J.D.

Furuno

Bob, I would send an e-mail to "Tuna's Reel Troubles". They are reel experts, many on this board ( myself included) have had reels worked on by them. A few years back, Andy was able to set me up with larger "power handles" to fit my older Diawa reels, now used for wire divers. He may have an answer to your dilemma. http://stores.tunasreeltroubles.com/power-handles/

Iggy, You will be fine with you 16 footer, watch the weather and pick your days. I started out in 1990 in an old 16' semi vee with a 40 hp. This one is 16' 8" deep vee Starcraft with a 90 Merc. Bought this one new in 1996, still running strong after 22 years on the lake. Plenty of fish to be had from these multi - species boats.

Nope.... Disconnected at both ends and did a shake and pull with a buddy, and the hose got about 8" longer. Just enough to drain properly. My guess is that slack in the line flopped around running in the waves, and the bouncing moved it from it's normal drain path.

There my be a loop or bend in the line somewhere, much like the trap under your sink.... it lets the air and snake thru, but won't drain on its own. ...... ask me how I know....

Fishmaster.com makes folding T tops.....

I use a fixed slider for Mup rigs. bottom small spoon back 10', top larger spoon back 5' and up 5'.

The Bay Bridge Sport Shop has 2 "fisherman's apartments" for rent by the day or week.

I have a large Rapala plastic cutting board the same size as my cooler... a few wet towels between board and cooler lid keeps the board in place. https://www.amazon.com/Rapala-Pro-Series-Board-19x48/dp/B0084ED9RK/ref=sr_1_5/136-0515460-2602058?ie=UTF8&qid=1527863049&sr=8-5&keywords=rapala+cutting+board&dpID=21E4b4QanOL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Bay Bridge Sport Shop. On the south end of the bay, but nice fisherman's apartments with docks, gas, etc. https://baybridgesportshop.com/rooms

Online Outboards has 2018 Tohatsu 5 HP MFS5CS Outboard Motors for $1350. No tax, free shipping.....

Decide on you price range, then get the most "pixels and power" you can afford. Duel frequency is a great feature, the other special features are up to you. Most manufacturers offer the operator manuals free online in PDF format. Download the manuals and check for ease of use. Some units make you go through a ton of menu options to make a simple adjustment. I chose a Furuno 625 unit 6 years ago because it has dials and knobs rather than a ton of buttons, and their bullet proof reputation. Take a trip to Bass Pro or Cabela's and look at the units for yourself. Play with the functions and find which unit will work best for YOU in your price range.

I was out a week ago Monday. Going out, no problem, stayed on my saved gps plot from last fall. Coming back in, my 17 foot tin boat with the top and side curtains up got hit with a gust of wind from the North East, and pushed me off course to the West. Before I could correct, I slid into the mid channel debris and hit the steel that's just below the water... ( it had a buoy marking it last fall) Ended up with a 14ft. gouge along the bottom of the hull, a sheared off rivet, and a snapped off Airmar P66 transducer. I've made repairs and am good to go, but may run out of the Genny until they dig the debris out.... not worth risk with a light boat.

Been using RM Lure box for the past couple of years... great for keeping the "go to" baits organized

tmcaul, On the back of the boat, usually on the upper right hand side, you will find a series of numbers stamped on the transom. In most cases, the last 2 numbers are the year the boat was manufactured. As far as replacing the floor, time consuming, but not a hard job. Best advise is try to save the old pieces and use them as templates to cut the new floor.