July 13, 2019 by anthony16

Upgrading Your Boat With A Baystar Hydraulic Steering Kit Is Simpler Than You May Think

Did you know that upgrading your boat with a BayStar hydraulic steering kit can reduce both steering effort and maintenance costs? It’s true.

BayStar Hydraulic Steering Kit Upgrade

If you have been considering replacing your boat’s outboard-powered mechanical steering system to a BayStar hydraulic steering system, we highly recommend that you wait no longer. The hydraulic steering systems are very simple, consisting of three main components: a cylinder containing the steering ram at the outboard, an integrated hydraulic-fluid reservoir along with a pump at the helm, and lastly, the hydraulic fluid lines which push the hydraulic fluid between the previous two. Because the system so simple, maintenance is dramatically reduced. This is because of the fact that the hydraulics virtually eliminate all steering effort by the driver. Also, if you are needing to use two hands on the steering wheel to control your boat, switching to a Baystar hydraulic steering kit will make it enjoyable to drive again.

Installing A BayStar Hydraulic Steering Kit

For the upgrade, you will need to use a jigsaw in order to cut the boat’s dash to accommodate the helm pump. This is easier than it sounds, so don’t worry. A proper cutoff tool will made quick work of removing any old and rusted bolts which held the old helm into place.

SeaStar Solutions’ BayStar hydraulic steering kit is the most popular option for boaters who are thinking of changing their boat from mechanical to hydraulic steering. This is a DIY project that can be completed by a handy boater and one other person in a single afternoon. Of course, you could also hire a pro to do the job, but knowing how the job is done would make you a smarter overall boat owner.

This particular steering system is designed for use with outboard motors up of 150 horsepower. We actually installed a BayStar steering system on a 22-foot center-console vessel powered by a 150-hp outboard, effectively replacing it’s old mechanical steering system which was used mostly in saltwater, and then which sat unused for a few years. The switch to the Baystar hydraulic steering kit alleviated the major effort that was required to simply turn the wheel and steer the vessel.

Due to it’s fewer moving mechanical parts, a BayStar hydraulic steering system only requires occasional checks and sometimes you will need to top off the hydraulic fluid levels. Both of these tasks are done via an easy-access port on the system. You will also need to do annual (or about every 250 hours) re-greasing and cleaning of some of the helm and cylinder components.

Yet another key benefit of switching to a hydraulic steering system is that it gives you the ability to more easily add an autopilot to your boat.

As you can see, upgrading to the BayStar hydraulic steering kit is quite simple, and well worth the effort. There are many benefits for such a rather easy job. If you have any questions about the install, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll be glad to help anyway that we can with your install.

November 10, 2016 by anthony16

Musky Rods: What To Look For

Last updated on August 1st, 2019 at 08:28 am

With Muskies being one of the most popular fresh water fish that anglers are looking to catch, it should come as no surprise that we get a lot of musky fishermen writing us with questions. Among one of the more common questions that they ask us is what should they look for when shopping for musky rods. Today, we’ll answer this question by giving you some tips and advice from our seasoned musky fishing staff.

Musky Rods Features

When looking to purchase a new musky rod, there are several key features of the rod that you should be looking at. Those features are:

Rod length
Rod action
Rod quality

Musky Rods Length

One of the first things that you should take into consideration when shopping for musky rods is rod length. Over the years, musky rods have gotten considerably longer in length. The most popular muskie rods today range from 7′ up to over 9′. It’s pretty much impossible for us to say exactly which length would be best for you. The proper musky rod selection depends on the individual. Here are some factors to take into consideration when you are trying to select the best rod length.

Your height
The type of baits you will be using
Fishing style (trolling or casting)
Your experience level

We advise new musky fishermen to start with a 7’6″ rod. This length is perhaps the most versatile and can be used to cast both lighter and heavier lures, and also troll if you choose to do so.

Perhaps the best thing you could do would be to arrange a day fishing trip with a musky guide who has a wide selection of rods to practice with. This way, you’ll get to experiment with not just different rods, but also reels and baits, as well. A day with an experienced muskie angler is a wise investment for anybody looking to get into musky fishing. We recommend checking out TigerMuskie.net to locate a musky guide service near you.

Musky Rods Action

Musky rods come in a variety of action types, ranging from light to heavy. The lighter the action, the more flex the rod will have. The heavier the rod action, the stiffer the rod will be. For newbie muskie anglers, we advise going with a Medium or Medium Heavy action rod. Choosing an action style in the middle of the spectrum will give you the most versatility to use your rod and enjoy your experience. Going too light may cause you to get in trouble when casting lures, or may cost you a lost fish if you do happen to hook a monster. On the flip side, the vast majority of muskie fishermen will never catch a musky over 30 pounds. So, going with a Heavy action rod is overkill for most.

Musky Rods Quality

The last thing that you need to consider is the quality of the rod in terms or craftsmanship and materials used in the construction of the rod. The last thing you want to have happen is to have your rod break while trying to land a monster musky. Sure, you could go the cheap route and buy a Chinese made rod from the nearest superstore, but you’re likely to regret your decision much sooner rather than later. Don’t do that to yourself.

Among the top brands that we recommend here at JM Marine are St. Croix, Okuma, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, and Shimano. Choosing a rod from any of these top manufacturers will give you the piece of mind that the chances of your equipment failing you are minimized.

Musky Rods Conclusion

We hope that you have found this mini-guide helpful with selecting a musky rod. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

October 15, 2016 by anthony16

303 Aerospace Protectant Review: Is It The Best Protectant For Your Marine Gear?

Last updated on August 25th, 2018 at 01:32 pm

Boats and boating equipment are not just hobby items for most people, they are investments that take a lot of time and money to maintain. What if you could extend the appearance and life of your boat and boating equipment for under the price $50? That is the idea with spray protectants, which can be applied to your boat and acts as an invisible barrier to weather-related damage or damage caused by intense UV rays. Using the right spray protectant can ultimately save boat owners a lot of money, so we decided to put the best contenders to the test and tried out 303 Aerospace Protectant, Mothers Protectant, and Meguiars Protectant to see how they stacked up against each other in each component of what makes a great spray protectant.

303 Aerospace Protectant Review

303 Aerospace Protectant is definitely one of the most popular protectant brands on the market and with good reason. 303 Aerospace products can protect a multitude of surfaces, including vinyl, carbon fiber, Plexiglass, rubber, and leather. With the correct application of 303 Aerospace Protectant, you can save your boat and equipment from fading, cracking, or aging way faster than it otherwise would.

303 Aerospace Protectant’s durability and longevity surpass most other protectants, lasting up to 30 days with one application and sometimes even longer. We were rather impressed with it’s ease of use, longevity, and overall performance.

Mothers Protectant

Protecting your boat and boating equipment from UV rays, ozone, and smog is made easy with Mothers Protectant. What we liked most about Mothers was the complete ease of application and portability of the bottle. Packaged in an easy-to-use trigger spray bottle, Mothers coats your boat and equipment easily, making this product as convenient as it is affordable. Mothers took a bit longer to dry, but the ease of application definitely made up for that. We feel that it’s performance was a close second to 303.

Meguiars Protectant

Meguiars is an extremely affordable protectant that uses UV-blocking technology to provide protection and brilliant shine to your exterior and interior surfaces. Meguiars comes in a few different choices, like the Natural Shine, Supreme Shine, and Ultimate Protection options. We opted to test out the Ultimate Protection. We felt that the Meguiars was a little more difficult to apply than the others, but it dried pretty rapidly and left a nice shine to our surfaces, both interior, and exterior. Overall, not a bad product, but we feel that we’d rather spend a little more money on the 303 Protectant.

Conclusion

In the end, after testing out each protectant, we found that Mothers was the easiest for us to apply to our surfaces, therefore making it the less time-consuming option out of all of the spray protectants. Meguiars had a lot of different protectant options to choose from, which made it a versatile option, but in our opinion it did not have any standout qualities compared to the other two protectants. 303 Aerospace Protectant was by far the most versatile of the three protectants and ultimately lasted longer than the other two. The resulting shine and appearance of each application didn’t differ much among the choices since all of them produced roughly the same amount of shine.

All in all, we concluded that our favorite protectant out of the three was the 303 Aerospace Protectant because of how long-lasting it was. Probably the most important trait for a protectant to possess is durability, which is where we feel that 303 Aerospace Protectant excelled. All three choices are great, but if you are looking for the best protectant for your boat that will protect your boat and equipment the longest, then 303 Aerospace Protectant is the right choice. What’s even better, 303 is available for the lowest price that we could find on Amazon.

August 23, 2016 by anthony16

Yeti Coolers On Sale: Nearly Impossible

Last updated on August 25th, 2018 at 01:32 pm

The idea of a high-end luxury cooler seemed like a crazy idea a few years ago, but in this day and age people are beginning to realize that you get what you pay for. If you are looking for quality, sometimes you have to spend a little more money than you normally would. Yeti Coolers have a reputation of being the most sought after high-end cooler in the market and have a price point to match the luxury quality of it. Unfortunately, if you are looking to find Yeti Coolers on sale, then you might be searching for quite some time.

Yeti Coolers On Sale? Rarely

Finding Yeti Coolers on sale is nearly an impossibility because of the way Yeti does business. Yeti Coolers has a tight control on the dealers that are authorized to sell their merchandise. Major department stores that often have sales or vastly discounted prices, cannot become authorized sellers due to Yeti’s desire to sell their coolers at a certain price. Although this is beneficial for Yeti, this is not always beneficial to the consumer who will have to more than likely pay full price whenever they purchase a Yeti Cooler. You do get bang for your buck with the top tier performance of Yeti Coolers, but sometimes it is nice to save a bit of money on retail products if you can.

Yeti Coolers on Sale: Is All Hope Lost?

Although it is nearly impossible to find Yeti Coolers on sale inside of a store front, there are still a few other outlets where you can find discounted Yeti Coolers. Online marketplaces are a good place to start when trying to find Yeti Coolers on sale for a reduced price. Below are some reliable online options to find some Yeti Coolers on sale.

DiscountCoolerSales.com

DiscountCoolerSales.com is an online review and information site on all things related to high-end coolers. They often get tipped off about Yeti coolers on sale and will post cooler deals on their website. We also found they highly valuable for comparing all of the different cooler brands.

Amazon

On Amazon, there may be some sporting goods sellers that have Yeti Coolers for a slightly reduced price than what physical stores are selling. However, before making a purchase it is best to do some research to ensure that you are truly getting a better price, than what you would pay on the Yeti website or in a store.

Craigslist

If you don’t mind a slightly used Yeti Cooler than there is a good possibility that you could find someone selling theirs for a much-discounted price. One of the best qualities about Yeti Coolers is that they are durable and long-lasting, so even if you buy a used Yeti Cooler on Craigslist, you can almost guarantee that it will have little to no signs of wear and damage on it.

Ebay

On Ebay there also is a chance that someone could be selling a used Yeti Cooler on the website, but since Ebay is an auction-based website, it is most likely that you can find a Yeti Cooler that is set at a much lower price than retail and you can try your turn at bidding on it.

Yeti Coolers On Sale: The Final Verdict

The final verdict is that even though it is nearly impossible to find Yeti Coolers on sale, there is a good chance that you can still find a good deal on one with the proper research and an eye for deals through internet marketplaces. Just keep a constant lookout and stay on top of your game!

August 14, 2016 by anthony16

OPT7 Boat Interior LED Review

Last updated on August 25th, 2018 at 01:32 pm

While boating can be done for the sport, many of us boat owners have them for entertainment reasons. Nothing is better than throwing a get together on your boat in the evening. Drinks, tunes, and some fun lighting is all you need for a successful party. I realized I had the drinks and the tunes, but where could I find some high-quality LED lights to install inside of my boat? I was looking for a set of OPT7 LED lights that were not only affordable but reliable and of course fun! After reading an OPT7 lighting review, I decided to check out their boat lights.

OPT7 Boat Interior LED Review

I came across the OPT7 Boat Interior LED kit over at https://lightheadz.com/ and decided to give them try and see how they performed during a small get together I was having on my boat. The OPT7 Boat Interior LED kit comes with four LED color changing strips that have 36 SmartColor LEDs inside of each of the 24-inch strips. The kit includes an EZ Remote that allows you to control color and presentation modes for your light show.

The first thing I noticed about the OPT7 Boat Interior LED lights was the ease of installation. The OPT7 Boat Interior LEF Kit is marketed as “Plug N Play” and I can say that the manufacturers stuck to their promise since all I had to do was plug the kit directly into my fuse box and the power button to get it working. The kit comes with three different fuse adapters to adhere to the various sorts of fuse boxes that are on boats, so you don’t have to worry about the install going awry, which is definitely a huge positive. After I had the quick two-minute installation done, it was now time to judge the performance of the LED lights. Since there are four LED lights and the strips are fairly long at 24 inches, I was able to cover my boat with a good portion of the lights, creating an immersive experience for my party-goers.

All of the strips are waterproof, so if Mother Nature decides to literally rain on your parade, you won’t have to worry about your lights getting damaged at all. One of the features of the OPT7 Boat Interior LED that drew me to it was the SoundSync Bass activated technology. I typically like to listen to genres of music that are potent in bass, so I was really surprised at how well the lights synchronized to the beats! Although the lights missed a couple cues, it really was a solid performance from them.

Now comes the question of whether or not the lights look good. For the extremely affordable price of the OPT7 Boat Interior LED I expected the lights to be a bit dim, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were very vibrant! There are many color options due to the full spectrum of the three primary colors which offers many different options.

All in all, my party guests were thoroughly impressed with my new party enhancing boat accessory. It set the mood and performed above and beyond what I initially thought and the price didn’t take a chunk out of my wallet. If you are looking for LED lights for your boat then you should definitely try out the OPT7 Boat Interior LED kit.