Butch,

I understand, but it still sucks that a lot of good folks back
away as a result of the morons posting political threads in a
boating newsgroup, not to ention that competant folks get bashed
by the clueless. Fortunately, some really good folks have endured
and still keep tabs on things. I'll still keep tabs on this group
and learn what I can and help when I can, but I wouldn't mind being
on that distribution list!

I too got a chance to do some fishing this weekend. I brought a
friend and his family to the coast to 'play'. The only fishing we
did was from the surf and caught several whiting. We crabbed and
shrimped at my brother's dock. On the last night, my friend made
egg rolls with the fresh shrimp and crab we caught. Now that
was a treat! This guy is vietnamese and knows how to cook, so when
he suggested he wanted to do this, my mouth began to water. Don't
know if you've ever eaten vietnamese food, but I put it at the top
of the list!

As far as your question on the trolling motor, the units that
mount on the outboard itself above the cavitation plate seem to be
the cats meow, but are a bit pricey. I know there is a trolling
plate but can't remember what it's called. It partially blocks
the flow behind the prop. However, if I remember correctly, you'll
trash it of you forget to lift it before applying real power. What
the previous owner of my boat did (because he didn't like the foot
operated trolling motor) was to add an adjustable trolling motor
bracket. I haven't used it yet but it seems pretty cool. I too
have a tri-hull, but it isn't open bow. You can remove the bracket
and just leave the base plate which is bolted to the boat and it
doesn't take much space at all. I think the 3 sq inches is correct.
This way, you can remove it when not fishing. When you are fishing,
who cares what it looks like! :^) Check this link to see what I'm
talking about:
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet...rTarget=search



I've got to admit, Bill's idea of the five gallon bucket seems
worthwhile trying. I kind of sort of did this once when I forgot
to retrieve my bait bucket, and even though it isn't open except
for some water flow for the bait, it definitely put quite a bit of
drag on the boat. :^)

Hope this helps.

-Jim