riptide09
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2009
- Messages
- 297
Been lurking a while but never had anything to say.
I have had boats my whole life, just small boats like canoes, kayaks and aluminum boats with less than 10 hp motors. They have always done the job and I enjoy smaller lakes and streams. Better fishing and no yahoos on jet skis.
That said my Uncle had a 2003 Four Winns 170 Freedom with 115 Johnson. He is getting older and the boat has not been in the water in 2 years and has minimal usage. In a moment of brilliance or stupidity depending on your perspective I bought the boat off him 2 weeks ago for $6000.
I finally got the thing titled and registered during the week so it was time to take her out on the maiden voyage. I got up early this morning to get everything ready.
Put in the battery.
Gas gauge showed 1/2 tank. Add appropriate amount of Stabil to tank.
Try to raise then lower outboard so I can check/change lower end oil. The damn thing won't go up or down. Dig out meter and repair manual and trouble shoot the whole system only to decide either the electric motor or the pump is bad. With nothing to lose I think maybe they are frozen from sitting for 2 years so I take my friendly wooden mallet and whack the crap out of the motor/pump unit. The things works now. Run it up and down a few times and it seems to be cool.
The lower end is low on gear oil so I drain it and refill. Good thing cause the gear lube looks like it has never been changed. No signs of water but it is filthy.
Hook up the hose and muffs and kick it over. Starts up pretty fast for not being run in 2 years and a good **** stream so I figure I am golden to go.
Tell the wife we are ready lets go. She says it is 3:00 and to late however I say I am going and get in the truck. Off we go.
Get to the lake with a nice steep concrete ramp. Remove transom straps. Raise motor and release the travel/storage latch on the motor. Back down the ramp and float the boat. Then I can't get the winch on the trailer to let go. Feel stupid, pull out of the water. The boat is crooked on the trailer and my wife does not like it. Mess around with the winch and can't get it working. Ask the guy next to me if he can help. He comes over and has the thing working in like 5 seconds. Feel stupid again. Back down the ramp and launch the boat. Wife waits on the dock while I park the truck.
Push off from the dock. Go to lower the motor and it won't go down. Mess around pushing/pulling some and motor lowers. We start cruising around pretty slow. First things I notice are now gas gauge reads only 1/4 while earlier it read 1/2. Bum out cause I should have gotten gas on the way but figure I am OK cause this is a short cruise. Engine temp, Voltage gauges working. Four warning lights were on before starting but are now off. Speedo and tach not working. Trim gauge is all the way to Up with key off and is all the way to down with it on and not moving so it seems trim gauge is not working.
Drive around for a few minutes getting used to to feel. Start going faster but not sure how fast cause speedo is not working. Motor sounds good, nice and smooth and everything seems to be OK with the exception of the non-working gauges. I try adjusting the trim but the motor does not seems to move and down. Damn motor or pump acting up.
Cruise for like 10 or 15 minutes, just long enough to get a good distance away from the ramp when the motor dies. Start messing around and it becomes real clear that even thought the gauge reads 1/8 tank at this point I am out of gas. Now I am really feeling stupid. Sit around for a while waiting for another boat to come. Flag down the next boat and the guy offers to tow me in. So here I am on the maiden voyage of my new to me boat and I need to get towed in cause I ran out of gas.
Back at the dock I can't get the motor to go up. I back the trailer down the ramp and trailer the boat with the motor down. I pull up real slow while the wife watches to make sure I am not going to hit the motor. I make it up the ramp fine and pull out of the way on the lot. I secure the boat and hook up the transom straps. I get the lug wrench out of my tool box and pound on the motor pump unit. The things works enough for me to raise the motor however now I can't it lowered on the travel/storage bracket. Mess around and hit it some more and finally it lowers on the bracket. Pack the rest of the stuff and head home.
On the way home I stop at the gas station. Tank is 23 gallons according to the owners manual. I put in 23.4 at the pump. Guess it was empty so the gas gauge is reading wrong.
So I guess I will see how much the motor/pump costs and see if I can get it changed during the week and try again next weekend. I would do it tomorrow but I am going canoeing with the church youth group and won't have time.
I have had boats my whole life, just small boats like canoes, kayaks and aluminum boats with less than 10 hp motors. They have always done the job and I enjoy smaller lakes and streams. Better fishing and no yahoos on jet skis.
That said my Uncle had a 2003 Four Winns 170 Freedom with 115 Johnson. He is getting older and the boat has not been in the water in 2 years and has minimal usage. In a moment of brilliance or stupidity depending on your perspective I bought the boat off him 2 weeks ago for $6000.
I finally got the thing titled and registered during the week so it was time to take her out on the maiden voyage. I got up early this morning to get everything ready.
Put in the battery.
Gas gauge showed 1/2 tank. Add appropriate amount of Stabil to tank.
Try to raise then lower outboard so I can check/change lower end oil. The damn thing won't go up or down. Dig out meter and repair manual and trouble shoot the whole system only to decide either the electric motor or the pump is bad. With nothing to lose I think maybe they are frozen from sitting for 2 years so I take my friendly wooden mallet and whack the crap out of the motor/pump unit. The things works now. Run it up and down a few times and it seems to be cool.
The lower end is low on gear oil so I drain it and refill. Good thing cause the gear lube looks like it has never been changed. No signs of water but it is filthy.
Hook up the hose and muffs and kick it over. Starts up pretty fast for not being run in 2 years and a good **** stream so I figure I am golden to go.
Tell the wife we are ready lets go. She says it is 3:00 and to late however I say I am going and get in the truck. Off we go.
Get to the lake with a nice steep concrete ramp. Remove transom straps. Raise motor and release the travel/storage latch on the motor. Back down the ramp and float the boat. Then I can't get the winch on the trailer to let go. Feel stupid, pull out of the water. The boat is crooked on the trailer and my wife does not like it. Mess around with the winch and can't get it working. Ask the guy next to me if he can help. He comes over and has the thing working in like 5 seconds. Feel stupid again. Back down the ramp and launch the boat. Wife waits on the dock while I park the truck.
Push off from the dock. Go to lower the motor and it won't go down. Mess around pushing/pulling some and motor lowers. We start cruising around pretty slow. First things I notice are now gas gauge reads only 1/4 while earlier it read 1/2. Bum out cause I should have gotten gas on the way but figure I am OK cause this is a short cruise. Engine temp, Voltage gauges working. Four warning lights were on before starting but are now off. Speedo and tach not working. Trim gauge is all the way to Up with key off and is all the way to down with it on and not moving so it seems trim gauge is not working.
Drive around for a few minutes getting used to to feel. Start going faster but not sure how fast cause speedo is not working. Motor sounds good, nice and smooth and everything seems to be OK with the exception of the non-working gauges. I try adjusting the trim but the motor does not seems to move and down. Damn motor or pump acting up.
Cruise for like 10 or 15 minutes, just long enough to get a good distance away from the ramp when the motor dies. Start messing around and it becomes real clear that even thought the gauge reads 1/8 tank at this point I am out of gas. Now I am really feeling stupid. Sit around for a while waiting for another boat to come. Flag down the next boat and the guy offers to tow me in. So here I am on the maiden voyage of my new to me boat and I need to get towed in cause I ran out of gas.
Back at the dock I can't get the motor to go up. I back the trailer down the ramp and trailer the boat with the motor down. I pull up real slow while the wife watches to make sure I am not going to hit the motor. I make it up the ramp fine and pull out of the way on the lot. I secure the boat and hook up the transom straps. I get the lug wrench out of my tool box and pound on the motor pump unit. The things works enough for me to raise the motor however now I can't it lowered on the travel/storage bracket. Mess around and hit it some more and finally it lowers on the bracket. Pack the rest of the stuff and head home.
On the way home I stop at the gas station. Tank is 23 gallons according to the owners manual. I put in 23.4 at the pump. Guess it was empty so the gas gauge is reading wrong.
So I guess I will see how much the motor/pump costs and see if I can get it changed during the week and try again next weekend. I would do it tomorrow but I am going canoeing with the church youth group and won't have time.
