fishnkamp

WRB is right, you need a keel protector to launch the way the guy demonstrates launching his fiberglass boat. I do not run fiberglass, but I do not want to scrape my aluminum hull up either. My method follows his instructions, but I do not pull my trailer so far out of the water. Instead I leave the back of my trailer partially submerged, thus my boat's nose is is settled on the keel roller in about 1 foot or so of water. When I get out I am still dry and the rope is not under too much tension. Just release your strap and unwind the winch till the boat is loose. I unhook the Z Launch and put my boat on a dock or slowly pull it to the ramp. It takes a few tries to find a sweet spot, but once you do it is easy.

It is open underneath and has side venting to aid is air circulation. I thought about that too. Check out one of CE Smiths videos.

It may look like your fellow members here are geniuses, in reality we have just been doing this stuff long enough to have either learned from our mistakes or from others mistakes. I doubt you will have harmed it too bad. The good thing is your boat dealer should be able to get to it quickly since they are not likely too busy yet. By the way check out these two videos for launch and loading tips.

Yes, take it to your dealer and have them change the entire water pump, not just the impeller, as you most likely have damaged the housing too(they will also drain and replace your lower unit fluid). Next have them pull the thermostats and make sure there are no pieces of impeller stuck behind them If they are okay then all that will cost is some gaskets or o rings and labor. If your engine has a poppet valve have them service that as well. Have them test run the engine in a tank and if you have a water a pressure gauge they can verify it is all working properly. If you do not have a water pressure gauge I would take this opportunity to have one installed. This is a safety item to help you while running your engine. I hope you did not toast the engine. Probably not, since you said it only ran a few moments and it already had water in the engine. No guarantees though. I hope it is not too expensive of a lesson. MOST IMPORTANT DO NOT START IT UP TILL THESE REPAIRS ARE DONE! Good Luck and I will not beat you up. You are just going through the "NEW BOAT" learning process. You will have the opportunity to make lots of mistakes. We all have done something stupid, but learn from it. Get in a habit of preparing your boat in the same order everytime you get to a ramp. I always do the same things in the same order, so I do not forget anything. I start my prep in the parking lot, not at the ramp. I go to the rear of my boat. I install the plug first, Next I remove the engine support and stow it, next I remove the rear straps. I then move forward and install the depth finders/gps units and so forth starting in the rear and moving forward til I unstrap the trolling motor and install the keys in the ignition. I also pull out my life jackets and hook up the kill switch. Do all of that before you get to the ramp. Now you can move to the ramp. Get the boat lined up on the ramp and the back of the boat partially into the water, It is now that I remove my front strap. You will not hold up people too long doing this, but you will not drop your boat on the parking lot either. This is a time to hook up your rope from the boat to the truck if you are offloading by yourself or climb in the boat if you have someone backing you in. Coming back onto the trailer has similar steps. Being efficient but methodical will be faster than being in a rush. Find the magical spot to back your trailer in the water. It maybe that some of your fenders are submerged and say 4 or 5 inches of the bunks are above water. Once you find the magic spot you will be able to quickly back your trailer down the ramp, go load your boat. Shut off the engine and raise up the trim so you do not hit the bottom of your engine while pulling out. Walk forward and climb out of your boat. Hook up the front strap and get in your vehicle. Drive back to the parking lot. Here is where you will finish your details like pulling the plug, installing the rear straps, and installing the engine support. If you do this and someone is impatient screw them. Do not harm your toys to satisfy them. By the ways there are great videos on You Tube that teach trailering boat skills. I would watch how others do it, it will speed up your learning curve. If you fish by yourself often I would recommend a product calle Z Launcher. It is a special bungee rope that lets you easily offload your boat by yourself. It is not as cheap as a rope but I am glad I use one. The are available from Tackle Warehouse and other suppliers. Good Luck and let us know what you find out.

Whenever I answer one of these threads I always start by admitting that I am a huge fan of these rods and reels. Having admitted that, the readers know where I am coming from. I sold several white Shimano Chronarchs E7s and some Shimano green Curados once I fished with the Daiwas. I am not going to say that the Daiwa is the only great reel out there. I have to say that they fits my fishing style and work extremely reliably. I am glad you are happy with the combo.

Both Force (which was owned by Mercury) and the Johnsons have long been out of business. The huge difference is that there is virtually no parts available for a Force motor and there are a ton of "new old stock" and aftermarket parts available for Johnson Evinrude engines. The Johnson/Evinrudes just ran and ran. Keep in mind I am telling you this and grew up as a Merc guy.

I would look at the engines owners manual and go by it. I am sure Suzuki has some guidelines.

I love the entire Tatula lineup and out of the 12 baitcasters I own 8. They include Tatula CTs, Tatula Type Rs and Tatulas (the original size Tatula before a CT existed). One is the predecessor to the Tatula, actually it was replaced by the Fuego CT, it is called a Daiwa Exceler. I just want to give you a heads up on the Diawa reels as this is your first one. These reels do not adjust the same as any other baitcasting reel period!! If you want to get max control and distance you need to follow the instructions in Brent Ehlers video ( the second video). The first video is done by someone else who explains how several different versions of Daiwa braking systems work. The last reel he talks about has Mag Force Z breaks and that is what Daiwa has standardized on in the Tatula and Fuego CT reels. The tatula SV TWS has basically the same system, but with a special spool and a different set of springs and cam parts. Think of this reel as having a governor like a lawn mower does. The Mag Force breaking system works automatically, sorta like the governor on the mower. The break adjustment on the side allows you to fine tune it a bit more. Most times I adjust the spool tension in order to get just that small amount of side to side play (what Brent refers to as " the click) and I usually set my dial to "10" or mid point between min and max and leave it there. I rarely adjust it again, I do use my "educated thumb a bit but not that much. Anyway here are the two videos. I am a huge fan of Dobyns rods and Daiwa reels. Any Daiwa reel with Mag Force Z in it will adjust properly using this method. Good Luck and enjoy your new combo

Now see I love my G Loomis 721,and 722s. I use mine for lost of baits including the neds and have done so for decades. My first model of that rod for myself and my wife were im6, then GL2 and GL# and I upgraded mine to a IM version. N problem here with them. We have fished small grubs on 1/16 or 1/8 ball headed jigs for river smallies since the 80's. We spent an entire week on Dale Hollow force feeding lock jawed post spawn smallies up to 7 pounds using those rods. It is all personal preference I guess.

Once you get some time on that motor please give us an update on the rigs performance. I have had a few guys up in PA that ran Suzuki motors and their performance was great. They were really very reliable as well. I believe they would be found more often on bass boats if their dealer network was larger. I am lucky I have a dealer that carries them near me. I actually considered repowering with a Suzuki 70 on my Lowe. It got kinda expensive when I figured in the controls and cables. Still I like the way they run. I know you just got the boat and would certainly prefer a "new" trolling motor. However, I would do some research and see if any of the local dealers, that carry fiberglass rigs, have a "take off" Fortrex 80 in their stock. With the popularity of the new Ultrex they may have had someone upgrade a new boat to one of the ultrex. It may have never seen the water, but may save you some cash.

That is not that different than the one on my Lowe.

That is awesome. What size is the Suzuki? Also what did you get for a trolling motor and electronics? Polar Kraft makes a nice rig. I had a 15 1/ foot stick steer boat that flew. It rode really nice too.

Yea I am going to sell my 70 pound Maxxum and have a new saltwater series Riptide Terrova 80 put on. I am also going to get my friend to fabricate a metal step up box added to access the front deck. Probably going to install a box liner and a water tight hatch from Tempress. The boat may be a 2010, but I am going to make closer to the new rigs. Lastly I may swap out one depth finder. I'm thinking of selling off a HB 788, moving , my Lowrance Elite 7 up front and installing a HB Helix 10 Mega SI. I would go 9 but they use the same size housing for both a 9 and 10 so I would not save any space.

Yes there is more room than it looks. The fenders have a side edge that comes down about an inch or so. There is actually about 1 1/2 inches clearance over the top of the tires. I am not sure how much actual travel the wheels have since the torsion axle works so different then a spring axle. It runs so much smoother, it almost feels like it has shocks. This is my first trailer with a torsion axle and I am impressed.

Okay I have been working on upgrading my trailer recently. I decided, since the original trailer from Lowe fit like garbage I would replace it, ( it was hard to even put the boat on unless you got out and winched it the rest of the way). The factory "custom" trailer was used on multiple boats and I bet none fit it well. I now fish tidal waters so it was best to just start over. After much research and a few conversations with the boat monkey ( yes there is one of those too) I settled in on a brand new Load Rite trailer. It is one of their galvanized "Elite" series models. It's weight rating is higher than the original, and comes from Load Rite with a torsion axle, led lights and radial tires on galvanized wheels. From there I got real busy with add ons. I do not care to have a "fancy looking" trailer, but rather one that makes getting on and off easy. To begin with, I added boat buckles and a custom set of brackets were built to mount them with. I wanted to mount every accessory with either an existing bolt and bolt hole or U bolts. That guarantees we did not hurt the original factory galvanized coating, so we did not promote rust. Next we added a pair of 5 foot long sideboards, two 40 inch lighted guide posts, a heavier duty Fulton F2 winch, and a very heavy duty Knott trailer jack with a 8 or 10 inch dolly wheel. They cut the tongue an added a Fulton swing away kit. Lastly, we added a locking mount and spare tire with a black tire cover. Before any of this was added they loaded the boat onto the trailer, determined the proper location and checked the tongue weight. This is really important. Both the Lowe boat trailer and the new LR trailer measured the same distance from the coupler to the single axle. It is the Load Rite dealers responsibility to adjust the entire trailer to properly fit the customer's boat. It turned out the tongue weight ws about 400 pounds as it was sitting. They had to move the single axle forward almost 8 inches to get the correct 7% of total weight. The correct number is about 130 pounds. So that is how badly the original factory trailer was set up! Very sad. Once the proper location was set, then all the other details fell in line. I now have a trailer that fits like a glove. This is really important for both safety and ease of operation. I load and unload at ramps that have pretty serious current and wind at times. The conditions are all dependant on wind direction and tidal movements. By the way, having the rear guide poles helps several ways. First, they help line up the boat initially. Next,there are two sets of very bright LED light inside the top caps. The rear set are red and the forward set are yellow. You can easily see the lights from quite a distance. Night time or low light lane changes on the highway will be easier since you can clearly see where the end of your trailer is. Also, backing down a steep ramp will be easier in the dark since the lights are a few inches higher than the top cowling on the motor. If you were thinking of doing some spring trailer mods, I hope this gives you some ideas on how to improve your trailering experience. If you were not planning on any upgrades, take a few minutes and give your entire trailer a good look over. For safety sake, inspect your safety chains, boat tie downs, your winch and winch strap or cable. Are all the lights working? Tighten or check the torque on all the bolts on the entire trailer, including the axle bolts and spring bolts. When did you last inspect, clean and repack your bearings? A day spent now, before fishing season, may save your fishing day or even someone's life. Many times I have seen a trailer frame rust and crack and the owner never new it till it broke completely. Let's all start the new year off safely. Next it is on to a new trolling motor. That darn monkey agan! Here are some pics. Enjoy the boat porn.

I am not sure that the C/L is a scam. Most of the scams are more ridiculous than that. His pictures are in front of his garage and if he is local enough I would go look at it. He may not be using it anymore and just wants to get rid of it, or hew may have anew boat on its way and NEED to get rid of it. I looked at a Triton 186 and the guy needed to get rid of it since his new boat was scheduled to arrive in 3 weeks. He had only room in the garage for one boat so he was offering a good deal. It is worth a look anyway.

What would your budget be roughly? Would something like this be of interest? https://nmi.craigslist.org/boa/d/1991-ranger-bass-boat/6442156628.html

I was looking at them myself a little while back. Like all Tritons they have a nice ride. If the motor has been well kept they were very reliable engines. It was purchased before I could pull the trigger. I think you will be happy with it. The only negative I can say about Tritons is their seats. I have seen a lot of them crack, split or torn., No worries. Just replace them with new ones from either Le Broc or Bass boat seats.com. Both are sponsors here so if you do order any from them thank them for supporting our site. They will appreciate knowing where there business comes from.

I would probably look at some of the "inshore" rods. Many companies like Okuma, St Croix and Penn make them. There are of course others too. I would probably suggest a 7 to 7"4" MH.

If you mean the total weight of the rod. I have never seen Gary list it anywhere.

I will second the Irod Genesis II rods.

Weedless what is your budget and are you willing to travel a bit to get a deal on the right boat. I would be happy to help you find something decent. What was he selling that boat for and what size are you looking to get. Here is just one example of what is out here if you look in the right places. This is a 1994 and is available for $6800 This 17 footer is up at Big Bee and they are asking $9000. It looks nice. Here is a 1998 Champion 186 located in Allentown. The seller is askling $9800. http://www.***.com/Boats4Sale9/SWeber2.jpg

Unless you have 2 600 pound guys I do not think that is the real issue. The issue is more the total of 2 or three guys + full fuel tanks,+ full live wells +three or four group 30 ( 65 # batteries) + a heavier 4 stroke engine, and then a ton and a half of fishing gear. All that adds up. The thing is you have to look at how you use the boat.Will you need 2, 3 or 4 batteries, do you have to fill the livewells ( if you are not fishing tournaments do not fill them) how much tackle is enough? Limit your weight and be safe.

Silver is fine, just accent it with some of those ideas. On a silver truck you could add the stripes in black and red. I saw some cool decals online. One was a simple vinyl decal to make the F150 emblem on the tailgate pop. That could be a place to add some color.

Either stick with your original silver or look for a dark grey if you can. The charcoal grey will look good, especially if you add any red pins or accents. They look equally good with either black or chrome rims. As for the trailer wheels if I did anything I would get black ones, I would not powder coat the original ones. I would not want to possibly cause them to become unbalanced. You can order new tire/rim combos and just sell your old ones. You could go with a dark red color stripe in either location I realize these trucks are red, but envision the dark grey truck above with a dark cherry red stripe or even burgundy down on the lower portion of the door and rocker panels. It would look great when you tow and "not too red" when you are not towing. If you went the hood route again a dark cherry red or almost burgundy could work. If I di the hood I would consider some thin matching artwork style pins on the tailgate. nothing big just a subtle touch Imagine the charcoal grey truck and this stripe in red and silver. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F-150-Platinum-Side-Stripes-Graphics-Decals-Duo-Color-3M-Vinyl-/261999917201