Rich s

X's -2. Right across street from mikes marina

I'm sure there is a topic/thread already but I was to lazy, sorry.. Out of Mexico yesterday and Fleas are TERRIBLE !! 30# big game line was covered all day on all rods.. Really makes things interesting when you get a fish on .. Good luck to all that are fishing.. Rich:

It may draw more then a newer unit but I don't think it would be much more the 5 amps, most likely less. My amp & stereo are hooked together on a 7 amp fuse at the switch panel and have never popped it, even at max output. You can do a search to see the conversion of watts to amps . I'm pretty sure my stereo ( granted newer ) has its own fuse on the back of the unit that is a 3 amp fuse

I don't really have the answer but do you have a charging system for your battery , alternator ? Or do you just plan on running it down and using a battery charger ? If you look at a deep cycle battery it will give you the aprox amp hrs for usage.example , 180 amp hrs. That's quite a bit figuring a stereo may draw 5 amps , probably at most. I have a pretty killer stereo system on my boat with a 400 watt separate amp using 2-6x9 and 2-8" speakers . At the dock without the boat running we will play it for hrs at a time and probably never even draw 1/4 of the battery down. With that said however, I do have 2 batteries on board which both go through the charging system from the motor that will recharge everything once we fire the main engine back up. As for solar panel : You really need a decent size panel ( and charge regulator) to have any real effect on recharging a 12 volt battery. We use a 35 watt panel with a 7 amp controller on our 26' camper and it works great for when we are at places that don't have electric power . The cost of that panel was just over $100.00 plus $17.00 for the control regulator . you must use the regulator otherwise the panel will continue to put power to the battery and it could possibly explode . Good luck

With Specialized brake tools ( pliers, spring & retaining clip wrench, adjuster and bleeder ) I'd say its about a 5. Without them tools its a nightmare if not impossible Take one off and replace at a time so you have a reference on how they go back together . An auto bleeder is also necessary.

I have 50/200 transducer

Make sure your depth setting is in auto. When I first used mine I had the depth set manually at 200' and the unit wouldn't read shallow water correct

I would have to think it's pretty minor issue, something like the steering cable, bellows or drain plug . My guess however is leaky rivets , it's an older tin boat (like mine) and I'm quite sure there is some water gets in through all those possible areas.. as long as it isn't serious, I wouldn't worry about it to much, mine has been in the water since May and I visit it once a week to pump out that 1 gallon or so.. I have left it for extended times even heavy rains it hasn't been an issue to where I'm concerned enough to tear the entire floors out (again) to put sealer in.. As long as your bilge is working (you can adjust the auto flapper) properly and it's only a little water don't sweat it.. ever see deadliest catch ? Now them boats take on some water ..lol

This is my sophomore season and I'm still learning . Last year I went with strictly a few spin docs / fly and maybe 5 spoons. I caught some fish on the spin doc/ fly. This season I watched the classifieds here and got some great scores on lots of gear that would have cost me much more to accumulate over time . All of that gear has helped me catch fish this season . My suggestion is to get a little gear to get started and keep an eye out for package deals. Seems season end ( or any time , really , there is always plenty for sale to stock up quickly Good luck Rich

Don't feel bad.. my 1989 Islander always has a little water in the bilge.. Not much, maybe a gallon at a time .. Takes me about 2 mins tops and it stops pumping.. I have left it in the water (is now) for weeks at a time and the auto switch never kicks on , as I have stayed aboard for days at a time.. Yet there is always that 1 gallon of water if I turn on pump.. Bellows are good so I just chalk it off as a tin boat with lots of rivets .. P.S. Something to check as I found out last year.. Is there more water with engine running or is there just water from sitting at the dock ? I had a bad water pump last year that was spewing out the little hole when the engine was running and noticed a LOT more water then just docked.. Water pump replaced but now only get that always present 1 gallon at the dock.. I'd say 5 gallons and 45 mins to pump is a little excessive though. Good Luck Rich

You need a ground wire in the same circuit . You can do as you describe and run a black ground from starting battery across to accessory battery , just make sure it is at least 10 gauge wire , even 8 gauge would be better

Since we are on the subject, I posted that my fishfinder/sonar/gps unit shuts off when I start the motor due to what I think is to much amp draw from wiring to starting battery.. I have an I/O 4.3.. Where do most get power source from to the unit ? Starting or deep cycle accessory battery ? This will also help me resolve my issue (connections) / complaint Thank You Rich EDIT: I posted while you responded, 1.New starting battery and checked with meter on out put from alt & regulator also load amps to starter. 2. New lowrance elite-7 , new cable/wire connections, it has done this right outta the gate.. (old lowrance unit didn't shut off, but im sure it was far less sensitive to an amp spike) .. 3. Do most cabin/dual battery boats wire to accessory battery or main starting battery for their unit ? Thanks: Rich

I don't know how others wire up their sonar units but I made what I believe a mistake of wiring my unit to the main (starting ) battery.. What happened was that any variation in amperage such as starting the boat, the unit shuts off and I have to restart the unit.. I haven't switched it to the accessory battery yet but I don't think the downriggers , lights or radio would cause enough amp draw to affect the unit as would the starting battery does. Question: Did the unit operate properly on the boat before ? If so did it just start once you put the auto bilge switch in ? If so then you need to dissect the issues one thing at a time , it could just be a grounding problem... Good Luck: Rich

My question was, and maybe someone here can answer, is I have the elite -7 HDI ( non- Chirp ) I wanted to know if the software 4.0 update will work on my unit. The update says elite -7 HDI/Chirp Thanks