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    Securing Trailer Bunk With Lag Screw Instead of Carriage Bolt

    I'm replacing a bunk on a trailer for a 9,000lb boat. The lumber is an odd size, 3"x4", that I couldn't source locally. I called the manufacturer and they had the bunk I needed, all carpeted, but without the carriage bolts installed. If I have to drill the bunk, countersink, and install the...
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    Merc 228R Missing When Hot Under Load

    Engine: 1984 Merc 228R Serial #6726322 Thunderbolt IV Ignition I've owned this boat 11 years and it's never let me down in over 2,000 miles of river and lake cruising. A few nights ago coming in from a Kentucky Lake sunset cruise, the engine started to stumble and miss. The missing was...
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    Gas/Diesel Comparison

    I replaced my 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500, 5.3L 6-speed, 3.42 rear end with a 2014 Silverado 2500 HD 6.6L diesel 6-Speed Allison, 3.73 rear end. Both trucks factory equipped with typical tow package. One of my boats is a 5,000lb on trailer Sea Ray cuddy. The 1500 pulled it just fine, but with...
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    Let's Talk Truck Bed Covers

    I need a cover for the bed of my 2014 Silverado 2500HD. I've had Undercover one-piece hard tonneau covers on two previous Silverados and want try something different. My mission for the cover is to keep dry and out of view what I have in the bed. What cover do you have and what do you like or...
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    Yanmar 4BY2 Survey

    I've put a deposit on a Ranger Tug powered by a 180 hp Yanmar 4BY2. The owner is well-known in the Ranger Tug community for meticulous care of his vessel. None-the-less, I would like to have a technician evaluate the engine. It is five years-old and has about 925 hours. An oil sample is...
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    Air Helper Springs

    The placard on the 2 1/2' factory receiver hitch: From the owner's manual. My 2500 4WD truck is a Crew Cab Standard Box. The first colum is Axle Ratio; second column is Max Trailer Weight; third column is GCWR. The reference for the "1" superscript in the box describing my truck model:
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    Air Helper Springs

    The placard on the 2 1/2" factor?y receiver hitch: From the owner's manual. My 2500 4WD truck is a Crew Cab Standard Box. The first colum is Axle Ratio; second column is Max Trailer Weight; third column is GCWR. The reference for the "1" superscript in the box describing my truck model:
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    Air Helper Springs

    Yesterday, I took delivery of a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy 2500HD diesel. In the glove box, I found documentation for Ride-Rite air helper springs that were installed by the previous owner. To be honest, I didn't notice them when I was looking at the truck and the dealer never mentioned...
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    Need F-250 Feedback

    I'm going to buy a Ranger Tug R27 in the next 3-12 months. To be ready for when I find the right boat and deal, I'm selling my 2011 Silverado 1/2 ton and buying a 3/4 ton diesel. A colleague has a 2014 F-250 Lariet 4-door with 65,000 miles that he may sell. I intend to tow the R27 on trips...
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    Sonic Rodent Repellent While Storing Boat

    For winter storage, I keep my deckboat in a metal storage building with a gravel floor at our small farm property 250 miles from our primary residence. I've never had a problem with mice getting into the boat until last year. They got in with a vengeance. Fortunately, the only real damage was...
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    Great Boating Season Stats

    Today, I finished winterizing my two boats- a 1984 21' Sea Ray cuddy and a 2002 21' Four Winns deckboat. All went smoothly. It was a great season. The weather and water conditions were nice all season. I keep a simple log on my iPhone and here are the numbers: Sea Ray- 63 hours on 29...
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    Corrosion Under Distributor Cap

    I'm replacing the cap and rotor on my 1984 Merc 228R with Thunderbolt 4. When I removed the distributor cap, I was surprised by the amount of surface corrosion on the distributor body (don't know if that's the correct parts term). See photo. How should I deal with it? In the same photo and...
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    Thunderbolt IV Cap & Rotor Change Interval

    How often should Thunderbolt IV cap & rotor be changed? Boat is used 50-75 hours per season on fresh water.
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    1984 Taylor Made Windshield Trim

    To check the integrity of the hardware fastening the bottom of windshield to foredeck, I pulled a piece of black plastic trim about 3/4" wide that runs the width of a section of the windshield on my 1984 Sea Ray cuddy. The trim covered the slot containing the fasteners at the bottom of the...
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    Fluctuating Oil Pressure at Idle 5.0 GXiB

    Engine 5.0 GxiB #4012069514 Upon starting engine after oil & filter change, the engine alarm sounded for about five seconds. I feel sure it was oil pressure causing the alarm. I observed it fluctuate and then stabilize. That's never happened in the nine years I've owned this boat. Now when...
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    Evaluating a Donated Sailboat

    I'm a power boater of ten years. I know next to nothing about sailboats. My school-teacher daughter is volunteering at a Girl Scout aquatic camp for a couple weeks this summer. Someone donated a mid-80s Starwind 22 sailboat to the camp. It doesn't fit their mission and they want to sell it...
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    Wheel Hub and Transmission Fluid Temps While Towing

    Occasionally there are posts by folks contemplating a long distance tow asking about the stresses of such a tow on tires, hubs, and transmission. Several times a year, I tow two different 21' boats carried on tandem axle trailers on trips of a couple hundred miles. An observation I've made...
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    Little/No Prop Thrust at High Torque Merc MR-1

    Boat: 1984 Sea Ray cuddy Engine: Merc 228R Drive: Merc MR-1 Both original to boat Went out for a dinner cruise tonight. Like it has for the last 10 years, it throttled up and planed right off. About five minutes later, the engine rpm revved and the prop lost almost all thrust. After throttling...
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    Snaps Screwed into Fiberglass Pulling Out

    I have an elderly Sea Ray cuddy vintage 1984. The male component of the snaps that secure the cockpit cover to the hull are screwed into the fiberglass with a sheetmetal screw. Some of the snaps have pulled out of the fiberglass and need to be replaced. What are the ways to accomplish this?
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    2005 Crownline 270 CR Underpowered?

    There's a one-owner private sale 2002 Crownline 270 CR available locally. It's very well equipped, including a 7.3KW generator. The problem I see is the powerplant is a Merc 350MPI driving a Bravo III. That seems to me to be significantly underpowered. Most I've seen for sale have bigger...
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