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Dielectric grease is silicon-based and contains no petroleum.

Yamaha actually specs 182 minutes of reserve capacity. That is probably overkill, but it will allow you to run the engine for about 3 hr after an alternator failure. It also provides plenty of power for a powerful amplifier system that uses a lot of juice to play music at anchor. If you just...

The best $20 you will ever spend if you maintain your own batteries: Load Tester Unless there is severe battery damage, a freshly charged battery will always show 12.6 or so volts. But what happens when you put it under a load like starting your engine? I've used this Harbor Freight piece of...

I have gone 7 years between replacements using Deka 27M6 flooded cell batteries in my last 3 boats. These are listed as starting batteries but are actually dual-purpose given the 182 minutes of reserve capacity. I leave my fish finder on full-time when I bottom fish and turn on the bait well...

It is mounted on the transom about 6 inches to the right of the pickup. The sonar doesn't get through the bubbles very well. The 2-D sonar and Downview functions are fine since they shoot straight down. The starboard side view functions fine as well. If you mount a through hull transducer...

It certainly will screw up a transducer read. They leave a trail of bubbles at almost any speed. My side imaging transducer is mounted on the transom to the starboard side of a pickup and the port image is distorted to the point of being useless.

After cleaning and before re-bedding, you should re-passivate the stainless steel or the corrosion will come back. Commercial treatment uses nitric acid but that is pretty dangerous. I have had good luck with citric acid. Your best approach would be a commercial product that both removes the...

I got a 6 ft strip from a Grady White dealer 5 years ago and it cost me $76.

I have fished the Gulf extensively for many years. And as my signature indicates, I've had 3 Gradys including a 204C. The 204 and 208 have similar seaworthiness, but the 208 has a softer ride. So I'll relate some experience with the 20-footer. I would routinely run out 30-40 miles from...

Trapper lives in Canada where the gasoline additive standards are higher than in the US. The US has about the lowest minimum additive requirements of any advanced country. That's why automotive companies lobbied for "Top Tier" gasolines, which require a higher level of detergency than the...

Most if not all modern outboards with electronic fuel injection have some type of lean burn function. Some adjust the fuel profile on the fly with input from the TPS and other sensors. Yamaha uses a pre-programmed fueling profile that is leaned out in the midrange. I'm just mentioning my...

Tohatsus are great engines. The difference in weight between them and the other brands (with the exception of Yamaha) is negligible. Tohatsus are a screaming deal for repowering. You can find 225s for around $17,000 each including controls. They make a nice optional 4.3" LCD monitor that is...

As I've said before, in a bad sea I'd much rather be in a 226 vs a 228. I hate it when a hull doesn't feel locked in and tracking straight. But since I've gotten old and don't go out except in good sea conditions, I wish I had a 228.

Should work fine on flat water days.

I found that using Sabiki mode out in the Gulf is not practical. The 2 ft short chop splashes over the stern. It also required one guy to be at the helm to work the throttle. The new Suzuki digital integration looks interesting since it will automatically control the throttle in Subiki mode...

I would first try and re-do the dockside setup. From my experience, you need to start and the beginning and go through the whole routine. You can't jump to a specific section. It is possible that when you told the unit where the hard over points were you could have forced the piston too...

I just put a big glob of dielectric grease on my terminals. I replace it once a year when I pull the batteries for testing. I have never had any corrosion on anything that was covered with dielectric grease. I made a dumb mistake one year and used NO-OX-ID(a conductive grease) on the...

Yeah, it's really a matter of tuning each rig. That's why I mentioned the handling characteristics of too much or too little tongue weight. I just got a new 1/2 ton truck and I need to go through the process all over again.

My experience was mostly with lighter boats and trailers when I lived out west. Mostly no more than 5000 total weight. So you may well be right. I've only pulled my Grady with a 3/4 ton diesel tricked out to haul a 3000+ lb slide-in camper (airbags, adjustable shock, Bigwig anti-sway bar). I...

Too little tongue weight causes the trailer to sway as described above. It's the most common cause of trailer instability. You hear some suggestions that the tongue weight should be "a minimum of 7% of the total load". In my experience, that is incorrect. It needs to be between 10% to 15% of...