The more setback you have the higher you run the case. When the bow drops and it pivots around the transom the higher your skeg will be out of the water and the less control you will have. The only time I hooked my bass boat was with 19 inches of setback which is the way I bought it. Best...
No, I have early 90's 245 big rods that are top guided. The only big rods with black paint on them I have are bottom guided but can be converted to top guided.
My Chatfield rods do not have any black paint on them and the beam center is machined.
There is a racer down south (Scott Jordan I think) who had some made, he may still have some. I also talked to Speed and Custom Marine out of Florida a couple years ago and they were supposedly working on a small HP prop shaft to sell. Don't know if they finished it though.....
I used a pair of 925 to power my 24V troller. We would fish bass for a few hours in the evening. If I forgot to charge them you would notice the power going down before you could finish the second night.
I did mine when I had the driveshaft out...Agree that heating/cooling won't help cause the temps will normalize before you can move the sleeve very far. I also used loctite to help hold the sleeve and to prevent water from creeping under the sleeve....
I'm certain there are some that have in a pinch spun them 10 grand.
I have one in my drag now but it is getting changed out this winter for an HP one with the oil holes.
I was always of the opinion that the belief of water moving thru a block faster pulls less heat is a myth unless cavitation exists.....I don't want to read thru my Thermodynamics book to find the exact chapter but I am quite sure that heat moves more rapidly when a greater difference in temp...
Looks like a refinery is under construction in ND...Don't know if that will affect pricing or not...
http://www.calumetspecialty.com/about-us/facilities/dakota-prairie-refining