vetting

@Yankee Troller
Yeah thats what I figured....ugh now I have more decisions.  
So there will be overlap in frequency between the B60 and B175HW.  
When you set the A77 to 50khz is it still transmitting 200khz on the ducer?  

@Yankee Troller

I actually already have a B60-20tilt hooked up to my Raymarine A77 on my own boat.  I can actually mark fish with this but not at speed.  It also constantly has this issue where you go over a baitball in 150ft of water that is 30ft down and then it thinks you are in 30ft of water until you do a full reset.  I've heard other people say the same thing but that probably a Raymarine issue and not the ducer.  

I also have an axiom 9" with Realvision 3D transmount transducer.  I've never been a fan of this setup and thinking on getting rid of it.   Maybe I just have it setup wrong?  I can hardly get it to mark anything and returns that show up great on the A77 at trolling speed hardly show on the Axiom.  

I was going to install a BoatEye360 camera so I was thinking on adding a Garmin to my boat to so I can use it as the camera screen when we are coming back late at night.  

So I originally started the research looking for gear to upgrade my buddies boat, but I'm thinking I'm going to do the same upgrade.  

 

@Yankee Troller

Thru hull.
Been getting a lot of recommendations for B175HW paired with one of the following Garmin units.  
For a 7" the 743xsv.
For a 9" the 943xsv.

For a 12" the 1243xsv.

Gets pretty spendy pretty fast though.  

@sherman brown
I asked for 2 or 3 different sizes and they stated "not able to accommodate your request at this time" with no explanation.  Then I asked how many they could do and haven't gotten back to me for a week.  
Locally we have so many places basically begging for business - just one of those things that irked me for some reason.  If you are going to ask for 100k to fix your building, how about actually do business. 

@Fishmaster 196
Yeah I tried to ask them if I could order 100 spoons from them.  They basically said no, we cant do that.  Just kinda put off by the situation since they spend so much time trying to fundraise for their building that is falling apart.  Like maybe try selling some stuff?  

 

Helping a buddy replace a decades old chart plotter/sonar and transducer. What are some good transducer and plotter setups for being able to mark bait/salmon while cruising at 15 to 25 mph for Great Lakes fishing?

Anyone ever purchase new spoons from Sutton Spoons? 
They are still in business and selling newly plated spoons - wondering if anyone has ever either ordered over the phone from them or went into their shop.

I just heard back from EZ-Steer support.  They now have a universal mount that is completely different from the original mount that I have.  It also has a much taller extension on it so maybe dragging debris in the water may not be a concern if I mount it on the cavitation plate on the main.  
So the current plan is to verify that the new universal mount will work on my outdrive and would likely have to get a shorter bar (sucks that I just bought a new one last year - unsure if you can cut them down)
Then also add a SeaStar cylinder on the kicker (before launching in May) so that in the event that the new universal mount doesnt work, then I dont have to pull the boat to install the rest of the system.  

Trying to help a buddy who has a stripped oil fill/overflow hole on his Volvo Penta outdrive.  With the high cost of a Volvo Penta outdrive failure, we would prefer to do this the most proper way possible.  Is the correct way to remove the housing and take it in to get a proper helicoil or time-sert?  Drill and tap and find a larger plug?  If removing that housing, what does it all entail and is there any realignment procedures?  
Thank you in advance for your help.  

@rolmops of it were your choice knowing the fact that I've tried a different EZ bar configuration every year for the last 7 years and always eventually had issues - is my best alternate to just do the 2nd cylinder and liquid tie bar?

On 4/18/2025 at 7:08 PM, rolmops said:

I would get rid of the (not so) EZsteer system and replace it with a hydraulic ram that is fed from your main hydraulic system so it will get its directions from the auto pilot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@rolmops Yeah I was kinda leaning towards this option.  Not sure what SeaStar ram would fit the yahama 9.9 though.  Then I would also need to run extra hoses and a liquid tie bar.  

4 hours ago, rolmops said:

I do think that it matters, because it makes the bar longer and exposes it to more strain, while also causing it to pick up debris in the water.

You should  position the EZsteer as shown in the picture posted by Zinger11. He found the sweet spot for the length of the bar and experimented with the hookup height.

Also, the outboard should move move freely around with little resistance. because the harder it is for the bar to push the outboard back and forth, the more things will go wrong. There is a bolt on the outboard that tightens or loosens the resistance. Make sure everything is clean and well lubricated. The angle of the connector on the kicker is important because it allows you to make the width of the radius adjustable thereby allowing you to make the radius on the main en engine and the kicker the same or close to it.

@rolmops so are you also talking about moving the angle on the bracket on the kicker closer to the main? 

Not sure why my original photos didnt post - but here is the existing setup. 

 

2 hours ago, rolmops said:

Do you always have the outboard connection upside down?

Does it matter if its up or down?  

Was down at the boat today and disconnected the EZ-Steer bar from the main motor.  
Swung it over so that it is parallel to the transom.  It better aligns with the trailing end of the main. 
So my options are:
Drill out and make a mounting point on the tail end of the main. 
Go full hydraulic with a ram on the kicker a liquid tie bar like this 
https://www.seatechmarineproducts.com/seastar-ha5471-2-liquid-tiebar-valve.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq8QcfQ3pvDnlugZGYprTL6YURraKGO1BlN-aGFbkalOSEzyuoh

 

3 hours ago, L&M said:

TFX HO6122

Isnt that only for dual outboards? 

26 minutes ago, rolmops said:

I would get rid of the (not so) EZsteer system and replace it with a hydraulic ram that is fed from your main hydraulic system so it will get its directions from the auto pilot.

 

Would have to be setup with a liquid tie bar right?  https://www.seatechmarineproducts.com/seastar-ha5471-2-liquid-tiebar-valve.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the long post but could use some advice regarding steering of my kicker from the seasoned pros here.  

Looking for advice on on a better steering setup for my kicker motor.  I tend to troll only on the kicker and the Yamaha 9.9 cab push my 25ft boat up to 6 mph. 
I converted the cable steering with a wheel pilot auto to a full hydraulic setup last year with a Raymarine pump and SeaStar ram and helm which are hooked to the main motor.  
I still steered the kicker via the EZ-Steer bar to the kicker, but when things go bad....they go bad and you end up limiting out the auto pilot and/or spinning in circles. 
Basically what happens is the bar will on occasion not pull or push like it should and slip the detents.  Even with a replacement bar and new detents it still just randomly goes haywire.  
I've already disconnected the throttle cables (I just use a servo for throttle) and shift cable so the kicker can turn free as can be.  
Looking for a better way to steer my kicker when I'm running on the kicker only and have it still interface with my Raymarine equipment.  
Any ideas?  Add hydraulics to the kicker? 

Current autopilot setup:
Raymarine EV-200 autopilot
Raymarine P70R contoll head unit
Raymarine m81120 Type 1 pump

SeaStar HC5328-3 Cylinder
SeaStar 2.4 Help HH5272-3

Boat Specs
25ft 1989 Cobia fiberglass
Full hydraulic steering conversion hooked to Alpha One Gen 1 I/0
Yamaha extra long shaft 9.9 high thrust kicker tied to main with EZ-Steer bar

Large lot of Evil Eye - Red Eye spoons Large Lot x 36 $100 shipped

Evil Eye Standard 3 3/4" x 16
Evil Eye Standard 2 7/8 x 16 
Evil Eye Narrow 4.5" x 2
Evil Eye Narrow 3.75 x 2

 

On 6/8/2024 at 1:20 PM, sherman brown said:

you should have been able to tighten it enough that it wouldn't slip when turning. I have a Mercruiser outdrive to a 9.9 4-stroke Merc. and it steers great. I have my kicker mounted on a Panther tilt the only time it slips is when I tilt my kicker. and when I told the kicker down I have to turn my outdrive all the way over to correct the bar. I have a short bar for an outboard to outboard but it would be too short for an outdrive. I believe my bar is 39" closed and centered it just fits my kicker but my kicker bracket is turned slightly so it's centered with the outdrive.

I couldnt tighten it anymore.  The brass inserts were worn down to nubs. 

Ended up ordering a new bar for now and then I have some time to figure out how to add hydraulics to the kicker. 

By the way, it wasnt an issue with the bar coming apart.  It was an issue turning left and the bar slipping and the main not being able to "push" the kicker to the side.  

@PD Buoy well i figured out the problem.  The detents on the bar (the brass nubs that actually grab the bar) are completely trashed.  They were worn down to nothing.  I guess I did get 5 years of trolling out of it.  So the option is to buy a replacement bar (you can buy a detent kit but the bar has a lot of wear) or since I converted my main Alpha drive to hydraulic, figure out how to add hydraulic to the kicker.  Would have to figure out how to switch the kicker hydraulics on/off though I think.  

 

5.7 Mercruiser with an Alpha 1 drive.  Hooked into a 9.9 Yamaha high thrust (with power tilt) that is on a fixed motor bracket.  

I've always had issues with being able to steer with just the kicker and have made adjustments over the years.  I even went as far as disconnecting the throttle and shift cable from kicker since I control it with an iTroll anyways.  

This year I converted over my steering to full hydraulic on the main and went from a Raymarine Wheel Pilot to a Type 1 pump.  It steers the main really well.  However, I keep on getting hitting the limit when its trying to steer the kicker.   It will work fine for awhile and then randomly hit the lock.  So the main is hitting the limit lock and isnt pushing the kicker far enough over.  I would assume this is happening because the bar is sliding instead of pushing it like it should.  With the kicker being high thrust and it pushing a 26' boat, there is a fair amount of torque on the kicker. 

So should I just keep on cranking the bar down tighter so that it cant slip?  Or should I just figure out how to add hydraulics to the kicker and call it a day?