big easy

Bill, Did you mean where did i get the repair done? I did it myself.I've done several transoms,and a few complete ground up restorations on fiberglass boats. I have a friend in the marine fiberglass supply business,who carries everything to build or repair any size boat,so that's a big help. He has built several glass boats,mostly bigger stuff,like lobster boats and the like.Over the years I've learned many valuable lessons from him,on working with,and laying up fiberglass materials. I'm pretty comfortable with glass work,but after my latest project,which was a complete resto of a 23' Seacraft,I'm ready to take a break.This boat needed every single thing replaced,new transom,new engine beds,new deck floor,and every thing else like electrical wiring,paint,seats, steering,and on and on and on. It has been a massive amount of work,and a lot of money and time.It's been two years,and it's just about finished now.I think this is going to be my last project. I only did this ,because these older Potter built Seacrafts were highly regarded, and valued as a superior rough water boat and are still in high demand in salt water circles. To get a boat with these capabilities,i would have to get something like a Regulator,or Yellowfin,neither of which I can afford. I had to do it myself,because it would have been unaffordable to have it done.I've seen guys pay five to seven grand,just for a transom replacement. If you decide to do it yourself,you'll need time and help.Give it serious thought before you dive into it. I'd be glad to give you any info or tips, regarding the job if it would help. In the meantime you can check out this site to get an idea of the products and the costs involved. http://www.mertons.com

As Gambler stated,There is only one way to dry out the wood that has turned to peat moss in your transom. And that is to replace it.A rotted transom in any boat,whether it's an I/O, or an Outboard,is not a good thing.The transom on both takes a lot of stress,and is a very important structural piece of the boat. If you are handy,and comfortable working with fiberglass,you could do it yourself.I have done a few complete transoms,and although I have experience with them,and glass work,it's still a nasty dirty job. If you can find someone to do it,and do it correctly for a thousand to fifteen hundred bucks,I'd go with it,because that's a very low price. After doing a few of them,I wouldn't even do the labor for that price. If you decide to tackle it,shoot me a PM if I can be of any help.

Did you check the fill hose as mentioned by jimski? I had one scary thing happen a couple of years ago.We filled the boat with fuel at the gas station in Olcott,then drove across the street to the launch.As we were backing the boat down the ramp,the hull vent was about even with my head,and i got a very very strong smell of gas. I had my buddy pull the boat out,of the ramp,and we climbed in and checked the bilge. I wasn't very happy.there was at least a gallon of gasoline in the bilge. I had to drain it all out and wash it down several times with a cleaner to remove all traces of fuel.All of it was caused by a crack in the fill hose that was way out of view.Put in a new fill hose,problem gone. If i ever tried to start the I/O that day i probably wouldn't be writing this today.

Hank Well,thanks to your help,i now know where to start. I figure that if i can at least get somewhere close,I can get it sea trialed here at home,before i bring it to Olcott for good.Once i get up there ,I can try a couple more props if needed. I just didn't want to have to spend days experimenting with props,when we could be fishing. Thanks again . PS: The Pettit paint for aluminum, is called Vivid free.They make one called Vivid,but it's copper based.

As mentioned in the previous replies,don't use a standard copper based anti fouling on an aluminum boat.If you do,you'll make one big giant battery out of it,and have severe electrolysis. You need a special anti fouling paint for aluminum,usually a tin based product.The EPA doesn't like it though. **Interlux makes a bottom paint for aluminum,called Trilux 33. It costs around 200.00 per gallon. ** Pettit makes a paint called Vivid Free,which is also safe for aluminum. It costs around 160.00 per gallon.

Remember the fast Ferry? Well my buddy and I were way offshore out of Olcott,and fishing for steelies,one of those days when it was flat,but very hazy with some reduced visibility. I hear my buddy say,hey,I think that's the fast Ferry coming towards us.So,I look towards the east,and see what i think is far away,a big box shaped thing, closing on us real quick. Before I had time to get a good look,or to try and manuver away from it,it was on us.I know that they had radar,but he passed us mot very far off our port side.Let's just say that the writing on it was like looking in the side view mirror in your vehicle.You know,where it says "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. " It scared the crap out of me,It was so close,that i could see all the little details on it,and then we had to deal with the wake.Not fun.All i could think of, was thank god it wasn't foggy,and that he did see us. It's bad enough getting close to the freighters but this thing went so fast,that i could have never got out of his way quick enough.And i know that they'd have us on radar,but if they "ain't" watching the screen they don't see you. And things like that happen,remember the Exon Valdez? The best thing that happened to us fishermen,was the good riddance to the fast Ferry.

I sent you a PM. I'm interested in them.

Wow!thanks for the quick replies guys.Thanks for the offer Hank,I'll pull the cover tonight and count the teeth on the gears.Anything else i should know about the gears?can I count them all from the top view,or do i have to turn over the engine to count the teeth?I'll pm you after I make the attempt. Thanks again.

I need to get a prop for my project boat,and have a question for anyone with knowledge on the subject. I picked up a nice used Mercruiser Alpha drive with a 350 250hp engine.It runs perfect,and it was in a 19' Chris Craft Scorpion.This engine has less than 400 hrs,and was a new replacement just two years ago.The drive is also in perfect shape.l I installed this package in my 23' Seacraft.The total weight for the boat,people,engines,fuel,tackle and every single thing i can think of is in the vicinity of 5500to 5800 lbs. All the prop calculators online show a a prop size of approx 15" diameter X 16 pitch. I'm a little confused as the prop that was on the drive was a 14" X 26 pitch.I'm assuming it's because it was on a smaller lighter boat.I was worried about the gear ratio on the outdrive,as all the serial #'s are worn off,but all the mechanics i spoke to told me that if it was a drive on a V8 350,then it's almost positive that the ratio is 1:50 to 1.(late eighties). So many of the sizing charts don't consider the boat weight Can anyone tell me if the pitch would be so different between boats because of boat weight,or is it gear ratio.Any info would be a huge help to me.

I think we should send that video to PETA.

Hey,Erwin or Erin, stop being such a worry wort.Get the drill out and put some holes in that boat.All you need is two holes to mount the plate.Use a high quality polyurethane sealant like 3M 5200 or Sikaflex,to seal the holes.Silicone,(even the marine stuff) isn't the best for under water sealing. The other thing is that all the plastic transom plates,along with cutting boards and Starboard type products,are made out of Polyethylene.No adhesives(other than some exotic industrial ones) are capable of effectively gluing it to metal. Use a good quality polyurethane and thru bolt it,it will not leak. ***Do me and Bob have to come over and do it while your not looking ?*** -- PS.... I still haven't got a hold of Jimmy,I'll give you a call,sit by the phone.

My buddy has a lobster boat in Maine with a huge screen Standard Horizon GPS/Sounder chart plotter.It runs C-Map software,and is an awesome unit.Standards vhf radios are also super quality. I would assume with their history and good customer service,that it's a good unit,however,i get a little concerned lumping everything into one electronic package.If one thing craps out,you'd be without all the other functions if you have to send the unit in for repairs.

I probably have the magazine,if i find it you're welcome to it.I'll look for it tonight.

** Spoons--------- My own custom painted ones,NK's, Dreamweavers. Stingers.Siver Streaks,in that order. **------------------NBK,patterns,--Black/white cups,--Frogs,--Dolphins,--greens on Gold blanks,--Orange crush patterns-- purples,Alewives ** Flies-------------(my own) in Mirage,Hammer,Chartruese,and Double Aqua patterns. ** Flashers--- -----E-Chips in green/glow, Mtn.Dew/glo,and Spin Docs in Mtn Dew,Green,White,Blue,and some custom taped ones

Hey Irish, Give me your address,the next time i come up to NY,I'll dump all my sh-t in your driveway.Are you serious?or were you just trying to rile people up? I've been coming to New York for more than twenty five years,and I've never left any of my garbage in your lovely state.I have however left plenty of my money there,probably much more than you have contributed to the quality of the fishing in Lake Ontario. Perhaps you problems with out of staters are caused by you just being a miserable person,because you sure showed what kind of guy you are, in your reply.

Aluminum,or wooden boat? Are you just replacing the wood where an outboard motor would clamp too?If that's the case,then i wouldn't make it more complicated than it needs to be.Just get your self some good plywood,either marine,or A/C exterior fir ,or pressure treated,and cut it to the shape required and bolt it on.You will most likely have to double it up to get the right thickness.Seal the edges with some epoxy resin,(plywood is like a sponge on the edge)and paint both flat sides with a high quality marine paint,or maybe some porch and floor enamel. If it's a wooden boat,then it's a whole different ball game.

I'm a little late in this,but Blue Seas,makes some very nice fuse blocks. I mounted one on the transom,where I have an access door.I ran 8 Gauge wire from the battery switch to the fuse block,and went from the block to the riggers with 10 gauge wire. The heavier the wire(within reason)the better. The Blue seas stuff is sold at all the major boating stores like West marine and Boaters world,and places on the net.I used their #5025 which has six fused circuits,and takes the blade type ATC/ATO fuses.They have a nice snap on cover to protect the connections http://bluesea.com/

Well I'm not a NY resident,but if you'll excuse me,I'l have to whole heartedly agree with Tim B.,and Billy V. They are exactly right.It's another way for the politicians to massage more money out of your wallets,and to make it look like they are helping the sportsmen,while the whole time,it's just a sham to cover the cuts they are and will be making to the outdoor sports. Make no mistake about it,they are "Not" your friends,and most could give a rats a-s about fishing and hunting programs.The closest most of these political creeps get to the outdoors,is wearing a flannel shirt from LL Bean,and thinking they know something about the sport.Most of them should be thrown off a boat in the middle of the lake. I wonder if out of staters like myself,who spend many thousands of dollars in NY per year,were to write letters to the NY politicians voicing their concern,and explain how much lost revenue there would be if we stopped going,would help any? We see the same stuff in Massachusetts,more fees,more taxes,more regulations,.For what? so all the lay abouts can be supported by the working mans tax burden.What doesn't get given away to the shiftless and lazy,just gets wasted on feel good programs,that end up benefitting only the friends and relatives of the political hacks who gave them the job. And if i see another jerk standing in front of the supermarket holding a sign,proclaiming that he's homeless,and will work for food,I'm going to puke.I actually stopped and said to one of these guy,that i needed some help cutting up a tree,and his answer was that he couldn't because he had a bad back.Give me a break.

I have two Big Jon ball cradles that fit all their riggers.I bought them for some riggers that i had,but never used them.They are brand new. They sell for 64.99 each in the Cabelas catalog. I'm asking 25.00 each plus shipping.

A very merry Christmas to all on this site and your families.May you all have a wonderful Christmas,and a happy new Year and,for those with family members in dangerous places.may they have a safe holiday,and a quick return home.

Well,I' have to disagree on us "out of staters" being the only ones paying the ten dollar stamp fee.My crew and I probably dump more than five grand a season in NY. I support motels,tackle shops,boat yards,marinas,with my money,and that's a conservative estimate. I love western NY,and have met so many people,and made so many friends there,that i feel like a native. I've actually given serious thought to retiring there,as the cost of real estate is so much less than Massachusetts,where i live. If the fishing went to hell,and the cost of it all gets a lot worse,then I'd just tow the boat home,and fish the ocean as it's only an hour and a half from my home,versus six to Olcott. Loss of out of state money from people like me,would only result in higher costs for NEW Yorkers I think new york,is a lot like Massachusetts,only on a larger scale.Lots of money is wasted on give away social programs that predominately benefit the folks in the large cities.(ie: Boston, & NYC)and leave the rest of us, who actually work every day,and are productive having to bear the burden. In western Ma.where i live we feel like we don't belong to Ma.and the folks in the statehouse treat us like second class citizens,yet they love to vacation in the Berkshires,along with the NYC crowd. I'm sure you guys in Western NY feel the same way about Albany and NYC. It's important to vote for the politician who will be on your side (if that's at all possible)It's time for sportsmen to become more vocal,more calls to their senators and congressmen.More emails to them explaining that they won't get your vote,unless they act on your behalf.It's not an easy fight,but it's one that has to be fought.

I don't live in NY,but I do keep my boat there.Billy V is exactly right,and i thank him for that rant.It's the same old crap with most of these political hacks.They never have enough,if we doubled what they got from us in taxes,they'd want more the following year. And don't think for a minute that they are on your side,most of these idiots don't hunt or fish,and most are useless when it comes to doing anything mechanical.I'm sure they have to pay someone to change a light bulb in their houses. In Massachusetts where I live,it's the same as New York.I live one mile from a pheasant farm that was closed by the state several years ago,because they said they couldn't afford it.Now it was deeded over to the town,who turned it into a yuppie place with a gazebo and concerts on the lawn in the summer."Oh God. Of course you can no longer hunt there.The town also bought farms and land from private owners,under a state act called the community preservation act.Of course it's all paid for by the taxpayers of the town,who now have to subsidize it because the property is no longer taxable.The property is supposed to be for use by all the town residents,but it's only for "PASSIVE recreation,so it's useless to taxpayers like me who hunt,yet my taxes pay for it. When will the people smarten up and vote for the very few honest ones,instead of creeps like go blow me vich in Illinois. Screw all the politicians,I hope most of them, have a rotten Christmas,useless pieces of crap that they are.

Tom, Thanks for an outstanding explanation of my question.

Freeman, I have a 1987 22'Trophy hardtop,with a tandem axle galvanized roller trailer,that will be for sale in the spring.It's all in very good condition,and I'll be selling it with, **1995 Yamaha 4 stroke high thrust kicker on a Garelick offshore brkt **Four cannon electric riggers,(two Mag10's,and two Digitroll II's) **Garmin 250c color dual freq.sonar **Garmin GPS, **Standard horizon VHF radio, **life jackets anchor etc. It''s powered by a 230hp 305 Gm engine,with a Cobra drive.The engine runs great and has about 700 hours on it.I replaced the exhaust manifolds on it a couple of years ago,and it has electronic distributor(no points).The kicker also runs perfectly and is connected to the outdrive by an EZ-Steer rod. Right now,it's shrink wrapped and sitting in Olcott NY for the winter,I'm selling it because it's being replaced with a 24' Seacraft that i restored.I haven't figured a price yet,but feel free to contact me if your interested. Here's one picture,it's not the best,as you can't see the kicker motor,or the inside,but i have more on my home computer that i could email you if you'd like. ***CLICK on the picture to enlarge it..***

John,I'll take the single Big Jon rod holder if it's still available.