muskiedreams

AnglingAddict They need to invite God to be a member of the board.

One must take into consideration the fact that long range precipitation estimates are educated guesses. They use computer models to try to make predictions. Around the Great Lakes, you never know for sure exactly what a weather system is going to do. That can make a difference of an inch or two of rain with just one storm, depending on if it stops and hangs, or goes south and east or north and east. The watershed for Lake Ontario is also huge, so depending on where a storm goes, there may be significant runoff into the lake. With that in mind, one storm can have a significant effect on the lake level in a relatively short period of time. And there can be more than one or no significant storms. The latter has happened. In the winter there was no way the IJC could have known that. But if they didn't let enough out in anticipation of a possible wet spring, then everyone could have been complaining of flooding. The lake level can rise up a lot faster than it can be drained. There are a lot of ways water can go in, but only one way it can be drained.

They can't just lower the level with the click of a mouse.

53 minutes ago, maisie said:

I think the water is deep enough now to launch.

Up periscope!! DIVE DIVE. Must have thought it was amphibious.

Update. I just tried calling and he answered. I will be bringing it there for them to look at during business hrs. and then go from there. But he told me once they look at it and estimate the job, we will be able to set a time for me to bring it in to do the work. So I won't be without it for a long period of time. Because at this point, it is not so bad that I can't use it. As long as I am careful not to stress it too much.

Thanks guys, for the info.

I just wish he would answer my messages and let me know if and when he might be able to do the work on my boat. I have been trying to make arrangements since December last year. I imagine that all reputable marine service shops are busy now. Probably more than usual because of the pandemic and other reasons. But I can't even get an appointment or get in line for one. I really don't know of any other quality shop I could contact.

I saw this article a few days ago. A link was posted on the Niagara Musky Association (NMA) website forum. There has been previous talk about the gobies and concerns of their effects on the Niagara River and Buffalo harbor, especially the river. So it looks like it is also a huge concern there. It is a different fishery with other dynamics but it does seem to possibly be a major factor. Young of the year survey results have been very dire. Last year, some NMA members who switch to targeting bass in the summer when water temps are high were saying that catch rates were very low. But that may be partially due to the unusually high Lake Erie water temps that year. But I would be interested to know if the gobies are also impacting other species spawning success. I would also be interested to hear about how the gobies are impacting other Great Lakes muskie fisheries such as Lake St Clare and Georgian Bay. Muskie anglers need to band together to support research and action to help preserve these special fish. Maybe the Federal infrastructure bill can help support the costs.

They closed the IBay launch (state launch managed by the town of Irondequoit) last fall to raise up the launch and parking lot area to compensate for future high water levels. It is still in progress and unusable. The level is lower now than it usually is in the fall.

Does anyone know what is up with CW Samson Marine?

I have been trying to get in contact with him for several weeks. No answer on his phone. I even left several messages for him on LinkedIn. I did hear from him in Jan. on LinkedIn and he told me he was back to home schooling. I wanted to drop off my boat to him then, so he could replace my aluminum boat transom over the winter. Now I can't get in touch with him still. I have had work done by him a few times and I really like his quality and attention to detail. I don't know if I can find anyone else comparable and able to do it soon.

Can anyone tell me if he is still doing work?

Great!! Good luck this season.

Here is a Google search page with multiple sources and explanations. I saw some charts for 12v and some for 24v but I am not sure if there are any for 36v. The higher the operating voltage, the lower the current draw for a motor of same Lbs of thrust so the wire for a 36lb motor doesn't have to be as thick as that for a 24 or 12 lb motor. I can't remember exactly how I arrived at my choice but heat is a concern as well as reduction of voltage (therefore power) and price/ft. There are obviously tradeoffs. Also, you can probably take into account that most of the time you will not be using continuous full power.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wire+gauge+chart+vs+voltage+and+current&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk00eihkK6cJcOJd6_ZSBOC1Ct4z7oA:1614801046342&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=jkQpCQMB_JdZ2M%2CBm_Lxb3wQHwxJM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRkklVAzNFGgcdErjPhPZCLDCy-ew&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS0f_V8pTvAhUlGFkFHdJ1CssQ9QF6BAgLEAE#imgrc=jkQpCQMB_JdZ2M&imgdii=uIuU_0Nlma73vM

That is the one I was talking about. Also there is an adapter for the panel mount connector to adapt to a heavier gauge wire. I had to get that because I went to a 12v motor when my older 24v was stolen, because there was no longer a 55lb thrust available in 24v. I also had to rewire the boat with heavier gauge (6awg) wire from batteries in back of boat.

The twist lock plug and receptacle I am talking about are marine grade with rubber seals and corrosion resistant contacts and connections specifically made for this purpose.

There likely will be a difference in the amount of current (and therefore wire gauge) required by the trolling motor than what is required by the anchor winch. So you must be aware of that in order that you don't compromise the trolling motor performance. Also, the longer the wire, the heavier the required wire gauge. You also need to be aware of the maximum current rating of the plug. Usually a 3 blade twist lock plug is used for trolling motors. I believe they are rated at a much higher maximum current than the one you show. And of course you need to be concerned about fusing and all connections being heavy duty enough for performance and fire safety. You don't want the wire or any connections to generate excessive heat. One thing that is good is that a 36v motor uses about 1/3 the amount of current that a 12v motor of the same thrust uses. You might want to switch to the twist lock plug for both devices and wire is as discussed above.

If the relay is clicking there must be a break in the circuit somewhere or the motor could be defective. test the motor by bypassing the power directly to the board.

From the board pictures above, it looks like the main traces on the board that are used for the power to and from the relay contacts are on the component side of the board, for which the connections are under the body of the relay. There is a plating inside the hole through the board that makes contact from the bottom to the top of the board. The process of de-soldering and removing the old relay can damage that connection through the hole. That is why I talked about ( in above post) using the soldering iron to heat up the relay post, and break it free of any solder that will be left inside the hole between the post and the inside of the hole. The copper plating can break and cause there to no longer be a connection between the two sides of the board, so when the new relay is soldered on the bottom, the solder will not make a connection between the relay pin and the top of the board.

You can check for that by using an ohm meter to measure for zero ohms between the top and bottom traces on the board. Disconnect power first. You may have to scrape paint off somewhere on the top trace to make contact with the meter probe. Check this for all of the relay pins. If you don't have zero ohms on any of them, you will have to solder in a piece of insulated wire to jump between the top and bottom of the board to repair the damage. The wire must be of sufficient gauge to carry the motor current. You may have to first scrape the paint off a spot to solder the wire to. Tin that spot and the end of the wire with solder before soldering the wire to the trace. Be careful to not damage the board or allow solder to bridge to another connection.

Sorry if I provided too much detail. Hope this helps. From what you have described, those "hole plate-throughs" are most likely where the problem lies.

Also, it looks like those two relays may be operating in conjunction to reverse power for up and down. If so, the problem could be related to either one or both relays.

This article from Boat US talks about concerns that 5G could greatly reduce accuracy of weather forecasts and could also affect GPS accuracy. But it is a worldwide problem. And the military is also concerned that reduced weather forecasting ability affecting strategic operations.

Don't Mess With GPS

I ran two Mag 10s for several years in the late 90s with 10 lb balls. light use recreational. Had very short fused cables. Each one directly to it's own deep cycle battery. The DC batteries were also used for 24v bow mount. Bought them used from a charter guy for $500 and sold them for same price after about 5 yrs. Never had a problem except for ripped switch boot. I think they have more problems with big balls, especially when power is compromised.

These days they should be using solid state relays. But I think there would be about a 0.7v voltage drop so the motor needs to be ok with that. But if a SS relay goes bad,  it will cost more, maybe $25.

Tesaro, You are definitely on the right path and congrats on removing the relays without damaging the boards.

It is very tricky to remove larger components soldered onto a double sided board. If you heat up the board for too long of a period of time and/or apply too much heat to the board, the traces will de-bond from the board (including the plate through which is a copper sleeve inside the hole that connects through the board). It really takes practiced skill and proper tools to be successful without damaging the board. A soldering iron that is too small or too hot won't work or will damage the board. The soldering iron tip must be in good shape and well tinned with a little extra solder on it. You want to melt and remove the solder quick. Quality solder wick works best but sometimes a quality solder sucker helps. Sometimes it helps to add a little extra fresh solder to the connection first. One useful trick after removing the bulk of the solder is to put the tinned tip of the soldering iron (with a small amount of solder on it to conduct the heat) on the relay (or other component) lead and push with pressure to the side to break any solder loose from inside the through hole. You have to do this without touching the tip of the soldering iron to the board. As soon as the lead moves, it breaks the solder loose and you must immediately remove the soldering iron tip. This keeps the solder from reattaching inside the hole. You may also have to do it in the opposite direction.

As far as what may be causing you to fry boards, there are several possible causes.

1) Poor connections anywhere between the battery and the motor such as: connectors, fuse holders, battery switches and other connections or connectors outside or inside the downrigger. We are talking about a fairly high current device and a bad connection is like putting a resistor in series with the motor. It causes a drop in voltage at the motor and that causes the motor to demand more current. When the motor draws more current, it will cause a bigger spark between the contacts of the relay. This will shorten the life of the relay.

2) Too much drag or strain on the motor. This can be caused by drag in the gears, pulleys etc. or using downrigger weights higher than what the unit is rated for. I think I have heard that the older Cannons are rated lower than the newer ones and other downrigger brands may be able to handle, I have to say it, bigger balls. The heavier the weight, the bigger the relay spark, the shorter the life of the relay.

3) Old or weak batteries. If the battery is weak or has a low charge and the voltage supplied to the downrigger is low, the motor will draw higher current, thus causing a bigger spark in the relay and shortening relay life, possibly popping fuses and possibly shortening the motor life.

4) Inadequate wire gauge between battery and downrigger. All wire has resistance. If the wire is too skinny or too long, there will be a reduction of voltage at the downrigger. There are guidelines for wire gauge vs length and device current rating, same as for bow mount trolling motors. The shorter the wire the better.

5) Extreme usage. Basically the more up and down cycles, or switch clicks, the sooner the relays will fail.

Lastly: Use rated fuses inline with each rigger. If they are popping, something is wrong which is causing too much current draw. Replacing with a larger fuse may work in a pinch but correcting the cause of drawing too much current is the proper solution.

I have 1 cranking and 2 DC batteries, (all wet cell) in the back of the boat and a 3 bank on board charger that is about 27 yrs old. I used to have 2 Cannon electric riggers with auto stop. The charger has a 12/24v switch on it for the DC batteries. So I just had to switch it to 12v (which connects the two DC batteries in parallel) when I used the riggers so the auto stop feature would work on both riggers and switch it to 24v for the 24v bow mount. I didn't have to worry about the position of the switch for charging because the charger automatically switched to charging each battery via a separate charging bank for each battery. I don't know if other chargers have the same feature or if there is another way to accomplish the same thing. There may be a battery switch that will make switching easy but the question is, will it work seamlessly with a three bank charger without having to wory about the switch position.

On 1/17/2021 at 10:21 AM, UNREEL said:

Browns at Bills for the AFC would actually make me forget this Covid for a day. Go Browns!!!

My dad was an avid Browns fan in the old days. I still have his original Browns bobble head doll. Once per year he used to go on a bus with a bunch of his buddies to Cleveland for a game. Because of that, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Browns. After the original team was sold and of course the Bills were doing well with Jim Kelly, he was rooting for the Bills, including a few bus trips to Buffalo to see them, but his heart was still with the Browns. This season I have been thinking about how proud he would have been about how well they were doing this season and the possibility that they may meet the Bills in the AFC Championship in Buffalo.

You can't be confused by the fact that congress has combined two bills into one. Apparently, they believe it is the only way they can pass either bill in a timely manor, if at all.

One bill is the Annual Federal Budget which must be passed in order to keep the federal government operating. It funds all federal agencies and programs, domestic and global. If it is not passed, many federal employees will be laid off and many programs will come to a halt. We really don't want that to happen in the middle of a pandemic and while so many people have already lost their jobs.

The other bill is the COVID-19 pandemic relief package which is very important to help fight the pandemic and to help people who have been most affected by the pandemic.

There is probably pork in both bills because there is such an impenetrable wall between the two parties that no single item can be passed as a stand alone bill. Therefore they must package a lot of unrelated things together in order to get anything passed. They can't just say we will sign that bill if you sign this one. Their word has depreciated in value over the years. So over time, this has caused all bills to become more and more bloated. Throw in the big donors and lobbyists, including many special interests, to the mix and you have to wonder how anything ever gets passed. If they had to pass every item in a bill as a stand alone bill, it would take years to not pass anything. But it is crazy how they mix unrelated items into a bill and try to include items that only benefit their rich donors.

Now we have all the agitators on the internet and in the news, some of which are foreign enemies who want to cause divisiveness and end our democracy and all democracies.

2 hours ago, justtracytrolling said:

Absolutely love the paint on that walleye!  Wow!!!  There's something about the shape of the head that is a hair off to my eye, but considering it's carved by hand I presume, it's simply magnificent artwork.  For all I know the head is a perfect representation of the actual fish, but not exactly like most of the eyes I get.  I'm definitely needing at least a fish or two from him.  I'll bet he could do an awesome tiger if his walleye is that amazing.  

I see what you mean about the head shape. It seems more rounded than it should be.

They are all incredibly well done. I have seen most of them in person. I was most impressed with the work of Hans The Carver. You really have to see his work in person and see the detail of every scale to fully appreciate it. Only then will you understand the cost.

It might not be effective for the state to provide trash services. Using state employees to pick up trash at all the state ramps, boat access sites and fishing access sites would probably not be cost effective with all the travel. They could however, have agreements or provisions with local counties, municipalities or citizen organizations to provide receptacles and clean up and remove trash at those sites on a regular basis. But it must be coordinated by someone at the state level with locals for each site.

1 hour ago, old man said:

Was surprised it was free. At Conesus they have an atm kinda thing you pay at. But they weren’t charging this year,at least not the half dozen times I went there. As for garbage,it seems like every shore fishing site is a mini landfill. I’m 68 and I say it’s always been like that,sadly. Tired of picking up after slobs but I still do.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

At Conesus, old men like us can launch for free on weekdays except for holiday weekdays by just scanning your drivers license. Weekends you have to pay. I am not sure what age it starts at, maybe 62. Same for all state launches and state parks.

Congrats to Ch 70.

I thought they were all Ch70 but I wasn't sure about Jeremy. But even without him, it sounds like they won.