Commercial Salmon Trolling Forum

Lots of batteries were already there... Four 8-Ds and a Group-27. I try to keep one dedicated to engine starting. So there are several disconnect switches. The only thing I had to change was the fuse for the inverter (there used to be a 1,200 watt inverter and it had a 100-amp fuse) the new inverter...

We discussed running the hydraulics off a PTO from the front of the Isuzu, but that end of the crankshaft can't handle extracting more than about 4 horsepower, which was way too little for the Freezer compressor. (you could do both if you had a gen-set with output of 15 to 20-KW or more. MER makes t...

I'm not sure how many of the freezer-boats in out fleet are powering the compressor off of a hydraulic pump driven by the main engine? That's the way ours was. In a two week trip we'd put over 350-hours on the main. And with fuel prices the past couple years than make me gasp I decided it was time t...

I'm sure Salty will chime in here, but on his advice I did exactly what you describe (Black-box plus Ntec-Catch) and I love it! I have a 24" flat-screen monitor in the wheelhouse and can put the Ntec nav in split-screen with the sounder. The other very nice thing is that besides creating your o...

Okay, here are two blocks with one full season on them. White sheave is a common brand. Black sheave is the rebuilt Kolstrand. The bearing on the black sheave is 30% bigger diameter than the white one, and more importantly, the black one rides on a stainless sleeve while the stock common brand rides...

I got blocks rebuilt by Zephyr for $80 apiece. Could get a better price if there was a quantity order for sure. I have to believe they will last the four times longer to justify the extra cost. Time will tell... On the spectra loops for hanging the blocks, I got those from Port Townsend rigging for ...

Since this thread is morphing into a side-track on troll-blocks, I have two questions. Have you ever noticed how worn-out blocks will put a twist in the wire? Anyone do any research on whether wire noise makes any difference to catch? Last season I got on a tangent and went about trying to damp out ...

I'm wondering how many of our iced fish actually end up in a display-case someplace like Pike Street Market? I'm thinking our fish almost all go to a fillet-line, right? In that case, how much difference does the particular cut matter? Anyone?

I'm wondering if your gurdies, blocks, etc are well isolated. Maybe something metal making a bridge to your troll-wire, or from your hydraulics to the valves? From your hayrack to the gurdy spools? When you say that the wire stops are turning pink it makes me think poor isolation. Your leads are sep...

People use Amsteel on winches all the time, even tow-line on big tugs. We started replacing cable on seiners' brailing winches with Amsteel back in the 80s. In my observation it might present a problem if used as anchor line because it floats (!) and there's virtually zero stretch. I think you'd be ...

Engine and keel-cooler both, yes? Last year when we flushed our system with radiator cleaner, we just ran city water into the keel-cooler long enough to see only clear water coming out the other end. Most engines drain pretty well on their own. Need to run the bilge pump of course! :) The radiator f...

I went back into my notes and we used 3/16 Amsteel AS-78 spliced into 5/32 thimbles for all the pole-stays. And 1/8 AS-78 for the tag lines into the same size thimbles. A bit of overkill but, in practice we found that the 3/16 is about the smallest that a normal human can splice. (we ended up tying ...

The Amsteel-Blue is what we started using for both fore-and-aft pole-guys and tag-lines. Got rid of all the wire except the troll wire on the gurdy drums. We have pretty hefty long poles, and before I replaced the wire I had to put the pole-halyards on the capstan to get the poles up, or call the de...

Murray's has that grease right on the rack by the grease-guns. Seems to work just fine and i like it better cause it's clear and doesn't make a mess when it inevitably gets on other equipment. Now I need to clean the tar-pit disaster out of my shaft ally too and start using that clear grease there a...

I also have Easthopes. I agree with the Salty quote above. Smooth and consistent and trouble-free. Parts are not a problem, cause unless they're totally worn out, they never need parts. And I dunno about what worn out really is, because in my observation I've never seen any become disfunctional and ...

I installed a pair of the 20" light bars from "Rigid Industries" They're 12-volt and draw less than 15 amps each. They put out an amazing amount of bright bluish light in a very tight spot plus a nice flood included. Fisheries Supply and Murray's has them. Check out the video on their...

Rope Ladder: I posted this idea a while back when folks were talking about life jackets and what handheld VHF/GPS gear to put in the pockets. A gillnetter friend, Dave on Rosemarie showed me his. He has one on each side of the boat. They can hang into the water at all times and won't beat up the boa...

Just finished listening to that interview... I'm speechless.
All I can say is, thank you Adrian.
The rest of the forum needs to see this.

I was told by a 35 year Alaskan troller to keep them 36 to 48 so you can grab the flasher not have to pull your arm back too far to get to the fish. (he has rotator cuff shoulder pain) But in practice I suppose it'll depend a lot on how far you have to reach over the stern to bonk and gaff. If the l...