It can be quite daunting to buy a used boat, and out of the price range of many to buy a new boat. You can spend a lifetime saving up to pay cash for a hundred-thousand-dollar glitter rocket, indenture your grandchildren when you take out a loan that’s as much of a long-term commitment as…
From: Arizona Outdoors Desert Southwest – Arizona Game & Fish Department The construction of the Fisher’s Landing boat ramp extension is finally here! 🎉 Construction is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5, 2026 and will be completed by the end of the month. Both the north and south ramps at Fisher’s Landing will be closed…
“Ran When Parked” Yeah, we have all heard that before. I bought it on a boat from a friend. It had been sitting about five years unused. I did shoot some starting fluid in the intake and it fired right up, but the carbs definitely need to be cleaned. I only ran it for a couple…
New Update 6/29/2025 It’s not looking good. I put up a hundred bucks as a deposit, but there keeps being one thing after another holding up the title. As I told the seller, he’s sure going to an awful lot of work to just hustle me out of a hundred bucks. Negative: He still shows…
The epic enduring drama of Whisker Seeker will continue. I just don’t know when. I had rekindled my drive to get it seaworthy just before Gary passed away. In fact I called Gary and his daughter answered to see how he was doing and let him know I was working on getting him out in…
It can be brutal fishing a big lake when the wind is blowing, or worse if it has tour and casino boats who’s captain’s think everybody else is subservient to their job. Whether you have forward facing sonar, or you just happened to find a deep point loaded with fish it can be quite the…
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS – I finally found a use for the Harbor Freight pipe kinker. The pipe die was a perfect guide for the chain.
I wanted something for hauling a canoe or sometimes a ladder that didn’t need to stay on the truck. Its “okay” for the price. I think they say it’s good for 800 lbs. I’m skeptical, but it should be okay for the canoe I plan to carry on it. In retrospect I think I would…
Don’t freak out about a little water in the bilge. Even if you can see water flooding in and swamping is a risk don’t freak out. Check to see where its coming from. If the Nautilus is backing out of a giant gash in your hull after a deliberate ramming… ok maybe freak out a…
That’s just crazy… even with the pressure wave off the bottom he’s got to be a running a jet drive. Not sure you could get me to run quite that far over the edge in a glass boat. Video: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1i7Lb43DVeEGY4E6/
Button Panel Roasted By The Sun – V176 Magnum 2002 A buddy of mine has completely quit fishing and he offered me his 2002 Triton V176 Magnum for very little with its Johnson 90. The carbs were totally gunked up which was no surprise. I’ve cleaned carbs before. This Johnson has something I haven’t seen…
Plug, keys, safety equipment, lunch, beverages, trailer connections, straps and hooks secured, fishing gear, hunting gear, camera, cell phone, radio, spare tire, etc, etc, This should be a list of things you should check and make sure you have before you hit the road, and then maybe a second list to double check before you…
Whether it’s your boat or you are a guest of somebody else there are lots of little things you may be tempted to ask. If it’s worth asking its worth checking yourself. Did you put the plug in? You are anxious to hit the water and don’t want to waste a second. Not checking just…
I’ve been following along on the lithium news for a while. As you may be aware Lithium Ion batteries can have some serious issues including a likelihood of catching fire (and being very hard to put out) if abused. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo) batteries are supposed to be better in many regards, and more safe…
Left to right. All “ran when parked.” 24′ Searay sportfishing design with fly bridge dual controls. The original Searay. Not the born again Searay. Dual four cylinder Chevies pushing inboard outboard drives. Passable at altitude lakes, excellent at sea level. Internal births below in front. Porta potty I think. Been sitting a long time. Lots…
The Main Page From USGS https://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/current/?type=flow Everything you need on one page.
NEW UPDATE June 29 2024: It looks like boats (vehicles used soley on water) and rail craft me in fact not be covered by these changes. I will wait and see. Politicians are good at changing things. UPDATE: After writing this short note about the new statute I posted a link to it on several…
I worked most of the day yesterday. I had gotten one custom mold design roughed out, and I was waiting on feedback from the customer before starting work on the “pretty” details. A buddy of mine called late in the day and said he was available if I needed help with anything or wanted to…
Yeah, I bought another one.
Many of us have a push pole for area where its more practical to pole than to motor. Flat’s anglers often use a push pole to avoid stirring up silt as they chase shallow water trophies. I use one quite often to help me get into and out of tight spots when fishing. You probably…
Today was my day off this week. I try to take one day off every week, but it doesn’t always work that way. I’ve got one payment due on the 18th (today for the car I bought for my mom), so I figured I better get that taken care of. While I was sitting there…
HumminBird Helix 5 Chirp GPS G2 Questions: Continuous saved trace for backtrack. I’ve got a Garmin 178C in The Tin Can that does this. It continuously saves a trace I can use to back track, and it just deletes the oldest trace as a new trace is stored. I can run up and down the…
I had been begrudging the cost of the motor for the Twister surface drive I bought for Bar Hopper. Initially I had planned on a Predator 670 V-twin from Harbor Freight. Its about a thousand dollars at this time, but its a 22hp motor. That’s 22 crankshaft horsepower. There is really no other way to…
Proper Bass Boats: Skeeter Starfire 185 w/ Black Max 150 55 MPH Baker Custom Tunner w/ 200 Mariner 65 MPH BassCat Cougar FTD w/ 225 Optimax & 250ProXS Optimax 68-69MPH & 75-78MPH ProCraft 210 w/ 225 Optimax (I don’t know how fast it is yet). Easiest handling so far under fair conditions: 1. Baker 2. …
You know what this means… IT MEANS I DON’T GET TO GO FISHING OFTEN ENOUGH. All these new stickers are sitting on my desk waiting for me to need to put them on the appropriate boat. I think I’m going to start refusing more custom work so I can go fishing a little more often.
The first trip out in the new rig was an adventure. It launched pretty easy for a 20 foot 9 inch boat. I unhooked it, and stepped off the trailer tongue onto the boat to idle over to the dock. I quickly realized I’d left the keys in the truck. Oops. No problem. The trolling…
The first thing I’m putting in my new boat.
Well as soon as I clear a stall for it.
Okay, I took several days worth of work and distilled it down to just a bit under 30 minutes. This may be the first significant forward step and is certainly a significant milestone in bringing Whisker Seeker back to life. Part 5a & 5b. For those who are up to speed Part 5b is posted…
I’ve been busy with other projects. Work of course. Due to a variety of higher priority demands on my time I just haven’t hade much time for things like fishing or working on boats. I still haven’t even installed the winch on the Jeep yet. I installed an EV charging station in my garage for…
This is a 2:1 header for a Harbor Freight Predator 670. I don’t know how much I’ll modify the engine, but if you follow along with posts and videos about Bar Hopper you will learn as I do. It’s my understanding that I’ll need to reject the HF stock carburetor immediately after installing (or during…
If you want to read the intro to the intro check out this entry from a little earlier. Short Long Tail – (updated Sep-8-23) https://www.yumabassman.com/2023/09/07/short-long-tail/ For some more details on the plan check out the introductory video below. I doubt you will find it educational, but hopefully you find it entertaining. I wasn’t sure I…
You probably haven’t heard much about the Valco 14 footer I picked up a while back. That’s because I haven’t done much with it. We got it off the flat bed trailer and flipped it upside down in front of the house. That’s where it’s set for the last couple years. It may be a…
The continuing saga of getting “Whisker Seeker” back into shape to hit the river. (VIDEO) CREATING THE VIDEO ITSELF IS A LOT OF WORK, and I don’t make videos for a living. I would appreciate it if you would like the video and subscribe to the channel so I know if you have any value…
Hole shot generally refers to how long it takes your boat to go from displacement to plaining speed. For most plaining hulls the best hole shot is accomplished by trimming the motor/outdrive all the way down, and going full throttle as quickly as possible. Push the throttle all the way to the stop very quickly…
It can be really frustrating working on outboards sometimes. In this case I was replacing the fuel lines on the outboard for “The Tin Can.” I’m thinking I might use it on “Whisker Seeker” since the outboard that came with Gary’s boat was always a bit undersized for it. Whisker Seeker is rated for 60,…
