First boat at 64

[uncle sage]

Hi Guys! I've always prided my successes from lakes to river to small streams, from the bank or shore. I moved to where i'm at now some 35 years ago for the fishing and outdoor opportunities, trout heaven, and love it but my fishing out in the lake itself, has always depended on the invites i get, never have had my own boat.

Well a old friend passed a couple years ago and his Family asked if i'd like to have his Boat, a 15' tri-hull with a 55 HP Johnson motor. He was meticulous about his things, it was well maintained and cared for, all set up for trolling for trout in the mountain lakes here about, and completely equiped except for downriggers which i may or may not add. It has just yesterday returned from a shop where some trailer hitch and wiring work was done, the motor started, tested, seems to run good, and new gas and oil installed in both 6 gal tanks.

A neighbor buddy and i are going to trailer out in a hour or so for our, my, maiden voyage and maybe catch a trout or three if things go well. What am i missing or maybe should know about? The old 55Hp doesn't seem to have a shear pin if i hit a stump or something? How stable are these boats for two, three guys max? Any other thoughts? Thanks!

the boat


me with nice average size lake almanor brown trout, 5 miles from my house


Thanks Guys!

 

[Mallardsx2]

Congrats! Use that sucker!

 

[Keeptrying]

Wear your life jacket. Carry a signaling device.

 

[uncle sage]

Thanks for the replies guys!

My camper rig and "free boat"



Once put in at the Dam, we were able to get it started But once i tried to throttle up, she no want to go. So we trolled around a bit, stopped and made a few casts, then pretty much just tried to get it to power up, adjusting the obvious rich-lean lever and chokes, to no avail so we put it back on the trailer and drove it by my mechanic buddy. He thought it might be a fuel filter, checked that out, but the one filter on intake, was clean as can be. No clue after that.

One thing, i had lowered the trolling plate then jerked the cable that controls it, thinking that if i powered up, the plate would pop back up on it's own. I found out after that i need to pull the cable as it's going to get it to come up. I don't though, believe that plate being down had much to do with not getting any RPMs much above idol while in gear. It sounded like it was starving out, no go, other than at idle speed.

Could have been a much worse way to spend a afternoon though, it was really nice out there, i will get the bugs out even if i have to dig into this years saved hunting funds to do it. Any Ideas?

It was a "free Boat"lol, think i'm into it about $800. now...lol

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Good little fishing craft, Joey. Tri-hulls are very stable. May ride a little rough in a chop when the wind comes up. A motor that size probably doesn't have a shear pin. There's a hub inside the prop housing that will spin if you hit something and you then replace the hub. Would be nice if you could mount an electric motor somewhere for fishing Walker. You can get by without a downrigger by using leadcore in the summer months.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

There may be another fuel filter under the cowling. Follow the fuel line as far as you can towards the carb.

 

[uncle sage]

Chukarman, Thanks! Maybe i ought to check into getting a spare hub. I was out on almanor once in a 12" valco setup, we hit a stump and sheared a pin with no spare. Said to myself after that long, very long day that if ever had a boat, i'd have several shear pins along. Been thinking the same about the electric motor, might have to figure a way to make that happen.

 

[kansasdad]

Trailer tires are some of the least cared for rubber on the planet. Give them a really good look see and replace if indicated.

Get a good topo map of the lake/s that you will be fishing.

Have (safe) fun!

 

[uncle sage]

KDad, I've seen some of your posts about, good stuff, and really good ideas here that i hadn't thought of. Thank You!

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

Fuel in California is terrible. Use a fuel stabilizer every tank of gas. I use blue Marine Stabil and there are many others.
The ethanol in our gas dissolves old rubber hoses so you may have a fuel flow issue. It isn't just the filters that get clogged.
Buy a life jacket that fits and wear it. I never take mine off if I am in my boat. Your home lake is really cold.
For fishing there I don't think you need to own downriggers to troll. I own Electric Cannon riggers and only use them about 10% of the time that I troll. I top line a lot and I know a lot of guys that fish your lake that top line. 150' behind the boat with a small Rapala and just troll. Colors change from week to week but in darker water use black/gold in very clear water use shad or silver colors.
I don't know much about your older motor so I hope you can find someone local to help you but in my experience with those symptoms it is a fuel issue.

 

[uncle sage]

Thanks John, When it comes to wrenching fixing motors and stuff, i'm easily lost. Your words make sense to me though so i will get the Fuel Stabilizer and think we may try again tomorrow. The boat came with 6 life vests, don't know if they are any good or if one will fit this oversized bag of hot air. Keeptrying above placed weight on that concern as well, now it's a top priority and my thanks!

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

If it won't pick up try pumping the hand bulb. If that picks it up it could be the fuel pump. For your sake I hope it wasn't run or stored with ethanol gas. Also make sure it's pumping water. The impeller can get hard from setting.

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

If the gas was purchased in California it has ethanol in it. If it was left in the system for an extended period of time it may have damaged almost anything with the old rubber compounds that are in the fuel system. Fuel lines, pumps, bulbs, gaskets and so on. The only non ethanol gas available in California is aviation fuel or quart cans at the hardware store.

Adding stabilizer now will not repair any fuel problems it will only lesson the probability of future issues. Keeping an eye on the cooling system impellor is very important. Did you notice a pee stream of water at the back of the engine? Never start the engine dry in your driveway. Always use earmuff type water hose attachments or figure out a way to keep the outdrive in a tank of water. I doubt that the low RPMs were caused by a lack of cooling water but I don't know for sure. I also could be wrong about the issue being a fuel related problem but that is usually the case with old fuel and especially ethanol fuels.

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

Once you get it running I would not mix more gas than you can use in a few trips. I can troll for hours on 2 gallons of fuel and my Mercury is a 115. One 6 gallon can will probably last you 4-5 fishing trips depending on how you run the boat. Mixing 12 gallons at a time just means it sits around longer.

 

[uncle sage]

If it won't pick up try pumping the hand bulb. If that picks it up it could be the fuel pump. For your sake I hope it wasn't run or stored with ethanol gas. Also make sure it's pumping water. The impeller can get hard from setting.

i did seem to pump the bulb often as the motor died and then when starting it again, wasn't always easy to restart, but often it would run for 10-20 minutes when we trolled. Another buddy here worked in a small engine repair shop in Chester for his last 20 years before retiring, is maybe going to look at it tomorrow. He has a bad habit of tearing motors and stuff apart when he should have just checked a spark plug wire first, so he doesn't have approval for any major surgery but can give it a checkup as he's expressed a desire to do, maybe check the fuel pump, before i further open the checkbook to someone that knows these motors inside and out, if i can find such a person ready and willing.

John, the boat came with 3 of those sets of clams-earmuffs, hose to lower end, we'll see. All good info,Thanks Bud!

the new optima duel purpose deep cycle battery i put in it worked like a champ, turned it over a lot more than i would have liked, and still going strong. i napped from the last post, out like a light! lol

 

[LaSportsman]

Was the carb cleaned when you got it? Another vote that these problems likely stem from gas sitting up unless it was winterized before the long time storage.

 

[Frenchy]

Was the carb cleaned when you got it? Another vote that these problems likely stem from gas sitting up unless it was winterized before the long time storage.

Carb Cleaning is what I was leaning towards as well. Those things gum up pretty good when the sit for extended periods of time.

 

[targetpanic]

People on iboats often recommend treating 1 gal of gas with 3/4 can of Sea Foam. Apparently it gets rid of a lot of carbon buildup and cleans out the carburetor. Might be worth a shot??

 

[Gr8bawana]

Congrats on the new boat. I had a boat for several years and I found out where the saying "the two happiest days for a boat owner is the day they buy it and the day the sell it" comes from, and it is true.

 

[uncle sage]

Hi Guys, Been up a couple times but just now getting around, yesterday and my wide ranging blood sugar numbers are really taking a toll on my energy levels and ability to keep my eyes open. Not good! Anyway,

Uncle Bill, not my Uncle but a good Friend, who ran Chester small engine repair, retired, for 20 years is due over here in a hour or so. He thinks he has a can of sea foam or he's going to stop at the parts house where they don't carry it, i called, and get another similar product where the salesman who answered my call said his brand would be perfect for that purpose of cleaning that i mentioned. So we'll give it a go here in a hour or so, see if that does it after pouring out the now mixed 6 gals and putting back in the tank, a smaller quantity of fuel-mix-sea foam cleaner for the possible fix.

Right now, i don't feel the energy to even get fully dressed, again, not good, but i'll muster up the energy, be ready to help when he gets here. Thanks Again for the very helpful suggestions and comments!

GR8, Yeah, that one has been around. I see the boat as a way to still be able to go out not having to depend on invites. I must have 50 "secret spots" on almanor from shore but in the 55-60 years i've been fishing all those places from the shore, accesses have been posted, gated, and/or seem to have gotten steeper or more rocky than they used to be. I don't care to bust my face or body trying to get down to fishing so i saw this boat as a opportunity knowing ahead of time that it might not be in the cards.