High Bidder

All this talk about an Airmar B60 persuaded me to get a finder that is compatible with the one I installed last year. After getting the courage to drill the big hole in my hull I found out that my Humminbird 778c wasn't compatible with the 50/200 kHz. Now I got a brand new discontinued 858C HD for $549.00. Now I just hope I have time to use it.

I have a 93 Striper with the Ford 302 and OMC outdrive. Maintenance parts are easy to find. The only parts that are a little difficult is if you have the Ford engine, which is not that common, and you need heads or intake. You can't repair the gears in the outdrive but whole replacements are available. Definitely have the boat surveyed. They are not known for rot problems but it could happen. I thought by 1995, Striper changed to Volvo outdrives as 1993 was the last year of OMC.

At my place in upstate PA the hens were out in the field feeding at 6 AM. until 9 then returned to the field at 5 PM. The gobblers wouldn't leave the hens or even answer my calls. Even the 3 jakes just hung around on the perimeter of the flock. In a week or two I hope the hens nest and the gobblers start looking around. To keep turkeys on my land I had to set up a automatic feeder because the Fed. Gov bought the bottom land for a flood control dam and it is no longer farmed. I just shut it off 3 weeks before the season and don't hunt near it. But it really made a difference on the deer and turkey populations on my land. The downside is that I have to keep a solar powered electrified fence wire around the feeder to keep the bear from destroying it again.

I would be careful about the reflection on the windshield when installed on the hardtop. A friend of mine installed automotive type spots on the hardtop and they were useless because you couldn't see thru the windshield. I installed mine on the pulpit with a joystick control at the helm and it works fine. Great for docking at night. Mine is a Golight.

I did have a Lowrance 337c unit but changed to the Humminbird sonar because of all the bad customer service reports when I changed to separate units for GPS and sonar. The Lowrance unit really was better at picking up fish at moderate speeds.

I am wondering why you don't like the Humminbird 859 unit? I was considering one of those to replace my 778c sonar unit. For me to change to a different brand is difficult because my Airmar B60 has a Humminbird connector on it and they don't make an adapter cable to connect to another brand.

I want to install a new FF/GPS unit and am trying to decide which Humminbird unit( I have a Airmar B60 Thru hull trans with Humminbird cable) will work the best. My present 778c unit only works on 200kHz. The 859ci HD XD unit has 8000PTP and 500 RMS. The 788cxi HD XD unit has 4000 PTP and 500 RMS. Both these units I think will work with my 50/200 transducer. But I don't know what is the advantage of a higher PTP rating if any. I believe the B60 is rated at 600 watts. Or should I save more money and go with a unit that has a RMS greater than my transducer? The only reason I am considering the 788 unit is that it would not require me to reposition my current GPS unit to fit in a larger FF unit on my limited space dash. I called Humminbird Customer service about this but they won't discuss hooking a unit to an Airmar transducer so I have to go to the real experts here. Thanks.

This discussion of the use of crossbows is one my group of buddies have each year. As the landowner I set the rules of hunting there. And things change, however I change. When I was younger I didn't allow 4 wheeler's on my property. I now use one because I can no longer carry my treestand and equipment up the mountain. Is that an unfair advantage? We all use bows,( my rule) but I had to lower my draw weight from 70lbs to 55lbs because my shoulder is wearing out. This year I had trouble drawing the bow even at that weight. At some point I will probably switch to a heavy, cumbersome crossbow and I'll have to change my rules again or give up archery hunting. I don't believe that crossbows increase your odds of getting close to a deer. But they might increase your odds of cleanly killing that deer. But there are a lot of things that increase our odds of getting a deer, such as scopes, better insulated and waterproof clothing, hand warmers, synthetic scent blockers, etc. But most of us don't consider these items as unfair advantages. I am from PA where crossbows are legal.

I have an extra OMC outdrive sitting in my garage and it seems that after 2 years the prop shaft seal is leaking. When I bought the unit(it was cheap) it also leaked after I changed the gear oil. I replaced the seal and everything was fine until now. Should I rotate the drive shaft occasionally? The unit is stored in a vertical position but in the unheated part of my garage.\ High Bidder

Its always best to get a prop where you can return it after you try it. Different brands of props and types(SS vs Aluminum) will give different results even if they are the same pitch. I wanted to get closer to the high limit of my RPM's on my IO and changed from a 19 to a 18 pitch. Instead of the expected 200 RPM change I got a 600 RPM increase which put me a little over the max limit. It did give me a better trolling speed so I just make sure I don't open the throttle all the way.

I took my boat to the local lake to test the new gimbal bearing and bellows. I had a great time especially at the launch. One guy forgot to unstrap the rear tie downs. His son kept trying to push the boat off and the dad kept backing in until the water almost came over the stern. Next the guy with the fancy bass boat fired it up with the engine tilted out of the water. That probably smoked the impeller when he revved the engine to back off the trailer. The coast guard said I should have been there yesterday when a guy unstrapped his new first time boat and slid it off on the ramp. He said it took 10 guys to push it into the water. The fire co. showed up for a little gas line leak( electric fuel pump had quite a few gallons in the bilge). Luckily for that owner the Coast Guard auxiliary was doing voluntary safety inspections and smelled the gasoline. All this happened in the ten minutes waiting it took to launch my boat and the fifteen minutes waiting it took to load my boat. And it was a colder than normal holiday with a lot fewer boats. My boat ran well and I am ready to head to the Real Lake. High Bidder

I stayed there two years ago. The cabins were okay but I don't like bunk beds. Also there weren't any docks and a cleaning station at that time. Friends of mine have their trailer there but they don't mind launching and pulling their boat every day. Twice if they come back for lunch.

The next thing I am going to do is draw a schematic of the wiring to all the gauges and tach. This will help me determine which wires are dash lights and which wires are gauge functions. Another symptom is that the tach jumps if a switch is turned on if the engine is not running. I will have to test the alternator next time I run the boat. I still have a few weeks to work this problem out. Thanks,

Thanks for the replies. I never thought of testing the panel for voltage. I checked all the wiring connections and looked for faults in the coatings. Each gauge has a ground wire and I will have to recheck all those to make sure I have them on the correct post. Thanks again High Bidder

Last year my boat developed a electrical problem and I need some advice where to look to what might be the problem. I have a 93 Striper IO. The problem is that when I turn on the nav lights or blower or any other current draw my gauges ( temp, oil pressure, fuel,) increase slightly and stay there until the switch is turned off and also my Voltage gauge drops. On a side note, last year I had to replace the temp gauge and I used a original equipment type. But when I replaced the gauge I cracked the plastic dash panel so I machined one out of aluminum. I also replace all the switches with new ones. Could the aluminum panel be the problem or do you think it is a ground issue. There were a lot of wires to reinstall but I carefully labeled each wire so I think I didn't go wrong there. But there is always that possibility. What do you think? Thanks, High Bidder

If you do buy a Humminbird unit, you have to get a 858 or higher to work properly with a Airmar transducer. I unfortunately bought a 700 series and I can only use the 200 setting and not the 50/200.

I stayed there twice last year, First in a cabin then in a trailer. The trailer had much more room and was clean and acceptable and closer to the dock. The cabins are very nice. The boat docks are adequate but not great. Bring plenty of bumpers. I liked Catfish Creek because it was reasonably priced, had a dock included and had gas available. If I have time this year I will stay there again. Be careful going out of the creek to the lake. At the creek widens near the lake entrance stay slightly to the left as there are rocks on the right side. I learned this the hard way and got a little ding in my prop.

I used the Torpedo uncoated cable last year on my Cannon Mag 5ST with a 12 lb Shark. I had no issues with it breaking. I can't comment on its signal transmission because my Cannon Intellitroll failed early in the season. It was a little difficult to terminate. I didn't notice a big difference that blowback was less than the coated cable.

Would the batteries have to be maintained over long periods of storage? The length of battery life which is a sealed part of the probe would be my concern since I only fish 18 days a year. Also, since I don't have a Android type phone, would it actually pay me to buy a phone that has an Android plan to use the SmartTroll? And I would prefer a larger viewing screen that is dash mounted. It seems like a theroretically good product but I definitely need more info before I decide between the SmartTroll and the Fish Hawk X4D for an May purchase.

I mounted mine on the bow. Mounting it on the hardtop or radar might give a reflection off the deck that limits visiblity. A friend had his mounted back too far on his top and the light was useless.

They have the name Chinook 825. They are black with aluminum frame. I really don't know what alpha or beta style means. If you explain that I'll try to answer it. Thanks Elvin

Brand new never used Yukon Charlie #825 Snowshoes with poles. I took these on my trips to Wyoming and Montana just in case I got snowed in at camp and had to walk out. $35.00 plus $15.00 shipping or best offer. I need to buy a Fish Hawk. High Bidder(That's my Boat's name, this is not an auction)

I would have to recommend a Browning. I have a older GTI that has over 20k rounds through it and has never failed. My shooting buddies have Charles Daly's and all have had to be repaired. Thw buddy with the Weatherby doesn't shoot often enough to give it a real test. High Bidder