Bozeman Bob

Silverado 1500 or 2500. A fiberglass boat will weigh more and have a better ride than a aluminum boat. Not a fan of turning a day cruiser into a fishing boat. Most of the time you end up with a higher freeboard which translates into being a pain in the ass to land fish. Also with a higher center of gravity it will rock n roll a lot more. I would be more inclined to be looking for a dedicated fishing boat ,with a cabin and plenty of fiberglas [washdowns are a must],not carpeted deck space that you can put deck chairs on when the Mrs. is along. Your fishing season is a lot longer than the wifes suntanning  season.  Your choice should reflect that. What kind of budget do you have ,that is the number one thing that will come into play when looking for a boat. Launching will be easy after a few times with your 12 year old, just takes a bit of practice with a bigger boat,guides are nice for the trailer.

Putting in floating docks. Saw the crane from my dock yesterday.

May want to google it and see if there are any listed.

Most inboards over 30' with twin 454's or 350's  get 1 mpg at cruise. Most 26-30' with twin 350's/454's will get 1.1 to1.3 mpg at cruise depending on weight, deadrise, beam and how hard you push down on the throttles. A 454 mpi / efi/carbureted engine will get the same fuel burn as a 350 mpi/efi carb if in identical boats at the same cruising speed [ and adding the extra weight of the 454's into the 350's hull]. The extra burn comes when you go past the top speed that the 350 would achieve.If the engines are of the same vintage,the slightly better fuel burn would come from head/exhaust//cam etc modifications,not fuel delivery as that is minimal at best.

I have always dated on a Monday or Tuesday night so it doesn't interfere with my weekends.

Senior Citizen discount 2.00   I think 62 is the number they use.

    FYI ,, Neighbor is having yard sale and has a newer lightweight model, not sure of year but I do have serial number and he thinks its 4-5 years old. All the paint is still on prop and appears to have minima use. He bought it last year then found out it wasn't big enough for his boat, Wants 1000.00 , has top tank,4 gallon remote or T into your main tank.  Model number is F6SMHA located in Clarence NY.

 Think I saw your picture yesterday on FB holding some up for the Toronto Star Derby . Lady O pretty much has the biggest baddest fish of all the Great Lakes.

I am not defending the TV  weatherman and they seem to be more wrong than right. I also will say that Lady O seems to have its own weather system. Might have better luck listening to NOAH or trusting your own instincts. There has been many a time when weather coming up from the south will just stall out when it hits the L Ontario pressure and vice versa when out of the north,as in it gets sucked in and is nastier than they forecast. Looks like you had a good time regardless. We didn't even leave Wilson until after 1 yesterday bc of the seas and still nailed about 25 ,mostly Kings and the biggest 26lbs.

 Besides the Charter route you can also look at the Tournament Forum here and either post up that your available as a Observer or wait for someone looking for one. A lot of info is given in the South side lake report as well.

 So was it your prop or something else ?

  Short of talking to the guys at the "Tackle" shop and at the docks you might  want to sign up on for a charter. What you learn on one of those will outweigh everything else.

 Computer is slow ,that's the reason for spelling errors. Don't have all day. Anyway EFI / MPI engines are computer controlled ,so a scanner will give you the actual hours if the hour meter isn't working ,semi surprised they didn't mention that unless there just clueless. So in the future if you are looking at a boat and question the hours tell them to bust out a scanner.

 To clarify, the exhaust pipe near the outdrive has a flapler valve  to keep water from back flushing into the engine, when anchored,trolling or drifting in rough water. That valve can and does corrode away over time. Inboards will have a inline  riser and or a rubber flapper on the transom keep water from coming in the wrong way.

If it was launched with the trailer and the flapper valve on the port engine was shot it probably would let water into the engine. If dropped in with a hoist it would not. IMHO the 5.0 is to small of a power plant for that hull. Not a big fan of I/Os that were in salt water. Lot of small issues that add up, keep looking and I would be looking for straight inboard for that size boat.

  Google   aluminum boat rivet repair   a ton of stuff will show up on how to repair them.

 To fill in the crack in the doghouse gutter you could use some bondo like they use on cars or maybe some gel coat that you can buy in toothpaste type containers.  Or just take a small, thin if possible,  [ clear/black ]  1/4- 5/16 diameter hose and cut a slit in it and glue that on the lower/offending edge of doghouse. It may just sit there with no glue if you want to try that first. If you use a thick hose or similar material it may not close tight depending on how much clearance you have. You should not be getting any water through your outdrive whether its on land or in the drink.

Yes the around the house gutters looks to be designed well. Sometimes boats leak around the rubrail , cleats and other above water line through hull/deck fittings/bilge pump hoses not properly looped. Either have a friend water down everything with the nozzle off the hose and then with it on as you crawl into every nook and  cranny with a flashlight or consider it Holy Fish Water and a gift from the Fish Gods, haha. Maybe put some newspaper around the engine compartments floor and gutter area and spray with water, obviously after closing dog house.

If you do not have a lip on the cockpit floor that goes around the doghouse you may want to make one after verifying that is how it is getting in.Is the floor factory finished there or is there a rough cut in the deck. If you have room between the doghouse and where the lip should be you might be able to get something like a fridge door sealer, tape on one side and closed cell foam on the other,that would crate a pathway for the water to run to the sides and stern area.

Might tick some Searay owners off but the Tiara is twice the boat of a Ray. I have a different make so it doesn't matter to me and if your set on that model keep searching. I understand the 31 might be more than you want for various reasons.

Had a boat surveyed in FL. Dealer lied about hours on boat and told me all systems where operational. I am out $600.00 dollars due to there false representation of the boat.

Don't be afraid to give the dealers name out if they lied to you. How many hours were you told and how many were actual ? What systems were not operational ? What did the rest of the survey say about the overall condition? Could of been worse, at least you didn't fly down there ,get a room,rent a car, and meet up with the surveyor and then pay him. Still it sucks were deceived by a dealer. I paid for two surveys last year and saved myself the headache of buying the first boat along with the travel involved to "pre- inspect" it. Something will pop up and make it all worth while !

They also have clutch/friction plates in them which allows them to shift "velvet" smooth. Many inboard transmissions use a dog clutch, no friction plates,which is like a Mercruiser I/O and they clunk when shifting into gear. That's why they are named or referred to as Velvet Transmissions.

Easy to do, take old cable off .put new cable on, start by putting new cable end through hole on the bottom of the side of the spool and crimp end of cable so it doesn't pull through that hole. Then wrap it about 6 times over the SS screw end that is in the middle of the spool at the bottom.. That is a grounding type screw that is part of the auto stop feature and the cable needs to be making good contact with that for it to work. You can also google  or you tube it.....

Not that it matters as you cleaned as well as the cramped space allows but there has to be connecting plumbing between the two compartments otherwise how would water in the front compartment ever leave?

The water leaves the same way it does from the stern area ,through the bilge pump located in the bow section. Any small amounts left have to be sponged out, just like the stern compartment. Many larger hulls are set up with two or 3 separate bilge pump sections ,bow, midship and stern with some sort of bulkhead between them.

Not sure about your Bayliner but I have a bulkhead on a different brand boat that is solid and the bow area is separate from the engine compartment. I also would rather keep any oil spills in the engine section than having it migrate towards the cabin. My shower drains into the front bilge section as well. Don't know if it would be a fire hazard having them tied together or even a floatation thing if you hit something and it buys you some more time.