Added a Swivel-eze® bass-casting seat base to the front casting platform. The intent is to add a bass-boat type leaning seat to the front deck, so a person casting from the front deck will have more stability. Right now, if it‘s rough, a person casting from the front deck is easily toppled.

Everything went smoothly, except the bolts I bought were too short. Needed 1.5", bought 1.25". Got a bicycle seat-style bass-boat seat from Cabela's, and an aluminum adjustable post from Sports Authority. We‘re a little concerned about the strength of the post (3/4" pin), and the longevity of the seat base (galvanzed steel), but we'll see. When we drilled out the main hole for the seat base, we could see the casting platform deck construction, which was interesting - looks like 1/2" of balsa coring, in addition to the fiberglass and foam. We‘ll need to seal the exposed balsa with epoxy or resin to finish off the install.

Fishing trip to the Coronados again. Some observations during the trip:

1. Putting AP into standby when drifting definitely seems to be the ticket - no reoccurrence of the hard swing right problem.
2. Picked up some Yo-zuri Hydromag Deep Divers. Seems to tbe OK, but only 4 knot max speed.
3. Also tried out some Braid Bladerunners - on the deepest setting, only 5 knot max speed was possible, at 8 knots, they turned on their sides and planed up.
4. Outriggers - the AFTCO Goldfinger release clips worked well on the lightest setting. Also, there is definitely a difference between port and starboard outriggers. If you put the port rigger on the starboard side, the halyard hole exits out the top of the tube, making it extremely hard to pull the halyard in or out.
5. E-TEC - low oil light (or maybe Overheat? Couldn‘t tell due to fogging of the gauge) went off several times when cold, went away when the engine was warmed up. Engine also stalled once. Could this be due to the fuel stabilizer I added after the last trip? I am NOT putting in the fuel additive any more, also switching back to XD-50 oil only.
6. With a SS prop, can now cruise 21 mph @4000 RPM (vs. 4500 rpm w/composite prop). Need to finish off mileage measurements later

The "Check Engine" light came on once while fishing, but reset after turning the motor off.

Fishing was slower, but not bad - still managed 5 bonito, 8 - 10 lbs, mostly on green/yellow Jap feathers; one on a green/gold Yozuri Hydromag, one 8 lb fish on a fly - a green/white Sea Habit Deceiver (my personal best bonito on a fly rod).

Replaced the stock right trailer fender (7.5" wide) with the 9" wide fenders purchased at West Marine in the parking lot. The wider fenders seem to be working well - no need for the fender pads anymore to block road gunk and brake dust/muck from getting thrown on the hull. The hull is a little close to the fenders, but should be OK.

Let's face it - offshore fishing usually requires burning a lot of gas or diesel. Larger boats often get no more than 1 - 2 miles per gallon, which means 100+ gallons of gas per trip. Ocean skiffs are better because of their smaller size, at 4 - 6 miles per gallon (with a 4-stroke or DFI motor), but still chew up quite a bit of gas. That translates into quite a bit of cash on every trip.

Also, while I'm not a rabid environmentalist, I think it's clear that burning fossil fuels contributes to a number of our environmental problems. Whether it's acid rain (NOX emissions), global warning (carbon dioxide), or groundwater contamination (MTBE fuel additive), burning gasoline contributes to pollution at some level. So better fuel economy means not only less cost, but also a cleaner environment.

In the 90 HP shootout article mentioned in "The E-TEC Buzz", the test boat with the best mileage got just around 9 MPG . The test boat was an extremely light, minimally loaded aluminum skiff. A little later, I saw an article in Boating magazine that talked about a boat that achieved over 100 MPG . That boat was essentially a high-tech rowing shell with a small motor running at 1-2 mph, but it got me thinking - could we reach double-digit fuel economy at cruising speeds in an ocean skiff?

Seems to me that in theory, a light power catamaran or trimaran around 18 - 20' LOA, with one or two small DFI 2-stroke or 4-stroke motors could achieve over 10 MPG with a cruise speed around 15 - 20 mph. What do you think?  I'd like to hear your opinion on the topic... . Could such a hull be made strong enough to survive regular offshore use?

Another, less obvious, way that boats contribute to air pollution is through the fumes from resins and solvents used in manufacturing fiberglass or composite boat hulls. In recent years, some of the larger boat manufacturers have have gotten emissions under control by using closed-system molds (like Genmar's VEC technology, or Sea Ray's RIMFIRE Technology ), or vacuum bagging techniques. The Triumph Boat Company's roto-molded ropelene hull is another low-impact construction technique. Interestingly enough, vacuum bagging of composites did not start out as an emissions control technique. Rather, vacuum bagging was used to get a more thorough saturation of resin in the hull material, resulting in a stronger hull. The emissions control was just a side benefit. All of these construction techniques are the most effective on smaller hulls, which makes them a good fit for the kinds of boats OSJ readers use.

Added one of the 9" fenders to see if it will fix the brake goo problem. Due to space issues, could only replace the left one in the garage. The fender "as is" is too wide to fit the opening between the step pads, BUT! I raised the trailer, placed the fender under the step pads, braced the fender at a certain height with some blocks of wood, then lowered the trailer on top of it. The weight of the trailer, combined with the curvature of the fender, made the step pads force the fender into the opening. Used a wood block and hammer to fine-tune the fender position, then drilled the appropriate holes and bolted it in.

West Marine couldn‘t take the jack back - probably bought it thru Port Supply, and they don‘t keep the records back that far. Suggested calling Fulton, but without a receipt, we doubt they would take it under warranty. Bought a 1500 lb tongue jack (also Fulton) instead.

Went out to the Coronados again. Averaged 4.3 mpg this time. Motor started on the first try, but when we tried to accelerate from the Shelter Island ramp, the boat stalled and would not restart until we completely turned off the key. Then it ran fine the entire day. Perhaps the fuel additive messed something up?

We made sure the fuel bulb was firm this time, but the FF41 was off again: 21.4 gallons recoded by the FF41 vs. 18.3 actual (16.9%). Recalibrated again. Better luck next time?

Continued to disengage the AP when idling or drifting, was OK all day. Still need to re-compensate. Forgot to turn off the AP power, when we retrailered the boat. When we got to the gas station to refill the tank, it was beeping fast. Got to check out what that means!

The SS prop added 1.5 - 2.5 MPH in speed at any RPM stting over 3000. Mileage seemed to be about the same, however, we did not actually run the numbers.

Stopped at West Marine, they said to bring the jack back, even w/o the receipt.

Oh yeah - fishing was fantastic for large bonito - 10 fish, all over 7 pounds, largest two were both 11 lbs.