On our boats we use sofscrub with bleach cause they get used daily. New floors need more grit so I use ajax and a rediculously stiff brush. If theres smokers on board or it gets really nasty i dump bleach on the wet floor wait 20 minutes then hit it with sofscrub.
We would usually have the spreaders on as needed but would shut them off and let our eyes adjust and watch for strikes. This is especially a good idea if the bugs are out.
If you aim the Coastals the right way, they shine plenty far to see all of your boards and the deck. We can see 5 on a side with them. Put some white DOT tape on them and it's awesome. All lights are not created equal. Have a boat at our Marina with the Taco LED's and they suck majorly.
I personally don't let high divers out past say 130 or so.....just doesn't seem like I want a high dipsy out that far. Personal preference though, I don't like the TX 44's.
Monkeyed with otter boats and different keels for two seasons then went to nothing but inlines and will never look back. For 10 oz, either Big Birds or the big Z boards, Church for coppers and regular yellow birds for flat lines up to 5 colors
150, 180, 210, 300, 450 Morgan Super Copper. If you want just a cheap dipsy rod you can get a TDR with a Torpedo Diver tip. For most use, a roller isn't exactly required.
I agree fully with the regular divers for the high divers, they are awesome when steelhead are around and do well for kings in the morning. If you have a current hitting your beam then running the high divers can be more of an issue with tangles than it's worth. I don't usually run the high divers out past 100 loc so it stays out of my inside board. When resetting high divers around deep divers I like to set them right off the middle of the boat and thumb it to where i want it then shut the bail and put it in the holder- it will find its way to where it goes without tangles..............don't turn until it has had a few minutes to realign.
For your initial rod and reel investment I would look into Convector reels in the 30 and 45 size depending on what you plan to spool on them. Great reels that last a while and pretty cheap for how long they last. One thing I would add is that when you store your gear, back the drags off all the way or else Okuma's can get sticky. TDR rods are a cheaper rod that stands up to alot of abuse as well.
I'm a huge fan of Salty Balls in the 12# variety if memory serves. Not sure if Salty is on here but I'd look him up for sure. Blowback is almost nil compared to anything else we've used and they track very nicely.
I like Sheboygan for the fishing, but the cleaning station is about 6 blocks away from the marina it seems, and after spending alot of time with friends local to that particular area, the neighborhood surrounding Harbor Center is a tad sketchy- lots of reckless teens hanging around that area.
Algoma has everything in walking distance of the public marina, might want to see if you can dock riverside until they get the basin dredged out. Cleaning station is amazing, too.
We have some guys from MN that come 4-5 times a year and with their lodging and two trips every time they are still saving money over hauling their boat over here. Fun guys, too, and it's nice that they like to do quite a bit more than average groups do.
I have found that the smaller 4-10lb fish especially when they come out of cold water are more hassle than it's worth trying to wrangle them once I wrist shot them out of the net. Little whack on the melon and no worries about a hook in the hand.