laker1

Re Rodent Proofing - Otters - Every year in Canada we put in the boathouse in both the boats and on the dock, containers with Pine Sol and or Mr. Clean. The strong soap smell appears to work (mostly!) in deterring these creatures over the winter. Failure to do this means that you will be gritting your teeth and using your pressure washer come spring.

Looking for new advice. I value the opinions expressed in this board. I am looking for a reliable 3 bank on board automatic charger for my lead acid batteries. Has to be lead acid due to concerns we have about lithium and our climate up North. The Pro Mariner Pro Sport 20 amp per bank charger has my attention. Hopefully it has automatic shut off built in. Does anyone have experience with this or another charger ? Thanks again jim

Thank you again Rollmops, I purchased a group 31 12 volt Interstate in Winnipeg after having the retailer show me 13.6 volts on his multimeter. Something the Kenora retailer would not do - lesson learned. Later I further confirmed it at my dock after a day of fishing when charging was completed.

Hi again , I would add the following about my kicker experience. My dealer recommended against using Sea Foam in attacking carbon. My son also changed the engine fuel filter. And this I see as most important, my kicker and my main engine have interchangeable fuel lines. So if the fuel in one tank is contaminated , I can change to the other. Bad contaminated fuel sometimes with water has caused me to switch lines and still get home. Happened twice so far. Hope this helps somebody.

Thank you rollmops. I had the same concern. I wasn’t shown the production date or given an opportunity - here it is. Hope the second battery works out. I have been charging it @ 2 amps overnight as recommended. If not I have learned a life lesson. I wonder where on the battery I can find the production date? Always trying to learn.

Our dealer says charge 2 amps overnight before first time use. Then as I understand it use the 10 amp charger in future charging. The 2 amp charging is to support the 12 volt level at first use. My last (brand new 12 volt battery) would not charge beyond 11.8 volts. So I returned it for the replacement. It was mentioned that these batteries drop voltage daily. Looks like I need a three bank charger now instead of my 2. Using now a dedicated battery for my Humminbird . Wonder how much voltage is used to charge these RV batteries? Would appreciate any thoughts about all of this.

My 2025 kicker experience. I must thank my son. He didn’t want Dad struggling to start the 8 hp Honda by hand. Says I am a senior now and that some one should take care of me (ha!). It’s a long shaft hanging off the stern of my Lund. The control I have trolling with a long shaft is superb compared to that of a short . I added an extension to the throttle. I have used it for years slow trolling for walleye. Now it’s difficult to start. So we added new plugs - nope. Then we added some Johnson Evinrude fuel cleaner to the gas and I was told to run it full bore all afternoon. This was advice from the local Honda dealer given to my son. Said I was carboned up. So off I go musky fishing zipping all over Lake of the Woods. The cleaner and the “Italian tune up” made all the difference! My little engine now starts with the second pull because the little holes in the carburetor have opened up. No muskies though. Hope this helps somebody.

A thought about wire humming I see in Florida that certain charter captains have split a tennis ball and wrapped with duct tape to place it around their downrigger cable to reduce wire hum. Has anyone tried this?

My apologies, but I figured it out. Going thru old stuff, sorting, throwing some of it out.

Discovered I have 2. Unfortunately I can not open them or understand how the tension is set? Could someone advise me with a video or diagram on how these blessed things work? Don’t want to break them. Have always used spring powered releases. thanks jim

Not trying to be controversial but I have some concerns. I wonder if others share the same. These batteries have a lot of potential but I remain unconvinced. I understand they are prone to sudden fire if banged a bit and do not weather extreme temperatures very well - hot or cold. I hear in Florida car owners have been requested to park their vehicles always outside due to the sudden fire phenomenon. Then there is the cost. I don’t we have seen yet “economies of scale” which should lower price. What are your thoughts ? jim

Re Baffled’s Hidden Leak My Lund Rebel sprang a leak after many years of use. Nearly lost it at the dock! The cause was the plastic bilge pump intake developing a crack over time. Look hard at all of your plastic fittings. Years ago my last boat an I O had continual water seepage. This time the cause was a small otter biting the rubber bellows at night. Very frustrating. Nothing seemed to work to deter it. Old bilge plugs also can be a cause because the rubber degrades over time also. Years ago one of our know it all lake handyman chose to travel across the lake in spring , in his aluminum boat, figuring the ice couldn’t hurt it. The result was a hole in the bow from the boat being forced thru the ice. Hope this helps.

Thank you jim

This may seem ridiculous but I would like an answer. Never had a line counter reel before. Can I load my new line counter reel with more than 100 feet of line and still have the line counter show only the amount of line that has left the reel? For example , if my reel is loaded with 200 feet of line can it still show on the line counter only the 20 feet that I have released. Can my reel be loaded up with 200 feet with the line counter set to zero? Hope this all makes sense. jim

OK but does anyone have concerns about the release fraying the line, be it mono or braid? I use the Scotty release and understood that one should always wrap their line with rubber bands to prevent this. Hearing from others on this would be really interesting. Or is this overkill on my part!