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  1. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Lights came in today. Installed no problem... same as before (heat shrink crimps and tape). The "old" tape was holding water... but the tape is mainly rock and chafe protection, as like with most old steel trailers, all cable holes are rough holes blasted in with a gas axe or carbon-arc gouge...
  2. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Found a closeout deal on what appears to be optronics stl56&7 lights. We shall see...
  3. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Looks like these do have integrated side indicators and license plate lighting.
  4. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Another outing down on Saturday. Took the boat to lake waveland, where the boat was used the most by the prior owners (including on it's final outing before being put away for 12 years). Boating with me was my best friend (again!), his brother, and his cousin and her family. The cousin is of...
  5. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Assuming the gaskets and license light "window" are sealing correctly...
  6. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    What I was thinking (although thermally LEDs aren't as bad as they are a lot more efficient!). The issue (shockingly) wasn't the lights shorting out when dunked and popping fuses in the truck... just them not working afterwards due to corrosion fouling solder joints/PCB traces or deposits...
  7. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Separate ground wire is something I'd pay extra for. Did I mention I hate chassis grounds on trailers!
  8. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    What's the difference between that and this: https://www.iboats.com/shop/trailering/boat-trailer-lights/optronics-glolight-led-trailer-light-kit-tll190rk.html $70 vs $90 isn't much of a difference especially since the $70 includes a bunch of parts I already have and don't need. If the $90...
  9. ratdude747

    Prop questions on a 16' 1976 StarCraft Montego (Merc 888)

    No idea. Possibly a bad rebuild. The other comment was that it didn't ever run right, so dirt/gum may have been a scapegoat. Heavy load. No towing but there was the max 6 people on board. Here they are returning from the run after (same people, but with the tube): Two average adult men, one...
  10. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    Wasn't planning on rewiring since the entire trailer electrical system was redone this spring; I used the wire that came with the tow smart lights, but ran separate ground wires and spliced a heavy-gauge 4 pin extension as my truck/tongue lead (chopped the crappy tow smart plug). All connections...
  11. ratdude747

    Prop questions on a 16' 1976 StarCraft Montego (Merc 888)

    Couldn't tell you. The old setup was scrapped decades ago so it's a moot point... The Edelbrock 289 and Holley marine 4160 is what I have and seems to work fine. I'm told that "RPM matched speed" during the run, so likely it was WOT'ing at 4000 RPM. So the prop is right? Makes me wish I had...
  12. ratdude747

    Prop questions on a 16' 1976 StarCraft Montego (Merc 888)

    A bit belated, but the anode came in and fit fine. 1/4" clearance. Took the boat tubing today. Before the tube was brought out, my best friend played with it at speed (I was on shore replacing a trailer bunk)... he said it topped out at 40mph. For pulling a tube, it performed great (easily...
  13. ratdude747

    Tow Smart "Submersible" LED tail lights are junk... better solution?

    This weekend my LED tail lights suffered a progressive failure. Despite being marketed as submersible, unlike some LED tail lights I've seen (which despite that fact, also failed in a similar way on a car hauler), they didn't fully seal the light (has a drain hole) nor did they...
  14. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Got the bunk fabricated yesterday and installed today. The front mount was supposed to be attached after all and is now. All better: I used new fabric (raider fabric from Acadamy sports, what I could get on short notice), treated #2 Pine, and stainless staples and lag screws (originals were...
  15. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    For the record, here's my pre-drill template. Took several tries to get a set of board locations that added up. The trailer beams are exactly 35" apart but to reduce slop, the C-brackets are flipped between beams. This is the rear and center mounts... the front mounts do not bolt up (and the...
  16. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Have a plan. I'll replace the bunk in the parking lot this weekend while my friend is driving his cousins around the lake. Using a treated pine 2x4, stainless 1/2" staples, and new stainless 5/16x1 lag bolts (same as existing, only existing isn't stainless). Old carpet is still in decent...
  17. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    What if the trailer frame blocks access to the transom? The back bar runs almost directly under such (to the point that the boat doesn't sit on the rearmost keel roller, which instead hits the front of the outdrive near the bottom of trim swing). The bow/winch bar is as far back as it can go...
  18. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Yes, but I'm trying to work out how best to do that given the weight of the boat back there and the close spacing of the existing bunks. I'd have to either support it by the keel with a V-notched hunk of wood or with two blocks very far from the stringers. Maybe somehow use a wood block and a...
  19. ratdude747

    Prop questions on a 16' 1976 StarCraft Montego (Merc 888)

    Prop came in. Will need to swap anode to clear... But that and a fresh tab washer are on order. For now, I tried trimming with my oscillatory saw: Kinda rough, so for now it's a placeholder. The new anode is an offset variety:
  20. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Might have to pull the boat after all... As apparently one of the long bunks is rotten: The rot tapers off pretty quick but does pass under the transom a bit. The other three by ks seem OK but yeesh... Maybe I ought to keep an eye out for another trailer after all. Or at least plan on doing...
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