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  1. l008com

    Power Rating

    I'm wondering what the deal is with the power rating of my boat. That is, if I start doing major custom work, when does that plate no longer apply? This is purely out of curiosity, I don't plan on converting my old outboard into a jet boat any time soon. But lets say I did. The hull is rated for...
  2. l008com

    5200 Good for Weight-Bearing?

    My new horn has an air pump that's pretty heavy for it's size. My plan was to cut a block of wood, use 5200 to glue the block to the side of the boat (inside, in the bow below "deck"). But once cut out the block and had the pump on it, I started to wonder. Is 5200 going to be strong enough to...
  3. l008com

    Speaker Wires

    I'm stockpiling everything I need to install a stereo in my boat this spring. One thing I don't have yet is speaker wires. How can I determine what gauge wire I need? Also, do I need to use wire that is deemed "speaker" wire? I know there is a difference between marine grade cable and regular...
  4. l008com

    Island Landings

    So for the first 20 years of my boat's life, it lived on a small lake. A real freshwater lake (not what, for example, Florida calls a lake). It had it's own small dock. The water level was very steady. If I wanted to beach my boat (say i was going to move the dock), I'd just beach it on our...
  5. l008com

    Trumpet Mounting Location

    I need a loud horn for all the locks I pass through. So I'm going to get one of those 126dB AFI air horns. So I came up with what I thought was the perfect location to mount the single 9.5" trumpet (see blue oval below). BUT reading AFI's website, they mention that you should mount it someplace...
  6. l008com

    Deep Cycle Battery in a Car?

    What IS a deep cycle battery? I've always know it as simply a battery that has more capacity than a regular car battery. So, why don't they put deep cycle batteries in cars? I got my boat's battery at autozone for all of $65. And it cranked for hours and hours without a charge, it held so much...
  7. l008com

    Getting Paint Off My Floor

    Two years ago, I tore the rug off the floor of my boat. It turned into a huge project that took the whole season, the boat never even made it into the water. But eventually, I got all the rug and basically all the glue gone, and I put down a few coats of that west marine grippy paint. I'm pretty...
  8. l008com

    Source for LEDs

    I hope to install a bunch of LEDs in my boat next year. I want two kinds. I want some not-too-bright, wide angle red LEDs that i'd use to gently illuminate my whole floor. I'd hook that up to my 'night light' switch, that also controls the backlights to gauges, etc. Then I also want a bunch of...
  9. l008com

    Oil Level "Window"

    Anyone know where I can get a new oil level window? In this picture it's broken, but this picture is old. It's actually long gone. Lots of salt water spray gets in through that hole, I'd really like to replace it. But I haven't had any luck finding these parts.
  10. l008com

    Exhaust is Killing Me (Literally? Hope Not!)

    As you can see from my pic, I've got a 15' thundercraft with a 90hp 2cycle 3cyl Mercury. Engine is an '89. So it runs great. Like, really great. It really runs like new. But the exhaust is brutal. I guess that's the price you pay for a 2 cycle. Even if you're going into the wind, the exhaust...
  11. l008com

    Battery Storage

    When I wrapped up my boat for the winter, I took out it's battery (new last spring) and put it down in my basement, where it will be at a pretty steady 60-70? until spring. Is there any reason I shouldn't have done this? Fumes or anything? Also that battery was fully charged when I disconnected...
  12. l008com

    Toss Fire Extinguisher

    Can bad fire extinguishers just be thrown in the trash? Or are they like TVs and need to be specially disposed of? Also, what causes a fire extinguisher to go from full to empty? And the answer isn't "using it up", I had no fires this year.
  13. l008com

    Replacing Windshield Panel

    Long ago, long before my dad bought this hull to replace our tri-hull that felt like it was going to snap in half every time it hit a wave... long before that, the original owner of this hull did a really ****ty job replacing the driver's side window. Theres no real seal around it at all, it...
  14. l008com

    Stereo Speakers (General Info, Mounting Suggestions)

    This is my boat: It's a bit longer than it looks, this photo is looking at an angle, not straight downward. Anyway in another thread, I found a stereo that I really like. Now the question is speakers. This particular stereo cannot bridge its 4 channels into 2. So to get optimum sound out of...
  15. l008com

    Bilge Pump Hose Location

    So, since this boat was new some 25 years ago, this is how the bilge pump was set up. The hose comes up from the pump, through a hole, and into the area in front of the motor. That area has a small hole that slowly drains the water. See Below: But woudln't it make more sense for the water...
  16. l008com

    Combo Speedometer & Tachometer

    My boat is tight on space. So I was wondering if anyone makes combo gauges. There are lots of ways you could do a combo, but I was thinking the best for me would be a needle speedometer, and a digital tack set in the middle of the speedometer. I'd rather had the tach digital since thats more...
  17. l008com

    You know what I DON'T like about this website...

    It's lack of detail! I'm not talking about the forum. The forum is very useful. And members affiliated with the site, often encourage you to buy your parts at the iboats store. And thats a very fair request. But your product information is so limited on (in my experience) MOST of your items...
  18. l008com

    Whats the deal with boat radios? (Stereos)

    I want a radio for my boat (stereo, for music). My boat is a boat, not a car. Also it's 2010, I don't use CDs. Why is it that every radio I see, is a DIN style car stereo but for "marine" use. My boat is very small, I don't have any good place to put a car-style radio. I designed a better radio...
  19. l008com

    Horn Button (for signaling?)

    So I wired up a simple push button switch for my electric horns (which themselves are not installed yet, I'm currently using an air horn). So this may sound kind of silly but, every single time I go out, I have to go through at least one set of locks, and then again when I come back. If I go up...
  20. l008com

    Winterizing

    I thought there'd be a winterizing sticky but surprisingly, nope. So I have a 1989, 3cyl merc outboard. I plan on putting the battery in my basement, and the fuel will all get used. But what else do I have to do to the engine that's going to sit through a cold new england winter?
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