Wrestling Coach

Agree. If the head comes off to replace the head gasket definitely send the head out to be checked for cracks and how true it is. Use good gaskets from Mercruiser to put it back together also. The aluminum block is an open deck design and must have a good sealing gasket. Know how to torque and then re-torque the head. Keep all the pushrods in the SAME HOLE when reassembly is done. Valve adjustment is by the length of each pushrod. There is no valve lash adjustment beyond that. Much,much more. Dennis

The 470 has an aluminum block and an iron Ford 460 head. Two different metals that expand and contract at different rates. These engines DO NOT like to be overheated for that reason. If you pegged the temp gauge and got it that hot the head gasket has almost certainly been damaged. First you have to try to figure out why it got so hot. Impeller in your outdrive bringing lake water in to your heat exchanger or water pump circulating the antifreeze in your closed cooling system that is cooled through the heat exchanger would be the first two places to start. Did a hose on the exchanger or elsewhere burst? Sometimes the impeller fails and pieces will end up in the heat exchanger blocking some of the water flow. Or your heat exchanger could need cleaning much like the radiator of a car. However that should not have brought on sudden high temps but rising over time. In addition you will have to check the head gasket. A compression test can give you information on the condition of the head gasket. You really need a good mechanic familiar with these 470's. Dennis

Kevin, Good point. We know they won't make it if we keep them. Today we were out again and did well. From now on if the fish looks close to 26" we are doing everything we can in the rubber net not to harm him. Then measure. Today we put two 28" and a 30" back. Kept four others under 24". Fishing in the Cape Vincent area. Dennis

We have been catching a lot of walleyes here recently. We have set our personal limits so we keep nothing over 26". Last night we had a 27", 29" and a 31". All went back. However the 31" had some bleeding from his gills that occurred from handling the fish out of the net and removing hooks. We placed him back in the water and he took off for the bottom right away. We wondered if he would ultimately survive. How do you make the call on an injured fish going back in? Dennis

Only if there is zero current. It is speed over ground. A good paddle wheel or probe will tell you the boat speed above the current speed. That is what you want. Our area was about 1.2 mph current this past weekend. Had to run 3.3 mph on gps to get 2 mph on the lures. So you feel that you had to have a faster down stream SOG to get the lure speed you wanted. When currents get tough, take a mental note of the amount the rod tips are bending when you're gettting hits if you're flatlining. With the riggers, try to observe the angle of the downrigger cables. Try to match that amount of bend or cable angle regardless of direction and current. I am getting the rod thump I would expect from the Reef Runner before I put it on the rigger. I am catching fish but upstream trolling is working better. Maybe I'm not going fast enough SOG downstream.

I have a new Lowrance HDS8. I am using the SOG on the screen as my trolling speed. All my previous units I owned had a paddle wheel and I used that speed to troll by. How close would you say these two speeds would be? I am trolling for walleyes with riggers set shallow (12ft) and large 800 Reef Runners 75ft back. I am trolling in the current of the St. Lawrence. Up stream I can control and settle in at 2.0 SOG. Downstream at idle I'm 2.9-3.2 SOG. Dennis

Plastic drywall anchors of the correct size. I restore C2 Corvettes (fiberglass) and use these to attach interior trim panels such as moldings and door panels where the factory screw is no longer big enough to grab a 45 year old hole. Dennis

Is there a way to change the depths on a Navionics Platinum East SD card from meters to feet? Dennis

OK. Thanks for this idea. I know that there would be no exact way to measure. But I see your idea of 3 to 1. So 150' back would be 50' down, 90' back would be 30' down and so on. Thanks for that! Dennis

Using Dipsy's or Walkers how can you be sure where they run. Charts give depths using mono. I run Power Pro 25# on large Walkers for walleye set at 3. One day I hit bottom 210' back @ 74'. That's nice to know but not very practical. Any hints? Dennis

Stoner Invisible Glass at Autozone. Safe for tints and works great on all glass. Should work on electronics too. Check this for your Garmin http://www.ebay.com/itm/GARMIN-POWER-DA ... 1909wt_905 Dennis

Thanks for your reply. Navionics has a HotSpots Premium East chip that says it covers Lake Ontario and the New York counties that the St. Lawrence River covers as its border. I thought that chip might be what I would like. Dennis

I need a suggestion for a Lowrance HD Gen I chip. Used in Eastern Lake Ontario and into the St. Lawrence River. Dennis

This sounds so routine and easy to do. But don't get distracted! I do everything in the same order every time I launch and recover my boat. I don't skip anything and come back to it. ANAL. I once saw a man back down a ramp at Oneida Lake with a fiberglass I/O. He had taken the winch line AND safety chain off the front of his boat before backing down with a roller trailer. Boat came off just like it should have ON THE RAMP!!!!!!!!! No one hurt but the boat and one guys wallet. Dennis

Don't forget to take them off when you launch the boat or it will take a long time to get the boat in the water.

The guy who had those before you couldn't get them to work either.

Try here: http://www.seattlefabrics.com/marine.html Dennis

OK. Got it. Thanks Dennis

Yes older units and don't have short stop. You mentioned setting the tension correctly. Sooooo do you mean if set correctly and you let them travel to the top the breaker would stop them? Dennis

I purchased a boat with older Mag 10A's included. I've owned manual Canons in the past but never electric. I expect them to be slow. What else should I expect out of these units? Dennis

You can get a trailer aligned. Call around to truck alignment shops they can usually do it or refer you to someone that can. Dennis

Bingo! Yes I did not mention the larger wire size. You're right. Makes sense to me now. Smaller gauge factory wiring from accessory switch to larger gauge wire needed for the rigger. Thanks, Dennis

I purchased a boat with two Canon 10a downriggers. Previous owner has them switched in the dash using the two factory accessory switches. One for each rigger. With the riggers OFF the boat when I turn the Accessory switch on I can hear a distinct click in the rear of the boat near the pigtail for the rigger. This click is coming from a small square box about 1"x1". Is this box a circuit breaker or a relay? If it is a circuit breaker I understand what that's for. If it is a relay I'm a little lost. Does a relay increase voltage to a full 12v at the rigger? Could someone help me understand what it does and how it works. Dennis

Shane. PM sent.

Aluminum bracket with wooden kicker mount . I believe it is a Garelick. Item location is Buffalo, NY. Asking $50.00. Contact number 716-683-1325. Ask for Dennis.