Bozeman Bob

There is nothing you can do, the point is. More people are killed by what I wrote and there are a ton of laws prohibiting the above ,including killing people. Yet it goes on, where is the outrage over 6,000 + deaths a year while texting and driving,why do they not make it a law that if the cell is going over 5 mph it shuts off and if your a passenger, too bad ,its shut down as well. Why not have a Key FOB that is finger imprinted and will not work unless you blow into it and it detects no alcohol . If some one leans over and manipulates it, they get charged as well. I could go on ,but I am done with this never ending subject.

Driving while texting,ILLEGAL aprox. 6.000 deaths per year. Lets go after Verizon Samsung etc. Drunk driving, ILLEGAL,13,500 deaths per year. Lets go after Budwiser ,etc Drugs that are ILLEGAL,64,000 deaths per year. Build a wall and hope for the best. Making weed legal is one big mistake. So making any sort of gun Illegal is going to accomplish what ? Maybe a bigger black market for them ,way too many out there to confiscate by big brother. Someone mentioned 10% of the population controls most of the wealth,not sure what that has to do with anything , been like that since day one all over the world. And they pay 90% of the taxes. Of course were not counting the communist, socialist countries which are ****holes to live in for the average person because of that. Yes all those shootings are tragedies and IMHO the only way to curtail it is to have a uniform at every entrance/main entrance and have all other doors work one way, exit.

If gas is a concern,don't do it.Most boats in that size range get 1.4 to maybe 2.0 mpg at cruise. Your probably at 3.0 + with your set up and if you trailer it your buying gas on the street which is in many cases a 1.00 per gallon less. What I don't like about boats in that size with a flush deck and I/Os is the high center of gravity and that also translates to not being able to lean over the gunwales and "work" the water for whatever reason. I am not singling out Sea Ray, just the design. It is at best a average quality built boat and I would thoroughly check out the stringers and transom for water intrusion. A kicker may save you a few bucks a day in fuel but it will take more than a few years to recoup the cost of motor and controls in most cases. Pros, it's bigger and more comfortable in rougher water than your current set up.

If it just started , you may be able to use a product I think called called Get Rot or something similar and inject that stuff into the corners . Then caulk her up where Hawkeye noted. I guess I would have to see the setup to grasp why the motor has to be pulled, just seems to me that you can work around it after the drive is pulled. Maybe the inner outdrive plate bolts are blocked or inacessable with the engine installed.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it . No reason for it to suddenly rot out on you unless you or PO recently put holes in it and didn't caulk them or did with the wrong material. [ I had a 40 + year old StarCraft I/O with a rock solid transom.] I would double check every nut and bolt making contact with the transom and if in doubt reseal and then epoxy/seal/exterior paint with a lacquer base over the exposed wood. Regular exterior paint that you clean up with soap and water will not last and is useless for your application... I was asking Hawkeye about his drive and from the sounds of it it's a Volvo as well.

Just wondering, was it a Volvo outdrive. ? And to Planestore, have you verified the wood in the transom is shot or are you just thinking it needs replacing because of age ?

With that small of a piece of wood I wouldn't worry about weight. No need to add any renforcement as your replacing factory designed and tested material. Along with the fact you have a I/O not outboards which add weight and probably more torque to the transom.Composite or wood is your choice, personally I would go with what was originally in it and just do a better job with the epoxy / sealing it watertight, than the factory did. If it lasted for 24 years with wood done by some 10.00 a hour laborer then your work should last twice that and I am sure you will move on from it before that happens !

I would think the motor does not have to be pulled. I am not familiar with a Volvo out drive but with the Mercruisers once you pull the leg out your detached from the motor. The old transom should slide out after removing all the through bolts etc.without any interference from the motor and still have room to access all screws and bolts that hold wood in place when your installing. Yes having the motor out MIGHT make it a bit easier but your also getting into possible alignment issues once its dropped back in. Again not familiar with Volvo and how much leeway, if any, you have with alignment. I would not be afraid to tackle a job like that ,just take it one step at a time and you will be fine.

All the aluminum boats that I have owned had a plywood transom and the wood was not encapsulated in aluminum. So what your looking at is a wood transom,not composite. Taking the leg off isn't going to show you anything but aluminum. My guess on the replacement process would be, the whole out drive assembly, inside and out,will have to be removed along with anything attached to the wood. There is probably a cap on top of the transom that gets removed, slide old piece out and use that as a template. Two pieces of exterior plywood glued together to get the proper thickness and then epoxy sealed is the least expensive/ easiest way to go. Probably videos on You Tube or Google it for more specifics .

Can't answer that without knowing what the weight of the licker is along with where you have your battery,gas tanks,anchor and other weighty items located. IF the platform is easy to get at just put it on the port side.

Depends on what you consider small. I would think most platforms regardless of size would hold a 250 lb person who would be getting in and out of the water. That's considerably more weight than a kicker. It should also withstand the forward push of a kicker with no problem.

Buffalo craigslist under boat parts has a Starkpower one listed for 850.00 I think I have bought about 5 boats over the years for less money per boat than that battery. I don't care if it supposed to last 10 years, that some serious jack for one battery.

Sounds like a good starter set up. Will probably hold most of its value, so when you move up a few feet it wont hurt as much financially. Correct on the speed, 30 tops, depending on how many people your carrying along with the amount of gear you load her up with. Easy boat to maintain and you should enjoy it . Good luck !!

Aluminum boats transom and floors for that matter are relatively easy and inexpensive to replace. That would be the least of my concerns when looking at a older tin boat. Condition of motor and rivets if it has them , being leak proof would be at the top. If those are good you have a strong foundation to work from and if it cost you 500,-1,000 in material, when your done you have pretty much a new hull. Just my .02

Depends on how you plan on wiring them. If isolated from each other then yes you can keep the 3 year old one that's probably near the end of its duty cycle. If you tie them together they will seek each others amp/current level. As in the good one will discharge into the older one constantly until there the same. So if one was 100% and the other 50% you would end up with two batteries at about 75%. I would buy a new one if there going to be wired together.

I have.never seen L+M mislead anyone. Now is the time to set up a appointment, they can be somewhat slow at this time of the season and may give you a break if you tell them your talking cash in hand. Come March, you may get put on a waiting list. I have been told of some Amish people in the Southern Tier that do it very reasonable, but never followed up on who,where, names etc.

Besides possibly finding a somewhat generic,one size fits all, your best bet is a local canvas shop that also fabricates the tubes. Get it done correctly the first time and be done with it.

This makes no sense. If it snows I can't attend ,"so make it for two days to accommodate me,but if it snows a lot I won't be able to make either day bc I will plowing again" This school has been ongoing for years around the same date and those didn't sign up in time just procrastinated to long. Now they beef to make more room Maybe just maybe the room will only hold so many people. Maybe the speakers have other obligations so they can't do 2 days. Maybe they sell out the first day and get 5 for the 2nd,not a good business plan. Leave it the way it is and if people can't put the entry fee aside or plan ahead, to bad. I would rather sell out for one day in the largest room . available then have 2 days of half filled rooms with twice the overhead.

There is no upside to a diesel unless your going to a 40' + sled. The initial cost vs gas and maintenance will take about 25-30 years around here to get to the break even point if your lucky. Gas is cheaper and a drop in replacement is nothing $$ compared to a diesel. If you were fishing the canyons and used the boat year round that would be a different story.

To get the most answers just google Furuno Rez Boost and a ton of forums post will show up . Basically it means high resolution and you can use a conventional transducer. RezBoost on the FCV 588 is supposed to be 8 times clearer than it predecessor FCV 587.. Kind of hi-jacking this thread but the OP has yet to respond to any of these replies,so.....

That's the same price as they go for on ebay . Unless he takes more off when you register on thehulltruth.com . FYI that price does not include the transducer if you need one.