Bozeman Bob

"The Huh???" I believe was in reference to, what does this have to do with wiring a downrigger. Pretty much the same as if I replied with make sure you carry a Danforth anchor. [ Along with the fact that 25 watts of power is nothing. My boat radio puts out 50 watts to the speakers through crappy speaker wire with no problem. The 25 is more like 22 actual and I could power it with a 14 gauge wire all day long and it would still put out the same ]

Limited space and only going to run one wire/copper line per side,go Otter. Big boat and plan on running at least 2 wire / copper lines per side, go with a 3 board planer board. Pulls like a beast and rides the rough stuff without bouncing all over the place. Foot print is about 2' ×3' laying down.

. If you go to Raymarines web site they will have schematics for all there models and specifically where it gets Teed into,usually as close to the ram as possible. If that applies to your system. If you have any other questions there is a forum that may take a couple working days for a response from the moderator

Probably have to Ebay one . Usually the spindles are the same size. No parts book ever made for 99% of the boats out there.

Not exactly, if you have numbers under 85-90, in most if not all cases, the engine is in need of a rebuild.

Basically a compression test will tell you there is or isn't a problem. The leak down will help pinpoint where the problem is originating from. If you have good compression there is no need for a leak down test.

The leak down test is not going to give you compression numbers [ which are the most important ] and is more time consuming and the last time I checked will requires a compressor or a air tank at the very least. IF you had a low number in one of the cylinders then ,yes, go to a leak down test, to possibly verify where your losing the compression , but if your numbers are good there is really no reason for it.

When I had cannons I used there plug in system . I also used 12 V DC 30 amp circuit breakers instead of fuses, who wants to mess around with fuses in 4' waves ? I did install a 30 amp on off switch between the house battery and the rigger cables as the Cannons have that positive ion thing going on and I THINK that it always had a battery draw because of that, hence the switch.

STX is a basic up and down model. Digi Troll has more features, key pad, speed settings, distance to bottom feature, jigging feature and a couple more. Just punch the two model numbers into the search icon on ebay and read the description of the ad. Same motor, simplicity [no key pad ] vs bells and whistles that you may or may not use. You would have to decide if you think you actually would use the extra features of the Digi for the extra money.

Anywhere from 140 to 220 would be acceptable numbers. My engine rebuilder tells me 150 is the magic number. The big thing is the numbers should be within 75-90% of each other, [ depending on who is giving you that % info.] So for 75% if one is reading 150 the lowest one should not be under 110. All plugs should be out and coil wire/ignition disarmed. Wouldn't hurt if the engine was warmed up first if that's possible at this time of the year, but not a deal breaker. All gauges read different so a Harbor Freight might read 145 and a Snap On may read 150, the numbers will even vary if made by the same company for that matter.I would only be worried if all the numbers were below 115-120. If you have reading of 130's the engine may be good for another 5-10 years depending on oil changes and abusing the throttle from a standing start. A rebuilt 4.3 is 2,000 tops, probably get a new short block for that amount of money,if not a lot less. 4.3s are a dime a dozen in the bone yards for that matter.

There is nothing you can do, the point is. More people are killed by what I wrote and there are a ton of laws prohibiting the above ,including killing people. Yet it goes on, where is the outrage over 6,000 + deaths a year while texting and driving,why do they not make it a law that if the cell is going over 5 mph it shuts off and if your a passenger, too bad ,its shut down as well. Why not have a Key FOB that is finger imprinted and will not work unless you blow into it and it detects no alcohol . If some one leans over and manipulates it, they get charged as well. I could go on ,but I am done with this never ending subject.

Driving while texting,ILLEGAL aprox. 6.000 deaths per year. Lets go after Verizon Samsung etc. Drunk driving, ILLEGAL,13,500 deaths per year. Lets go after Budwiser ,etc Drugs that are ILLEGAL,64,000 deaths per year. Build a wall and hope for the best. Making weed legal is one big mistake. So making any sort of gun Illegal is going to accomplish what ? Maybe a bigger black market for them ,way too many out there to confiscate by big brother. Someone mentioned 10% of the population controls most of the wealth,not sure what that has to do with anything , been like that since day one all over the world. And they pay 90% of the taxes. Of course were not counting the communist, socialist countries which are ****holes to live in for the average person because of that. Yes all those shootings are tragedies and IMHO the only way to curtail it is to have a uniform at every entrance/main entrance and have all other doors work one way, exit.

If gas is a concern,don't do it.Most boats in that size range get 1.4 to maybe 2.0 mpg at cruise. Your probably at 3.0 + with your set up and if you trailer it your buying gas on the street which is in many cases a 1.00 per gallon less. What I don't like about boats in that size with a flush deck and I/Os is the high center of gravity and that also translates to not being able to lean over the gunwales and "work" the water for whatever reason. I am not singling out Sea Ray, just the design. It is at best a average quality built boat and I would thoroughly check out the stringers and transom for water intrusion. A kicker may save you a few bucks a day in fuel but it will take more than a few years to recoup the cost of motor and controls in most cases. Pros, it's bigger and more comfortable in rougher water than your current set up.

If it just started , you may be able to use a product I think called called Get Rot or something similar and inject that stuff into the corners . Then caulk her up where Hawkeye noted. I guess I would have to see the setup to grasp why the motor has to be pulled, just seems to me that you can work around it after the drive is pulled. Maybe the inner outdrive plate bolts are blocked or inacessable with the engine installed.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it . No reason for it to suddenly rot out on you unless you or PO recently put holes in it and didn't caulk them or did with the wrong material. [ I had a 40 + year old StarCraft I/O with a rock solid transom.] I would double check every nut and bolt making contact with the transom and if in doubt reseal and then epoxy/seal/exterior paint with a lacquer base over the exposed wood. Regular exterior paint that you clean up with soap and water will not last and is useless for your application... I was asking Hawkeye about his drive and from the sounds of it it's a Volvo as well.

Just wondering, was it a Volvo outdrive. ? And to Planestore, have you verified the wood in the transom is shot or are you just thinking it needs replacing because of age ?

With that small of a piece of wood I wouldn't worry about weight. No need to add any renforcement as your replacing factory designed and tested material. Along with the fact you have a I/O not outboards which add weight and probably more torque to the transom.Composite or wood is your choice, personally I would go with what was originally in it and just do a better job with the epoxy / sealing it watertight, than the factory did. If it lasted for 24 years with wood done by some 10.00 a hour laborer then your work should last twice that and I am sure you will move on from it before that happens !

I would think the motor does not have to be pulled. I am not familiar with a Volvo out drive but with the Mercruisers once you pull the leg out your detached from the motor. The old transom should slide out after removing all the through bolts etc.without any interference from the motor and still have room to access all screws and bolts that hold wood in place when your installing. Yes having the motor out MIGHT make it a bit easier but your also getting into possible alignment issues once its dropped back in. Again not familiar with Volvo and how much leeway, if any, you have with alignment. I would not be afraid to tackle a job like that ,just take it one step at a time and you will be fine.

All the aluminum boats that I have owned had a plywood transom and the wood was not encapsulated in aluminum. So what your looking at is a wood transom,not composite. Taking the leg off isn't going to show you anything but aluminum. My guess on the replacement process would be, the whole out drive assembly, inside and out,will have to be removed along with anything attached to the wood. There is probably a cap on top of the transom that gets removed, slide old piece out and use that as a template. Two pieces of exterior plywood glued together to get the proper thickness and then epoxy sealed is the least expensive/ easiest way to go. Probably videos on You Tube or Google it for more specifics .