Fishtails

Fishinnutjim, any reason you are speaking in such an argumentative tone? Is it really necessarily, ?

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Welcome to the most enjoyable Pro Am on lake Ontario. Me and my boy fish it every year and he's really stoked up for this one!

Not much to add, but I will say this. Having fun is more important than winning. Enjoy yourself and just fish hard, but don't stress.

Sodus has a great core of very friendly fishermen. You don't need to be "in the click" to be quickly accepted like many ports. I think the people are what makes Sodus Point so special.

I have learned there can be only one captain on the boat. Several guys throwing out a constant stream of suggestions can sometimes do more harm than good. Each guy should have their own set of responsabilities.

Fish the weather. If they are calling for heavy west wind over the weekend, be sure your only plan isn't running 15 plus miles west to fish. Us Ams need to be more aware of the forecast than pro's.

Be prepared to catch all three species. Don't get overly locked into just one or two.

Have fun !!

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That's freaking awesome. Thanks for sharing.

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Going to be Fun !!!!!

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Consider it yours Sean. It's actually open from the Monday after the Pro am to early Aug. If anyone wants a slip for a few days or more while I'm gone.

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Good talking with ya at the docks Ryan !!   

Great report 

Nick, sorry but I must reluctantly withdraw from the Salmon Slam. Someone can have my spot and my seasonal slip at Arneys will be open for that day if someone wants to use it.  

I am taking the boat to Key Largo from  July 23 to Aug. 2 for lobster season and some fishing so It turns out I won't be around.

No browns in Sodus, ugh. Say it isn't so. I am excited to finally get up there starting next week so hopefully the hard westerly winds come through this week. Maybe we won't need the browns this summer

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Hat is off to you buddy !  I say make her your own.  I have done tons of mods on mine and though I had to learn a lot the hard way, I'd never be so brave as to ask for pre-advise   .

Personally speaking, I'd never want my boat back the way it was before I restored it. Good luck with your project and have fun!  

I just went through the same process and read all the same stuff as you are reading.  I just converted my I/O to an outboard and choosing a motor was a surprisingly difficult task.  I learned a lot about the different flaws from outboards through the years and found every manufacturer has them. I was very close to going with a Yami 4 stroke but in the end choose a 2007 Mercury 250 optimax.  It came down to those two choices. From what I read, the small block you are looking at has always had a seller reputation.  The big block had earlier problems that were ironed out I wanna say by around 2004 if I remember correctly?  

I only have 6 trips on mine so I cannot report much yet other than it has been terrific so far and had a clean service report from the dealer. They are fast motors and burn very clean.  I got the smart gauge as well, very very nice addition.  That's all I can really add so far......good luck!

Nice !

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The only thing I run directly to a battery is my auto bilge pump. I run that to my #2 battery.

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Both motors should be hooked to common on the switch, along with the lead to a fuse block. Everything should be wired to the fuse block, not to the battery. #1 on switch goes to one battery. #2 goes to second battery. Alternate batteries on different days...I never run off of 1&2. That's the best way to wire a two battery set up as far as I know. Works flawlessly on my boat.

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x 3 for Hank's opinion.  He's the man!

Thanks a million guys, it means a lot !!!!

Probably kings. If they were lakers you likely would have caught them.  The screamer was certainly a king. 

Good luck and have fun !  Hope ya find a few, I'm sure you will. I wonder if the early stage of transition has begun?  Kinda sounds like it. I'll be up to Arney's to put the boat in the water next week. I feel like it's going to be a good year 

Thanks guys !!   I somehow really enjoy working on boats. It distracts me from life. My wife is incredibly understanding and tolerates it but I know she's happy when it finally heads to NY each year   I tell her I'm almost done with it and she's like....yeah, sure you are  

This summer the boat is getting a generator and air conditioning just for the wife !!  

In Jan 2015 I took Lucky Enuff all the way down to Key Largo for the month of January.  We go to the Keys every year, but this was Lucky Enuff's first trip.  It was am amazing month, but little did I know how it would shape my future plans for my boat.

In the summer of 2015, I almost sold my boat.  I knew I needed a better rig to handle saltwater because I wanted to do mor winter trips.  After listing it and searching for boats, I realized that the layout I had was pretty much exactly what I wanted except for it being I/O's.  After doing some research I found the style boat I wanted.....

So, I could sell mine (which I owed nothing on) and spend upwards of 100K for the new boat I wanted or convert mine to an outboard (s).

I decided since I already know my boat inside out, and know it's seaworthiness, I'd invest in mine and not only have the boat I wanted but no boat payment either  .

After doing a chit ton of research, I ordered my Armstrong bracket from a boat builder in North Carolina.  While it was being built, I pulled the motors on my boat.

I didn't know if I wanted to go with a single or twin setup so I spent the extra coin and ordered a twin bracket just to be safe. I then made a road trip and picked it up. That turned out to be cool because the boat builder and I discussed some things I found very useful.

Pulling all the old crap off the boat was not fun. I never want to do that again.  Once I got er done though and filled the holes with plywood cutouts and used a ship lap router bit on the edges and 3M  5200 to seal them in place.  I then glassed the back with about 4 coats of fiberglass and cloth.

The Bracket is held on by 12 - 3 1/2 " stainless bolts and locknuts as well as 5200. 

On the inside of the transom, Two large aluminum brackets are used to secure the bracket and distribute the weight. 

Before doing any of this, I was sure to check the transom for signs of rot and thickness.  The hull is a 1976 Sea Ray, so it was 2 plus inch thick cored plywood glassed on both sides and in solid condition.

Once complete, I decided to go with a single outboard and kicker, at least to begin with.  After lots of research, I choose a 2007 Mercury 250 Optimax as my "starter" motor.  I paired that with a Mercury 15hp  four stroke kicker.  I set up both motors on Sea Star hydraulic steering with  and piped that into both steering stations using teleflex hoses.  The main engine controls are at the helm in the pilot house and the kicker is controlled from the back by the second station.

My trial run was during the Niagara Pro Am last week.  It went amazing !  Besides needing to change props, I was blown away by what seems to be a whole different boat. It's fast enough (wot is still unknown, but 40ish or more is expected) and fuel burn at cruise should be between 8 & 9 gph at 25 to 27 mph once the prop is squared away.  I am planing on a Revolution 4 Stainless prop. 

So there ya have it for now.  The final stage happens this fall with re-doing the entire exterior in Imron MS 6000.  Not sure of the hull color yet.  Oyster white on the top and maybe a super light aqua on the hull sides.  Then she's off to Key Largo to rest in a slip from November through February.

I have owned my 24 ft Sea Ray (Lucky Enuff) since 2007. It's an old hull and about as un- fancy as they come. It's a blue collar fishing boat and nothing more, yet there is just something I love about this old boat. I began my off and on customizing and restoration projects in 2011. Someone had asked for me to put some pics on here so here ya go.

Originally it had a flybridge, so I removed that and built a new hardtop in 2011.  I really like the hull of this boat, but one thing I could not live with was the low roof.  Every time someone would yell "FISH  FISH"  I'd jump up and slam my head.  Of course, when your friends are a bunch of degenerates they pick up on that chit and start yelling FISH just to watch me give myself a concussion, so I fixed that problem for good  .  I raised the roof by 6" and did away with the useless flybridge which had no reason being on such a narrow beam boat anyhow.

The flybridge was a **** to remove, so I pretty much had to cut it off in pieces with a circular saw.

Once the bridge was removed I drank a lot of beer and hoped I made the right decision. Otherwise I'd be the new owner of a soft top.

I could find absolutely zero information on how to do this project, so I pretty much winged it and trusted myself.  I do restoration as a profession, but on furniture - not boats.  Either way, I am pretty skilled at thinking outside the box and improvising so I just ran with it and figured it out as I went.

It took me an entire summer, but once I finished it I have never looked back. It's just a ton more functional than before and the headroom inside is like 6' 3"  or something like that.

So now I am happy with the top, but one problem I had was it moved a lot and I couldn't seem to fix that. In rough seas it just flexed and that totally bummed me out.  It wasn't going anywhere, but it just wasn't up to my standards so it lead me into my next project that I had planned on anyway.  I decided to add a wall and turn the cockpit into a pilothouse.  It was an option on my model Sea Ray anyhow, but the factory wall looked like crap so I came up with my own design.

This turned out to be an awesome addition and really secured the top and made it completely rigid.  I didn't take any pictures of the process and how I did it - not sure why?  I purchased new windows from an RV supply company so they all three open and have screens.

I also added a second steering station to the hydraulic steering.  I'll continue the next  phase on a new post......

Good luck ! Not sure how they view that, but for docking fee it's actual length. I have a 240, but it actually measures 27 so that is what it's considered and what I have to pay slip fees on. Hopefully they are open minded like that. I am fishing it with my 17 year old son and a 14 year old. Good times !

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Yeah, I hear what you are saying. I think 2011 or 2010 was the last year of the old Am division. I hope they allow it for you. Perhaps you should measure....maybe squeeze 18 out of it ...lol

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Been that way in Amatuer division as long as I can remember. 18 ft. Min. for safety reasons. Not sure about the open because I never fished it but this year they are bringing the Amatuer division back and combining the old with the new.

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Two days till I leave....getting excited !  The forecast is looking great.  Is anyone going to be in Wilson on Tuesday?  I'm at Bootleggers and I'll be launching at Tuscarora by myself so I need to get back from Bootleggers to Tuscarora for my truck.  I'll take a bike as a last resort, but if anyone is around for a ride that would be plenty appreciated