CKSNAP

Buy the boat with the 8.1. No one has ever come on the forum and complained they had too much power.

The fact that you've posted on a public forum your possible intention to knowingly tow with malfunctioning brakes kind of makes it impossible for you to claim ignorance if you have an accident. Just sayin................

Looks to me like that's your tow point. Looks stouter than the one on my 230ssi which has been towing tubers and skiers for years. Route your tow line under the cross bar and put the loop around the T. I wouldn't use a harness they're a pain in the azz.

I use the drain hose. Found out it works a lot better if you make sure it's out all the way and doesn't have a kink in it. I also remove the oil fill cap to avoid a vacuum and then knock a hole in the top/bottom (depending how you look at it) of the oil filter with a punch so it also drains and doesn't make a mess upon removal.

Heres what I use to control the trailer clunk. http://www.schuckcushionhitches.com/ I use the Model 340. Works well.

Shore Station. Have a pro install it and don't let the installer out of your sight until your boat has been up and down a couple of times and everything is perfect.

Just got my new carpet from Custom Marine Carpet. (Thanks to those who posted their reviews on the forum). Now I gotta clean the hard black crusty crap off the deck. Anybody have a successful method for getting that stuff off?

I've got one. Was getting that chalky buildup on the drive. I've heard that excessive heat causes rapid drying/evaporation of the water and leaves minerals stuck on the drive. The shower completely eliminates it. I don't care if the cooling effect contributes to the life expectancy of my Bravo 3 or not, just not ever having to clean it is worth the cost.

I think whatever occupied the area where those 4 mounting holes and round stain is in the pic is the key to this mystery.

I put my boat sideways along the back wall of the garage.

This is the key. Even if you replace the whole engine the problem could resurface again and you're back where you started. I'd cure the cause if you can find it, slap some heads on and call it good.

I'll be interested to see what numbers you get also. As I've said before I'm getting 4500 rpm @ WOT and I've never tried my 24p spare set. With my boat on the lift all season it's difficult to experiment with props. Might try the 24s next year though.

I take a punch and knock a hole in the remote oil filter when I change oil. Drains the filter and makes less mess. Make sure your oil fill cap is off when your pumping out. I suppose it's possible you might be creating a vacuum with the pump.

I have the 496 with closed cooling. Change the oil. Hook up the Camco 5 gallon jug to the muffs, start the engine, run til empty. Done. Just don't forget to check the engine coolant freeze point. If your heat exchanger has an internal leak and dilutes your AF with raw water you could be screwed.

The wonky tach reading can sometimes be remedied by cycling the cylinder selection switch on the back of the tach several times. I have to do this once every year or so to straighten mine out.