Closin' in on the elusive 60!

[Mark Hofman]

Finally got out this weekend and did some fishin'. Landed 31 bass between the two of us. Nothing over two pounds, but full of fight on 4 lb. test. Biggest five were on drop-shots.



Cold front came through last night. Today was windy and temps were brisk, in the low 50's. Lake was choppy, but no whitecaps. We only caught one bass on a drop-shot rig.



On the final run of the day, back to the ramp, I fiddle with the trim a bit and the speedo read 59.5, turning 5100 rpms. Almost had to break out the Darth Vader helmet!!!



Oh, and I ended up having to buy a new Everstart deep-cycle TM battery. The old Interstate wouldn't hold its charge for more than an hour before it was dead.



Just thought I'd let y'all know how my weekend was. I'll be in Phoenix most of this week. Have a great one!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Oops, forgot...



That speed was with two 220+ guys, nearly full tank of gas, and all our gear. Not bad, eh?

 

[Staci Matheis]

Darn quick! Are you using the speedo on the new Garmin? I'm curious as to how well that little paddle wheel works and if it'll hold up.



Were you back at Nims Lake?



I went over to Carlile early this morning..... When I pulled up to the ramp, I was the only one there! Not a single car on the lot! I discovered why when I got out of the car. The 10 to 15 mph wind must have boosted itself to at least 25 now that the corn fields are down in central Illinois. There were white caps on the little cove where I launch. I wasn't going to be foolish enough to venture out onto the lake. I wanted to fish - just not THAT badly.....



Decided to go up to Elsberry on the Missouri side and see if I could pull some white bass from the Mississippi. It was only 10 am; I could be there by noon.....



Crossed over the Mississippi on I-270 at Chain of Rocks. The river was down a bit and was sheltered enough by Missouri's hills that it wasn't churned up too much.....



Crossed over the Missouri river 20 minutes later as I went into St. Charles. It was down quite a bit from normal levels and the wings dikes were way out. That'll make for good spots to anchor in another 45 miles up in Elsberry on the Mississippi.....



Got to the Hamburg Ferry access on the Mississippi..... The water must have been up 5 or 6 feet! The wing dike that protects the area was under. The water was muddy and ugly. I was NOT going to put in; that would have been too dangerous. Guess that they must have had a lot more water upstream than we did in St. Louis and the Corps of Engineers just hadn't opened the gates on the dams yet.....



Got home about 3:00pm after stopping by BPS and window shopping. Only water the boat saw was as I crossed over the bridges.

 

[Mark Hofman]

I haven't installed the Garmin yet. Last night I began rigging the transducer and cable, and I fiddled with where I want to install the R.A.M. mount. For the life of me, I can't locate the extra set of wires that are supposed to be there for a bow-mounted finder, so I'll make a trip to Home Depot and pick up some red and black electrical wires to run myself. I did everything but pull the main deck up to try and locate them.



Yeah, we were at Nims. Ten canoes on the lake on Saturday, in two groups that split up, and we were the only boat covering the entire lake. Our partners didn't show up. It was a good thing because when my TM battery went dead, all we had to do was pirate the one out of the other boat for the rest of the day. We had dinner in Farmington, so I bought the Everstart at the Wal-Mart Supercenter there.



How close were you to where that boat was hit and sunk? For the family's sake, I hope they find the body of that boy.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Mo, there are no extra wires for the front ducer. Did my pictures help at all?

 

[Mark Hofman]

Bruce:



I was on the road when your email came in. I couldn't get a good modem connection from the hotel that would allow me to download the pictures, and I was fishing this weekend. I just got to see the pictures this afternoon. They download right quick on a T1.



I misunderstood you to say that the wires were coiled up near the front of the loom. I didn't see them, but now that you've clarified things, your photos make sense.



Questions: When you hooked your leads up to the fuse box, how did you make the connection - with clips, or did you do something else? I had a CB radio installed once, and the leads were just pinched in behind the fuse prongs. I want to do it right, so I'm thinking of soldering clips on. I'm also going to solder the unit leads to the stripped ends of the extra wire, and use shrink tubes. How did you handle it? Thanks for taking the time to scan and send the photos. They ARE a big help.



I'm also going to mount the R.A.M. mount to the angled plate just like you did. That way I can through-bolt the mount for strength. It's going to be a GREAT setup when its done.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Mark -



I didn't hear about a boat being hit and sunk. I didn't see any boats at all out on either Carlyle or the Mississippi; the water was way too trecherous. What's the story?

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Mark, I ran the wires to the fuse box and used crimped on post connectors (like what is connected to the battery). When you take the fuse box out you should see how the rest of the connectors look. I would not solder them to the posts, use the crimped style, that way it is easier to remove them if you have a problem.

At the unit connection I just used crimp-ons as well.



By the way, I am jealous of the elusive 60!! I'm hoping to upgrade to the 150XR6 over the winter if I can get a deal

 

[Mark Hofman]

Scott:



A cruiser with six passengers was struck by a tow of empty barges near Grafton and sank. Five passengers jumped overboard before the barges hit, but a fifteen year old boy is missing. I didn't know how close that is to where you were on the Mississippi. Sad.



Bruce:



If your boat has riveted stern caps on the corners of the transom, do NOT install a 150!! The weight of the motor may cause (actually, probably will) your transom to buckle. In the 2001 model year, Tracker changed the design of the transom and reinforced it. I'm convinced that this change was made because of problems with the weight of the 150 outboards. If you want more details, I can snap some pictures over the weekend to show you the differences between the pre-'01 models and the post-'01 models. But, again, DO NOT install a 150 if you have riveted stern caps.



MO

 

[Rob LaMoy]

That's tin for ya! Never heard of a glass boat losin it's transom because of a 150! LOL

I'm leaving the missing boy comment alone, what can you really say? Tragic!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Hmmmm....I wondered when you would show up. You'll also never hear of a tin boat getting gel coat fractures or stress cracks!! And you won't hear about a tin boat taking three months to repair a hole in it. And you won't hear about a tin boat's surfaces suffering from oxidation. And you won't hear about...



Seriously, did you also never think you's see a tin boat that would crack 55 mph on the water? If and when I put a 24" pitch SS prop on the back of my baby and hit 61, I'll be crowing like a rooster at sun up.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Yup, I'm rivited, but since I know about the problem already I can work with Bob and solve that problem when and if I can upgrade

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Ya' know, there's a reason they say, "the waters smooth as glass" or "the lakes just like glass" it's because glass=perfection. Tin is for beer cans. And as for that comment about me meltin' my boat.........it's all in the aim brother! Why do you think that the guy holding the flamethrower doesn't get burned? You guys go ahead and putter around in your tin crop dusters whilst Rob and I..... "feel the need for speed" in our f-18's (there's a reason for those stress cracks PURE POWER!!!).



That outta fixem' eh Rob!!



I am startin to worry about the convert ratio...we need to get Neely to run some specials on glass rigs and bring in some of those famous NY sunbathers (bada-bing!!) for a special showing (no tin men allowed).



TOXIC

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Ok, Ok, so maybe 18's do have a little tin in them, but for the most part, they are composite just like my hull. And if that tin don't shine......it's oxidized. A little acid rain and you'll be pluggin holes with bubblegum, I will just get some nasty water spots. And yeah maybe you are one big keel protector, I never thought of it that way but while you are bringin' up the rear with your water plow, Rob and I will leave little notes on markers that will tell you what we used to take all the fish, and where we are going next!! LOL.....ohhhhh Rob, a little help please, they are getting smarter these tin men.



TOXIC

 

[Rob LaMoy]

UM MO, no it CAN'T. That's why I got OUT of tin! I SPLIT two of them IN HALF!!!!!! That's what brought me here. Then I heard the voice of reason and went to glass and have never looked back. Go ahead and tweak that TV-18 for 60mph, funny things will happen......it will vaporize! It will start to shudder and shake like a 72 pinto down the Jersey turnpike at 85 mph. It will creak and moan like my trashy trailer in a wind storm! Then all of the sudden, BANG, it will just fall to pieces and you'll be out there hangin your hinnie off of level floatation pieces trying to keep above water! Then along will come some glass boat cruising midly at 65-70 mph, with ease a speed that destroy tin, and he will tow your recycle pile to shore.

Hey Toxic, you ever split a keel on a glass boat? Me neither. You ever have a transom buckle from the "weight" of a 150 or even a 225? yeah, me neither! Huh....funny! Am I missing something!

I'm just razzin ya Mo, I used to fish out of tin too, but like I said, THEN I got serious about my fishing! LOL Tin is great for beginners and hobbyists! I like to think of them as the training wheels of boats! LOL Don't worry, some day when you guys grow big and strong and learn to fish, you can have glass too. We won't keep you out of the club, you just have to be able to handle it and right now, you guys have your hands full with tin. With time young jedi, with time!

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

you guys crack me up! Mo, just let them think what they will, while their glass is being fixed, they'll be beggin to fish with us in our Tin

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Hey, I fished with Marke in his tin this spring. It was great to get back to my roots. It brought back lots of childhood memories of fishing in the 14 foot V-hull my mom bought me for my 16th birthday. But then us grown ups had to come back to today and get off our tricycles and get back into the big bad boy glass machines. LOL Now THAT'S what I'M talkin about! Bruce, do yourself a favor, stay hidden on this one and we might let you live. But as for your tin representatives here on the front line.......Mo, Rich, and the lot, well they're about to suffer undescribable pain and torture! See, even Marke new to trade up to glass. Hence his TV-18 is FOR SALE so he can buy a 901! It happens to us all one day Bruce, we grow up and life begins. But enjoy your fishing infancy, it only happens once! LOL

Toxic, be sure you got that thing loaded, I think we just stepped in an ant hill on purpose! LOL

 

[Mark Hofman]

If'n I recall correctly, yer boat that broke up was rivited. Now, with them rivets, I'll agree that a one-piece fiberglass hull has some definite advantages. If you'll remember my famous quote, "Little kids 'n cordless drills 'n boats don't mix", that came from my experience with a rivited boat.



But what I'm talkin' about is an all-welded .100 or formed .125 rig laid out with a front deck as big as an aircraft carrier, and the only reason I can't strap on a 175 is because the Coast Guard and my insurance company says I can't.



An' WHERE I fish, fiberglass fears to tread. Just ask that nice man with the 20-foot Triton who didn't see that rock shoal comin. Man musta been in the Navy 'cuz my virgin ears never heard such words!



Less than four second hole-shot with two big guys, full load of fuel and water in the livewell ain't nothin' to be dissin'.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

NOW we got 'em riled up! HA, come on MO, you can do better than that! LOL Yeah, mine was riveted, but it wasn't the riveted part that gave. Granted, 20+ rivets did let go TOO, but, the part that split was a SOLID piece of .100 gauge aluminum, the keel seam! And not just one mind you, but TWO! And on two different boats. And I flat out guaurantee you, ifn' yous hit dat same shoal da tritoon boy did wit yur lil flimsy tin can toy boat, it'd tore it dun wide open like a GI issue can opiner on a coors can! Now pep down ya peuter drivin pip squeak fore a let Toxic loose on ya like a duck on a junebug! LOL

We got 'em on da run now Tox, and in dat tin, dey cain't run nun too fast so we're dun shore to ketchem! Yah ponies, mulch dat tin up yonder!

W.orn

ut

T.in is da only WOT he's gunna be gettin fur a wile!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

YOU GO BOY!!



TOXIC

 

[Mark Hofman]

Blah, blah, blah...



Nice try, fiber boy. My boat was paid in full, in cash. I could've chosen glass but I didn't. The TV-18 was perfect for what I wanted. For me, tin is in. And I DID run a tin boat up on a very similar shoal on the very same lake. All I did was take an inch off the prop blades. We pushed that boat back into deeper water and continued on our merry way.



And all I was doing by posting my speed was to hear, "That's great, MO. Glad yer happy." So, thank you to SCOTT, who made my day!

 

[Staci Matheis]

MO, Greg put the GPS to my 20', 200 HP glass boat when we went out..... All I got out of it was 61.4 mph..... Now, I could blame it on the High Five prop - but then you'd just add that you still have to upgrade to stainless!



I LIKE that tin boat of yours!







Grafton is about 20 miles downstream from where I had wanted to put in; it's about 10 miles below the dam at Winfield. On my way home, I stopped there to see what the water was like in that pool - it was just about as treacherous there as it had been in the next pool up. Those people should not have been out in the first place..... Unfortunately, a 15 year old had to give his life to teach them that lesson.....



God bless the kid and forgive those who caused this misfortune.



me

 

[TrepMan]

MO - Way to go, 60mph is HUGE!!! Can I borrow that XR6 for a weekend to see what the 175 will do??? LOL!!!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

MO, congrats.. There you happy! I know the urge and desire there is when you're so close to 60 but can't get it! So......cheat a little. Go by yourself, with a half tank of gas. You'll hit it. But remember you're using speedo speed. that's usually generous. Get it on GPS. I'm hitting 56 mph with 2 adults, 2 tourney loads, full tank and wells. I'm sure with a new prop, alone and dry, I'll push near 60 mph.

Scott, the high 5 is notorious for having blistering hole shot and superb grab, but you will inevitably give up at least a couple of mph. Go to a 4 blade, that's all the blades you really need and will most likely be in the mid to high 60's. A high 5 is for the guys who need to take off in 1 foot of water fishing down south. Very impractical IMHO for most other applications. And if you want to talk expensive repairs......ding that sucker up once! OUCH! $250+ just to get it recupped and repitched! I can nearly BUY a new 3 blade for that much.