Lake michigan salmon/Trout. Wet, Wavy, but a blast.

[HighTechRedneck]

While launching a boat was coming in and said 4+ foot waves were out there and they were calling the day a bust. Needless to say I figured this would be a prime opportunity to test out the new Raymarine s1000 autopilot. I had a buddy boat and coming out of the harbor and were greeted by 3 footers. We headed east and the waves continued to build. a mile or two out my buddy boat decided to head back to the harbor so we kept east alone. Waves were 3-5's and the autopilot handled them with no problem except for if we were going into the waves if were going under 2.8mph it started to have trouble but any other direction we could get down to 1.9 with no problems. In big waves my boat really has a hard time hooking up with fish. It had been a few hours at this point and the lake was starting to lay down. Got a call from my buddy boat and he was at the dock and ready to head back out now that the conditions were better. It was like 2-3' rollers. Shortly after we got 2 kings on. we came around and picked up a laker than back again and another laker. By this point the waves were building again and that was it for fish. 4 for 4. good size lakers (7 and 11lbs) and average king and a small king. all taken 55-65 down off riggers and dipsy. riverside stripper spoon and green/chrome flasher green fly took the fish. There was a large barge about 2 miles further offshore that was throwing up a spray over 30' hitting the waves so I decided to headed out for a closeup. halfway there we saw our buddy boat coming in and the waves now were 5+. I think at one point we went over at least a 9 footer because the boat was strait up and down and half the outboard was buried in the water. the barge was moving faster than we thought so catching it wasn't going to happen. we ended up turning and ran back in along side salmonalogist.

Here are some pics of the day. Somehow I ended up with no pictures of the fish
I LOVE AUTOPILOT

HTR

 

[NCangler]

Nice work!

 

[RoryWainer]

Great photos, particularly #7.
I now have windshield envy.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Ya I really like the windshield. it makes a world of difference. I have a 2005 which has a very low windshield. 3" lower than the 2006+and it was a rental so there was no center to the windshield so the new windshield is really great. Its about 7" higher than the old one. Before sitting in the seat the top of the windshield was at my eye level and now its above my head.

HTR

 

[RoryWainer]

Where did you get it? I have a 2009 and the windshield has been very carefully designed to direct wind and spray straight into your eyes.

ps I now understand why American boaters are so keen on self-bailing hulls.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Where did you get it? I have a 2009 and the windshield has been very carefully designed to direct wind and spray straight into your eyes.

ps I now understand why American boaters are so keen on self-bailing hulls.

I got it from merritt marine. Merritt Marine...your Triumph Boat factory dealer!
This is the windshield they used for the totom lodge boats.

I don't have a selfbailing hull but it would sure be nice. On lake michigan we get very steep waves unlike in the ocean because its so shallow. they did not start making the selfbailing hull until 2006 so I missed out.

 

[RoryWainer]

Thanks - I have sent Chad and email & hope he has one left.

Westernport Bay is similar - a very shallow bay with a several really deep channels (100ft+) and the waves can be short & sharp with very small gaps between them. When the wind blows against the tide, the waves just stand straight up and no small boat can avoid taking some water over the bow.

So far you seem to be doing fine without scuppers, but I guess you could always put some in? Big waves aside, they sure make cleaning the boat easier.

My 190Bay had a really basic system - just a couple of holes in the boat hooked up to some pipe and ping-pong ball valves. It may have been basic, but it worked really well.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

My 190Bay had a really basic system - just a couple of holes in the boat hooked up to some pipe and ping-pong ball valves. It may have been basic, but it worked really well.

I have always wanted to do it. the floor on mine is 2" below the water line so it would have to be just above the deck just for safety. I thought about a 2"-3" pipe for it but so far nevery needed it. Carl at merritt told me that they did the coast guard testing for the 191 at their shop and with 10+ people standing on the gunnels, the boat filled with a ton of weights, and a hose pumping water into the boat the boat was still high enough that the water was pouring out the back. in 2006 they added the self bailing feature and inorder to do so they raised the floor 3" and also raised the gunnels 3".

 

[RoryWainer]

Chad has one or two high windshields left! Other than getting the gap right, was there anything particularly difficult about fitting the windshield?

On the scuppers - it doesn't matter if the inlet pipe is lower than the water level providing the outlet pipe is lower again, and the pipe has a riser or S-bend plus a one-way valve system such as the ping-pong balls. When the boat moves forward siphon effect will drain the water out of the boat and the riser and valve will stop the water entering the boat (in theory). This is kind of how the 190Bay system work, but the factory didn't put in a riser so there was some back flow until I added one. Anyway, based on the Coast Guard test maybe it is not worth the hassle.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Chad has one or two high windshields left! Other than getting the gap right, was there anything particularly difficult about fitting the windshield?

On the scuppers - it doesn't matter if the inlet pipe is lower than the water level providing the outlet pipe is lower again, and the pipe has a riser or S-bend plus a one-way valve system such as the ping-pong balls. When the boat moves forward siphon effect will drain the water out of the boat and the riser and valve will stop the water entering the boat (in theory). This is kind of how the 190Bay system work, but the factory didn't put in a riser so there was some back flow until I added one. Anyway, based on the Coast Guard test maybe it is not worth the hassle.

Thanks I never thought of that.

As for the windshield it was not all the difficult to replace. once the old windshield is removed you have to then weld the holes shut because the larger windshield does not fit in the same place. The bars that hold the windshield up in the center mounted in a different place than my old windshield. I had to bend them quite a bit to get it to work. The hardest part was aligning the windshield. you have one already so you will know how large the gap has to be. I got mine wrong so I had to weld the holes shut and start again. I did it on the trailer and when the boat is in the water it gets tighter and I though it would get looser.

The other thing is the bimini top. That was easy. I moved the brackets that were on the old windshield to the new windshield then on the bimini I drilled out the rivets that held the connecting bar from the bimini to windshield and moved the bar up then drilled a new hole and put in new rivets. see below pic.

I also included some before pics also

 

[RoryWainer]

Thanks for the photos & notes - oh, yes, the bimini & windshield stays...forgot all about them.

I have just order the windshield & a weld gun from Chad...fingers crossed I don't stuff it too much

Hopefully my son will be at Merritt Marine in the next week or so and can get a lesson on plastic welding while there.