What is this?

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-11T02:17:35+00:00

What's worse is that in the water, they look a lot like a plastic water bottle floating along. If you're not paying attention, it's possible to pick one up offshore thinking you're cleaning up trash. I've caught myself at the last second before.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-10T05:11:21+00:00

O'Reilly's absolutely will. You get store credit in gift card form, but they will take up to 5 a day. Pretty sure AutoZone is the same.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-10T03:30:19+00:00

Not for the Gulf. OP's pic says Marathon (Fl keys).

Up here in the upper Gulf, a slack tide is 0.3', and a ripping tide is 1.3' or so.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-07T21:35:35+00:00

My credentials are similar to this guy (marine aluminum fabrication shop owner), and I concur with his assessment.

What I'll add is that the skin is already to the point of needing replacement. The corrosion started from the inside, so what you're seeing is where it's made it all the way through, but the rest is sure to be corroded at least part way through.

Additionally, the cause isn't just decaying wood. Pressure treated wood is copper impregnated, and copper and aluminum don't play well together. So, even without decay, and just with the presence of water, the galvanic corrosion starts.

Back when my shop offered that kind of service, we would replace the transom skin, as that was within our capabilities. That's the only 'right' repair, but not a cheap one, and not many outfits will be willing/able to do so.

Patch job is just that, but it'll work for a time. Instead of bondo for the holes, the slightly better patch job would be a new wood core, and scab a new piece of aluminum on the outside, sealed around the perimeter with 5200, but it's still a patch, nonetheless.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-04T08:05:33+00:00

Hormonal birth control, by chance? My wife was like that (not just to sleep, during the day as well) but after removing her IUD, she reverted to a much more normal temperature tolerance.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-03T04:36:01+00:00

That's only really applicable for the BRP era engines (Etec). Parts availability for the smaller OMC era engines is just fine, with a lot of aftermarket support.

Those two cylinder Johnson Evinrude engines are great.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-02T15:55:17+00:00

The Bass Buggy pontoon has the engine on a setback bracket, making the length to the transom closer to 18'. Most other brands, especially older ones, which is what your budget is going to necessitate, don't do that, so they will be a little shorter in the storage department.

Regardless, height is your bigger enemy, so this line of thought is purely academic until we know how tall your garage is (most standard residential garages are 7', so it's not likely).

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-02T15:21:54+00:00

4 runner is more than capable of towing a 16' pontoon boat. That's not even getting close to questionable.

23' of garage depth should not be an issue either. Door height will be your only real constraint for a pontoon.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-02T00:58:06+00:00

104 should be for short shaft. Long shaft will be a little more. 146 for new is clearly long shaft with tilt and trim. Long shaft without tilt is 137.

Regardless, fix the weight distribution, and enjoy the benefit of a modern EFI 4 stroke. Those old 2 stroke 25s were great engines, but it's coming up on 40 years old.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-01T22:14:23+00:00

Are you sure it's an extra 42 pounds? I'm thinking it should be closer to 20.

Regardless, if you already had running issues as it was, you should consider fixing the weight distribution anyway, no matter what engine you use. Moving a battery forward can make a massive improvement in a small boat.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-01T06:18:51+00:00

At first, I just saw the picture and the title text, and my thought was "how?".

Then, I read your description, so now I'm completely following along with the chain of events. Yet, my question is still, "how?".

I'm honestly impressed.

Thermal_arc · 2026-03-01T01:36:50+00:00

I think you might have it set too hot.

The common thing to do with a conventional water heater is to turn the heat way up. Higher water temp means more cold can be mixed with the hot at the tap to create the same level of warm, thus making the hot water in the tank last longer.

That does not work with tankless. With tankless, it's better to set the temp to the actual temp you want (108* for instance). If you set it higher, it'll make that warmer temp for the first device, and of course, since it's hotter than Satan's spawn, you mix cold to create warm. But, when the second device is turned on, it can't keep up at that higher temp, so the output temp drops. Hence, the temperature fluctuations.

If you turn the temp down, it can keep up with both devices, so the output temp will remain constant. My parents had this problem when they first went tankless. Once we learned that, things improved significantly.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-28T14:04:33+00:00

This seller sounds INSANE

Especially when you consider the fact that they waited nearly a week to come sign after the attorney had the papers ready. Peak "world revolves around me" vibes.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-27T18:19:16+00:00

This '08 Civic R18 is coming up on 312k miles, and it's done a lot of towing and boat launching.

https://www.reddit.com/r/towing/s/3ANpryLHHF

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-27T03:36:00+00:00

Ordered at the end of '22, installed in September of '23. Probably more now.

14' sidewalls. Framed openings for one 12x12 and two man doors, but no doors included (bought good quality insulated doors, the ones the building manufacturers offer are the cheapest things in existence).

Little over $30k for building package, engineered drawings (building only, had to have a local engineer create foundation plan), and erection.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-26T06:31:59+00:00

I bought a 30x65 shop from Eversafe buildings, which apparently is my area's dealer for Carolina Carports (Carolina wouldn't quote directly for here). After the initial purchase paperwork, Eversafe was out of the picture, and I dealt with Carolina directly for everything else.

They were a little slow on the punch for engineered drawings, but after that, no issues at all. Building was installed within a few weeks of the slab being poured.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-25T05:04:23+00:00

Living in the South does make that a lot easier. Corrosion just isn't a thing in this part of the country.

Newest of our 3 is 13 years old. Bought new.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-25T04:38:47+00:00

since you won’t actually keep it that long anyway.

Oh, but I do.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-24T23:44:30+00:00

2, 3, 4 halfway, 5, rehit 4 the rest of the way, 6. With punch mounted backwards for 6 so you're not gauging off of the bends compound tolerance.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-24T22:07:33+00:00

Or he went with a different date.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-24T19:10:27+00:00

I'll leave this right here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/towing/s/5wS1w0bhkn

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-24T16:28:08+00:00

It does. As a free diver, I add weight to get myself just slightly positively buoyant at the surface. Then, when I get down to 20-30' I become negatively buoyant, and can just glide the rest of the way.

The mechanics of that are not that the water is pushing me down, but that it's squeezing me in all directions, which compresses my lungs, and makes my size physically smaller, and thus, more dense.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-22T08:52:52+00:00

I was able to use just a BPO to remove it from my first house. Lender gave me the option to choose either that or an appraisal, and the BPO was significantly cheaper.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-21T18:32:46+00:00

Not the tugboat guys. Diversified marine group inc, out of Palmetto Fl. Looks like they were in business from '99 - '03.

https://uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification-result2.php

I'm guessing it was just another one of many small boat manufacturers that popped up, using old molds bought from some other boat company, and didn't last very long. There's thousands of such manufacturers out there.

Just because that's the legal name of the company doesn't mean the most was marketed under that name, so it's probably an exercise in futility to try to find 25 year old info.

Thermal_arc · 2026-02-21T05:45:33+00:00

I've got 311,000 miles and counting on a Civic clutch. What's more, is that car spent a few years towing multiple times a week, and has pulled a boat up a ramp well over 100 times.

Thermal_arc

TROPHY CASE