rolmops

there is a picture somewhere on this board of a competition boat with a banana stuck into every rodholder on board

The banana bad luck started when banana boats started bringing the fruit up from central america to NY. These boats often had a real problem with spider,scorpion and snake bites. The critters came on board hidden in the bunches of bananas. Sailors were bitten on these boats while sleeping in their bunks and banana boats soon became very unpopular work places. That's how the banana bad luck thing started and grew into a superstition.

Sorry about my late reaction,but... Coal fired plants on Lake Erie means that this coal was mined somewhere in the USA. Some mining company blew the top of some mountain in the Appalachian mountains. Miners are still dying of black long disease and mining disasters. A lot of fuel is burned to transport this coal while leaving coal dust along the way. Do you remember what happened a few months ago when a coal mine chemicals holding pond burst and destroyed the fresh water supply of a big city in north Carolina? Did you ever wonder how much the cooling water of these plants has raised the overall average temperature in Lake Erie? I do not like windmills, but I like coal even less

My rig has been next to the house all winter under a heavy tarp. Every time there was a warmish day (above 10 degrees) I crawled inside and looked and planned. At one point I even had a heater inside under the tarp to do some small stuff. But soon enough now....

The bracket that I have in mind is connected to the I/O unit and right on top of the lower unit.It should have moving parts where neccesary.This leaves the kicker lower end right behind and slightly above the lower unit of the I/O. As you raise the lower unit of the I/O it raises the kicker as well. That way it has almost zero strain on the transom because it is stabilized by the I/O lower unit. which is very important while transporting your rig. The top end would be supported by a sliding bracket connected to the transom clamp and the transom that allows the kicker to easily go up and down. At least,that is what my vision is. Now all you have to do is talk about the feasability of this idea with someone with engineering skills. I would like Longline to give his opinion about this idea

This is a picture of a setup. The height of the transom is a problem here,but you can raise the bracket considerably because the propeller does not have to be below the bottom of the transom. The best height would be with the controls just above the transom which calls for an extra long (25 or 30 inch) shaft,but that way the kicker stays very close to the transom which makes the operating a lot better.The port side requires longer remote cables ,unless you use wireless remote. Try to keep the electronics on one side and the kicker on the other. The perfect place would be right behind the main engine which is possible but requires some tricky mechanical skills. But it can be done.

You had better take out a patent, this sort of idea deserves copyright protection

That looks great. The only thing that I would change is the overhead rod storage and make it lean forward instead of backward while fishing so it is out of the way. And then swivel it back again while going places.