Traveler2586

OMG no !! That comes with far too many other issues you don't need; unless...... you have an ejection seat in the rear

The strapping I am referring to is a metal ribbon with lots of holes along its length. Place two around the shaft, and one around the motor housing. Wrap the shaft and motor housing with black vinal electrical tape to give the strapping something to grab hold of; then bolt the strapping to the rudder so it is as tight as possible on the TM. That should hold the plywood in place. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0058I19QS/ref=asc_df_B0058I19QS2592250?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=sdcbing591-20&creative=395165&creativeASIN=B0058I19QS&linkCode=asm

YES, Always!! I use a EZE-Lap Diamond Pen type hook sharpener http://www.amazon.com/EZE-LAP-Sharpener-Unique-Shape-Groove/dp/B0001WP21Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373854828&sr=8-1&keywords=EZE-Lap+Diamond+Pen+type+hook+sharpener Sharpen your hooks so they bite into you thumb nail.

There is an app called Key Ring that lets you store plastic membership cards on your smart phone. You can type in basic info and photos of the front and back of the cards. I also have my licenses and registrations in it. But on one test I did a barcode reader did not read the barcode photo.

If you got your license online you can probable go back to the site and get a reprint of it. Tip: If you buy your license online you can usually save a copy to your computer for access later. You can also print multiple copies; I keep one in my wallet, one in my boats glove box, one in a tackle box, and one in my truck. I also keep multiple copies of my vehicle registrations, I have the originals in the vehicles and copies in the house. This is a lesion learned from a friend who had a car stolen; when talking with the police he had no idea what his tag number was or anything, just that it was a 05 blue ford.

I'm sorry to say I know anglers that laugh at the thought of buying a Wash. D.C. fishing license because they believe D.C. has no DNR and they will never be caught. I also have people on my block that act like they're poor and need a handout, but they drink beer, smoke, and their kids have up-to-date sports clothing on. I would report any of them in a hart-beat for poaching and never think twice about it. If people are so poor they can't feed themselves there are places they can get help, not a handout, but real help; all they have to do is try. We were poor when I was a kid, but my Dad always had food on the table and cloths on our backs; he never took a handout when many were offered; we took care of ourselves and did what was right. So I give no quarter to sob stories.

some pipe strapping from the big box store and a old chunk of plywood will get you started and you can play around with the shape & size; maybe 12X16 to start???

That's a good idea, you may get more for your boat with some nice Bling on it. I would suggest you take some short pieces of wire and do several practice connections until you feel comfortable with the process. The easiest connection for this project would be a standard pig-tail. Other than the first connection where your only dealing with two wires and will have an in-line connection, the other connections will have three. Just skin the wires and arrange them so the butt of the insulation of each wire are together, then twist the bare wires tight. Insure you get a good solder flow onto all wires of the pig-tail. When the connection is cool place a piece of adhesive heat-shrink over the connection so it covers the wire insulation and solder connection, plus a little bit to pinch closed to seal the end. It always helps to draw your circuit layout on paper to visualize what you'll be doing and to make an inventory of supplies you'll need. Here is a good website for "How to solder" http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm Watch the video at the bottom of the page. If you really want to get into wiring, here is something from my on-the-job training; I also took the NASA soldering course while attending TESST college. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doctree/87394.pdf I do not recommend a "Lap Splice" for anything.... period.

I got that they were arrested as possible illegal immigrants. But it not like officers to leave behind personal property, even nets and buckets. I believe it's accountable property.

You didn't say if your fishing from shore or a boat, but my short answer is learn to use the wind to your advantage and you can through any lure you want. Also, learn to cast low to the water where the wind is frequently weaker. Granted, if your a shore angler your options are limited, but you still have options. If you do any long range shooting where you have to compensate for windage you're one step ahead of the game.

I know these connectors, they are mainly for indoor use and work well for that purpose; I chose not to use them for marine environment work. They have pins that penetrate the strip and try as you may the electrical connection is not a "gas tight" connection and will oxidize in time. The white connectors are also hard to waterproof with RTV. Throughout my carrier as an electronics technician and engineer I have worked with all types of electrical connectors for both indoor and outdoor use. In my humble and professional opinion, If your doing any connections that will be exposed indirectly to the weather and humidity found in the marine environment, or parking your boat outdoors, soldering is the only way to go; it offers both a solid mechanical connection and a gas tight connection that you will not have to deal with again.

X2 on everything RH said. Depending on your body weight and other gear, you could also consider doing a test with some cinder-blocks to add additional weight to the rear. If you want to try a rudder I would suggest that you C-clamp a section of plywood to your transom and attach your rudder hinges to that. Then there will be no damage to your boat and you can remove the rudder at any time. If you have a cooler full of ice and drinks - put that in the rear also.

No need to drill holes in your boat to add a rudder, just put the battery in the rear, and distribute the weight of your gear.

Why would the officers leave the evidence behind?

Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in; that principle gave us our country. Going to court is not that big of a deal, you can ask to file an affidavit with the court, or arresting officer, in lieu of a court appearance.

From the Google Earth photo above, it looks like a rock to me.

I've talked with the shop and we're looking at a new lower unit as the prop shaft is bent and doesn't spin smoothly; and there is no reverse gear. They will also inspect the rest of the engine mounting and transom for secondary damage. Yesterday I found scratches on the underside of the hull.

IMHO you were correct. By your description the guy has no respect for the resources. I hope you don't have to waist your time on this guy in Court though.

Here is a Google Earth image of what I think I hit. What are the chances of hitting this in the Potomac?????

No, not a bite, and it's a good fishing area with some nice SAV; but the water in this area was gin clear and all I saw was some bait fish cruising on top of the SAV. At one point I did kick back and enjoy a nice cold Orange, the rocking of the boat in the wind, and a beautiful day.

No, I'm sorry to say. I'm currently with AARP for my home, cars, & boat. I just this past week received a quote for BoatUS for my boat, but they were more than AARP. I'll have to see how AARP handles this.

If you fish the tidal Potomac River you need to read paragraph one. On July 10, 2013 while cruising south on the Maryland side of the Potomac River just south of Greenway Flats my boat struck a submerged object. I believe I hit a shoal incorrectly shown on Navionics Navplanner 2 map at 38 deg 40.0978’N by 77 deg 7.3304’W and listed as “Shoal to 3 FT Rep 1975”. I believe I have found the actual location on Google Earth imagery dated 11/22/02 at 38 deg 40.233’N by 77 deg 7.176’W; you can actually see the shoal in the imagery. I quickly stopped the engine and raised the lower unit to check the prop. I found the prop was badly banged up, and then noticed small black balls of oil rising up from under the gear housing. I became amazed at how the balls broke up into many smaller balls as they raised to the surface where they broke into a very thin sheen that dissipated quickly. Isn’t technology wounderful!! Years ago I would have an oil trail a half mile long. Seeing this damage I decided to head into shore where I could get to the back of the boat for a better inspection. I made it to a location where I soft grounded the boat on clean sand in crystal clear water about knee deep. After removing my boots I disembarked and made my way back to the engine where I found my skeg and the underside of the gear housing was missing and I could see the internal parts of the gear housing. At this point I knew I needed help to return to the ramp so using the BoatUS iphone app I contacted them for a tow. The phone app gave BoatUS my member information and current location and they quickly conferenced me with a tow boat captain who would come to my aid; during my conversation with the towboat captain I told him I was currently soft grounded and safe, he told me I needed to get to deeper water so he could hook me up and wouldn’t have to charge me for a un-grounding. So as I made my way to deeper water, fighting a headwind, I decided to put the TM on high speed to make better headway; a few seconds later I hear a knock from the TM and I go dead in the water. When I pulled the TM I found I could not rotate the prop. This has happened to me years before when I had a Johnson TM; it had rubber magnets on the inside wall of the motor housing and one had broken loose which jammed the armature. Since I had made it to deeper water ( about ten feet ) and could no longer fight the wind I quickly anchored to hold my position. With nothing else to do I went back to fishing. J I must say that I am personally proud of how calmly I took these events, I never had an urge to through a tantrum, through anything overboard, or cuss like a sailor; **** happens, I deal with it and move on, period. About forty-five minutes later I see the tow boat heading in my direction. Once the captain reached me he had to circle me several times due to the wind so he could come along side and pass me the tow line. Once I was hooked up we were on course back to the ramp, which at 5 to 6 mph took about two hours to cover the 11.8 miles. When we reached the ramp the captain made sure I was safely tied up at the dock before he departed. Thanks to my BoatUS unlimited towing insurance all I needed to do was sign my name on his ipad. J This was my first experience using BoatUS towing and I can’t be more pleased with the quality and speed of service; the young lady I first made contact with was very reassuring and professional in every respect; and the same is also true of the towboat captain. As a result of this experience I will never be without my BoatUS Unlimited towing policy.

Other than the magnet I never had another problem with it. The Motorguide locks down OK, but there is nothing to hold the motor housing tight onto the mount. Edit: additional info: The motor housing nose end, and prop end, can lift easily; but it takes more to life the entire motor.

I agree Wayne, I've heard the same over the years. I've also been told by a service tech that TM that are stored uncovered outside in the sun for extended periods can bake the magnets adhesive making it brittle and subject to separation. Some TM mounts automatically park the Tm's motor in the same position over and over, and the sun gets the motor casing very hot. Given enough time a failure can occur. I never did cover my Johnson Tm that was mounted on a 14' Jon boat, but back then I did beat my way through a lot of weeds and stalks that caused heavy vibrations; that's my only guess about the Johnson separation. But I have seen my TM bouncing on my Ranger; I even stop the boat at times to strap the TM down, but the position of my strap does not secure the motor housing and it still bounces some. Maybe I need a second strap closer to the motor housing?

Anyone ever have the motor housing magnets break loose and lock up the TM. I was out the other day and hit a submerged shoal with my 150 Merc and needed to get to shore so I could check things out and the TM was working fine at that point. When I saw the extent of the damage (details in another post) I called BoatUS for a tow back to the ramp; during my conversation with the towboat captain I told him I was currently soft grounded and safe, he told me I needed to get to deeper water so he could hook me up and wouldn’t have to charge me for a un-grounding. So I made my way to deeper water while fighting a headwind; at one point I decided to put the TM on high speed and a few seconds later I hear a knock from the TM and I go dead in the water. When I pulled the TM I found I could not rotate the prop. This has happened to me years before when I had a Johnson TM; it had rubber magnets on the inside wall of the motor housing and one had broken loose which jammed the armature. Hopefully Mare Inc. can replace the housing without needing a complete new motor.