Bozeman Bob

X2 its like any other merger/buyout. Just look at the Airlines or lack of them and what happened to there pricing and services. After buying a overpriced ticket you get to pay extra 25.00 per luggage bag and there "meal" on a 5 hour flight is a bag of pretzels and can of pop. Just look at your cable bill to see merger 101 in action.

Material for board is ? How do keels hook up , picture like that would be helpful. Any guarantee ? Tested with what size lures and line used ? Cost/shipping ? Looks nice ,are they heavier or built any stronger than the Otter ? A little more info is a good thing in this case.

Cant figure out how to go back and edit.------ Just the cable isn't going to cut it-----

You will need a weight on the ducer, up cable isn't going to cut it. What happens when you troll 1/4 mile and the temp/underwater currents changes,, if you just plan on using it to get a initial reading ? Should be in the water the whole time your trolling.

Hand lowering and RAISING a cannonball and probe/not so aerodynamic ducer/ 100 or so feet will grow old pretty fast. One mess in the bow area and blistered hands = not fun fishing. IMHO its got Hiddenburg written all over it.

Besides what I already mentioned the unit you want to " convert " is not calibrated for trolling speeds, so its accuracy is probably not going to be anywhere near a dedicated unit. Those units reed in tenths of a MPH.

Your transducer signals will bounce off the bottom directly below it and should not interfere with the new ducer as they are way too far apart..... Now ,how are you going to spool up the ducer cable when you retrieve it and how are you going to attach it to the rigger cable so it doesn't bow way out from all the resistance as it has a big diameter.If you try to tape it to the rigger cable and retrieve it on the spool your going to pinch that ducer cable so bad its going to destroy the ducer cable in no time. What happens when the ball starts to pinwheel and wraps up the ducer cable ? How are you going to waterproof all the connections of the ducer cable that are underwater ? IMHO its a waste of money to buy a few cables and cob some stuff together and a PIA to use vs a unit that is hooked up to rigger that has two purposes,temp,speed unit and a fishing line. Save your money and do it right the first time. Christmas is only like 11 weeks away, ask Santa nicely !

Its not any more likely to blow than any inboard/marine/IO/car engine that's out there right now. There not turning 10,000 rpms like a race bike engine,they lope along at 4-5 grand and are pretty much bullet proof. As long as were at "it", a two stroke as noted has half the cycles as a 4 stroke so in theory will wear out twice as fast as a 4 stroke.

The motors are rated at the prop,2 or 4 stroke. A 2 stroke will rev quicker but does not have the same torque/power as a 4 stroke. It does weigh a bit more but not enough to make so big a difference that you need to go from a 90 two stroke to a 100 four stroke to get the same top end. The biggest thing is to get the correct prop so the engine peaks out a couple hundred rpm under the rated number with a full load on the boat. Or empty hits the redline. I would go 4 stroke all day long if I was buying a new outboard. Your minimum hp should be 65% of the max rated hp of the hull. I didn't do the math on yours but I would spend the extra 900.00 and go for the 115,you will be happier in the long run. As far as rebuilding a 2 vs 4 stroke if you follow mfg scheduled oil changes you will probably never have to rebuild that 4 banger. That would be the least of my worries. BTW raced MX for 15 years and 2 strokes needed rings/pistons every 15-40 hours of riding time depending on if it was a 125 or 250. The Yamaha 4 strokes would go for 2 - 3 seasons without anything but oil changes and that's bouncing off the 10,000 rpm redline constantly.

I strongly suggest not buying a open bow if your fishing Ontario. One big rogue wave and you better pray that your " 3 or 4 " bilge pumps kick on at high speed and volume.

You can look at- jack plates boats- on Ebay to get a idea of what you need. Or remove the wood and cap on your transom and put a new piece in. Probably flush with the sides of the boat,have to measure off the distance from bottom of boat to top of transom. Might even have to make it higher. I would not bolt another piece of wood onto the existing wood ,there is to much forward force to hope that it holds up to that constant pounding. In most cases on a aluminum boat two pieces of 3/4 exterior grade plywood will do the trick. Cut them out to size and glue them together. You can then resin the wood or prime and paint it before installing it. Will last forever and maybe 10-20 years painted if the edges are sealed properly. Do not use pressure treated wood on a tin boat.

Your talking about a fiberglass sailboat to the best of my knowledge. With what you described they,the debt collector would have to pay me to take that mess your describing. I would run.not walk away from that major expensive never ever get anywhere near the money you would have to put into it back wreck of a boat as fast as I could. I am being kind in describing that boat waiting for "Davey" to reach out and grab it.Run,run run.

You can google Lake Ontario depth charts. NO there are reefs or sandbars to worry about unless you hug the shoreline of the river or your boat draws 30 or so feet.

What do you have for a prop now ? SS or aluminum and what is the pitch ? Whats your max rpm vs Mfg specs ? That's your starting point.

What do you have on there now and what is your max rpm compared to the MFG max rated rpm ? If its a I/O a SS prop will slip less than a aluminum and cut into the water sharper,less drag. The downside is the SS is not as forgiving as aluminum and you may end up bending you prop shaft if you smack some thing hard like a rock. If its a straight inboard you can go with a Nibral prop, just be prepared to spend some big bucks on them, same performance as the SS setup. Need more info to suggest any prop. If its a 350 you could throw on a Edlebrock intake manifold and carburetor and add about 30 hp. Really wont make a difference of more than maybe 1 mph...