Sparky-(Admin) 21,082 #1 Posted June 19, 2018 It’s been hectic with travel for work and I’m way behind on all my spring chores...like getting out on a lake and fishing! License (check), fishin gear (check), boat registered (check) ...boat un-winterized and plugs swapped and both batteries in, umm, nope . Finally got my rear in gear and she is ready for water. Launched tonite and the wife and I tore around the lake for an hour or so. No fishing but I like to give the boat and motor a good hard workout before I trust it in some faraway lake. She ran great! Now to get a couple of my lures wet ! And yes I know my ropes are a tangled mess! 15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daddy Don 905 #2 Posted June 19, 2018 Got mine wet Sunday. Took son and grandkids out caught one bass and cooked my skin. But it still felt good to get on the water. Ready for more now.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shynon 7,450 #3 Posted June 20, 2018 Its on my to do list also, hasn't seen water in two years, got an itch to fish. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,127 #4 Posted June 20, 2018 Don’t see many of those OMC trolling motors. Nice. 👍🏻 Those 2-cylinder Johnson/Evinrude 20/25/28/30/35’s are the Kohler k181’s of the marine world. Indestructible. I was lucky enough to spend a week in the northwoods fishing but that’s been it for me so far this year. My boat is still sitting sadly on the trailer. Steve 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebo-(Moderator) 8,264 #5 Posted June 20, 2018 Stopped at bass pro here in PA tonight and picked up some fishy catchers.... 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPINJIM 1,981 #6 Posted June 20, 2018 Cover is coming off the boat Monday after the show. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497 #7 Posted June 21, 2018 Sure looks like fun to me. Lol Glenn 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,102 #8 Posted June 29, 2018 Was in the water last night... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cvans 1,009 #9 Posted June 30, 2018 Imagine that, red kayaks. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 40,740 #10 Posted June 30, 2018 Wouldn't get me in a kayak with a shoehorn attached to a 10 foot pole. But it looks like a good time! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,102 #11 Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) Edited June 30, 2018 by AMC RULES 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,082 #12 Posted June 30, 2018 Looks like a great spot to explore Craig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,127 #13 Posted July 4, 2018 Wow Craig! That is a beautiful setting. Where is that? finally got the big boat out last weekend. All’s well with the world. (No in-water pix, but trust me....it floats) 18’ Lund deep v with 90 Honda tiller. Fishing. Machine. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cvans 1,009 #14 Posted July 4, 2018 3 hours ago, wh500special said: 18’ Lund deep v with 90 Honda tiller. Wow, that's a lot of horsepower to be holding in one hand. Nice looking outfit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebo-(Moderator) 8,264 #15 Posted July 4, 2018 Been visiting inlaws update ny and been getting some lines in the water 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,127 #16 Posted July 5, 2018 (edited) On 7/3/2018 at 11:19 PM, Cvans said: Wow, that's a lot of horsepower to be holding in one hand. Nice looking outfit. I was concerned when I bought this rig since the biggest tiller I'd run was 40 hp, but you'd be surprised how easy it handles. But everything has to be j-u-s-t right with the setup. Getting the height of the motor on the transom is a big part of it. And once up and on plane it needs to be trimmed properly to not exert any torque. Some props work better than others too, and often you'll see a big tiller with a 4-blade wheel or something that helps lift the stern. This setup has been pretty forgiving thankfully, because Honda doesn't have the range of props available that Mercury, Yamaha, and Evinrude do. Where it gets tiring is in a hard crosswind, coming out of the hole, or when running with an unbalanced load in the boat. But 95% of the time when she's on plane, you could almost take your hand off the tiller...but better not! There was a golden age of big tiller outboards a few years ago when Mertens offered their hydraulic steering lock and power tiller steering Titan Tillers. He made kits to fit almost any outboard up to 200 hp. These are slick systems with hydraulic control valves integrated into the twist grip that engaged or disengaged a hydraulic lock or activated a power steering system whenever you steered. Completely natural system. Then Mercury bought the rights to the product and locked it down, so if you want a big tiller now (between 115 hp and 250 hp) you only have a choice of a Merc. I'm not opposed to Mercury engines and they make good equipment, but my preferences lie elsewhere. The Merc adaptation of the system are supposed to work seamlessly as well, but they did make some mods to the original system. They power the hydraulic pump differently and now most guys running one of their big tiller systems had to add another battery to the boat just to power the steering. Seems dumb, but it was probably a concession to reliability that Mercury demanded. Patents are due to expire very soon, so there is eager anticipation that Evinrude and Yamaha are going to release their big tiller systems when they can. There is another manual locking tiller system on the market called the Tiller Assist. www.tillerassist.com Said to work very well by the guys that have it. My boat seems to do fine without, so I haven't bothered. I'm not a fan of steering wheels in a fishing boat like this because they take up a lot of floorspace. No console means I have a virtual dance floor in there. And I troll quite a bit from the tiller, so find this works better for me. The downsides are obvious though...lower HP capacity, operator fatigue, reduced visibility, etc. The little Yamaha kicker on there isn't at all necessary on this boat for trolling at crankbait speeds, but we had it in the corner of the barn so I stuck it on there to play with. It will be handy occasionally and for slow trolling using the front auto-steer trolling motor to repeat trolling passes for white bass and sauger. Steve Edited July 5, 2018 by wh500special 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cvans 1,009 #17 Posted July 5, 2018 We come from opposite ends of the spectrum I take the older open fishing boats and convert them to a dash with remote steering and controls. Tried the tiller setups and just cant's get used to setting in the back of the boat. Can see where your thoughts on having an open floor plan would be desirable especially if your moving around in the boat. I'm too old to be moving around much. Thanks for the story on your boat. Interesting reading. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,127 #18 Posted July 9, 2018 On 7/5/2018 at 10:43 AM, Cvans said: We come from opposite ends of the spectrum I take the older open fishing boats and convert them to a dash with remote steering and controls. Tried the tiller setups and just cant's get used to setting in the back of the boat. Can see where your thoughts on having an open floor plan would be desirable especially if your moving around in the boat. I'm too old to be moving around much. Thanks for the story on your boat. Interesting reading. Funny you mention that you convert them to console models. The boat below WAS a console steer model until I took it out and went to the tiller E-tec. It made a huge difference in usable room on this boat. It's 16' long and 73" beam. 1999 Lund 16-Rebel. Yes, I'm a Lund guy. Steve 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cvans 1,009 #19 Posted July 9, 2018 (edited) That's a nice looking boat. Looks like the same color I used on the last boat. After being tied to a dock for a little bit it will have those wavy marks on the side too. Unfortunately I have caused too much damage to my boats at public docks. Kind of irks me. This is my 12' Lund that I use on small lakes when fishing by myself. Edited July 9, 2018 by Cvans 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shynon 7,450 #20 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) Been 2 yrs since boat has seen water. On the lake now got a couple bass and some bite offs. Edited July 22, 2018 by Shynon 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cvans 1,009 #21 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Shynon said: and some bite offs. Not heard this term before. Sounds like something a Northern Pike would do up here. Hope you have a good day. Edited July 22, 2018 by Cvans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites