borderline 350

Another great advertisement! A truly remarkable drive system! Ask yourself a question. what does it cost? How much will the annual service cost? How about part prices? These rotary thru the hull drives are major dollars! And shallow water operation? HaHaHaHa! Bump an obstruction and then what? You notice that the docking was not conducted WITHOUT a 20 mph wind or current present. Great advertisment! Docking boats that weigh over 5,000 lbs...26 ft++ takes practice & skill. Most persons trying it for the first time AGE five years during the experience. And with the price of fuel today, WHO can afford a BIG boat? Jet Boat Bill.......no props on my boat!!!

Dear LL, IF the voltmeter on your FF is accurate, you have lost the internal regulator in the alternator. Charging @ 16 volts will boil a wet cell battery out and dramatically shorten the battery life. Max. alternator outpit should be 14.4 volts....steady rate. GET a good volt meter and check the voltage at several locations in the boat, while the engine is running at 2000 RPM....steady rate.... If the voltage is 15 or more, you need a new internal voltage regulator. Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear WBF, Be sure you have all your Life jackets and up to date safety gear aboard and a good picture ID. The Homeland Security people will show up soon to flex their muscles along with the NYS DEC guys. They just love to ticket you for expired flares, no anchor or any other infraction. Don't give them a chance. Check out your gear before you leave home. P.S. The Brown Trout Fishing is going great!! Find some warm stained water inshore. And you will be rewarded!! Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear Ken, The reason you will find little help is "LIABILITY". Now insert a disclaimer!!That said, here is my best shot.... Please get me the code marking off the tubing on your existing system. If its a Seastar Helm (by Teleflex) it should start with 3/8 inch by.... I have a little surplus tubing and fittings for the Seastar systems. You must read the literature with your new AP and find the exact nomenclature for the Auto Pilot fittings...It may be BSP thread and not American Std Pipe thread (female). It took me several days of research to find the Seastar OEM fittings and correct tubing and a local warehouse...still wasn't cheap for the fittings or tubing. The small kits from Teleflex run around $100 now. And the bleeding directions are a pain, but correct. Be extremely carefull as very small particles of dirt can cause havoc with the helm!! Look carefully (Inside) at the bottom of the oil containers you receive. I have found VISUAL SEDIMENT & DIRT inside the bottles!! And Teleflex ignored my complaint! And you must use the correct hydraulic oil for your system,....It is not DEXRON or Automotive trans. fluid.. Let me know what you find.... Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear FT, No, you don't want to replace the tank! VERY EXPENSIVE! Replacement belly tanks must be custom made....$1000 range!!.Just pull the small access panel off the floor just ahead of the engine compartment. Under there, you should find the fuel lines running into some 1/4 pipe elbows. Pull the lines off and remove the elbows from the tank. If they have plastic (rigid polyethylene) tubes, replace them with aluminum rigid tubing the same length. A small plumbing job, but very important! Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear FishTails, You should be very proud of your accomplishment. You have invested much time and work into an excellent 24' hull and Boat (Searay). This hull will run head on into 4' seas on Lake Ontario without cracking or failing. Yes home building is the most difficult & expensive undertaking, and then there is boat rebuilding. Another time consuming & expensive undertaking. I too, built a 2000 sq. ft home from pouring the footers to the ridge cap, 2 1/2 years of hustle! THEN I started rebuilding boats, 19' then a 22', then a 1979 24' Searay hardtop....!!!! Then I bought a new 27 Searay FBSF and put my own engines in... and finally I built one from scratch...A 23' aluminum NW style Jet Boat...another 1 1/2 year project that cost $60,000. I am now retired and enjoy the peace & quiet!! I did enjoy all the work, because it was very rewarding personally. I am sure you will enjoy the boat, just don't forget to put the drain plug in when you launch it! (You are not qualified until you do it once!) AND ONE FINAL tip about your Searay project. Be sure and remove the fuel pick-up pipes from the fuel tank. If they are plastic tubes pressed onto the elbow, PUT IN NEW ONES with a rigid aluminum tube. The plastic ones fall off and you will have no fuel supply!!! Been there & had a real problem finding that one! Best Wishes for a successfull launch! Jet Boat Bill

Dear WW IV, If you attempt (very deep trolling...250+) this on Lake Ontario, be prepared for some tackle & rigger problems NW US fisherman on Lake Chelan in Washington State start out 300 down in the morning and reach to 400 as the sun rises in the sky. This lake is fed by crystal clear mountain snow melt and the lake does not have a thermocline. The water is gin clear! Trolling speeds are 1.0 to 1.5 mph. Water temp is 35 to 37 degrees everywhere. They catch Chinook salmon(to 22 lbs) and kokanee salmon (1 to 3 lbs.) using very small lures such as "peanut rigs etc." Turns are especially dangerous as rigger weights tend to tangle easily with 300 ft. of cable out! Batteries give up the ghost regularly if you want to change tackle often! These depths limit your real fishing time and add more cost "to catch a fish". I have fished 200 down in LO and caught an occassional Chinook, ONLY when nothing else works!...And don't try it in a cross wind with 3 ft. waves either! Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear Viking Ship, If & when I buy another boat.......Triumph is at the top of the list. The boats are made with one piece bottoms and one piece tops from high density polyethylene...rotational molded about 3/4 to 1 inch thick everywhere. If you are going to mount heavy accessories such as a trolling motor etc. The factory will install reinforcements in your designated areas when the hull is molded. Some of the nicest people in the boat building business operate the plant in North Carolina. By all means go to the plant and get a tour of the mfg. area. These hulls need no bottom paint and clean up is so easy after being used! Minor hull scrapes can be dressed with scotchbrite pads. If your cosmetic wishes are stringent!! Very quiet boat in the water also. Never underpower any boat!! Unless you are going to be alone ALL THE TIME! By all means, water test one also. Arnies Marine @ Sodus Bay (John Love) has several of these boats in stock.....Tell him that Jet Boat Bill sent you! P.S. The negative stuff about these boats is based upon the former owners ......Logic Boats...... Thw web is full of horror stories about the hull splits and storage in SW Florida on Concrete blocks in 110 degree sun!!!....warped bottoms!! etc. Triumph Boats took over in the mid 1990's and put their tech guys to work. The results are outstanding. Surf Rescue units around the world consider these boats to be on the cutting edge presently! The impact test on their website is very revealing!! I saw a used Triumph in Florida last year ...3 years in the hot sun and no fading or mudcracking. Fiberglass gelcoat in SW Florida doesn' t make two years w/o color fade and severe chalking. .....Jet Boat Bill

Dear FT, I use group 27 Interstate deep cycle batteries. BUT the best help is the special 100 amp alternator. I had NE Electric put in a special rectifier in the alternator so I get 30 amps output @ 1500 engine RPM. If you are running the old style 35 amp Mercruiser's, they only put out minimum amperage @ about 1300 RPM....10-15 amps. So our slow trolling & big electronics packages really kills your battery life in one day! until you get up on plane and running is when you get the 35 amps! You must also run a #8 wire from the alternator to the starter positive terminal when using the 100 amp plus alternators. ...Jet Boat Bill

Dear AP users, The Raymarine AP's are good units. YOU MUST use a rudder reference sensor in order for them to properly work at low speeds (trolling!) unless you like to wrap your lines around your prop! Sincerely, Jet Boat Bill

Dear Capt.JF Do your research on this engine very carefully, go to Google and search "225 DFI Prpblems" You need to know the exact year of production and the serial number of the engine under question. OMC/Evinrude put out a"year of problems" before they went bankrupt and were bought by Bombardier. The "new owners" waited several months and then quietly said..."your warranty is no longer valid" .....Jet Boat Bill

Dear Ray, Thank you for the vote of confidence. Start looking in your home town FIRST. If you find a dealer with a left-over unit, you should be able to get an excellent price. I would stay far away from the Merc OB's. Their no longer "Made in USA". Yamaha has my vote, and they are more money too! You are caught between a "rock and a hardspot" You could buy a Yamaha in Canada and bring it in to the USA and declare it for pleasure use. (No import tax under the NAFTA agreement). BUT if you have any warranty issues with the engine, you have to take it back to the dealer in Canada. Yamaha got smart Quick! AND do not try to avoid the NYS sales tax. You have to pay the sales tax within 28 days of bringing it into NYS. AND the NYS sales tax people are watching the import declarations. I personally have experience with the NYS Tax department on these matters!! .........If you search far enough, I bet you can find what you want. Florida land based dealers have inventory too! But shipping will kill you from FL. Start with Google and the world is yours!.......by the way, I hate outboards!! but oh those Yamis's!! ...................Jet Boat Bill

Dear Capt. JF, The trolling speed.....Florida.... 5 MPH is slow!! Great Lakes Salmon Fishery 1.7 to 2.5 ....equals trouble with any big OB motor due to the long hours spent on fishing here in the Great Lakes. you will have to use trolling bags to get it slow enough! The cost of fuel will force you to buy a 9.9 trolling motor. The musky guides have even switched to trolling motors because of the fuel costs. And they are going 3 to 5 mph, (trolling). I would even venture that trolling is about to undergo a revolution and drifting may be in the future. $4.00/gallon gasoline may be the trigger point. ....... Jet Boat Bill

Dear FT, The big E-TEC OB's are the first real competition for the Yamaha's. Very popular in the Florida fishing boats. Lighter, less parts, better fuel economy and a big difference in "Required maint. costs". Very quiet running also. Just hold your breath when pricing these critters!.........Jet Boat Bill

Dear JD, Absolutely great pictures. Mother nature's creatures dining upon an exotic non native fish.....Whoops, shouldn't start trouble here!!! OHHoray (Lee Armey Style!!) for the Old squaw migratory GAME birds!!!... I'm leaving quietly now....JBB

Dear KF-06, Invested in several phone calls today. YOU ARE RIGHT. The requests for open seasons & limits on Cormorants was turned down after the Feds won the court battle in 2003. The region 8 DEC office had no knowledge of open seasons on Cormorants and told me to contact the Fed. Fish & Wildlife Service in Buffalo for info on Federally protected birds. A Federal LEO agent called me back this afternoon and explained the denial of open seasons and limits that took place approx. 3 years ago. He also explained the present methods & PERMITS used for cormorant control. I am sorry, if you thought I was trying to incite sportsman to destroy a protected bird. The Feds and my tax dollars are doing a much better job then my 1 1/4 ounce of my approved steel shot. Besides, I am a lousy shot at single birds, but very good at Doubles.......JBB

Dear Cormorant L""""", I have been doing my homework. THEY are not a migratory GAME bird according to the DEC laws and Federal Law. They are a migratory bird under the Mexico/USA agreement. Seasons are established by the FEDS. The court battle was decided Oct. 8th, 2003. The Feds also are using special tactics since shooting was only partially effective, which includes cervical dislocation, oiling nesting sites and CO2 asph........WOW, that ought to curl the bark on that tree you are hanging on to! I will post the open seasons as soon as I can find the data! Happy Days!!!! JBB

Dear Sybil, Give us some more info. Covered boat? Stored inside, outside, not covered, where, etc. Prepare yourself, don't start it without changing the water separator/filter. If it doesn't have one, other measures will have to be taken. Don't panic yet, If you put stabilizer in it, that stops a lot of problems. A lot depends on the ambient temperature and humidity. The fuel will be way down on Octane rating but probably burn well in your lawn mower etc. If this boat was stored in Florida, thru the summer months, you will have a problem with it's condition1............JBB

Dear Ray, Sorry, the one I have is for the older one piece booms. 1.200 inch diameter stem......JBB

Dear Ray, Wha tis the diameter of the insert end. There are two different sizes.............JBB

Dear KF06 I will accept your statement at this time about the double breasted cormorant being a native species. But I will research my info source also. I was told years ago (1960's) by a NYS Bureau of Fish and Game Biologist that they were concerned that the chinese birds had crossed with our birds. I will pose this question to the Cornell Experts. Jet Boat Bill

Dear kingfisher06, Get your bird ID. book (I.E. Birds of America) out and you will find there are approx. 10 species of marine cormorants in North America. These birds inhabit marine enviroments mainly (Salt Water) and our coastlines. The species that we are dealing with here are a Chinese species. A rare sighting would occur in the 1970's compared to the huge flights observed now fishing the Great Lakes. Their fishing habits are entirely different then our American species. chinese cormorants actually will work together (groups of 100+) to herd fish into shallow water. You must watch them to see the co-operation. And they will dive from heights and attack fish compared to their USA species. ............Jet Boat Bill

To Aile Goby, Evidently you are misinformed about these wonderfull birds, Cormorants. (A non-native species brought here from China) You should view the last 15 years of their growth as the peak of their existence, because it's going to be downhill from NOW! You couldn't have viewed the 2 hour video tape from the early 1990's where these birds devasted a brown trout stocking in the St. Law. area. Documentation back then proved that their was 2200 nesting pairs on one of the Gallo Islands. The birds had destroyed all vegatation on the island. By 2000 the Bass fishing in the St. Law. was devasted. Stomach contents analysis conducted by College students revealed more data condeming these non-native bird species. The failure of our DEC and Feds to act at that time caused the crash in Sport Fishing!! A few individuals took this loss of their fishing very seriously and destroyed 840 cormorants. Thru the efforts of the National Audubon Society a large cash reward was offered to anyone who who come forward with info. Phones were tapped, and finally someone came forward to collect the reward. Persons were charged and brought to court. A wonderfull day for the National Audubon Society membership! I believe you are one of these preservationists! But the conservationist's, fisherman & sport hunters did finally win this long hard battle over a NON-NATIVE BIRD! May their numbers dwindle & die! Jet Boat Bill ( Still wearing my "Little Galloo Shoot-Out Hat" "Fisherman 840.....Cormorants 0"

Dear Ft, Looks like a great product. Of course you should be able to fasten this stuff to the floor but be sure to make it removable for daily wash downs. I keep the cooler on the stern, lift all net handles to close the bag/net hoop and put the fish directly in the cooler. Bringing fish into the boat results in downtime and lost catch rate! It's fine for Sport Fisherman to bring a fish into the boat, but I have taken hooks out of everyone including myself from the violent action of a small salmonid thrashing on the deck! or falling on loose lures that come out of the fish! Anything you can do to improve footing is great. Rough days on the pond will quickly tell you that footwear and decks work or not. I would stay away from any "Rhino" coatings. Various things will stain these coatings. If you have ever brought an american eel to net or in your boat, you will understand the true meaning of "terrible slime" their slime will actually attack a nylon net and destroy it within 24 hrs. I vote for your deck product!! Jet Boat Bill

Dear F.T. The company name is AIRMAR, I spelled it wrong in my 1st message. .....Sorry!......Jet Boat Bill