Some new things

[OspreyVic]

Mike in Main.

The web site I found for them was http://www.johnson-marine.com/

The Area code was different on their web site from what FrankC stated, but other than that it looked like a match.

I e-mailed them on Monday night, but 24 hours later do not have a reply. If I can find that rail anyplace I will post it.

[frankc]

Sorry Vic the area code is 909. The rail did not have any info with it. Just a wrapper with no print. We just drilled it in with some adhesive. Nothing much to it, there seems to be alot of plastic behind it. Very strong

[NCangler]

Frank, Which model of the Lewmar "Profish" did you go with? What length/size chain and rope? And where did you mount the windlass control? Absolutely beautiful work.

[frankc]

NC, We went with the Profish 700. It has a freefall feature that gets the hook down very fast so you dont drift off your mark. The other models have to power down and are very slow. We have 300' of 1/2" rope and 40' of 1/4" chain with a swivel between the chain and anchor. Swivel is very important because the windlass naturaly wants to twist. The 40' of chain keeps us hooked in big water. You could use less but what the heck... I aint pulling it up!

Good Luck

[NCangler]

Excellent information Frank. Thanks for sharing it with us. This will be the next big modification for my boat.

[dustytires]

What is the purpose of the protector over the bait tank switch? It appears you added that?

[frankc]

That is the best mod of all. Twice I have shut my bait switch off by tossing things on the dash. 10 min. and the tank will empty. $30.00 in fin bait dead! The last time it happend we were in a good barracuda bite with NO BAIT. Lucky for me Brad came by on his 215 and hooked us up with enough chovies to keep us going. Thanks again Brad.

So what we did was simple, screw a 1" s.s. 2 hole pipe strap over the switch (avalible at West Marine) so that it makes it more difficult to get too.

[OspreyVic]

We finally found a Grab Rail that we liked and one we felt could be anchored so would NEVER come out. Will post pictures when the job is finished.

[OspreyVic]

Our new Grab Rail is installed.

We chose the West Marine 12 inch Stainless Steel Handrail, Model 489112. We felt that a longer rail might be too tempting to have more hands and weight pulling on it. We installed using 1/4" by 1-1/4" stainless washers and Stainless Lock Nuts.

We also applied "Rule" before the grab rail touched the stern.

There was already a Cover Plate on the Port Stern that had been used by our dealer to install the 18 inch Tite-Lok Track Section on the Port Stern. All we had to do was remove the screws and the Rule, then remove more of the foam so the washer would lay flat.

Then re-install the Cover Plate with new Rule. The cover plate used was for a 4 inch diameter opening.

[bigmall]

Your boat looks incredible Frank, thanks for sharing the pics with us. I would love to have a windlass, I often am reluctant to anchor because I hate pulling it back up. Would it be possible to make the directions for this mod available on this site? Also, what do you have mounted to the right of your 12v outlet?

-JB