Author Topic: Long crazy summer  (Read 1959 times)

Offline Roccus

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Long crazy summer
« on: Nov 03, 2020, 11:11 AM »
Well it's glad to be back, hopefully the winter season isn't fraught with the restrictions and insanity of the summer.

Summer was good and went bye fast, I only got to flounder fishing  once, the rest of the time I seemed to miss my weather window, the one time I went, I limited out rather quickly, had a lot of big  bass around ( to 48lbs.) until early September and then it fell apart.. wind, waves and fading day light sent them scurrying south, I did manage to get into some top water blue fish for the first time in years.,then I had an engine failure (more on that in a minute).. lobstering was the best I can remember in recent times, I haven't tallied the final numbers, but I can easily say I doubled last seasons catch..

Now about my engine, near the end of the season,while hauling pots it began to idle rough, the diagnosis was a bad fuel pump, locally an OEM pump was out of stock so I purchased and installed an after market pump, the boat ran excellent for three days,on day 4 as I was headed out I couldn't get the ball to prime up, ( this is a 16 year old 2 stroke that relies on crankcase  pulses to activate the pump) ..  I thought that it was just a bad primer ball and hit the key, the engine made about a half revolution and locked up wiht  a mighty thud... as it were, the fuel pump diaphragm ruptured and pumped the #4 cylinder full of gasoline, liquid gas does not compress, long story short, it ended up doing internal damage, I have since ordered and replaced the short block with an factory exchange unit, so I start next season breaking in a power head... by going the short block route and doing the work myself I save about 10 grand.. the rest of the engine is pristine..

 I've also already put a doe in the freezer early in the archery season, now just waiting on the right one with horns to show his  face..

be safe every one..hope for early ice

   Roc
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #1 on: Nov 03, 2020, 12:25 PM »
Sounds like summer put you to the test Joe. Bummer about shortening the number 4 rod, that hurts. Glad to hear the lobsters treated you well though.
Hopefully your time on the ice is trouble free. Looking forward to sharing ice stories with you over the coming season.
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #2 on: Nov 03, 2020, 04:32 PM »
Sounds like summer put you to the test Joe. Bummer about shortening the number 4 rod, that hurts. Glad to hear the lobsters treated you well though.
Hopefully your time on the ice is trouble free. Looking forward to sharing ice stories with you over the coming season.
$2300 for a short block beats spending 12 grand on a new motor, especially on a 43 year old boat.. it is once again a solid dependable engine with a 2 year factory warranty,  just like a new one, and I get to keep my 2 stroke..
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #3 on: Nov 03, 2020, 05:46 PM »
$2300 and a weekend is a great deal for a fresh bottom end and piece of mind for reliability, I hope the swap goes smooth for ya.

On another note... You ever get the group pics of last years outing ready for upload?
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline SALMONEMIA

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #4 on: Nov 03, 2020, 09:55 PM »
Welcome back. Been wondering how you have been doing. Sorry about your engine , if anyone can fix it it's you. Interested in hearing the lobster numbers.. see you out there soon.
Salmonemia

Offline Hottuna5150

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #5 on: Nov 04, 2020, 06:30 AM »
When it rains it pours. Sorry to hear about your boat engine. Pretty curious to hear your number differential on lobsters. Sounds like maybe the sea bug fishery is doing better?

Good luck with the block swap.
Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.
-Ernest Hemingway

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #6 on: Nov 04, 2020, 08:31 AM »
I finished the engine last Sunday, tested it in a half of a 55 gallon drum cut lennghtwise, then winterized it, I would have been done 3 weeks ago if the US Postal service hadn't lost the 3 check valve that go in the block behind the reed cages.. Manufacturer recommend breaking the engine in with non ethanol gasoline, so I mixed 3 gallons of true fuel at 25:1 for break in and ran the engine on a remote tank for adjusting the carbs and timing...I'll mix 3 more @ 50: 1 in the spring ( I had to run 25:1 until all air was purged from the oil pump and lines).. after 10 hours I can resume normal operation..

as far as the lobsters go, 227 keepers, 506 total, a lot of large egg bearing females... I saw a lot less commercial traps in the area, when you are the only diner in town,  it makes for better dining experiences!, I believe due to shipping problems over seas the competition was a lot less..
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline Hottuna5150

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #7 on: Nov 04, 2020, 09:39 AM »
Well, at least you’ll be ready to rock next year.
Hard to argue with your lobster logic. Hopefully the competition stays low and local fisherman can continue to reap the benefits.
Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.
-Ernest Hemingway

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #8 on: Nov 04, 2020, 11:16 AM »










 a few pictures from the process...
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #9 on: Nov 04, 2020, 11:19 AM »
$2300 and a weekend is a great deal for a fresh bottom end and piece of mind for reliability, I hope the swap goes smooth for ya.

On another note... You ever get the group pics of last years outing ready for upload?

No I didn't .. thanks for reminding me... I was thinking, that day was like the beginning of the end... Covid took over shortly thereafter and halted life as we knew it...
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #10 on: Nov 04, 2020, 11:30 AM »
No I didn't .. thanks for reminding me... I was thinking, that day was like the beginning of the end... Covid took over shortly thereafter and halted life as we knew it...

Yup, that's the weekend it all hit the fan... that small group was the biggest I've been in all year... was a great time.
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline SALMONEMIA

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #11 on: Nov 04, 2020, 01:52 PM »
Big job. You have been busy for sure. Nice work on the boat and the Lobsters. 
Salmonemia

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #12 on: Nov 04, 2020, 05:34 PM »










"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline Lv2hunt

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #13 on: Nov 05, 2020, 08:53 AM »
beauty's for sure glad they didn't put a covid restriction on the lobster this year!! ::)
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day teach him how to fish and he will sit there and drink all day!!

Offline Coffin Dodger

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #14 on: Nov 05, 2020, 05:03 PM »
Great to have you back, Joe.
Congrats on the big stripers, flounder, bugs & doe.
Sorry to hear about your power. Great that you were able to get it up and running again. Can't think of anyone more qualified to repair/fix the motor than you, especially for that money.
I have a few questions for you:
How long were the blues around?
How'd you get back to shore when the motor seized up?
How many hours did that motor have on it?
Good luck on the hard water this season.

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #15 on: Nov 05, 2020, 06:06 PM »
Great to have you back, Joe.
Congrats on the big stripers, flounder, bugs & doe.
Sorry to hear about your power. Great that you were able to get it up and running again. Can't think of anyone more qualified to repair/fix the motor than you, especially for that money.
I have a few questions for you:
How long were the blues around?
How'd you get back to shore when the motor seized up?
How many hours did that motor have on it?
Good luck on the hard water this season.
The blues showed on a few occasions,  just for a tide, more specifically,  the bottom of the outgoing to the turn on a north east blow, then along the beach the morning i.hauled my pots, the weekend after labor day..
The motor happened at the dock when I was headed out, I was able to put a cut off milk jug under the lower carb and catch the excess fuel.by topping the motor all the way up while holding it under it so not to make a spill I removed the plugs and replaced, I put the original fuel pump that had a pin hole in it to  get it started,  it started but ran rough and had a knock, I knew it was toast..luckily,my marina a has a top notch ramp, 200' from my slip..
The engine is 16 years old, I haven't a clue how many hours on it, but I'd venture it has more than most its age, I've only run synthetic oil and am a maniac on.maintenace.. I replaced the steering shaft and motor mounts last fall and replaced the forward dog clutch and thrust washer and resealed the lower unit, IMHO its better than new..
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline Arctic Addict

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #16 on: Nov 05, 2020, 07:19 PM »
Welcome back Joe.  Sorry to hear about the boat troubles.  It doesn't sound like it slowed you down too much.  It sounds like you did well with the stripers.  Can't wait to social distance on the hard water.  Hopefully we have a good winter.
"Hope" is not a good fishing strategy!

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #17 on: Nov 05, 2020, 08:08 PM »
Welcome back Joe.  Sorry to hear about the boat troubles.  It doesn't sound like it slowed you down too much.  It sounds like you did well with the stripers.  Can't wait to social distance on the hard water.  Hopefully we have a good winter.
Thanks..I look at it this way, it happened at the end of the season, I lost 3 maybe 4 trips, the fishing had fallen off, so I'm ahead of the  game, I did all my maitence and put in a new set of control cables, next year I'll be ready early..

It was looking good a week ago for an early hard water season..thec
 10 day forecast put that dream to bed..I'm going to service my pick up, repack the bearings on the trailer for the wheeler, if I have time, Sunday, I'll take the machine for a ride.
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #18 on: Nov 06, 2020, 11:14 AM »
Great pics, the bugs look good Joe.
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #19 on: Nov 06, 2020, 12:39 PM »
Great pics, the bugs look good Joe.

Anything wild caught or gathered..
My wife, steams and breaks them down, she scrounged every last morsel, tails and large claws get  vacume sealed in usable portions,body meat goes for lobster rolls and stews, she boils the remains, then strains and makes stock for soups, stews etc.to be frozen for latter.

"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #20 on: Nov 06, 2020, 01:12 PM »
Sounds like my mom, she grew up on the coast in Canada, Shediack I believe. The shells are clean as glass when shes done, even the funky green stuff in the head gets eaten... Oddly enough they had lobster all the time when she was a kid because they were poor, times have changed...
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline Coffin Dodger

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #21 on: Nov 06, 2020, 07:49 PM »
Joe, handy that you were close to home when that motor gave up. At 16 years old, I'll bet your motor had far more hours than most when they're done. I'm sure it doesn't owe you a dime and now it has a whole new lifetime ahead. You should have many more seasons with it.
Sounds like my mom, she grew up on the coast in Canada, Shediack I believe. The shells are clean as glass when shes done, even the funky green stuff in the head gets eaten... Oddly enough they had lobster all the time when she was a kid because they were poor, times have changed...

Times certainly have changed, Stealth. Lobster was eaten by the poor and fed to prisoners because there was so little demand for it. In the early 1960's a friend of mine and his boyhood friend were fishing alone on the friend's father's boat out of Rye. They landed a big bluefin tuna. Had to take it by water down to MA to get a nickel a pound for it.  :o
Did you know Shediac NB is known as the lobster capital of the world?  ;)

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #22 on: Nov 06, 2020, 08:05 PM »
Joe, handy that you were close to home when that motor gave up. At 16 years old, I'll bet your motor had far more hours than most when they're done. I'm sure it doesn't owe you a dime and now it has a whole new lifetime ahead. You should have many more seasons with it.
Times certainly have changed, Stealth. Lobster was eaten by the poor and fed to prisoners because there was so little demand for it. In the early 1960's a friend of mine and his boyhood friend were fishing alone on the friend's father's boat out of Rye. They landed a big bluefin tuna. Had to take it by water down to MA to get a nickel a pound for it.  :o
Did you know Shediac NB is known as the lobster capital of the world?  ;)
It owes me nothing..bit I trust , injustice cantbwrap my head around the price of new engines..I know this one inside out, there is nothing that I can't fix that can happen to it, I e en have spare rebuildable block ..
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline 800stealth

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #23 on: Nov 06, 2020, 11:05 PM »
Stealth. Lobster was eaten by the poor and fed to prisoners because there was so little demand for it. In the early 1960's a friend of mine and his boyhood friend were fishing alone on the friend's father's boat out of Rye. They landed a big bluefin tuna. Had to take it by water down to MA to get a nickel a pound for it.  :o
Did you know Shediac NB is known as the lobster capital of the world?  ;)

I didn't know that but it would explain the giant concrete lobster... when I was a kid it seemed the size of a school bus, used to climb on it as a kid when we would visit family. It's been 30 years since I've last been.
"May your lines be tight and never be tangled" (old Frankish Proverb)  Guinea 2021

Offline Guinea

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #24 on: Nov 13, 2020, 07:51 PM »
Anything wild caught or gathered..
My wife, steams and breaks them down, she scrounged every last morsel, tails and large claws get  vacume sealed in usable portions,body meat goes for lobster rolls and stews, she boils the remains, then strains and makes stock for soups, stews etc.to be frozen for latter.


Sounds like my mom, she grew up on the coast in Canada, Shediack I believe. The shells are clean as glass when shes done, even the funky green stuff in the head gets eaten... Oddly enough they had lobster all the time when she was a kid because they were poor, times have changed...

Coastal women are my heroes. They both sound like amazing people!
Thinkin 'bout cusk on the grill......


Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #25 on: Nov 14, 2020, 03:18 PM »
Coastal women are my heroes. They both sound like amazing people!

Funny thing is.. she grew up in the Bronx.
"A mans got to know his limitations"

Offline lowaccord66

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #26 on: Nov 14, 2020, 04:47 PM »
It owes me nothing..bit I trust , injustice cantbwrap my head around the price of new engines..I know this one inside out, there is nothing that I can't fix that can happen to it, I e en have spare rebuildable block ..

Stupid money Joe.  To the point its cheaper to buy another boat instead of re-powering.  Im sure you'll have that motor running better than it did soon enough.

Offline Roccus

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Re: Long crazy summer
« Reply #27 on: Nov 14, 2020, 05:44 PM »
Stupid money Joe.  To the point its cheaper to buy another boat instead of re-powering.  Im sure you'll have that motor running better than it did soon enough.
Already, tested and winterized..Winni salmon season will be the perfect break in.
"A mans got to know his limitations"

 



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