me how to adjust the transmission wire
> 
> She is ready for the bay as soon as I get over this crud. New trolling bag came in today
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Is it clunking into gear more because the idle is higher than it used to be? Or do you think its the shift linkage? They are pretty easy to adjust. Most I've seen are adjusted where the control cables enter the outboard cowling.


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## mbirdsley

ETW said:


> Is it clunking into gear more because the idle is higher than it used to be? Or do you think its the shift linkage? They are pretty easy to adjust. Most I've seen are adjusted where the control cables enter the outboard cowling.


Could be both she does idle high. When I had the control box apart some stuff kinda came loose. I was able to get everything back together like it should and works fine other than seems to be clunking more. So I didn’t know if shifter cable came out of adjustment 


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## piketroller

mbirdsley said:


> Could be both she does idle high. When I had the control box apart some stuff kinda came loose. I was able to get everything back together like it should and works fine other than seems to be clunking more. So I didn’t know if shifter cable came out of adjustment
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The adjustments just anchor the cable to the sheath as something to push or pull against at a known position. If putting the box back together didn’t get the cable adjusted exactly like it was, adjusting the other end at the motor will do the same thing and is a lot easier than pulling the box back apart. If it idles high, you might want to back off a little on the throttle at the engine unless it needs a high idle to stay running like some older motors.


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## ETW

piketroller said:


> Today was supposed to be an job. Sam’s Club finally has their deep cycle battery sale going, and my three trolling batteries were toast. Been limping through the end of last year and beginning of this year waiting for the sale.
> 
> After putting the new ones in the boat, I plugged in the charger and the diagnostic lights were dead on bank 3. At least it was something simple. The fuse holder cooked itself. The 30 amp fuse wasn’t actually blown, but it took a few poke in different places for the multimeter to show contin
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> At least the local auto parts store had what I needed for a fix. It’s back working now which is a lot better than having an actual problem with the charger.


Seeing that burnt fuse and holder would scare the hell out of me if it were my boat. Couple of points in your post that I'd like to comment on without sounding like a lecture so please do not take it that way.

You said "The fuse holder cooked itself". And no, it probably didn't spontaneously combust. In order for something in a circuit to get that hot (as evidenced by the scorch marks) it has to have a lot of current passing through it. Much more current than the design would consider nominal. You had a surge that was caused by a short somewhere in that circuit. That is exactly the kind of condition that will start a fire that burns your boat right down to the water line. Or, if its in your garage or barn, well, I need not elaborate. If it were me, I would use every bit of my time and skill to find exactly what caused that short and fix the problem. The problem is not the fuse holder, its somewhere in the circuit that charger feeds.

2nd point - You said "The 30 amp fuse wasn't actually blown..." I really hope that was a typo or mis-print on your part. There is absolutely zero reason that a 12VDC onboard charger should have a 30 amp fuse on a single output (bank). At least as far as I know, and I may be wrong but that seems like an extremely high fuse rating for a single bank. For example, a 4 bank onboard charger may say it has a total output of 40 amps but that is based on a 10 amp per bank (4 outputs/banks x 10 = total amps rating). I'm assuming you have a 4 bank charger because you mentioned 3 batteries for your TM (there's 3 outputs or "banks") and I assume one cranking battery (the 4th output/bank). Or maybe you run 2 chargers (one single output for the cranking battery and one 3 output for the TM group)? Anyway you look at it its hard to understand why there would be a 30amp fuse on that output. Maybe that's why it didn't blow even when passing enough current to get that fuse & holder hot enough to nearly catch fire. You may want to carefully review what fuses you have in all the outputs on your charger(s) and make certain that they are the correct rating per the charger manufacturer's specification.

Sometimes when a battery fails it can actually become a nearly direct short across its terminals. Not all the time but once in a while I've seen this happen. If your "bank number 3" battery did this it could be the reason why that output off your charger became so dangerously hot (especially if it had a fuse 3 times the correct rating). Or, maybe it was something else. If it were me I would not sleep well at night until I was absolutely certain what it was and repaired the condition.

Just sayin. It's your boat and do what you like. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case you wanted to give it a little more thought. Or not. Good luck with it.


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## piketroller

ETW said:


> Seeing that burnt fuse and holder would scare the hell out of me if it were my boat. Couple of points in your post that I'd like to comment on without sounding like a lecture so please do not take it that way.
> 
> You said "The fuse holder cooked itself". And no, it probably didn't spontaneously combust. In order for something in a circuit to get that hot (as evidenced by the scorch marks) it has to have a lot of current passing through it. Much more current than the design would consider nominal. You had a surge that was caused by a short somewhere in that circuit. That is exactly the kind of condition that will start a fire that burns your boat right down to the water line. Or, if its in your garage or barn, well, I need not elaborate. If it were me, I would use every bit of my time and skill to find exactly what caused that short and fix the problem. The problem is not the fuse holder, its somewhere in the circuit that charger feeds.
> 
> 2nd point - You said "The 30 amp fuse wasn't actually blown..." I really hope that was a typo or mis-print on your part. There is absolutely zero reason that a 12VDC onboard charger should have a 30 amp fuse on a single output (bank). At least as far as I know, and I may be wrong but that seems like an extremely high fuse rating for a single bank. For example, a 4 bank onboard charger may say it has a total output of 40 amps but that is based on a 10 amp per bank (4 outputs/banks x 10 = total amps rating). I'm assuming you have a 4 bank charger because you mentioned 3 batteries for your TM (there's 3 outputs or "banks") and I assume one cranking battery (the 4th output/bank). Or maybe you run 2 chargers (one single output for the cranking battery and one 3 output for the TM group)? Anyway you look at it its hard to understand why there would be a 30amp fuse on that output. Maybe that's why it didn't blow even when passing enough current to get that fuse & holder hot enough to nearly catch fire. You may want to carefully review what fuses you have in all the outputs on your charger(s) and make certain that they are the correct rating per the charger manufacturer's specification.
> 
> Sometimes when a battery fails it can actually become a nearly direct short across its terminals. Not all the time but once in a while I've seen this happen. If your "bank number 3" battery did this it could be the reason why that output off your charger became so dangerously hot (especially if it had a fuse 3 times the correct rating). Or, maybe it was something else. If it were me I would not sleep well at night until I was absolutely certain what it was and repaired the condition.
> 
> Just sayin. It's your boat and do what you like. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case you wanted to give it a little more thought. Or not. Good luck with it.


The charger is 15 amps per bank, and can direct more than 15 amps to a single bank when other batteries are done charging. The wiring is 14 gauge which sounds small to me, but that’s what it comes with, and even the factory 10’ extensions are 14 gauge. I’m guessing continued charging the dying batteries had something to do with it, and then replacing them with new batteries gave it a chance to put a lot more current through the circuit than it was used to with an already failing part.

I will be checking the fuse and holder periodically and trying to follow up with the charger manufacturer this week. With inspecting the leads, everything looked fine. The charging diagnostic lights also indicated charging was going just fine after the fix.


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## ETW

Sounds like you've got a handle on it. But it is trying to tell you something is not right and I don't mean the diagnostic lights. Melted/burnt conditions of high current applications do not present themselves unless there is a serious problem. Fuses (with correct type and rating) are there to protect against melting/burning and that did not happen for some reason. My immediate guess is that you have the wrong size fuse in there. Also, that 14 gauge wire is way too small. 14 gauge wire 15 feet long at 12VDC is appropriate for 5 - 10 amps MAXIMUM. I can only wonder why the manufacturer supplied 10 foot extensions are sized so small. You should just rewire everything in 8 gauge regardless of what the manufacturer does and size your fuses according to the max nominal current drawn by the battery at the max charging rate. Weigh the cost of using the right wire vs. a catastrophic failure and you get my point. 

There is a huge market for onboard chargers and the competition is fierce. I would imagine manufacturers look for any way possible to cut costs and the likely place to do this is in the battery charging harnesses. BTW, have you seen what the market price for copper is doing right now? All time record high as we speak. 

Anyway, good luck with it and thanks for letting me voice my unsolicited opinion.


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## Jiw275

Loose connections will cause heat.


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## Holzer

I appreciate ETW's comments and agree w them. I have a similar setup in my ski locker with 3 group 31s. A smoldering fuse holder that close to my 70 gallon fuel tank is terrifying.

The only other thing I can think of is I wonder if a loose female connection on the fuse holder would cause arcing. I've seen a lot of fuse holders that don't look like they are of the highest quality. Some of them come from the factory fairly loose.


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## CrawlerHarness

Assuming it is a Minnkota MK 460 charger which is 4 banks x 15Amps each.....the instructions indicate 30 Amp fuses for each bank. 



https://minnkotamotors.johnsonoutdoors.com/sites/johnsonoutdoors-store/files/assets/misc/MI/M/MIN_productmanual_ChargerPrecision/MIN_productmanual_ChargerPrecision.pdf



I can only guess what Pike is stating....it overheated on the last charge cycle with his old batteries. Or perhaps Pike had a unsuitable (long and thin gauge) extension cord between the outlet and the charger. I do agree that the loose connection might cause this issue as well. 

There is always the chance his 120V in his garage/shed is having an issue with ground as well. I found my 240V in my shed was using the conduit as the 3rd wire years ago (no 4th wire).....and that electrified my 120V into being 240V in a unique situation one time.


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## ETW

Well those MK engineers know a thing or two about electrical engineering so I'll say I'm wrong about that 30 amp fuse but it does still seem excessive IMO and I've been working in electronics nearly all my life. Anyway, it still bears investigating and if it were on my boat I'd definitely give those boys at MK a call since they are easy to get on the phone and just damn nice (Minnesota nice, haha) folks to talk with "ya, sure". Final word - that 14ga. is still too small for 15 amps let alone 30 and that's not even my opinion. Fact.

240VAC on the conduit? YIKES! That's a killer, literally. 

Hope things work out for @piketroller and he finds what caused it. To me, the worst problems are the ones that just go away with no reason or "aha" moment.

Fair winds and tight lines.


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## piketroller

I don't have a Johnson Outdoors product on my boat, and the charger is plugged into a 12' long 12 gauge extension cord.


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## kroppe

I'm 99% sure I have 100% solved my VHF situation. 

Symptoms:

battery not taking a charge
flaky radio TX but good RX - turned out to be broken wire inside the mic, no replacement part available
corroded main harness terminals at battery

Solution:

new radio
new battery
new harness ring terminals at battery

Radio tests out so far so good. 

I rotated the tires, installed new studs on the curbside, and rotated the tires. New rubber all around.

Next is a new squeeze bulb and hose. I have the part, but it came with a new connector set, male and female. So I need to change out the connector on the engine before cutting the hose to length and installing it. Should be a 10 minute job.

That should be the last maintenance work, unless I invent more jobs to do before the maiden voyage two weekends from now.


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## kroppe

Installed the squeeze bulb and hose assembly. The new fitting is common with the fitting on my newer 9.9 kicker motor. Now both motors take the same fuel hose connection, so I can interchange fuel tanks. The main benefit is that now I can run the kicker off the main in-hull fuel tank if I wanted to. A small increase in redundancy/safety which is nice.

Replaced fuel supply hoses inside the engine from the external supply to the two mechanical fuel pumps. I'm pretty happy about that. 4 hoses are left, feeding each of the 4 carbs. Each hose is about 6 inches long. They are tricky to access because the carb end is buried between the intake manifold runners. I need to plan the attack carefully, because I want to avoid the situation where I tear into it and can't get the job finished. It's Swiss watch work.


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## John Hine

kroppe said:


> Installed the squeeze bulb and hose assembly. The new fitting is common with the fitting on my newer 9.9 kicker motor. Now both motors take the same fuel hose connection, so I can interchange fuel tanks. The main benefit is that now I can run the kicker off the main in-hull fuel tank if I wanted to. A small increase in redundancy/safety which is nice.
> 
> Replaced fuel supply hoses inside the engine from the external supply to the two mechanical fuel pumps. I'm pretty happy about that. 4 hoses are left, feeding each of the 4 carbs. Each hose is about 6 inches long. They are tricky to access because the carb end is buried between the intake manifold runners. I need to plan the attack carefully, because I want to avoid the situation where I tear into it and can't get the job finished. It's Swiss watch work.


Good work!! Almost time to splash her!!


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## kroppe

Yes John it’s almost time. I want to fire the main engine before the trip. The maintenance and repairs are done for now. I can keep inventing jobs to do, but for now the boat and trailer are in good shape.


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## BumpRacerX

Anyone have a checklist they use before the first launch of the year? My spring is stone cold jammed up between building a new house and training for canoe racing. But I might have time to pull the retro starcraft out of the garage tomorrow afternoon to fire it up on the muffs for the first time. 

Messed up and didn't Stabil the fuel, so I know right off the bad I'm going to dump what's left in the tank into the lawn mower jug and start with fresh rec 90. Probably drain, pressure check the lower unit and refill. Didn't do it end of last year as it held pressure fine and only put 4 hours on before I put it up for the last time last fall (caught a slight leak that I handled).


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## kroppe

Yes, I have a very, very long list I run through each year. Probably half of the items don't need work, they are just checks. The other half needs work, it could be as simple as cleaning or tightening a loose screw, or it could be replacing batteries, VHF radio, wheel studs, or re-plumbing the fuel system.

A 100% must-do for me before the first trip is to fire the main engine. I don't want to be that guy at the boat launch trying to fire an engine after having been in storage for 7 months.


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## CrawlerHarness

I have to install a new transducer on a fiberglass boat. There are already (2) spots where the previous transducers were mounted. In the past on aluminum boats, I installed a new board with screws, and sealed around the edges with 3M 5200 fast cure. 

What would you recommend on a fiberglass boat? Install (1) screw on each end of the 4" x 12" board, and put 3M 5200 fast cure in the old holes, as well as the back of the board, and the edges of the board? 

or.....would you skip the screws and just glue the board the same as above?


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## kroppe

@CrawlerHarness Can you post a photo of what you are working with (transom area)? Gluing the board is the way to avoid drilling new holes in the transom. If you can glue a mounting board over existing holes in a desirable location for the transducer, this seems like a good way to go. 

I have a few doubts about gluing a mounting board on an aluminum boat, and I would use a screw-mounted attachment on my (aluminum) boat. For a fiberglass boat, I would have more confidence in an adhesive attachment. In either case, screws or aluminum, I would fill existing transom holes with 5200.


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## CrawlerHarness

kroppe said:


> a photo of what you are working with (transom area)? Gluing the board is the way to avoid drilling new holes in the transom. If you can glue a mounting board over existing holes in a desirable location for the transducer, this seems like a good way to go.
> 
> I have a few doubts about gluing a mounting board on an aluminum boat, and I would use a screw-mounted attachment on my (aluminum) boat. For a fiberglass boat, I would have more confidence in an adhesive attachment. In either case, screws or aluminum, I would fill existing transom holes w


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## kroppe

Thanks. If that transom is fiberglass, filling the old holes with 5200, then gluing a mounting board over the old holes would be one way to do it. I would coat the entire surface of the mounting board with 5200, press it in place, then wipe away the squeeze out. Wetted surface area is your friend for adhesives. 

What material are the transducer mounting boards made from? Is it a material that 5200 adheres to according to the spec sheet?

Screwed attachment is reliable and visible, but has the disadvantage of being a hole and potential water infiltration point.


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## bowhunter426

CrawlerHarness said:


> View attachment 767425


Fix it right by oversize drilling the current holes and fill them with an appropriate marine epoxy. I wouldnt worry about gel coat over the top. The I would epoxy a stearn saver on


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## kroppe

It never ends, does it?  Always time to squeeze another unscheduled task into the schedule. 

My brake/turn/tail lights were flaky, and have been for years. They are incandescent, and the corrosion on the bulb sockets finally became too much. I could get intermittent function out of both left and right lamps, but not reliably. I wanted to clean up the sockets, but decided it was past time for LEDs, after wanting to do this for years. 

So I installed LED brake/turn/tail lamps. They work and look great. Hopkins are a direct fit and attach mechanically and electrically exactly the same as the old incandescents. Huge upgrade. 

I still have incandescent markers. I don't think I have ever replaced a marker bulb in 18 years of ownership. Well, maybe 1 or 2 bulbs out of 5 markers lamps in 18 years, not more. That's pretty good, so I left well enough alone. Plus, the marker lamp replacement choices at Menard's, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply were not a direct fit, so I passed and will order online. 

I have a hidden agenda for leaving the incandescent markers - I want to avoid dealing with electronic problems with my tow vehicle possibly not recognizing the low current LEDs. Keeping the old marker lights is a shadetree mechanic's way of avoiding the incompatibility. So far so good with the mixed system. Later this summer I will replace the markers, and get a resistor adapter to deal with the low current and tow vehicle recognition. 

Friday will be wash and main engine fire. The 9.9 kicker doesn't pull water into the impeller too well on muffs, so will leave that for the lake. Weekend weather looks OK at this point for fishing out of Muskegon.


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## ajkulish

Heartbroken for you gunfun.


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## Shoeman

WTF!


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## Trunkslammer

Makes my guts hurt gunfun.


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## gunfun13

Was able get inside and take some pics today.


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## Walleyze247

That sucks Gunfun


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## mbirdsley

I’m sorry. That is horrible 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kroppe

@gunfun13 Sorry to hear about your loss. Everything happens for a reason. It might be some time before the reason becomes clear.


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## kroppe

ETW said:


> Ok so its not a boat. But it is my new (to me) dedicated tow vehicle for "Freyja" my Starcraft SFM190. As with most significant purchases I did a lot of research before buying and settled my mind on an older Toyota 4Runner. It ticked all the right boxes in my list so the search was on. This is not the best time to be looking for a used car but I found a couple that were in the budget range and spent yesterday looking at them.
> 
> This one followed me home, haha. 2000 with 212,000 on the clock. Clean inside and out. Frame does not have any rot and only a little surface rust. Needs muffler and brakes all the way around but everything works like it's supposed to. It's only for towing the boat and maybe as an occasional spare if one of the other rides is out of service.
> 
> I had planned to try and pull my boat this season with my 2009 Subaru Outback and guess what? Bad plan. I took out my rear differential towing a package that is just at the limit of the towing capacity. I knew it was a little sketchy but figured I could get by. Live and learn.
> 
> View attachment 780429
> View attachment 780430


@ETW Great 4Runner! I am a 4Runner fan, we had a 2005 for the family truckster for 14 years. Ran it to 205k miles and sold it for what I thought was a pretty good price.

The 1GR-FE V6 is indestructible, the 2021 4Runner and 2022 Land Cruiser use the same engine today. 

Keep an eye on frame rust. It can be patched if not too far gone. Change all of the fluids, including axles and transmission. Regularly actuate the 4WD system including the diff lock and 2-speed transfer case if it has one. 

4Runners are probably the best example of a vehicle that can go forever if the maintenance is kept up with.


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## LongPoint Hawkeye

GunFun, I have had my share of headaches this year, however this puts my world in perspective. I hope for the best for you, and maybe you catch a break getting the business back on it's feet and on a nice replacement boat. Don't let this stop you, guys like you make America great, keep fighting and you can beat this dang fire!


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## gunfun13

LongPoint Hawkeye said:


> GunFun, I have had my share of headaches this year, however this puts my world in perspective. I hope for the best for you, and maybe you catch a break getting the business back on it's feet and on a nice replacement boat. Don't let this stop you, guys like you make America great, keep fighting and you can beat this dang fire!


Thank you for the kind words and encouragement, it goes a long ways these days.


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## ETW

Waiting for the new 2022 thread to start up. The list is already getting pretty long and now that my deer season is successfully over I'm stuck in that "maybe just one more outing if the weather cooperates" zone while the list for next year's prep/refit keeps growing.


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## perchjerker

I am stull trying to kill a deer. Or at least see one.


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## ETW

kroppe said:


> @ETW Great 4Runner! I am a 4Runner fan, we had a 2005 for the family truckster for 14 years. Ran it to 205k miles and sold it for what I thought was a pretty good price.
> 
> The 1GR-FE V6 is indestructible, the 2021 4Runner and 2022 Land Cruiser use the same engine today.
> 
> Keep an eye on frame rust. It can be patched if not too far gone. Change all of the fluids, including axles and transmission. Regularly actuate the 4WD system including the diff lock and 2-speed transfer case if it has one.
> 
> 4Runners are probably the best example of a vehicle that can go forever if the maintenance is kept up with.


Thanks Kroppe. Not sure how I missed it earlier. Good advice, I'll use it.

Yeah, after further review and spending more time underneath this vehicle I see that my frame is pretty rough. I'm just going to drive it the way it is but I am going to replace the upper/lower ball joints and front struts. It tows the boat really well as is but the steering is a little sketchy at highway speed going over bumps. I'll source a used set of tires for it on FBM since the current set is on its last legs. Really solid drive train/motor. And yep, keeping an eye on the fluids.


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## piketroller

It's still boating season as far as I'm concerned. On Saturday I put a new two speed winch on my trailer. The winch that came with it was a bit undersized, and I had bent the shaft that the crank attaches to a while back.


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## kroppe

ETW said:


> Thanks Kroppe. Not sure how I missed it earlier. Good advice, I'll use it.
> 
> Yeah, after further review and spending more time underneath this vehicle I see that my frame is pretty rough. I'm just going to drive it the way it is but I am going to replace the upper/lower ball joints and front struts. It tows the boat really well as is but the steering is a little sketchy at highway speed going over bumps. I'll source a used set of tires for it on FBM since the current set is on its last legs. Really solid drive train/motor. And yep, keeping an eye on the fluids.


Halfshafts and wheel bearings can wear out at high mileage and affect steering, mainly at higher speeds. Have a look at those items.


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## mbirdsley

I’m already starting my list. For sure I need to put in a new trim switch. The switch that is located on my throttle decided pop out with the spring. I can still use it but, it’s kinda a pia. I havnt been back out on the bay for that reason. 

I think I’ll mount a new one on the dash and just run wires to the control box 

I have to figure out why I terrova universal sonar stopped working and won’t allow me to connect to my striker 4 cv 


I dunno if I’m done for the season or not. I wouldn’t mind chasing some walleye or perch on the Saginaw river 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ETW

SSP/Erie walleye bite is getting hot again and I've heard some good things about Sag Bay too. But, I pretty much maneuvered the boat in her spot in my barn this afternoon where she's mostly out of the way for the winter. But maybe...

As it stands right now and none of these things will happen until after the holidays my list is mostly centered around my 2 latest acquisitions:

A 2004 Mercury 9.9 4 Stroke Pro Kicker and a Fish Hawk X4. The kicker is going to take some creative engineering as it's a remote steer with no throttle or controls for the power trim, electric start or choke. I'm going to steer it via a connecting rod from my main and the throttle will be controlled digitally from the helm via a servo (think I-Troll). That leaves fabbing up a control box near the transom well that has switches for trim up/down, choke and start. It shouldn't be too difficult since I invested in a hard copy of the actual Mercury Service Manual for this motor. One thing that has me kind of stumped is the charging circuit. My old kicker did not have a charging circuit but with this one I think it would be a big help to have the kicker charge my starting/house battery while trolling for hours. I am thinking about a battery switch that switches motors rather than batteries. That way only one motor can charge the battery at a time. I have a gut feeling that this is the correct way to do it with 2 motors and 1 battery. (But anyone should feel free to chime in and tell me "you're doing it wrong" haha). And I've got to make up some kind of shift lever but I think it should be easy compared to the rest of the Macgyvering.

The other part is just a basic Fish Hawk installation which I am super excited about. I know I left a lot of fish in the lakes last summer not having anyway to measure temp/speed accurately at depth.

And of course there's a lot more to come, haha.


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## perchjerker

I would just get a regular remote control box and mount it wherever you want. I would not rely solely on the I troll for throttle. There may be times you need to use the throttle on the controller. I have a similar setup but have a troll master. This just comes from many years of experience with a remote controlled kicker. And since you are going to to steer at the Helm from your main motor I would mount the remote near the main controls. If your main quits and you need to use the kicker to get back in it will make it a lot easier to have all the controls at the Helm


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## ETW

perchjerker said:


> I would just get a regular remote control box and mount it wherever you want. I would not rely solely on the I troll for throttle. There may be times you need to use the throttle on the controller. I have a similar setup but have a troll master. This just comes from many years of experience with a remote controlled kicker. And since you are going to to steer at the Helm from your main motor I would mount the remote near the main controls. If your main quits and you need to use the kicker to get back in it will make it a lot easier to have all the controls at the Helm


Yes, this is also something I've been thinking about. The main reason I'm hesitant to do it is that it is nearly impossible to route the control cables (not the wiring because its easy to fish through tight places) through the starboard aft corner of the stern. I mean it is one bad bitch! When I had to install my new steering cable last spring it took me a day and a half and I still had to cut a channel through my transom well cover. Starcraft must have laid the original cables and then built the rest of the boat around them. I am not going through that nightmare again for kicker control cables. I may look at other routing options where they are exposed at that corner. It would be a much easier solution than reinventing the wheel by making a new control box of my own design and it wouldn't work as well as just using a Quicksilver control set. It looks like I need the 8 pin wiring cable as well if I go that route.

How would you recommend I handle the kicker charging circuit? Battery switch?

Thanks for the advice. Its got me re-thinking this project.


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## perchjerker

I have 2 marine starting batteries. A Perko battery selector switch is connected to both. The main motor and the kicker are both wired to the switch with the positive lead from the motors. One trip i will run off of batt#1 then next trip batt#2. Occasionally I will charge both batteries just to make sure they are fully changed but that isnt really necessary. There is also a positive connection on the battery switch that I connect an accessory fuse panel to to run some of my other 12v stuff and to keep the area neater.

When the boat is in storage (or just not in use) I turn off the Perko switch so nothing is draining either battery.

On your controls issue I would just run the remote near the helm. As far as the cables whatever works. its a fishing boat. Its got lots of stuff going on, everything doesnt have to be neat as a pin. 

On the kicker steering, I used to have it tied to the main but that got to be a pain. Running up there to make slight corrections. So I got a Panther Steer T4 and control it wtih the Wireless trollmaster. I know the Itroll is a better unit but it cant be rigged to an all in one wireless remote like the Trollmaster. I would rather have precise steering rather than precise throttle. Once the trolling speed it set with the trollmaster I barely touch it and if I do it works good enogh from me to get my speed dialed in.


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