BradM

Which F250, the 3.3 liter or the 4.2? If it’s the 4.2, it’s the same basic engine from the VF200, 225, 250, F250 and F300. I can’t imagine much weight difference there between them. I may have made a bad analogy, dcathy. I’m hard props, but not on purpose. I just like to fish shallow. I would think a 20 pitch on that tower rig....what prop are you running now? I run a 23 HPS/250 SHO with no t-top or additional drag, so I’m not much help for you 22v guys. I will say HoneyB can give me a run for my money if I’m not careful.

Good thread...Wonder if I can use it to convince my wife to run the portable A/C under the cover....you know, to keep the moisture at bay.

'Ol HoneyB works a lot of random hours....He has a 200 SHO on the back of his rig and it absolutely FLIES. He'll have to answer the rest.

I have done what you're talking about for years. I use a regular 3 speed box type (although round now) fan from Walmart...I run it on the lowest speed and don't even think about it. It is on a GFCI outlet, if you need piece of mind. I also use a cut up pool noodle to prop the hatches open rather than tennis balls. They do tend to flatten and smoosh, so I fold them over and put them closer to the hinges. My wife recently stole my fan for the laundry room, so I bought an inexpensive blower fan from Northern Tool, which works well. Link is HERE

I have a 23, which unless you have at least a 250, it probably too much pitch for you. I know Prop Gods didn't demo the "Racing" line from Merc. when I asked a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that the PowerTech wheel and the Bravo wheel would be about like an old small block Chevy and a BMW, respectively, when it comes to maintenance. The PT is just going to run and run and run without much maintenance. The Merc. wheel has thinner and sharper blades and while strong, it's just not as robust as the PT counter part. With that being said, I had 35 hours on my 22p and it was just as fast as the day I got it, when I got rid of it (I went to a 23 and a worked 24, both FS). I'm hard on props and have always sent them in for a tune up in the spring, no matter the make. I like Steve's Custom Props, in Texas. With that being said, someone needs to find JEM's post about his experience with a Bravo FS in 20p on his 22 TE with a 225 SHO. It's too bad he doesn't participate in this forum anymore.

As mentioned, a good prop will solve that. Depending on what you're content with, a Merc. Bravo FS will produce adequate top end (over 7 mph faster than an OFX/4 on my hull) and yield great GPH numbers, too (4.4 mpg at 3,600 RPM/38 mph). For me, I prefer the handling over what the PT produced, not that it was bad, it just too tight for my liking. Good luck!

I meant to mention that the dealer gave me a 4’ fiberglass Shakespeare, with the multi-position clamp thing, and all the necessary hardware. No t-top....that falls in line with the antenna situation and would be in the way. It also makes your boat slow, right HoneyB? 😂 I’ll check out the whip style and report back. HB, are you saying mount the glass one lower than the highest possible point? I’m familiar with the “line of sight” the antenna requires to be most effective, but as mentioned, I’m never offshore (not that I won’t be someday). In fact, this boat has never been near the inlet, let alone through it. Storage situation = under a cover and in a pole barn. **edit/update** Shakespeare now makes a “quick connect” system which will allow me to place the mount on the upper portion of the console, and keep it capped off while not in use. I’ll need an antenna specific to the mount, which is fine with me, I wanted a black antenna anyhow. Now to get one on order and see if it can be disassembled for powder coat and the white cable swapped out for black. Has anyone here ran a VHF, FM/AM signal splitter? I usually Bluetooth music, but while I’m at it...

My boat came rigged from the factory with a Garmin VHF, which other than verifying it turns on, has never been used. I asked that the dealer not install the antenna because I don't usually need/use a VHF, as I always fish inshore. I do need one for tournaments per most rules, for which I carry a hand held unit. I hate knowing I have a perfectly fine unit mounted in the dash (big 'ol hole too) that I do not use. I DO NOT LIKE the idea of a standard antenna mount that lays it down at 45* when not in use, then has to be deployed/raised every time the boat is in use. I fish inshore close to 100% of the time (near shore maybe once every 3-4 years) and strictly with artificial lures, so I cast a lot. We also fly fish, now through spring, so an antenna being up all the time is in the way. Aside from that, to me, they're approaching the side of being plain ol' ugly. So does anyone have what would be a temp. mount or an option that doesn't require more holes? I thought about keeping the antenna in the forward rod locker with my all around light, and having a King Starboard clamp mount made for the grab rail. I'd keep the antenna cable coiled up under the console until I needed the VHF, then mount the antenna for use (to have a rail bridge opened or.....) and then put it away. I guess I could just continue to use my hand held and not worry about it. I just wish the real estate on the dash wasn't wasted with something that I'll more than likely never use. My rig is a 2018, 23 HPS, if it matters.

I have a couple of Wi-Fi game cameras that work well. I may not get there in time to stop you, but I'll know what you look like, what you drove and when you were there.

JEM, who used to frequent this forum, has an 22 XL around that era (not 100% on his year model). He repowered with a 225 SHO, and runs in the very high 50's/low 60's for WOT and with his new prop, sees over 4 gph at cruise. Search the forum for post by him, and you'll find some solid info. I know he is running a Mercury Bravo 1 FS, in 20 pitch. Food for thought, and not something a lot of people here do, but is VERY popular among the bass boat guys; the 200 SHO all the way up to the F300 are the same 4.2 liter V-6. In the SHO series, the only difference from the 200, 225 and 250 is the program loaded in the ECU. The bass boat guys buy 200's and flash them out to 330 h.p. **EDIT** I'm also in Jax. what color is your rig? I have a 23 HPS that's anthracite gray (looks black on the water) with a 250 SHO.

I have not seen any pictures from an owner. I'm sure they're out there though....Skip, do you have an item movement on the 2005 TRS? If they're this rare, I may need to figure something out. In 20 years you'll be able to sell it for what you bought it for. And I'm a second for the F150, simply due to weight. I had a 1900v with a 115 2 stroke (both a bit lighter than the new boats) and while it was plenty, a 150 would have been perfect!

As mentioned earlier by Justfish, I also use my boat for a reserve. I always keep it full or mostly full out of habit. When a storm is on the approach, I top it off. I keep a small transfer pump handy that runs off battery power (boat has 4 batteries) and I can use that to siphon gas out of the boat into a jerry can. I also have a manual pump and of course the tried and true mouth siphon, which I try to avoid these days. Mulligan, my neighbor across the street must have been the guy you bought your house from. That guy can't keep anything running! I've never seen someone so hard on equipment. He went through 2 new generators in Matthew, alone (72 hours w/o power). Lawn equipment, vehicles....I've never seen anything like it. He has his yard maintained because he can't keep a lawn mower running for the summer. It's CRAZY! HYD, I'm with you. My wife and I were discussing moving up to a larger unit that will power the entire house. My 5,550w set up runs two refrigerators and a portable a/c unit just fine. We also use ceiling fans in whatever room we're in and the t.v., we even manage to use the microwave just fine. However, Momma likes the big a/c to work and everything else too. On top of that, my mom isn't getting any younger, and she always stays at our house during and after a storm; until power is restored and roads are navigable. I'm sure your area is similar to mine with lots of old live oaks and what not, and when they come down, it's a chore to get cleared. Follow up when/if you go that route. I think we're one prolonged outage from going that route, too.

With this topic being brought back up, I finally got around to dragging my little Generac out yesterday. I poured a cup of gas in it, and she fired off first pull. Not bad considering it's been sitting for a year. I think it's worth mentioning that the way you store these items plays a huge role on their reliability and dependability. When done for the season, I drain all the gas I can back into a gas can, then run the engine until the float bowl runs dry. After that I pull the drain plug on the float bowl to ensure it's empty. Then I change the oil and put a piece of tape on generator with the date and oil I used. I always keep a spare sparkplug or two on hand (old 2 stroke MX guy), enough oil for a couple of oil changes, and when season approaches, I fill up 2 - 6 gallon gas cans, which is plenty for 48 hours or so.

Are all of your batteries under the console? If so, you can get a charger with however many banks that you need (3 batteries would require a 3 bank charger, etc.). Hook that up so when you plug in at home all your batteries charge. That era Pathfinder is known to have less than desirable wiring aesthetics, coupled with whatever the previous owner may have cobbled up, there's no telling what the drain is. If you're not able to identify the issue, take it to someone who can and have it fixed. You never know what's causing it and the last thing you want/need is an electrical fire. We have a local guy here who is really good and really fast. I took my old 19 to him for a re-wire, and in 6 hours my boat was done....No re-wire needed. He cleaned everything up, removed the unnecessary stuff the previous owner wired in and put a new battery switch in; battery drain eliminated. Like you, my cranking battery would die in a weeks time, even with the switch off. After it was cleaned up and unnecessary stuff removed, the cranking battery would be in good shape a month later, even if I had forgotten to turn the battery switch off (we all do it). Another thing to look at and what I did on my 19, was install a Blue Seas "Add-A-Battery" kit. It's an automatic charging replay that will maintain two batteries, per se. Google can explain it better and more quickly than I can. I had a little bit of overkill on my 19, which is how I tend to do all things battery. I was stranded once about 27 miles from the ramp, and spent the night on my boat until I could get a tow from the next passer by. I was on the Suwannee River, so other than the inconvenience, my life wasn't really in danger. Anyhow, I had 4 batteries on my 19. Two for the trolling motor, one for ONLY the stereo's amplifier, and then the house/cranking battery. I had the ACR between the house/cranking and the amplifier battery, on a switch that allowed me to pull them together. The amp didn't pull much, but was more for a back up than anything else. Needless to say, I never had an issue with cranking/battery power for the 9 years I owned that boat.

That's correct in the R20P, the "R" depicts right hand rotation. I'd fiddle with the anode. Someone above suggested it may be that. I have an SHO, with a fixed skeg, no anode. When I was running a PowerTech OFX4, it liked to go port, also. Make sure you're not taking on water or anything...Someone here recently had a bilge pump issue (not naming names ) and his boat was off on performance...I like that hull color and white engine. More pics?