It has been an interesting day to say the least. My family and I are in N. Myrtle for the week and decided to put the boat in at Cherry Grove and goof around in Hog Inlet. After backing the boat into the water, it starts right up but won’t stay running. I try again but no good. I have just added a Yamaha 10 Micron fuel/water separator and wonder if that is the problem. I pull the boat and put the original fuel line on (bypassing the filter), put it back into the water and it cranks and stays running. We spend the day fooling around on the north end and decide it is time to head in. Boat won’t start. After trying for a good 30 minutes, still won’t start so I put in a call for TowboatUS. About 10 minutes after making the call, I try again and it starts. I cancel the tow and head back to the landing (where I tow in an older lady in a jonboat that won’t start. Once I get home, I discover my trim tab is missing. It almost looks like the bolt broke. QUESTION: Is it ok to run without a trim tab or should this be replaced ASAP? It is a Yamaha 70 hp 2-stroke. Any ideas on the not starting? Thanks, hate to spoil the rest of my week with no boat.
Might want to check for water intrusion if the tab was thru-bolted. Wouldn’t guess that it was on a small boat, but you never know. Will want to make sure that the void in the hull where the tab was flows to the bilge. Check that the lines/screens aren’t clogged. A lot of water can seep in there and make planing off more difficult. You do nothave to have the tab, but it would make life easier with it. Just know that I had to fork out $870 to get one tab/2 actuators, mounting plate and labor. It can be expensive.
Is this the tab(sacrificial anode) on the motor?If so it shouldnt hurt the motor,i ran my old 90 yamaha that way for a while,replace it when you can.Loctite helps to keep the bolt tight.
Yes, I probably wasn’t clear, this was the tap bolted to the foot of the motor just above the prop, not tabs mounted to the stern. Just didn’t know if it was ok to operate without it.
replace it as soon as you can, its a 5 minute repair
most any shop will stock the tabs
I’m now at www.teamcharlestonmarine.com