Sorry folks, when I checked my wifes calendar to look for any interference I find I have 3 obligations for that weekend. I64 through the mountains is a really pretty drive (unless it is snowing). Since I no longer have a cruiser to work on and worry about I have a lot of spare time and this sounded ...

Al, how are you getting there? My SeaStrake is sold and will be on its way to the Gulf Coast in a few days so no longer have any chris crafts, just the Carver. I no longer fly myself anywhere and will not fly commercial unless threatened with death. db

Nope, had a granddaughter graduation that weekend. Next year is the big one down there as they are hosting the ACBS annual national show at the Big Bear Lodge on Table Rock Lake. Parkers are the chairpersons for it I think.

Hello John, I may have had those numbers mixed up and the props are 14 dia by 16 pitch instead of the other way around. That would probably be better as my understanding is that pitch has more effect on RPM than diameter, at least that is the case with an I/O.

Al, Yep I have given up on that again and will be at Quincy with the Carver. They are expecting 80 boats. John and Carolynn Thompson will be there with Don and Kathy Parker and we will be launching at Hannibal to run to Quincy with the cruisers. See you there.

Thanks Gary, I will have to wait for awhile as the boat is on the hard at the moment having the automotive distributors with vacuum advance removed and replaced with marine electronic distributors. Also since the engines were replaced last winter they were not alligned and we now find several of the...

Tje now straightened props on the boat are marked as
16 diameter and 14 pitch. 14 seems pretty shallow to me but they seem to do fine on the boat so I try not to fix things that aren't broke.

One more thing of interest. I found another single spare prop for left hand rotation and it is marked as a 16 Dia, 18 pitch and 1 1/4 shaft. That may well be a match for what is currently on the boat. With the current props the cruiser is actually faster at the top end then my 18.5 ft Carver, about ...

Thanks for the information fellows. The props currently on the boat are at the prop shop getting straightened so I was basically curious about the spare set. I will measure the current ones and ask the prop guy what pitch those have as they seem to run the boat at the proper top speed/RPM mix.

Jim, As best I can tell they are 13" diameter and figuring the pitch is beyond my ability. They came with the Seastrake as spares and seem to be smaller than what came with the 283 originally so probably way to small for the current 350's. db

Jim, they are 5 digit numbers stamped into the hub side of each prop like chris props but not stamped with the chris name like some I have seen. No brand markings of any kind. db

Sorry, I should have included that information. The original engines were 283F and the original props according to the hull card were #1002 and 1003 which I think were 15 dia, 15 pitch 1 1/4 shaft. It has a reduction gear but the hull card does not specify the reduction ratio although I believe it i...

Can anyone tell me what the diameter and pitch are on prop numbers 31176 (LH) and 31175 (RH). Also any opinion on whether these are appropriate to use on a 33 ft cruiser with 350 engines of 260 hp. thanks

John, With full fuel tanks and full fresh water and a 6KW generator, spare anchors, etc, all sitting aft of the engines my strake sits stern down at the dock and therefore the stern pump does the pumping. I have the other pumps (one at the forward hull drain and the other about 4 ft aft of that)on a...

Hi Al, Is the Big Miss ever going to go down? Are you able to even get to your boat? The Illinois at Peoria is still high but I put the SeaStrake in the water this morning. Both new engines seems to be running fine and this year all the accessory pumps, fridge, A/C, water heater, etc. all also runni...

Thanks Al, Does that mean each exposed metal part has to be wired to the zinc or can I wire to the boat main ground or the negative on the battery? As you can see, electrical items are like magic as far as I am concerned. db

Thanks for all the info Frank. My cruiser sits in fresh water all summer and after last summer I noted some slight degredation of the shaft zinc and other zincs. Based on this thread I will not leave it continually hooked to shore power but will use a solar charger to keep the batteries charged. My ...

There is a handy book called "Power Boating for Dummies" which, while having a lot of very basic information that you probably already know, has a lot of tips on tune up, winterizing, equiptment, etc. New price is $22 but I picked up a used one at Amazon.

Looks like this thread has switched from liability insurance to towing insurance. Towboat US served me well on the one occasion I used that insurance and now I can summon them directly by satelite from my "Spot" emergency locater. I would still love to hear from someone that has had good or bad or o...

I am looking for someone with claims experience with Grundy and what carrier actually provided the coverage. Hagerty was almost double the Grundy quote and required the expense of a survey on both wood boats. I am currently with Allstate for about the same price as Grundy however I recently received...

Frank, As far as I know the 283 engine in your boat was original although when I bought them the engine was sitting separate from the hull. When I bought the hull all that came with it were the front deck, hatch, steering system, dash, fuel tank and drive train to the prop. All the rest of the inter...

Bill, had lunch today with a young lady who I think said she recently began a tour as editor of the Brass Bell. A very pleasant and personable representative who you are entitled to be very proud of. Incidentally, from what I hear about northern Minnesota excess water you may be getting your feet we...

John, glad to hear about your gallons of water in the bilge as my boat seems to act the same way. However I am looking at fresh water rather than salt so I do not get the preservation benefit. When I have the fuel tanks both filled and the water tank full, generator and a bunch of stuff stored below...

Wilson, when I had the skiff that frank rupp now owns I used it here at Welaka on the St Johns in brackish water and even to the salt at Jacksonville. When pulling the boat I always flushed with fresh hose water until the motor was hot enough to open a thermostat before stopping but not sure if that...

That switchable seacock on Frank's skiff worked extremely well and was made from some composit material that should last a long time. 3 positions, off, sea water and hose water. The SeaStrake has a setup that allows me to run hose water to the dock water inlet on the transom and then by opening a va...

I have a 7 1/2 hp ob and a tipdown mount, both purchased used on ebay, for my emergency motor. The two cycle outboard has a selfcontained fuel tank. New outboards may no longer be set up that way but this is only for emergency anyway so try for used. Again, I suggest looking for a long shaft. That i...

It all depends on how fast you want to push your boat. I had a 22 ft skiff before I sold it to Frank Rupp. I first tried a large, long shaft electric trolling motor mounted on the portside stern deck that pulled up and stored on therear and side deck when not in use. I only needed it once and it did...

Can anyone tell me if Sunnyland is going to sponsor any short cruises during the show for participants as has been done in the past? The last time I had a boat there was in 2004 and there was at least one cruise thru the Dora canal, Dead River and down to the public park on lake Harris for a barbque...

Al, I will plan to see you at Tavares again this year. I am bringing my Carver down from North Florida and will put it in the water for the show and maybe a cruise or two. Our trip on the SeaStrake is still on and I now have my grandson and greatgrandson with me on the trip from Peoria to Grafton wh...

I constructed the side guides using square steel tubing (1or 1 1/4 inch). They each slide into the next size larger square tubing which I have clamped to the trailer frame horizontally. I have a 45degree brace at the corner for strength. I have mounting pin holes at two locations. One for the wider ...