Winterizing and Storing the Boat for Winter

I just went to drop off the boat to get it winterized and stored for the winter. It was a very sad day, but I did find some gadgets to buy in the spring, like a new fishfinder gps combo by Lowrance...

Pulling Boats with Automatic Transmissions: Lay Off the Overdrive!

I just read a post on Quebecpeche by mechant malade that caught my attention.

When towing my boat (I have a 2000 XTerra with automatic transmission) I tend to want to use the overdrive to control the upshifts and downshifts that seem to happen a lot more than normal.

Apparently, this is not a good idea. He explains that as the transmission goes up in gears from 1st to 2nd to 3rd to 4th the oil pressure becomes lower and lower. But when you're towing a heavy load, you want to have as much oil going through as possible to avoid damage to your plates.

The moral of the story: Avoid pulling heavy loads on overdrive!

Boat Launches and Ramps: Saint Lawrence and the SeaWay

NORTH SHORE

Lanoraie

• Dock at the end of rue Champagne

Lavaltrie

• Dock at the end of Rue Saint-Antoine-Sud

St-Sulpice

• Dock facing the church

Repentigny

• Saint Laurent Park

Montreal Pointe aux Trembles

• Facing 13415 Notre Dame, right under the Hydro Quebec power lines

Verdun

• Desmarchais Park behind the circus school

LaSalle

• 8912 Boulevard LaSalle (Lachine Rapids)

SOUTH SHORE

Contrecoeur

• Contrecoeur Dock behind the Mayor's Office

Vercheres

• Federal Dock, rue Madeleine

Varennes

• Parc de la Commune

Boucherville

• Dock facing 425 Marie Victorin
• Parc des Iles de Boucherville

Longueuil

• Parc de l'ile Charron
• Intersection Taschereau et Pierre Dupuy

Brossard

• Léon Gravel Park, South Shore Canal

La Prairie

• La Prairie Dock, at the Marina

Ste Catherine

• Dock facing 4075 rue Marie Victorin (South Shore Canal)
• Seaway Ramp, La Prairie Basin, across the Locks Bridge

Lac des Deux Montagnes Boat Launches & Ramps

For those of you looking to launch your boat on Two Mountains Lake (or is it Lake of Two Mountains?), here are a few of the most popular public ramps [descentes de bateaux] which you can use.

I tried to make the Google Map links as accurate as possible, though they will get you within a block of where you need to go, they are not perfect. I have not used most of these ramps, rather I found the list on a paper map called "la pêche à la carte autour de Montréal".

North Shore

Deux Montagnes

• Armitage Park behind the water filtration plant

Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac

• Plage Roger Marina, 37e Avenue

Pointe Calumet

• End of 32nd Avenue, Alphonse-Gravel Park for parking
• Facing Place René street, park your vehicle at the Pointe Calumet Marina

Oka

• At the end of St-Pierre street

St-Placide

• Dock at the end of rue de l'église

South Shore

Rigaud

• Rigaud Nautical Park, chemin de la Pointe Séguin

Hudson

• Hudson Marina, at the end of Rue Halcro

Boat Launches and Ramps on the Saint Lawrence: Lac Saint-François

Are you looking for a boat launch or boat ramp [descente de bateau] on Lac Saint François?

Here is a bunch of them, starting by the north shore, then the south shore. To see where the boat ramp is located and obtain driving directions to the ramp, simply click on it and visit the corresponding Google Map.

Please not that the Google Map links are APPROXIMATE locations, you may have to move a street corner or two to find the actual launch. The information is taken from "la pêche autour de Montréal", a great paper map containing all the boat ramp information you may need.

NORTH SHORE

Les Coteaux - 2 Ramps

• Camping Coteau Landing
• Ramp at the end of rue Des Saules (turn off rue Principale)

Saint Zotique - 1 Ramp

• 2 side-by-side launches: one at the beach and one at the bar

SOUTH SHORE

Salaberry de Valleyfield - 1 Ramp

• Baie Saint François, Marcil Park

Saint Stanislas de Kostka - 1 Ramp

• Just Upstream from Larocque Bridge

Saint Louis de Gonzague - 1 ramp

• Upstream from Saint Louis Bridge, in the Park

Port Lewis - 1 ramp

• Port Lewis Marina, right at the end of chemin des planches

Saint Anicet - 4 ramps

• Behind the church, 132 rue de la fabrique
• Dock at the end of Caza street
• Bar du Chasseur
• At the end of Chemin Trépanier

Some New Equipment for my Boat

Yesterday, my buddy MikeWalleye came over and helped me install a few new gadgets on the boat in preparation for the season opener, which will happen on friday may 13th, on Lac Saint Pierre. We installed the following :

1. Minnkota Co-Pilot for the bow mount electric motor. This required little effort, simply put one of the side plates on the bow mount had to be removed and replaced with one which contains the remote control sensors.

   

   This new addition will help me control the boat's drift in the Saint Lawrence as well as anywhere else. Because this unit operates with a remote control, which I can mount on my rods or even wear as a bracelet on my wrist, it will give me much more flexibility and I will be able to move around the boat while controlling the drift. Huge advantage I think.



2. Garmin Swiveling GPS holder for the console. Because I already own a GPS (eTrex Legend) I did not feel obliged to spend the 1,000$+ required to get a 2 in 1 fishfinder/sonar unit.
   
   This year I will continue to use the handheld GPS unit, but it will have a good place on the console.



3. Inline 24 Volt 2 Bank Battery Charger. I did not have an inline charger before, which means each time I came back home, I had to plug in one battery after the other and try to guess when they were ready to receive a lower voltage chart and when they were ready to be unplugged. Then I had to do it for 2 batteries. In other words it was impossible to manage. This new unit installs in one of the bow compartments with 4 stainless steel sheet metal screws, it cools by convection, all I need to do is leave the unit a little breathing room to maximize its efficiency, which I will do by leaving the trap door slightly opened when charging.




4. New Trailer Winch Strap & Hook. Last year I damaged the pull strap on the trailer when it got caught in the gears. Some of it was chewed right off so it needed to be replaced.
   
   
   
   The job took no time at all, I only had to unwind the old one, remove the bolt which holds it in place, replace it with a new nut and bolt assemble and a new strap/hook combo, which costs less than $15.

What are Trim Tabs?

Boats with or without power trim are susceptible to several problems which can be corrected with the addition of trim tabs:

- Listing: the boat is uneven during operation. This is due to a number of variables, such as weight distribution, propeller torque, or wind for example. Not only is this situation extremely uncomfortable, but it can quickly become dangerous as well.

- Pounding: If the bow is riding high, the hull will take pounding, which in turn creates undue stress on your boat rivets or welds.

- Porpoising: The boat keeps going up and down, resulting in decreased control over your boat. Not safe.

- Boat does not reach its maximum speed because of all the above factors, which also results in burning more fuel than necessary.

Trim Tabs are two independent stainless steel plates that are installed at the transom. They can move up or down. Water is forced on the trim tab surface and creates upward pressure, which raises the stern and lowers the bow. They can be adjusted independently to create a smoother, safer ride.

The most popular manufacturers are Lenco, Trim Master, Bennett, Insta Trim, and LectroTab (non-hydraulic tabs). Price for trim tabs varies between approximately $300 and $1,200 USD for the parts, depending on the size of your boat.

Try Bennett's Boat Simulator to play with virtual trim tabs.

Fishing Boat Accessories: The Trash Bag

If you're like me, managing trash on your boat quickly turns into turning storage compartments into garbage cans. This year I'm putting an end to this nonsense. I'm shopping for a good way to manage garbage on my fishing boat.

One of the solutions I have found is this new product by Tamer called the Trash Tamer

You simply fasten a velcro strip anywhere on your boat, and you get yourself a sturdy removable bag that can hold your cans, wrappers, fishing line, or almost anything you want to dispose of.

The only problem I see with this product is that it is a mesh bag that contains the trash, so I'm a little uncertain that I would just drop pop cans and worm containers in there, I'd hate to get my boat carpet stained just under the bag's location. Maybe a plastic liner would do the trick!

Boat Envelopes for Dirt Roads

Ever take your boat on a long dirt road and end up with a damaged paint job and missing rivets? While driving on roads such as the road to Clova or Parent, not only will you will kick up a ton of sand, dust and rocks of all sizes, but every logging truck you pass will shower you with pebbles and stones, some as big as a baseball.

This WILL damage the paint of your boat, it can break off rivet heads, wreck trailer wheel guards, even punch holes right through your outboard cover. All of these things have happened to me, except the outboard cover part :-)

A few years back, a Quebec company has released a product designed to protect the front of your boat from any stones and pebbles while travelling to northern locations on logging roads. The product is a form of envelope which is designed specifically for your boat. It is padded with felt on the inside, and it attaches with snaps and straps. It wraps around the whole front end of the boat, on my boat it goes right up to the console. The product goes for approximately 350-450 dollars for an average size boat. I know they have the patterns for all Princecraft boats, and they probably also have Crestliner, Lund, Legend, Starcraft, and the rest of them. Just call and ask to be sure.

They also have protective covers for outboards, which prevent dirt road dust from clogging the pump, among other things; and full size covers for ATVs.

You can reach Enveloppes Universelles at (418) 365-7115

Where to Find a Used Boat near Montreal?

Start with the classifieds. The Gazette, Le Journal de Montréal, and la Presse are a good start.

Then take a look at these 2 sites:

www.lespacs.com
This is a french classified ad site, very popular, and there are almost always several boats for sale.

Thomas Marine Used Boats virtual showroom
Thomas Marine is Canada's largest fishing boat dealer, so naturally they also have a ton of used boat deals. Take a look.

Thirdly, you may want to look at ebay.ca boats for more boat deals.

Princecraft Super Pro 169 DLX Tournament Edition

This year I treated myself to my first fishing boat. I bought a Princecraft Super Pro 169 DLX Tournament Edition. It is a 16 foot, 93 inch wide multi-species, side console boat with a 4 stroke 90 HP Mercury outboard.

So far I would say I'm quite happy with the boat, even though I had a somewhat rough time with the trailer this summer. I took the boat up to the Parent area a few times, the only way up there is by a logging road. I have been there many times in the past, but only once with the boat. The second time, the transom saver hit a rock, which made the boat shift. This in turn crushed the bow support on the trailer, which means I had to drive around the boonies with a makeshift support for the front of the boat. This made a mess of the paint job, but it taught me several lessons.

1- I'm never going back up that road without mud flaps. My truck has them, but this was a rental pickup truck. Bad mistake. The truck was kicking up stones right onto the boat, this damaged the paint badly.

2- Never install a transom saver underneath the trailer, but rather set the attachment on top of the cross bar. At least if you're going offroading. This will prevent it from hitting whatever those logging roads may have for irregularities.

3- Cover up your boat completely, I heard there are wrappers out there. A simple boat cover may do the trick for shorter trips, but this is a 3 hour ride on a sometimes rough logging road.