MuddyBottomBluz

What is the limit for Reds in Texas? Nice haul by the way!

No, closed cell so does not hold water. The only way water would get under is if it lifts and not adhered properly.

Yes you will need them and come to love them.

Tell those kiddos to hold on tight! Enjoy!

Put it in the water and enjoy it! My daughters grew up on a 17 Redfisher with their friends and loved every minute of it, I did not upgrade until they were 12 & 17 and even then my 12 year old wanted me to give her the boat! Just go with it, worry about the $$$$ later.

I see it this way; If he knows the float does not go to the bottom of the tank, fill the tank all the way up and run it till the gauge reads empty then top the tank back off. If you know you have a 30 gallon tank but you only topped back off at say 25 gallons he can assume he has 5 gallons remaining in the tank when the gauge is on empty. Then he can divide the miles from the GPS by the gallons of fuel used which in this case would be 25 gallons. All depends on throttle use though!

What year??

It can be done, just have to do it correctly. All epoxies give of "Amine Blush" when curing, some can give it off for weeks after curing. Sand wash, wash and wash again before applying a polyester gel coat. It is an oily residue that is left behind when curing that can ruin a gel coat job, trust me!

It is gonna squat, move weight forward, batteries etc. You will blow by your buddy with the Action Craft, easy 60's propped right with the 150. The 115 propped right into low 50's. But what is the cost point, 150 is a lot more than the 115? BUT, is the transom solid with non wood material, has the stringers been reinforced? The boats according to coast guard standards were rated for 175's but the original manufacturer, Mr Hewes himself thought it was safer to keep it to 115 max.

smilemaker is correct, the polyester gelcoat does not stick well to epoxy resins. I would finish off a repair like that with a grinder, I would grind down past the gelcoat and around the repaired hole flaring it, for a hole like that maybe the size of a quarter or so. Then you could see how deep the hole in repair goes, most of the time the air came out and it sealed itself back up on the inside, the hole would be superficial. Then I would take fairing compound, fair it out, sand it smooth then gelcoat.

What epoxy, fiberglass epoxy resin? I always drill the holes the next size larger to make good clean contact with the hull/transom material. West systems 6/10 epoxy is best for what you describe. For penetrations in the hull, if I can drill all the way through I do, then start filling and once the filler comes out the other side put a piece of painters tape on it, continue to fill, over flow, clean it, another piece of painters tape on the outside. For blind holes I use a small piece of "stick" for the lack of a better term, and fill the hole put the stick in push air out, more filler, repeat, when there is no more air I over fill, clean excess and a piece of painters tape and seal it up. What I see in your pictures is air that popped out when the resin warmed up, it needed to escape. Air is no bueno!

Still beats working! I will be in Key Largo at the Anchorage resort (across from Gilbert's) for 4 days at the end of next week. As always I hope for the best (no wind) but always prepare for the worst (wind). Especially this time of year!

Good job, that is a loop charged motor, they are great motors. Be sure to clean all threads by running a tap down them before putting your power head and lower unit on the mid section. Lap the mid section mating surface for both the power head and lower unit and even the power head so you have nice level mating surfaces. Also do not turn the shift rod on the lower unit, typically they just wrap tape around it and the shaft to prevent it from turning. If it goes out of adjustment it could eat the dogs in the lower unit. You will be cleaning everything and priming & painting I'm sure, but it will be worth it. Keep us posted.

The large bolts for the steering arm should not have anything to do with it. I am assuming it is a 60 deg. loop charged motor? Have you pulled the lower unit, there is a shift rod from the lower unit that is bolted to the linkage under the carburetors, small bolt sometimes a pain in the *** to get too, obviously if the lower unit is off then it would not be an issue.

When I bought Dino's old Garmin, ya know, the one that puts him 50 feet in the mangroves, he had a GPS lab on his back patio. Between the new GPS, FMT and all the manuals, batteries and him wiring up the old one for me, if he had to go on the interweb and search for an answer, chances are you do too! Let us know what the out come was.