Navy Chief

Currently: 1,43,56,74,176 Come on guys, you can do it!!!! Chad L.

Little Ba%&^*( attacked me at Wally World while the wife was in tow, thank goodness she is an animal lover!!!! :-* Ended up walking out with 12 new Rapala X-raps in Gold (3), Silver(2) and Clown(7), good thing they were clearanced at $3.50 ea. Picked up 6 of the 1/8 OZ Titanium spinnerbaits at $2.50 ea. and a few spools of stren braid at $7.00 ea. WHEW coulda been a BAD experience, best part was the wife said "make sure you get everything you want, cause I am not driving back out here when you tell me you should have picked up more." Chad

I have to agree that it is more personal preference. I personally use a AC70MM (Crankbait Rod) for my smaller presentations Shad Rap#5's ect. and have a AC70MHM (Crankbait Rod) for my Shad Rap#7's and some of my deep divers. I also use a PC60MF for jerk baits and some close in work and love its action. I will be buying a AC68MXF in the next month or so and will just add it to my arsenal.

I bought some of the Ultra-Soft in 12# and plan on using it on a couple BC's. I am just the opposite with the Cobra X-Tex, my brother had 6# on his drop shot rod and caught NUMEROUS smallmouths in the 2-4# range and a channel cat in the 15# range. I tried some 8# and loved it on my finesse rod, great sensitivity and hook setting power. I suppose since we both had it on ML rods it took some of the shock that normally would have caused breakage? I don't know if maybe there was a bad batch out there, I have enough to last me and my brother through this year and will see how it holds up to more use. I am finally going to go on shore duty and get some REAL fishing time in the next few years.

I want to get a batch of a specific color mix. Who can I get ahold of and have some custom made. I realize I will have to buy a specific minimum quantity, but have no idea who to try. Thanks, Chad Lukehart Damage Control Senior Chief USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)

Awesome input guys!!!!!!!! Thanks, this should get me well on my way. I have thought about getting the Electricians on the ship to come out, but I live 45 miles from the base and time at home is precious. I think I'll be attacking this project on my own. Chad L.

Since being on Deployment I have saved some money and bought some upgrades for the boat when I get back. It's a 2001 Lowe Roughneck 1860VT with a 1996 Evinrude 40hp tiller with all aluminum floor and sides covering all the ribs. I have already bought 2 new stainless props since being gone. I have ordered 1 LMS 332C W/GPS for the back and will be ordering the front (TM mounted) LMS 332C without GPS June 1st. I have never wired the boat and have just ran the wiring along the edge up until now because I'd take the FF out when hunting. I want to run all the wiring properly for the front and also add a light up front and back. I plan on lifting the aluminum floor up and running all the wiring underneath and putting the floor back in. At that time I also want to run the TM wiring under as well, in the past i have just thrown the battery up front and attached the TM by the wing nuts. I am adding 2 TM batteries to the back of the boat and getting a 50amp breaker for the TM. What Gage wire for the TM, and what gage wire from the back to the front to the FF and Nav light? I will probably add a 6 gang switch/fuse panel for the front so that I can shut everything off when not in use. Last but not least, I have a Tach that plugs right into the wiring harness, but it only has about 8" of wiring and I want to mount it about 6 feet from the motor so i can view while I am running down the lake. Is there an extension I can buy that has the plugs to attach the tach? Thanks for any and all help, looking forward to getting home and getting all this stuff done so i can get back on the water fishing. Chad L.

You need to really think about getting them serviced right away. Lubing them through the bearing buddies or red eyes only keeps them pressurized to keep water out. I would remove the bearings clean and inspect and repack, or replace. Then once a month give them a squirt through the bearing buddy/red eye. Remember, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. You don't want to have a bearing freeze up going down the road.

Ben, I was pretty much right on with the propping before, 5300 RPM with the Aluminum. So by following all the peoples recommendations from the site, I dropped down to the 13 with the SS. Once I get home in the late summer, I will test both the props and see which one works best for each scenario I throw at it. Either way I will have one spare SS and a spare Aluminum if I decide to hit the rivers were I run the risk of hitting sand or stumps. The wife even emailed me back and told me to go ahead and get the SS props, good thing she did cause I already had

Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought Stainless. I have been running an aluminum 12 1/4X15 on my 40HP Tiller Evinrude. It has done well on my Lowe Roughneck 1860VT. It will push the boat without problems, I just couldn't justify $300 for a new prop. Iboats.com has numerous SS Michigan Props on clearance and I got a Rapture and Michgan Match SS all for $315 with shipping. The way I figured it, 2 for the price of one and I get a spare. The Rapture is 12 1/2X13 and the Match is 11 3/4X13......what do you guys think it will do for the boat? Was I justified an getting them...or did I waste my money? Any input is greatly appreciated. Chad L.

Had the same issue with my 320 DF, battery power was the problem, charged the battery on the boat for a while and it came back on.