I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

[bamafutbal]

"http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=190160127592&rd=1"
can't pick it up for 2 weeks, i talked to him on the phone prior to bidding and he said that was ok. he said the double axel trailer just had bearing repacked and now has buddy bearing's, he said just a little rust on the wheel well (rim?)
i talked to him about flushing salt water out and he said he has the rabbit ears or he said i could call them ear muffs and he runs it 10 minutes after every ride and he has someone at the marina he pays to wash and dry it off for him.
so i need alot of pointers, first true ownership of a boat, and to this date have never driven a i/o. ( i waterskied for u of alabama so i have a couple hundred hours on a ski nautique/mastercraft, just have never had to take care of one). i also race mx and hare scramble on a yz250 and honda crf450 so i know a little about top ends, shimming vavlves, rejetting carbs, but not sure if any of this knowledge carry over to risers? impeller? props? etc etc.
thanks
john

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

he said just a little rust on the wheel well (rim?)
thanks
john

Fender area.

 

[QC]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

You'll do fine. Congratulations!!

 

[rndn]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Nice boat, congrats!!

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Congratulations!! I love seeing someone buy/get something they really want. Good luck getting to sleep tonight!! You're going to be like a kid at Christmas waiting for it to arrive.
Enjoy!!

 

[j442w30]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Congratulations, welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership. A good place to start would be taking a boating safety course if you have never owned/operated a boat with an I/O before. If you go to the Mercruiser/Volvo Inboard area of the forum there are previous posts that have links to free service manuals for your engine and drive that should help you if you need information on how to fix something. As long as you flush the engine and drive out after every trip in the salt you should not have any big problems with corrosion. Good Luck and enjoy, the boat looks like fun!

 

[bamafutbal]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

boat is 2550 dry, what weight should i be looking at with 30 gallons gas, gear and misc. items/fluids
have a 03 honda pilot

 

[mike176]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

have fun and be careful on the water. I/Os are easy to make mistakes with.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

i saw that on ebay and thought it was a good deal.

 

[45Auto]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

"The Pilot's towing capacity is rated at 3,500 pounds (or 4,500 if you're towing a boat — less aerodynamic drag, according to Honda)"

Gas is about 6 lb per gallon, the boat will easily be 3000 lb by the time you get anchors, gear, gas, etc on board. The trailer is probably at least 600-700 lb. If the trailer doesn't have brakes you're going to be pushing the stopping ability of your Honda. I used to tow an 18' 120 outboard Bayliner (total towed weight around 3500 lb, no brakes on trailer) behind a 4wd Jeep Cherokee with a tow package (5000 lb rating) and it would have been real scary in a panic stop. I tried it with no one else on the road and the boat just pushed the Jeep along with the wheels locked up.

If you are a habitual tailgater you're going to be in trouble! Make sure you leave a LOT of room behind the car in front of you and look WAY ahead so you can anticipate the traffic.

If you can maintain a dirt bike you'll have no trouble with a boat (been there, done that). Just make sure you get a manual for it!

 

[dimock44]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

I agree with 45 auto Leave alot of room to the car ahead and remember not to get in a hurry. I tow with a jeep wrangler (2000 lb limit) and the problem is not power but brakes. If you get in an emergency situation you won't be able to stop. Nice boat!! Enjoy

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Nice boat. best of luck with it.

 

[bamafutbal]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

trailer has brakes. someone mentioned that an i/o is easy to make mistakes with, can someone name a few

 

[05GlastronSX]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

no maintenance will kill an i/o engine and outdrive. the outdrive has bellows that run between the inboard engine and partially submerged outdrive to seal the transom where cables and shafts pass through. not maintaining these will cause your boat to take on water and the bellows also have a short service life so make sure they are checked every year or at the very least, every other. Also, if you trim the outdrive a lot when runniong at WOT, it puts a lot of stress on these as well as the bell housing, bearings ect. so be careful of that as well. If you pay someone to winterize (depending on area) or service the i/o components then you will be fine but if not, make sure you read up on everything you need to do. Also, you can not go into shallow water with an i/o simply because the outdrive does not rise out of the water like an outboard can. I have never owned an i/o, this is just what i have learned through other friends and reading A LOT of articles and topics here on iboats. I only own outboards because of the ease of maintence, great power and less weight, and shallow water operation.

On that note, very nice looking boat you have there. Congrats and i really think you are going to enjoy the boat and it will give you many years of service with proper maintence and care.

 

[rdcinmn]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Congratulations! Nice looking boat.
I'm assuming that you already know about boater safety from your previous experances, but here a link for you to brush up with- http://www.boat-ed.com/

 

[45Auto]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

No maintenance will kill anything, I/O or outboard. I?ve previously only owned outboards, now I only own I/O?s because of the greater power for less weight, much better economy, and compact size for the power. My 425 hp I/O weighs about 200 lb less than my old twin 225?s, gets twice the gas mileage, goes 5 mph faster, gives me a sunpad over the engine and a swim platform on the back, has lots of storage on the sides of the engine, and takes up the same length as the old twin outboards.

Biggest maintenance item on the I/O is the u-joint bellows and u-joints. If the bellows goes, the u-joints are not far behind. There?s also a bellows on the shift cable. Inspect them regularly, and I replace the bellows every 3 years on mine. Costs about $100 and takes about 3 hours. Second biggest deal is winterizing. I usually suck some antifreeze through the muffs from a 5 gallon bucket to make sure any left over water will be antifreeze, then hit the drain. My boat has a closed cooling system, the raw water side has a single point air-operated drain system so it?s pretty simple. Yours probably has multiple drain plugs you?ll need to track down. I can?t imagine taking my boat to the dealer, I do all my own maintenance.

Outdrive oil changes, engine oil changes, and impellor changes are pretty straight forward. Best manual is the factory one, you can download a copy on the internet, I don?t remember the link but you can search the forums for it pretty easy. Make sure you get the right one for your engine and drive.

Your boat probably has a trim position and a trailer position on the trim switch. You don?t want to run the motor with the drive in the trailer position, it puts a lot of angle on the u-joints. The u-joints are just like the ones on the driveshaft of a rear wheel drive car. As long as you run it in within the trim position and keep the u-joints lubed you?ll have a much better lifetime than the u-joints on an automotive drive shaft out in the weather. None of my cars and trucks with rear wheel drive have less than 160,000 miles on them and I?ve never had to replace a u-joint. Had to do several CV joints on front wheel drives though!

Nice boat, we hit several lakes around the southeast, maybe we?ll see you out there!

 

[azlakes]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Sharp looking boat, congratulations!

 

[bamafutbal]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

where do i go to download a manual, is it just for the motor, does it include the outdrive, what about hull, guages, cable, hydraulics within the boat itself, would that be included in a separate manual. i called blue water and they did not have manuals for that boat anymore
john

 

[45Auto]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Go here to get the manual for the engine and outdrive:

http://www-alt.mercurymarine.com/mnetdata/sisdata/srvcovr.pdf

If you don't knowwhat you have go here first and put in your engine serial number:

http://www.mercurypartsexpress.com/PartsExpress/ProductSelection/ServiceParts/sphome.asp?CID=

Hull, guages, cables and hydraulics will all be separate manuals, usually available from the individual component manufacturer. All you'll be missing without the factory manual would be a wiring diagram. Boat electrics are usually pretty easy to troubleshoot, just remember everything needs it's own ground! Can't just ground it to the fiberglass!

 

[sickwilly]

Re: I WON I WON I WON, now what do i do?

Be sure your Pilot has a tranny cooler -- if its anything like the Ody (same engine -- different tranny) that 4500 is with the tow package (tranny cooler and heavy duty power steering cooler).