smallboat

Are any still available?  I'd like to get three.

The launch in Lewiston on the Niagara River is open all year.  The town keeps it clear even when there is snow so the charters can launch all winter.

I agree about Mike McCauley.  He has done some great work for me and his prices were very competitive.

New York state law requires that all boaters on recreational watercraft less than 21 feet in length – including motorboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats and sailboats – must wear a personal flotation device (PFD) from November 1 to May 1 on New York waters. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/newsroom/press-releases/release.aspx?r=760#sthash.EfGlM7y6.dpuf

If the transom is in good shape (not waterlogged or rotted), it strength should be enough hold the extra weight without a problem.  The problem most small boat have in repowering with a four stroke is that they were not designed for the extra weight resulting in really low freeboard at the transom and difficulty getting on plane.  I'm guessing your 25 weighs around 110 lbs.  A four stroke 25 will weigh as much as 170.  You could find yourself with only 2 to 3 inches of free board by the motor after you load the boat they way you would to use it. 

Check to Coast Guard capacity plate in the boat and see how much weight it can handle.

As suggested earlier, launch the boat and put some weight right in front of the motor, don't spread it across the stern. Two batteries is a good idea.  Run the boat and see how it sits in the water and how often you take water over the transom.  Move around and see if everything still feels good.   I rebuilt a 16' fiberglass skiff a few years ago, replaced a 25 HP 2 stroke with a 25 HP 4 stroke and found it was always taking water over the stern.  Sold the 4 stroke and bought a new 2 stroke to get the weight back down.  Your boat might be able to handle it but I would test it first.

I have an I-Pilot Link and I have used it in the way you would like to.  It works OK but my set up is a little different which may influenced my results vs. the results you get.

My main motor is a 250 Verado that I can only throttle down to about 2.5 to 2.7 MPH@ 550 RPM with no wind or drift sock.  Into a breeze it will troll slower.  My experience was that in order for the I-Pilot to effectively steer the boat it had to provide some positive thrust, not just act as a steering guide.  To achieve this, it brought my trolling speed up above 3.0 MPH but it worked well keeping my boat on course.  Also be aware that unless the lake is reasonably flat, the motor will be lifting out of the water with every swell making this setup far less effective.

Bottom line is the I-Pilot will work as you describe you want to use it but only when conditions are right.    I also troll only with my I-Pilot when conditions allow and it works great then.

Saw the same thing last Sunday off the Niagara Bar. Thought they might be browns and trolled for a couple of hours but no takers. Lots of bait from the river on out.

Never launched at Dunkirk but I want to try it. I heard parking is a problem there. Is there a good place to park a rig near by the ramp?

Having built and rebuilt numerous glass and wooden boats through the years, there is no quick answer here. Your boat is a glass hull with many wooden parts and rot is always a problem. As MCF mentioned, you need to be concerned with how far the rot has spread and what damage may have been done to structural parts of the boat. Begin by removing the deck completely then doing a survey of the hull and transom. Look for soft and wet spots especially in structural parts like the stringers and transom. You can check for water permeation in the transom by drilling several small holes along its bottom and seeing if water weeps out. You have problems if it does. Make sure you properly repair the holes if it is dry. The same is true with your stringers. Remove anything screwed to or through a stringer then check the wood.

Visit the web site rotdoctor.com. There is a great deal of information and links about repairing and restoring wood in a boat. I have used his penetrating epoxy system many times and it is a good one.

If you are looking for skilled marine work, check out shops on the Jersey shore. They will be only an hour or so from you and there are many shops skilled in the type of work you need done.

Finally, don't put back a vinyl covered plywood deck. They will always rot. Vinyl traps moisture and rot will occur. Build a plywood deck using marine plywood - okume, AB or BB fir or at least BCX plywood from a lumberyard. Paint the deck with a nonskid deck paint after sealing both sides and all edges with penetrating epoxy (three coats). You will have a very long lasting deck that will not promote rot. Starboard does not make a good deck material. It is quite heavy and lacks the necessary stiffness for a good deck unless a rather complex support system is built underneath it. Plywood is far superior and lighter.

Definitely move the transducer forward of the props. The counter rotating props will cause turbulence problems at higher RPM's.

If you had your batteries wired in series previously, you were set up for 24 volts unless they were 6 volt batteries. When wiring in series, you double the voltage and keep the amps the same. Wiring in parallel keeps the voltage the same as each battery but doubles the amperage.

Hot side of battery one should go to lug #1, hot side of battery 2 goes to lug #2. Common lug should be wired directly to the starter and a second wire to your main distribution panel. Grounds from the two batteries may be combined.

Check again how you have everything wired. Make sure you can trace the entire run of each lead and there are no crosses or accidental connections.

I'm looking to make a trip to the east end of the lake and don't know the area well. Where would be the best place to launch a 22 footer in the Sackets Harbor or Henderson area? Thanks.

Increasing the rudder size will absolutely improve a boat low speed handling with the only trade off being slightly reduced top end speed due to increased drag. I have rebuilt/restored several 31' Bertrams and replacing the stock rudders was almost always part of the work. Many older planning hull boats came with what were essentially racing rudders. When you replace the rudders, widen them but be careful about increasing the length too much.

Do not use your boat as the ground like an old car. The 12 volt system, and in larger boats the 120 shore power, needs to be isolated from the hull. As Longline suggested, wire all connections in a closed system back to the battery. Don't use the hull. Galvanic corrosion is only one of the problems you will create.

There are several differences between marine carbs and auto carbs. The primary goals in the

design of marine carbs is to keep flooded gas and fumes inside the engine and reduce corrosion. In addition to the "j" tubes, materials used internally in the carburetor are different and more corrosion resistant.

One important thing to remember is that if you use an auto carb, you are not USCG compliant and your insurance will be void if you have a fire.

I bought one two years ago from Eastern Marine (easternmarine.com), works great.  Its galvanized.  Its the second one I bought from them.  The first one was still on the trailer I bought 15 years ago when I sold it last year.

Would like to make a trip to Sodus and am curios as to the best ramp to use.  I launched on the west side last year at the ramp on Sodus Point Road and parked across the street, but had trouble with shallow water and weeds.  Is there a better ramp?

The DEC is in the stage where they are asking us for proposals on regulation changes. One thing I think would help both stream and lake anglers is to restrict the use of eggs in NY streams and rivers to Salmon eggs only. This way Trout are not wasted just for the eggs. Let's face it the Salmon are running and dying. The Trout will do that multiple times throughout its life. I have no problems with people keeping their limit to consume, but to take the eggs and discard is unethical.

 

I agree.  Unless you are going to consume the fish, there is no reason to kill it.  Salmon eggs are very effective.  There are many regulations that are not enforced as well as they should be, often due to lack of manpower on the side of the DEC. Sure, some guys will always cheat and bend the rules. This doesn't mean we shouldn't set the bar higher as sportsmen, to help insure a fishery for the next generation.   

If you don't think guys kill trout only for their eggs, spend some time on the tribs.  I have seen too many fish gutted on the spot for eggs because the angler thought he could catch one more fish with trout eggs, then dump the rest of the fish.

As sportsmen we should also be conservationists. 

Forgive me for appearing simple minded but am I correct that the LOTSA Salmon School is being held at the Niagara Expo Center starting at 8:30 AM tomorrow?

Look at Cisco. IMHO they are the best on the market.

I had a Venture VB 2600 galvanized under my last boat. No issues. Only had it for a couple of years

but it seemed like a good trailer.

Crestliners hulls have been known to crack,you can't pound then.

Couldn't disagree more.  Urban legends abound about many boats but the fact usually turn out different.  The modern welding techniques used by Crestliner and other quality manufacturers preclude the old problem of overheating the hull plating adjacent to the welds.  That was a major cause of cracking due to the hull becoming brittle back in the day but not now.   Most of the high end west coast boats are also welded, not riveted. 

I have run my Crestliner pretty hard with no ill effects as have a couple of my friends whose Crestliners are more than a few years old. 

No shortage of opinions as to best boat.  I had many of the same questions before I bought my new boat last year.  I decided on a Crestliner 2150 SST Sportfish for a few of reasons.  I have owned a Lund in the past, good boat but lack of a deep motor well had left me with water rolling up over the transom on more than on occasion on Lake O.  Only the Baron has one and its design really cuts down on cockpit space.   I wanted a large motor well so I would have a full height transom; a large, deep cockpit; good speed; plenty of storage; good fuel economy and be easy to trailer.  I have been more than pleased with the Crestliner.

with the Small Boat Harbor ramp closed for the season, where do you launch to fish the wall?

There are kings in Devil's hole, not huge numbers but steady.  The bar still has good action with very big small mouth.  I also had one channel cat and a walleye last week while targeting kings.  Haven't seen any browns near the bar but the water in the river is still warm.  Rain this week should help cool it down.