delaney

what i find interesting is the difference in information available to the public compared to the Fitz accident. In the Fitz accident navy released paths of both ships and reactions. navy is not releasing the path of either ship (that i can find online) from the McCain. I sound like a conspiracy theory person and usually i am not. i just cannot wrap my head around 2 accidents more or less the same. Maybe the first was a true accident and maybe the 2nd was a low cost version of terrorism or warfare (China??) to remove warships from the area. again, it would be the cheapest way to remove a multi-billion $$ ship from service (2 ships now) each w/ repairs bills into the hundreds of millions and years of repairs. So sad for the sailors who lost their lives - accident or other

yeah, but that would require a new mount location and piping mods - its in a pretty good location, easy to get to just the mounts prevent any other options but the original

I have had to replace mine as well. its a good idea to get some heat shrink wrap boots for the connections. I think mine started to leak due to adding small amounts of bleach to keep the water fresh. deteriorated the seals. i have switched to the tablets to see if that helps. i wanted to get the slightly larger pump to aid in water pressure in the bathroom sink but the grommet holes are not the same distances apart.

the bigger the boat on that lake the more the lake opens up to you. from your table rock pic w/ your sunesta the bigger boat will have a few drawbacks. i assume you trailered your sunesta. a few things just to consider while on LM. 1. slip cost (are you planning on slipping in the city or elsewhere?) The cost to slip from 31st street and north to Montrose are fairly steep $$$ - further north to Evanston or south to the IN border are more affordable. Hammond is a good middle point as it is a short boat ride to either the city or the dunes areas and boaters beach (favorite anchor spot for many boaters) 2. the need for bottom paint (maint of paint from year to year) - unless you like a furry bottom, you will need bottom paint 3. winterizing / storage costs (you are considering a boat that most likely isn't a garage storage anymore) - if you store in a heated location winterizing is basically just draining the blocks and few other items (less $$$) if you store outside a full winterizing required and shrink wrap plus storage is $$$ 4. add'l fuel / insurance costs - no real big deal here just wanted to share. its a minor up charge but hey like others have stated "if you cannot put gas in the boat you shouldn't buy the boat" Lastly, I went from a sunesta to the 327 and it amazing how much more sqft it has and how much longer it takes to wash and wax it. when its in storage i need a ladder to get to it and takes me a full day to clean it and another to winterize it and i am in heated storage so i just drain the blocks and water tanks, & tender the batteries, oil, drive fluid, impeller, fuel filters

So - the Navy announced the removal of the 7th Fleet commander yesterday. Probably just the start of major changes to come. The loss of 7 sailors on Fitz and now 10 more on the McCain. I still cannot figure our how a 800' long freighter broadsides a 500' long battle ready destroyer? Talk about a complete failure of seamanship. Even if this is a new form of terrorism - meaning, what if a foreign gov't paid freight captains to ram our battleships. it is plausible - a freighter appears harmless and has every right to be in the water relatively close to our ships traveling on the same course only to slightly alter course and rely on the ship to not react quickly enough. seems this happened twice in 2 months. how can the exact same accident happen? both ships were struck mid ship and basically removed (2) destroyers from the US Navy for the next few years while they are repaired or scrapped. $1billion in damage and 17 sailors lost. not to mention removal of our admiral, and most likely the officers and senior crews of both ships. that is quite the wound to our Navy with only minor damage done to a couple of container ships. if these accidents to our 7th fleet are new forms of warfare we are in a tough spot. any approaching non-military ship if fired on will have international uproar that a US vessel sunk a defenseless vessel. If they are simply accidents than our Navy and those crews were woefully incompetent especially the McCain crew as just 2 months earlier they should have learned a valuable lesson and all captains should have given orders to keep safe distances period!! Pardon my rant but (2) of my sons are entering the Navy and these recent accidents are unacceptable, the tragic loss of life over stupid actions or non actions by those in command have me concerned as a father and a citizen.

before you jump in - go out a few times. spent my whole life boating lake michigan. unless you enjoy cruising from port to port on long distance runs I would bet a tank of gas that you never venture past 5 miles off shore, very few people do. even cruising one of the best views is the coast once you get a few miles off shore there isn't a shore to see. it is not like the ocean, when the waves are 3 feet or bigger they will pound you regardless of the size of boat (in a boat less than 40') pleasure boating is great on LM on waves of 1-2'. true the sunesta's dead rise is not as high for that lake as the SSX series, but to say no bow rider is not true again unless you want to cruise. most people boat a few miles from their harbor and a bow rider will provide alot more sqft for outdoor use. I had the 264 sunesta and moved up to the 327ssx for sqft and love the bow rider on the big lake. i would never cross the lake directly on it but i wouldn't on a cruiser less than 40' either

that sounds like a great deal. that 230 must be whip lashingly fast. the 155 is more than fast enough for us - the 230 must be a blast.

does my wife have a second husband?

as you stated the boat is sluggish out of the water. a few of us experienced this and your symptoms are that of a bad spark plug. my boat last year had the same or similar symptoms. couldn't believe the difference once new plugs were put in. boats are not cars - for whatever reason those plugs need to be replaced more frequently

WOT RPM is too low at 3800. look for the easy & most common solution. change the plugs and fuel filter first and then check RPM. the bottom paint will take a 1-2mph off top end if that - your describing a fouled plug or bad wires. a DIY job for less than 100 bucks if that is not the issue, then move to fuel pump issues - props are probably not the issue if the owner gave you the props he used.

you can worry about any size boat and generally you don't boat on cruddy days anyways.. i wouldn't go on any long trips but if you are within eye sight of shore and a few miles from harbor than have fun. if you are looking to go harbor cruising 20 miles apart, than no.

the correct way is to purchase a new tube and run it through - purchase this barbed coupler and connect the broken ends until a complete replacement is done in the winter ($2) repair w/ a bit of gorilla tape to hold into place

I would go every year until i moved my boat across the lake. Toddler is 100% correct. if its a calm day, a short 15 mile or so boat ride from Hammond, IN marina is the best option. check the NOAA wave reports to make sure the winds will be SW and not forecasted to change to any other direction. regardless, after the show the breakwalls and large boats will cause the area around Navy Pier to be rough - get behind a larger cruiser, once you get south of downtown area it will get better. its a great view from the water and the Navy Seals usually parachute into the water and we encountered one swimming from boat to boat - it was great fun watching everyone get spooked a bit. Water is very deep so bring plenty of anchor rode as the bottom is hard (40-60') deep where you will anchor

certainly not wanting to argue for the sake of being right or wrong. if we were that stubborn to be right, we would have tasted the bow plate of a 52' cruiser moving @ 15 knots vs a 300 lb sailboat. no prize for winning that argument at all!! Our line of attack was consistent and not zigzaging at all. we were clearly the overtaken vessel on a constant course. i certainly believe that captain felt that his vessel was too big and that a small boat under sail should give way to him. Judge Smails!!!