If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

[PowerAddict]

Just thought I should share a story from Sunday at the boat ramp.

First off, the guy had no etiquette, nice guy, just clueless on the ramp (and in the water) butted ahead of a guy who was waiting for his wife to get the truck at a narrow ramp. He backs down in an angle away from the other guys' boat, gets it off the trailer and has his kid stay with it there, didn't move it over and left the guy waiting. First problem, didn't try to start it before he got it off the trailer. Guy walks back, says "we'll be out of your hair in a second" tries to start...nothing. So the guy that had to wait on him, now had to help him push it over...nice. So, I ask the guy what he thinks is wrong, and type of engine/drive it is...he says "its uuhhhh a....Ford", so right away I knew he knew nothing about nothing. I help my buddy get his boat on the trailer and walk back over and ask him if he wants some help checking for spark. In about 30 seconds I found out his points were bad. So I ask him, when was the last time you had this serviced "about three years ago" Second problem. And the last problem being, if you don't know anything, and you won't get it serviced DON'T OWN A BOAT! I felt bad for the guy 'cause he had his two kids, (probably both under 10) with him, and they had to turn around and go home.

Thing is, guy had a nice 2500HD diesel truck.... there's no way he couldn't have afforded a yearly tune-up. I just don't get it.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

There are a lot of folks out there who think they can buy their way into anything. This includes boats. This guy probably cannot afford a good mechanic because he has to make payments on that truck.

As for maintenance on boats, a lot of the younger crowd really don't have a clue. I was replacing points and actually doing real tune ups on cars in the 70s as a teen because that was the technology then. Today, with FI, electronic ignitions and such, a lot of the newer kids are clueless because they just don't have the experence. I have an old Sears "Tune Up" machine (Dwell meter, tach, etc) and a timing light that my father gave me years ago. Before I got into boats, I had no use for them and almost got rid of them, but for some reason, I never did. They came in handy for some older cars I worked on, but spent most of the time on the shelf gathering dust. Lately, they have been used a lot because I have friends who think points are what sentences end with.

Today, a lot of the younget kids can do wonders with their cars, but it involves the use of laptops and such. A lot of old school mechanics (I can think of my late grandfather) would not dare touch them. Doesn't make them bad mechanics, just uneducated. I try to embrace both technologies so I can fix these things.

Don't be too hard on the guy at the ramp. This serves as his learning curve in boating. Sometimes, a little wake up call will go a long way.

I now have a vessel with electronic ignition and FI, but you can bet I will keep those old school tools around. I can fix it, but have to invest in some newer tools (Damn Mercruiser... my OBD II scanner doesn't work on these). For those who don't have the know how, a good mechanic can really be a friend.​

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

Agreed about people doing less on their cars b/c there's little a layman can do.
Also I think too many boaters assume a boat is like a car--turn the key and go; park it in the driveway when the trip is over and don't touch it until the next time you want to drive somewhere. They are baffled, and then frustrated, to learn how much work is required, whether DIY or hired out, and temperamental boats can be.
People will take better care of a new car than some old beater they buy used. Boats are the opposite-the old beater requires a lot more attention than the new one.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

not that the guy should head to the ramp without knowing if his boat runs....but if he was ready to launch and the guys wife was GETTING their truck and not in their truck waiting to back down then I'd say he gets to launch first.

And Ford did make a marine engine so his answer was not completely stupid.

 

[JimKW]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

I don't know how to fix much of anything on my boat, and I don't plan on paying somebody else do everthing. I plan to get on the internet and learn how do things myself. By the way I do have a timing light and I also have an ODB-II reader. I am pretty good at working on my Volvo's. but it took some time to feel comfortable working on them. My son in law and I put a head gasket on one of them and now I feel comfortable doing most anything. I hope someday to feel the same way about the boat.

I really haven't done anything between weekend trips though. What should I be doing on a regular basis? I start the boat in the driveway on muffs before going out to make sure it starts. I get it in the water before starting it at the ramp. I do everything I need to be ready to go out, and I check my oil, but that's all I have done so far. What am I missing?

 

[Knightgang]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

I feel for the guy as well, but I woul dnot go to the ramp without starting in the driveway first...

Situation probably was like this. Boat has sat for a little while with no care, last minute decision to take the kids out for the day to get them out of Mom's hair and they loaded and went...

He probably left very frustrated and feeling down that his boat is not running and he let the kids down. The kids are upset because the promised fun did not materialize... Gotta hate it for the guy. I just hope he plans better next time...

 

[BF]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

this story reminds me of last Saturday... we launched before the rush in the AM and had a great 4 or 5 hours in the boat... Had to pull out in the early AM... by then things had gotten busy. The city has already pulled most of the dock sections out, leaving only 1 floating section. There's space to tie up on the side (blocking the launch), or on the end. That's it. Turns out that some local hillbilly types brought their boat down but spent 4 hours tied off on the end of the dock while they tinkered with the outboard. All others that were launching/retrieving/picking up passengers etc etc. had to work from the 1 other spot on the launch side of the dock. They eventually got it going and sputtered down the river.... but they were either absolutely clueless or didn't care that they were causing prob's for others. Those of us waiting for the space were chatting and shaking our heads. It's one of them who knew they'd been there 4 hours b/c they were already there when he launched.

I now know that even though there may be 2 ramps, it seems you can't keep 2 ramps busy if there is only 1 space on the dock.... that becomes the bottle neck.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

Some people just have no regard and courtesy for others...

 

[Shizzy]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

a few years back I had to step in and teach the then mayor of a neigboring town how to start up his "new" 67 GTO ragtop he had just purchased from a friend of mine for $70k. It had a 700 some cube Supercharged Donovan engine.

He had come in with it steaming so I asked him how long he had been driving the car at slow speeds and what the water temp was. he had no clue so I looked in, pointed to the temp guage and told him it was WAY too far to the right and he needed to shut it down.

after he parked he was asked all kinds of questions about it. He knew nothing. I knew more about the car then he did since I knew the guy that owned it before. I just let him sit there and repeat "I dont know"

after abut a half hour he decided to leave. he could not get it to start and just kept cranking and cranking. so I walked back up and said. "this thing has a supercharger, two carbs and no choke, pump the gas once and hit the key if its stone cold and DON'T touch the gas and hit the key if its warm." I then had to tell him that once you flood it (he had pumped the gas a bunch then hit the key with the engine still warm) that he was going to have to let it sit for a half hour then try it again but DONT touch the gas pedal til she fires.

he also didnt know that if yo uleave your lights on and the battery goes dead that yo ucan toss it on the charger overnight and it will be fine, yo udont need a new battery.

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

I don't know how to fix much of anything on my boat, and I don't plan on paying somebody else do everthing. I plan to get on the internet and learn how do things myself. By the way I do have a timing light and I also have an ODB-II reader. I am pretty good at working on my Volvo's. but it took some time to feel comfortable working on them. My son in law and I put a head gasket on one of them and now I feel comfortable doing most anything. I hope someday to feel the same way about the boat.

I really haven't done anything between weekend trips though. What should I be doing on a regular basis? I start the boat in the driveway on muffs before going out to make sure it starts. I get it in the water before starting it at the ramp. I do everything I need to be ready to go out, and I check my oil, but that's all I have done so far. What am I missing?

You should not only check the engine oil but all fluid levels, trim/tilt fluid,power steering,outdrive.
I also wax mine about every other month (maybe a little excessive) and wipe down the interior weekly and put protectant on the vinyl every other week.
I also grease it 2 or 3 times a year even though that may be a little much.
Better to do too much than not enough.
Take care of your baby and she will take care of you.

 

[PowerAddict]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

hey man, you're taking a great first step just by being on this site! Can't knock you for trying that's for sure! Part of the fun is learning more about it, and getting to work on it yourself, making mistakes, cursing, and being an expert the next time.

I just think, with all the resources out there these days, with sites like this especially, one would be able to take a little bit of time here and there to research more about a hobby they'd like to try, before actually doing it. I didn't want to come off too strong, as I said, the guy was nice enough, just made some bad mistakes, that I really feel could have been avoided. Not getting to be on the water can make for not only a bad day, but a bad week! No one wants to have to turn around after they already got to the boat ramp!

 

[fixb52s]

Re: If you don't know how to fix it, and you don't take it somewhere, don't own it.

I don't know how to fix much of anything on my boat, and I don't plan on paying somebody else do everthing. I plan to get on the internet and learn how do things myself. By the way I do have a timing light and I also have an ODB-II reader. I am pretty good at working on my Volvo's. but it took some time to feel comfortable working on them. My son in law and I put a head gasket on one of them and now I feel comfortable doing most anything. I hope someday to feel the same way about the boat.

I really haven't done anything between weekend trips though. What should I be doing on a regular basis? I start the boat in the driveway on muffs before going out to make sure it starts. I get it in the water before starting it at the ramp. I do everything I need to be ready to go out, and I check my oil, but that's all I have done so far. What am I missing?

The biggest thing you can do is keep it clean and covered when not used. Wax it at least a few times a year, and ensure the trailer paint is good. Touch up any spots because they will rust. Check/repack the trailer bearings once a year, and a squirt some grease in them after every other launch to keep the water out. Keep a close eye on the drive lube, and change it out every 100 hours or once a year. Keep a close eye on the bellows for any cracking or such. Grease the drive points about once every other month, depending on how much you use it. Keep the battery topped off. I put a charger on mine every few weeks if it is not going out.

Like stated before, this is the place to learn. I did the same thing (reading here, internet searches) a few years ago when I got into boating. I can fix cars and jet aircraft with my eyes closed, but boats kind of scared me at first. The learning curve is still there, but I can get it done. Hands on is the best teacher. Get the factory manuals for your drivetrain, there is a lot of good info there.