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Your Boat - A Valued Possession
By Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson
Most anglers are just happy if their outboard starts, says Terry Heist, Mercury Marine special events manager and an outboard motor specialist. “When they get to their favorite lake or even when they get home, they have one thought in mind, and it’s not to stop by a dealer and have it (the outboard) checked out. It’s to find fish.”
Many feel the same way about their boat’s looks, too, adds Brian Kelly, an expert boat rigger and detailer who owns Kelly’s Marine in Morris, Ill.
But, the problem with that attitude is this: Forget the basics of motor maintenance long enough and you’ll get left at the dock. Ignore the appearance of your boat and watch your boat’s resale value take an elevator to the basement.
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Here’s some tips to take care of your boat so it functions at peak levels when you need it and it brings the best price when you are ready to talk trade in.
Making It Go
Mercury Marine sends Heist and Jay Andersen to tournaments in order to service competitors who might experience emergencies that occur to their Mercury-manufactured outboards. Andersen is assigned to walleye circuits such as the Professional Walleye Trail and the Master’s Walleye Circuit. Heist logs 200 nights a year in motels traveling to Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) and FLW events from January to December.
They’ve seen it all while being called upon to diagnose serious engine troubles and fix them fast. Many of the problems could have been avoided, Heist said, and easy to prevent. Here’s how:
- Check battery terminals. Dead batteries at take off time are a disaster. Loose connections can cause serious damage to the charging system including melted battery posts. Loose connections can also effect some newer motors in strange ways. For example, we thought that we had a clogged fuel line the first day we tested Ted’s boat this spring. The engine would start, run a few seconds, then stop. We had to use the 25 horsepower kicker on the Ranger 692 to make it back to the launch and lost precious pre-fishing time for the Masters Walleye Circuit event at Spring Valley, Ill., as a result. Andersen found the trouble quickly, and it wasn’t the gasoline line at all. It was simply a loose battery connection that caused the voltage-sensitive electronic fuel injection system to quit. Apply an anti-corrosive agent to the terminals and tighten the clamps with a pair of pliers. Finger tightening is not enough.
- “Nobody changes gear oil,” Heist laments. Yet, that oversight can lead to serious lower-unit failure. Change it every 100 hours of use or at the end of each boating season, which ever comes first. Debris or metal grindings from the gear case can cause damage if you don’t.
- Check your propeller. “A lot of people can’t even remove a prop to see if they have a ball of fishing line inside,” he said. Failure to do that can breaks seals, which allow water to get into the lower unit
- Tighten prop nuts. Sometimes, the nut isn’t “torqued,” or tightened, correctly when installed. That sets in motion a series of events that lead to severe damage. A loose prop causes wear on the “thrust hub,” which is the gizmo that holds the prop in place. If that fails, the prop can spin right into the gear housing. The proper tool for the job is a torque wrench. The right torque for your motor is listed in your operator’s manual.
- Apply lube to the prop shaft at regular intervals to protect the propeller hub from corrosion. A corroded shaft may seize up.
- Check the motor oil. Always carry enough extra TC-W3 oil on board to get you back to the dock if your reserve runs dry. TCW-II stocks still exist. But it should be limited to older engines.
- Use quality gasoline. Mercury recommends any unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher. Mid-grade gasoline with fuel injector cleaners is preferred. Fuel containing up to 10 percent ethanol or MTBE is OK, but use a water-separating fuel filter because alcohol absorbs water. Avoid methanol.
- Put a drop of lubricating oil of the starter drive and armature shaft. That will prevent those times when your turn on the key and nothing happens because the flywheel doesn’t engage.
- Check the motor’s mounting bolts, especially if you are in rough water often like most walleye anglers. “I’ve seen them a half inch off the transom,” Heist said.
- Have your motor checked by professionals regularly. Manufacturers once gave a long list of motor parts that should be checked every 20 hours, from spark plugs to the timing. Heist said that’s been changed to every 100 hours. The rule of thumb should be at least once per season for normal use. Tournament anglers should do it more often.
- Carry an emergency repair kit. Have a set of jumper cables. Electronics, lights and live wells can deplete batteries quickly. Short runs on plane may not be enough to recharge them. When a battery goes dead, use the jumpers to connect your trolling battery to the starting battery. Never disconnect the starter and hook the trolling battery directly. You can cause serious harm to the charging system if you then try to re-attach the starter battery while the engine is running.
- Carry a spare prop and a wrench that will fit the propeller nut. Also carry pliers and a spare nut. Flo-Torq II drive hubs are designed to break if you hit an obstruction to prevent damage to the motor. Carry a spare. Mercury Marine also recommends a spare power trim relay, which is a small module that costs about $154 and plugs into the rear of the power head. If one goes out with the motor in the up position, you’ll be glad you can make the repair fast. Carry Dri-fuel if water should get into your gasoline tank. Also, carry your motor manual in plastic, various tools including a spark plug wrench and spare plugs, fuses and electrical tape.
Keeping it looking sharp
Kelly says there are some simple tricks to boat care that can pay big dividends.
- Hide the holes. Kelly says most fishermen begin to detract from the looks of their boat from the time they rig it with the extras. Use Johnny Ray swivels when you can. That way you can leave the swivel behind for the next guy without exposing holes. Mount equipment on the carpet if you can. Carpet can be combed out to hide holes.
- Hide the wires. Boat detailers in the know use a tool called a “fish tape” to work power cables and other wires through the walls of the boat where they are out of sight and protected. The fish tape, available at hardware stores, is a metal wire used by electricians to run wires through conduit.
- Be careful when drilling screw holes in fiberglass. The primary hole should be only minutely larger than the screw. The top of the hole must be “chamfered,” or made slightly larger, to prevent cracking the clear coat.
- Use a good de-oxidizer to prevent hazing. Wax your boat often with a high-quality wax. There is no problem using a car wash sprayer, but avoid the decals. Use the power sprayer to clean carpets and press the extra water out with the edge of a 2 X 4.
- Repair very minor rub marks on the clear coat with a high-quality heavy duty rubbing compound. But, if you can feel it with your fingernail, it has to be sanded.
- For minor scratches, clean with a non-oil-based solvent like carburetor spray and brush with clear nail polish. For a temporary facial on more serious scratches, use a felt- colored marking pen.
Check out the Mercury information on the Internet. Also check out WalleyeCentral for you walleye fanatics. |
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