Nitro 882

Thank you. You are absolutely right about any knife being able to be sharpened enough for the kitchen. I need to "hone" my sharpening skills (get it) instead of buying more knives. The voice of reason wins again. Salute to you.

Hi folks. My wife has been going down hill at 78 and I've taken over her former household duties including cooking our meals. I've grown to really enjoy cooking and meal prep and, if I do say so myself, I've gotten pretty good at it. We have an old "block" of assorted kitchen knives that were not very expensive and they perform as such. I once worked for a meat packing plant and learned the immense value of a sharp knife. I also learned that the more carbon steel used in the blade, the sharper you could get it and the easier it was to maintain the edge. They would tend to not stay bright and shiny like stainless steel knives but I'm looking for sharpness, not pretty. There was an old saying amongst the meat cutters that "a sharp knife will never cut you." Meaning that the less force you needed to apply to make your cuts, the less likely you would slip and have an accidental self-inflicted stab wound. Considering the above, some of you must have a "go to" kitchen knife that is versatile and maintains a sharp edge with a normal amount of attention. I'm not looking for a set of knives but rather a good utility knife. As with any search, my head is spinning with the number of options that come up and, no matter how I try to specify what I'm looking for, all I get is offerings for anything resembling a knife. Any guidance would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

I found a place to get whatever Mercury service manual you need. Just send an email to: publications.brunswick.com Give the serial # of your engine and a young lady named Lauri will give you instructions on how to make your purchase. My Merc XR6 manual cost $114 + freight. It arrived yesterday and is over 2 inches thick with everything you need to know to service your engine. The ability to fix your own boat problems will keep you on the water instead of waiting weeks for a shop to be able to get you in for service/repair. Example, my motorcycle has 180,000 miles on it and has NEVER been back to the shop. Outdoor toys seem to always break down when the weather starts to get nice.

Hey guys, I need the manual listed above. I'm confused by on-line offerings that claim to cover engines from 2 hp to 300 hp inclusive. It doesn't seem possible to effectively cover that many engines in one manual. By example, the manual for my specific motorcycle is over 500 pages. How can I obtain a manual specific to my Merc XR6?

I have an old Merc XR 6 150hp (carbureted) When my engine did the same thing, it turned out to be a bad starter, New starter fixed the problem. The click you hear is the starter solenoid activating or delivering voltage to engage the starter. "It slowly cranked" would be another hint at starter issues. I hope your problem can be fixed as readily as mine was.

Okay guys. Thanks for the responses, however, I wasn't looking for suggestions on adhesives/sealants. I'll soon be 80 and have owned boats for 60 years and I'm aware of a bunch of suitable products that will do the job. Also, at 80, I've got a shop full of products acquired over time that I would like to find uses for. Hence, my post specifically asked if anyone had successfully used the EZ Seal product to repair a keel guard.

I've got about a foot long section of the guard coming loose at the bow end. I think that is strange as thar part never comes in contact with anything. In any event, I'm thinking of using some EZ Flex rubberized sealant that I have in the shop to fix it. Anyone have any experience/success using this product?

I keep jumper cables in the boat. Have rarely needed them. Seems like we always need the elegant solution. I remember a story from back during our space race with Russia. Nasa spent $28 million to develop an ink pen that would write in a "zero gravity" environment. The Russians used a PENCIL. To each his own. 😉

It is my understanding that, for the oiling system to work properly, it has to be air-tight. The oil pump must create a negative pressure to draw oil from the main 3 gallon tank, past the one-way valve on the engine and into the reserve tank mounted on the engine. Any "leak" in the system will cause a loss in negative pressure and the oil will drain back into the main tank. As I said before, I have primed the system many times by removing the cap and running the engine at idle until the oil level rises and overflows. Having the cap removed creates a much greater "leak" in the system than a "small crack" as described. The fact that the oil pump is able to draw oil up to and overflow the reserve tank proves that the system is able to provide lubrication to the engine. When the cap is replaced the oil level will drop no more than an inch or so which is just enough to cause the intermittent beep alarm that I'm trying to eliminate. Any crack or leak in the system will prevent it from maintaining any oil level at all and will result in serious damage to the engine as it becomes starved for lubrication. Has to be another explanation.

I have a 2004 Merc XR6. The motor performs perfectly with one small but annoying glitch. The remote oil reservoir up on the engine is constantly about an inch low. This causes the float to bounce with the waves and create a intermittent beeping(alarm). Not the "normal" beep-beep-beep that signals low oil level, just beep-wait till the next wave- beep etc. The float, at its lowest point, makes a contact the produces the beep alarm. I have run the engine (several times) with the oil cap off until the level rises (overflows), but that only solves the problem for a day or two. Mind you, the oil level never goes more than an inch or so low and the is just enough for the float to signal the loss of oil which, if the loss progressed, would allow for a half hour or so of running before depleting the entire remote supply and possibly damaging the engine. I have removed the cowl dozens of times to check the oil level and have never seen it run lower than the aforementioned inch or so after several days of operation. I'm tempted to simply disconnect the wires to the float alarm to stop the incessant and, seemingly unnecessary, beeping. It's like the old fable about the boy who cried wolf (for you older folks.) Any similar experiences and/or solutions to this minor, but aggravating, situation? Thanx in advance.

A few months away from 80. Pretty healthy but take BP meds. Just decided I ain't dying any time soon so I had my 2005 Nitro 882 recarpeted and detailed and will be heading to Florida mid-January for my 3 month escape from the frozen tundra of New England. This will be the 20th year (thank you baby Jesus). Clearly, I don't have the same fire in my belly for fishing but I still love to get out. I fish like an old man and usually don't get on the water till 9/10 am and head home for happy hour bout 3/4 pm. Then I wonder why I don't catch fish like I used to, lol. My biggest problem is that my weight makes me not so nimble. Be careful what you pray for. When I was a boy, I grew quickly to 6'6" and was so skinny I could race a snake down a drainpipe. I lifted weights and ate everything in sight to gain weight for years to no avail until I was 35 and God started listening and he has blessed me (?) up to 340 lbs. I still go to the gym and lift weights so I'm only 52 percent body fat, lol. Just makes it harder to maneuver but I'm gonna go on a diet when I get older. I've told my family over the years that I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of not living. When I can no longer throw my leg over my motorcycle or climb around inside my boat I want to go to that big weigh-in in the sky. Have a Happy and Healthy holiday season and New Year.

Heading for Florida and the Kissimmee Chain in January for the 20th year. The last few years the hydrilla has become more of a problem to navigating especially on Toho. I've commented before that, by the time I leave for home in April, the lake looks like a golf course the way hydrilla has grown. I was just wondering if anything has been done or if conditions have remained the same. Last year I had times when the water intakes would get clogged causing the over-heat alarm to go off and I'd have to come off plane to clear the weeds. Then, I'd have to idle as much as 1/2 mile or more to find clear water so I could get up on plane once again. PITA but, at least, I'm not back home shoveling snow. Lol. Any info would be appreciated. Thanx.

After reading some responses to my post above, I dug a little deeper and found this. "Check your tires inflation pressures, including the spare, at least once a month and before going on a long trip. Tire pressure should be measured when tires are cold-that is when they have not been driven on. Otherwise, your tires may have heated up increasing the inflation pressure inside them by several pounds. This is normal. Never "bleed" or reduce the inflation pressure in a hot tire." I've heard that ignorance is not what you don't know, it's what you think you know that turns out to be wrong. The older I get (going on 80) the more stuff I thought I knew turns out to be not true. Thanks for educating me and I hope I didn't get anyone to adopt my potentially harmful habit. My intent was to share something I had picked up somewhere that kinda made sense at the time. I stand corrected. 👍

I've been fortunate to be able to tow my bass boat to Florida from Massachusetts from January till April. When I leave the "frozen tundra" my tires are inflated to the recommended pressure listed on the side of the tire (Endurance). I found a tip, many years ago, that I'd like to share with other "snowbirds". The air in my tires when I head south is 20/30 degrees F. By the time I travel through the warmer States and reach Florida, that same air is 40/50 degrees higher thereby elevating the internal tire pressure to a level that could result in a blowout. Therefore, at every fuel/rest stop, I check and adjust tire pressure as needed. I've released enough built-up pressure to make me believe I'm doing the right thing. I hope this is helpful. Tom

Yeah, that's my point and what I want to confirm, just out of curiosity more than anything.

Hi A-Jay. The compression is good and consistent across all 6 cylinders and it runs like a Swiss watch. Once I read the suggestion that hours really were a good indicator of engine health, I became curious. Actually, if you ask on-line about expected engine life you will get a response that it is 3000 to 4000 hours depending on etc., etc., etc. Just think it would be interesting, and helpful, to know. Thanks for the response.

I have a Merc XR6 150 hp engine that came on the Nitro NX 882 I purchased new in 2004. I was considering replacing it with a new Merc 150 until I recently read some comments indicating that age is not the only determining factor of service life and that hours of operation are possibly more important. When I think back on my years of enjoyment with my rig I am reminded that when fishing at many of the small lakes that I frequent I will, often launch the boat, deploy the trolling motor and fish all day. Usually, at the end of the day, I will fire up the big motor and take a couple spirited laps around the lake to keep her in shape. Having said that, I would like to have some shop hook me up to a diagnostic computer and pull my hours but I am getting mixed messages online and from local shops as to whether or not my 20+year old motor contains the technology to produce that output. Some say "no problem" and others say it is not possible and all say they are too busy with winterizing to take the time. ,I would simply like to know, with some certainty, if I could expect to learn how many hours my engine has on or not. I can accept that my Merc may be too old to be hooked up to a computer but my searching has produced as many "yays" as "nays" leaving me hopeful but confused. God bless the internet. Any actual "real life" experience out there retrieving hours of operation from a 20+ year old motor. Thanks in advance.

I'll soon be 80 and what I can say is that catching fish is very easy. It's finding the fish that is very difficult most times. But that is the allure to fishing. If you caught fish on every cast I believe most would not be nearly as excited to go fishing. By the way, I call B.S. on these stories of catching 100 bass in a day. If you caught a fish every 5 minutes for 8 hours you would have caught 96 fish. At that rate of hook-ups I'd be back home by mid morning. I digress. Now, as they say, "even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while." Therefore, like many others, I stumble onto enough fish to keep it fun. Actually, after many years of fishing, we do develop a sense for where the fish are likely to be. How many times have you made a cast to spot that "looked good", got bit and said "nice, right where he was supposed to be." In any event I've enjoyed, no, loved fishing for 70 some years. I have a ritual while running back to the ramp at the end of every fishing trip. I look to the sky and say " thank you, lord, for another day of fishing and thank you, daddy, for teaching me how to fish." A final thought. If we knew where the fish always were, think of the fish finder companies that would go out of business. 😉

I have used "Dyna Beads" in my motorcycle tires for years and started using them in my trailer tires about 5 years ago. Because trailer tires re typically bigger than bike tires the amount of beads needs to be increased. I, typically, put 1oz. in the front bike tire and 2 oz. in the rear. I put 3 oz. in each of my 15 inch trailer tires and have had great results. Fyi, my yearly trailering includes a 3 month Florida get away which is 1500 miles each way and about 1000 miles while there. Here is an example of efficacy. I looked in the rear view one time and noticed my trolling motor bouncing/vibrating up and down vigorously. This woke me up to the fact that I needed to balance my trailer tires. I decided to try the beads that I used on my bike. I did nothing more than apply the beads and, when I took a test drive, I noticed the trolling motor was so stable you could balance a shot glass on it. To each his own. That is good enough proof for me.

I just picked up my 2005 Nitro Nx 882 w/150 hp Merc XR6 after having the carpet replaced and the gel coat restored to its original glory. It looks like a new boat and that got me thinking, which is dangerous for me. I'm considering replacing my XR6 with a new 150 hp Merc. I'm an old man with decades of 2 stroke experience and would lean toward a 150 EFI. I understand that the trend is toward 4 stroke technology. Going to the Mercury Marine website doesn't make a decision any easier because they, naturally. won't suggest one of their products over another so I'm turning to you folks to provide some guidance based on real life personal experiences or educated opinions. By the way, my 20 year old XR6 runs beautifully so I'm complicating the decision by trying to fix something that ain't broke. I simply just don't have the confidence that I once had and I'm too d**n old at 79 to spend the night out on the Kissimmee Chain due to a motor that crapped out for some reason. Thanks in advance.

Just picked up my 2005 Nitro NX 882 after being recarpeted and detailed. Shout out to John and his boys at JCS Marine Repair/Restoration in West Greenwich R.I. (401-644-1847) My boat deck had become more duct tape than carpet. I didn't realize how bad it looked till I saw the newly carpeted deck. Combined with the compounding/waxing they did it looks like a new boat. If I can figure out how to post some pics I will do so. By the way, they do all kinds of boats large or small, fresh or salt water. Thanks again Big John.

Thanks to all for the very helpful (and humorous) replies. A-jay, you are my new hero. My "stash" pales in comparison. I really didn't want to eliminate any gear, I really need all my stuff. Never know when you might need a "Johnsons Silver Minnow." 😉 I was just a bit surprised when I laid it all out in my garage. By the way, I was joking about my boat performance trying to joke about the "load" she was carrying. Bought my Nitro NX 882 w 150hp Merc XR6 new in 2005 and have been very happy with it. Had the usual hard cold starting issues that so many have mentioned but, about 3 years ago, I lucked into a young mechanic who made some adjustment to the oil pump and it has run better than it did when new. Starts like an EFI now and no clouds of smoke like before on start up. I wasn't even aware that an adjustment was possible in that area. What a difference. Thanks again, guys. I go forward with a clear conscience now knowing that what I had thought of as unnecessary clutter is, actually, the proper amount of "ballast" for a well-trimmed bass boat.

I finally decided to have my 20 year old Nitro recarpeted. I struggled with the decision to spend the $$$ due to the fact that I'll be 80 next b'day but the stock market has been providing some unexpected discretionary income. Prior to taking the boat to the shop for the recarpeting/detailing I removed ALL my gear. Rods/reels, 8 tackle bags full of lures (hard and/or soft plastics), 10 x 3700's full of deep cranks, mid cranks, shallow cranks, top water, jerk baits, lipless cranks, hard/soft swim baits, chatter baits, buzz baits, 2 x spinner bait boxes containing about 30 baits each, terminal tackle (every possible size /style of hook, weights of tungsten, lead, tin alloy, steel), tool box, spare prop, huge anchor that has never been wet, assorted dock lines, fire extinguisher, plug-in spot light used once, spare clothing/rain gear including gloves/hats, about 10 pairs of sunglasses, 3 cans of sunscreen, various fish scents/attractants, 5 PFDs(though I fish alone 95% of the time), a box of fillet knives, cutting board, wet stone, metal mesh gloves(all just in case I ever catch some crappie again), a 3 ring binder of lake maps from Florida to Maine, a collapsable push pole, 2 plastic line boxes(1 mono/flouro, 1 braid), 2 wheel chocks, 2 cycle oil, Stabil, 2 tubes of wheel bearing grease, hydraulic fluid grease gun, jumper cables, electric pump with alligator clips for transferring fuel, 2 Humminbird graphs, prop nut wrench and 1 foot long 2X4 for jamming prop during nut removal or tightening, 2 spare live well pump motors and a 1# plastic coffee can with a small roll of toilet paper. Please understand, I had to make this seemingly meaningless list because of its therapeutic benefit for me. "High, I'm Tom and I'm a tackle hoarder." What an eye opener. I intend to make every effort to scale back when it comes time to reload my newly carpeted boat. Any suggestions as to how I can exorcise my demons? Is there someone I can call for support if I find myself weakening in the future? Lol. I think I now know why my boat with its 150 hp merc would only do 26 mph at 5000 rpm. Subconsciously I new I had a problem cause I used to tell people that if I bought 1 more package of speed worms, I'd have to get a bigger boat. Thanks for letting me come clean.

Thats the whole point. I won't wear a bulky, uncomfortable PFD. I would wear a more comfortable "inflatable" if I had confidence that the dang thing would, in fact, inflate. That was the reason for my query. Thanks for the info about them not working if you don't wear them. Imagine that.