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  1. natemoore

    Trolling motor on a 17' Four Winns Horizon 170 bow rider? Is it doable?

    I know this is an odd request, but in order to do effective fresh water fishing for bream, I really need to figure out a way to add a trolling motor. I have devised a way to mount a removable pedestal seat in the bow, and there's ample room for the foot control, but the two biggest challenges...
  2. natemoore

    Looking for proper prop for a 470 Alpha One 17' V-hull Four Winns Horizon 170

    The previous owner of my boat tried to compensate for a blown head gasket/worn out engine by (how you say) " propping down." He installed a 14 x 19 prop, which I'm assuming is a 14", 19 pitch. It's a single barrel carb, MCM 165. At WOT, I'm only going about 25 KTS/hr. Some of you guys are...
  3. natemoore

    470 vibrations and resonance

    My 470 is popping alternator bolts...not only the ones that hold the alt to the bracket, but also the ones that hold the two halves together! Had to use some bungee cord to keep it together. I know that an inline engine isn't going to run as smoothly as a V-6 or V-8, and I'll bet these...
  4. natemoore

    Broken alt wire during my vacation 470 3-wire

    Help! Currently camping at Florala State Park. Brought the boat with us. Black alternator wire broke. I believe it goes on + side of coil? Would that also cause alternator to stop charging?
  5. natemoore

    Fuel economy for a 470 on a 17' boat

    Finally! Finally! Got the family on the water today! I pulled my kids around on a great big two person Budweiser float for three solid hours at WOT pretty much. Used 17.5 gallons of fuel. Is that about right?
  6. natemoore

    470 causes boat owner to go postal (overheated after changing power steering hoses)

    Here it is late July and we haven't been out on the boat once. A couple of months ago we were planning to go boating, but a rusty power steering line started squirting fluid at me. Other than that, it started on the first try and ran fine. In fact, the boat ran great all last year. We put...
  7. natemoore

    Pyle 4 Channel Marine Audio Question

    I've got a Pyle 4-channel marine audio system (PLMRKT4A) installed in our travel trailer. Two speakers are outside. Two speakers are inside. There is only one volume control for the whole system. The wife wants to be able to kill the inside speakers, but still have them playing outside. I...
  8. natemoore

    stainless steel plug for 470/MCM 165/3.7L

    Hey. Number 4 spark plug is rusting. I need a stainless steel equivalent for a Champion RV9YC. Can't find any cross reference online. Local shop was no help. Any ideas? Thanks, Nate
  9. natemoore

    93 octane ethanol-free versus 87 octane w/ 10% ethanol in a Mercruiser 470/3.7L/165

    I found out recently that a gas station just up the street has ethanol-free 93 octane gasoline. My 470 has a new fuel pump, rebuilt carb, and new fuel lines. I don't know if the new Quicksilver parts are made to withstand ethanol or not. I do use Sta-bil for ethanol in my gas.
  10. natemoore

    470 alternator conversion kit, a season later

    I finally had to replace the power steering lines, but while I was rooting around the engine I noticed a couple problems with the alternator, which I installed last year from a conversion kit. Metal fatigue caused the lug on the primary wire to break off (no wonder the #1 battery died a couple...
  11. natemoore

    Made in China OEM?

    After being berated by some random forum moderator--some Admiral of the Sea or something--for buying an after-market Sierra exhaust bellows that split in two within the first six months (although I thought supporting iboats.com was a good thing), I ordered a Quicksilver exhaust bellows from some...
  12. natemoore

    Homemade test tank

    It was a funny sight. We're tied up to the dock this past Sunday after trying to brave the choppy waters of Santa Rosa Sound in our 17' boat. I wanted the wife to cycle the stick from neutral to reverse and back to neutral so I could try to troubleshoot my finnicky shift interrupter. My...
  13. natemoore

    Only the most perfect family boat launching event EVER!

    Okay. So I'm on the way to go fishing in Pensacola Bay. With me were the wife and the daughter, both of whom LOVE fishing. My 11 year old boy stayed home. He usually complains bitterly the entire time, get irrationally frustrated if he doesn't catch the perfect fish on the first attempt, and...
  14. natemoore

    Less than a year on a trim limit switch and exhaust bellows

    Really? My Sierra trim limit switch stops working after about 9 months. :mad: I checked for continuity through the entire swing of the lower unit. Open circuit through entire range of travel. I guess the obvious advice is to check for cuts in the line, but since it's wrapped in that hard...
  15. natemoore

    What's your stupidest mechanical blunder?

    When I was a junior in college, I bought a Triumph Spitfire to restore. I needed my "Red Barchetta." ;) I had a really hard time getting the center oil ring compressed onto the piston, so I just assumed it was too long and I trimmed it to fit.:rolleyes: Sunday afternoon I had to report back...
  16. natemoore

    Carrier assembly o-ring replacement

    I recently pressure tested my lower unit and found that the o-ring behind the carrier assembly was leaking. I dropped it off at my local shop and the owner said that to replace the o-ring, he'd have to pull the shifter then pull out the prop shaft, emphasizing that he had to get it extremely...
  17. natemoore

    Yet another Alpha One leaking

    I got curious about the state of my lower unit lube after a several trips out onto Santa Rosa Sound. Milky oil! I pulled the outdrive. No water or oil in the u-joint bellows. Short shaft seal is good. I pressure tested the unit assembled. Saw bubbles coming out of the exhaust hub and up...
  18. natemoore

    Proper adjustment of bunks and rollers

    I need to adjust the trailer's bunks and rollers. I can never get the boat completely on the trailer while it is in the water because the the bow stop/wench is so much higher than bow eye. So, I pull the trailer out a foot or two, the jump out and wench it up some more, jump in, pull up, jump...
  19. natemoore

    14" wheels on a trailer for 17' boat?

    Hey guys, Well, I worked my way through a complete boat engine/bell housing/outdrive rebuild, now it's time to get the trailer safe and serviceable. First off, the tires that are on them seem way too big. The boat is a Four Winns Horizon 170, but 14" tires? This of course makes it harder to...
  20. natemoore

    What exactly is "trimmed all the way down"?

    I'm now adjusting my trim limit and sender switches. I'm not really sure what "trimmed all the way down/in" means. I know what it literally means, but it seems I have three choices: 1) trim it down until it bottoms out completely (which looks like it would drive the bow down into the water)...
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