I have no way to begin this other than to say if it could have gone wrong (excluding going overboard and/or death) - it likely did …
Let’s start the night before where my 17 year old daughter decided to break curfew and come home 2 hours late after the Carolina game - Since I had to wait up until she got home (just after 1:00 am) I ended up with less than 4 hours sleep …
I get everybody up and I’m loading up the boat and the trailer lights blow out … TWICE … Since the brake lights still worked I pressed on …
I pulled up to pickup Daniel Powell (from Team Overtime) at his house only to find that my driver’s side rear tire had just been punctured (I could hear the air hissing out of the tire and literally watched it deflate 285 75 R17 BFG All-Terrain GTs - only $275 each) … It was flat before I could shut the truck off … So I had to change the tire in his driveway … 30 minutes later I pressed on …
I pulled into the bait shop … they only had herring, which I knew … What I didn’t know was that they didn’t have much … and they were small … but I took them all and pressed on …
I get to the Barstow ramp (which was almost completely dry, but still usable) and get ready to put the boat in …
Program note: I am ADHD and OCD and I own a WHITE boat … I spend a LOT of time trying to KEEP my boat WHITE … insert dirt road + 4 kids + WHITE boat = DIRTY boat in 30 seconds … So already I am aware that I’m spending at least 45 minutes CLEANING my boat AFTER I’m done for the day …
Where was I … oh yeah … putting the boat in … as I’m unstrapping the boat I notice that my transducer is … well … you guys tell me …
Since my FF sucks anyways … I pressed on …
I back the boat down the ramp and my Wife, Liz (or Motleyfan81 on the forums) goes to start the boat … the battery is hosed … …
Well, at least most of you caught fish and good thing you didn’t have any really, really bad luck. No one ever said that striper fishing wasn’t without its challenges. Barring the costs of the natural disasters, has the FF moved up on the Christmas gift queue?
Sounds like you a spun hub on the prop. Hopefully that is all it is. When mine went on my 88 merc it blew out 3 of the cylinders. I’m pretty sure newer motors have limiters to keep that from happening.
Thanks for the time I will never forget rick i thought the blown out tire in my driveway was gonna end it all but you kept on thanks for taking me out it was surely a exsprience that won’t be forgottin
@Pattianne - yep, the FF has definitely moved up on the list although I will say despite what the transducer looks like (someone has got to explain to me how the insides all melted out like that in this weather) the FF still worked … can’t trust the readings, but it still worked
@Lakefan & SteelyTom - I have no idea what’s wrong with it … One second we were on plane and the next it bogged down … I slowed it down and put her in N … I was able to swift it into gear and slow idle slowly increasing the speed until she cut out a 2nd time … Flipped her back into N … Went to put her in gear a 3rd time and heard a little gear clash and while I could get a little idle increased speed only revved the motor with zero prop response … I didn’t want to chance any further damage so I shut her down …
Not sure how to “test” for a spun prop and I certainly don’t want to “throw” $100 at a “possible” fix without doing a little digging first … I think I have a “spare” old prop somewhere … maybe … Anyone know of any household “tests” that can be done to help diagnose the situation?
But that transducer coupled with a dead battery tells me you probably had some sort of power surge while charging batteries or lighting although I don’t think we have had any lately. Is your FF fuse protected? If not in the future your new one needs to be just in case u are having surge issues while charging batteries…
One thing Rick forgot to mention is when he put her in gear the whole boat shook. I have been researching today and keep coming up with the prop issue. Went to take pics of the numbers for Rick, and there was a piece of plastic shaving around the nut. Hoping we can get her fixed soon (or I am going to be begging for a ride). And yes, new fish finder is way high on the priority list. I think I know what we are getting for Xmas…
Remember life is short so always remember your Family, Friends, and Fish every chance you get!
quote:Originally posted by Lawcrusher
[Let's start the night before where my 17 year old daughter decided to break curfew and come home 2 hours late after the Carolina game
I hope you cut her some slack… SC wins five in a row every 111 years.
@Chip - the FF has 2 fuses (one on the wiring and one on the accessory switch) and I use a mounted battery charger to charge the battery (I just pull the boat in and plug her into the wall at the end of the day) … No lightning lately, but you know our FF certainly isn’t reading water temp correctly - depth has always been pretty spot on although I didn’t think to check it yesterday …
@Tom - I’ll yank the prop off when I get home and check it out … I’m just real skiddish with this motor … (knock on wood) I’ve never had anything major mechanical (other than Fuel Injectors and that was more my stubbornness than anything else) go wrong with her in the 8+ years we’ve owned her … of what I’ve read, people either love the motor or hate it - there’s no in between
quote:Originally posted by Lawcrusher
[Let's start the night before where my 17 year old daughter decided to break curfew and come home 2 hours late after the Carolina game
I hope you cut her some slack… SC wins five in a row every 111 years.
That’s FUNNY, right there … I’m a University of Miami fan so I’m outta this one and since it’s likely that my two most hated teams (FSU & Ohio State) will be playing in the Championship game I think I’ll be fishin that day!!!
Thanks for the time I will never forget rick i thought the blown out tire in my driveway was gonna end it all but you kept on thanks for taking me out it was surely a exsprience that won’t be forgottin
Team Overtime
Pioneer 197 yamaha 150 fourstroke
Daniel Powell -Tight Lines
No problem - glad to have ya … sorry it sucked so bad and tell your mom I owe her one for helping us out!!!
And that was almost 80yrs ago…so someone would have to be say 90+ yrs old to really remember it strongly…but then again this is a “domination” …GO COCKS!!!
The motor definitely spun a hub. I have experience with that, and they’re not hard replace on Yamaha’s. You want to put the motor in gear. If the prop spins both ways, you can bet that’s the problem. The melted debris around the nut is also a clue. Go to West Marine or Mid-Carolina and get a Flotorque Hub Kit for your model. Clean all the gunk off the shaft, insert the new plastichub sleeve in the prop, install the aft adapter, torque the prop nut to specs, insert pin, and you’re good to go.
As for the FF, could you have forgotten to turn it off? I’ve pinged several transducers by leaving the unit on during the drive home. Several days could cause the implosion in your pic. Plus, the battery was dead as further evidence.
Just some ideas Lawcrusher. To paraphrase Coach Lou Holtz, things are never as good or bad as they seem.
I don’t know who had the most fun this past weekend. I was going to take the poontoon out Thursday morning, but it was about 1/2 out of the water. Spent quite a bit of time digging beside and under the pontoons on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon. A good friend from work helped me finish getting it floating again this afternoon. What a muddy, messy job!! Oh well, all’s well that ends well. Now the fish had better watch out because I plan to be out there this weekend.
…GO COCKS!!!
