riddleofsteel

All of the sudden my BF25 Honda either would not shift into neutral to start or would require excessive pressure to make it shift. This all started suddenly so I knew something had gone wrong. This has been an intermittent problem. Just when I was ready to go to the dealer it would stop doing it. I had visions of big problems but this is a almost new engine. I did hit a rock a few weeks ago so there was a possibility of lower unit damage. I was out on the lake yesterday and when I went to start the engine it absolutely would NOT shift into neutral. This effectively disabled the engine so I had no choice but to remove the cowling and try to find the source of the problem again. I wiggled the shift lever back and forth while I watched the shifter cam. It was then I noticed that the bottom of the compartment, under the shifter cam was a different color as the rest of the bottom. I used a little trouble light that we use night fishing and discovered that the small, square, plastic cover that goes on the fuse box had fallen down into the bottom of the engine compartment. Apparently the fuse box cover was vibrating back and forth in this small area and was blocking the shifter lever part of the time. Thinking back I do not remember this cover ever being on the fuse box. It might have been down in the bottom all along. Once I retrieved the cover and snapped it back into place I found it VERY difficult to remove. It is hard to believe it popped off on its own. This was a used engine with around 20 hours on it when I bought it. It took me around 20 minutes to fish the cover out of that tight spot. The original owner may have dropped it and just gave up after a few minutes. This was simple fix that saved me an expensive trip to the repair shop but it might have been a huge problem if I had needed to start the engine in a hurry just when that dern little cover was under the cam. >

The poor man's micrometer can be constructed fairly cheaply. If you have more time and tinker power than money. Park the boat/trailer on a flat concrete surface. Put the engine down in run position and remove the prop. Build a small wooden frame that can hold a sharp tip nail or a fine tip Sharpie pen 90 degrees to the side of the output shaft. Arrange the frame so the tip of the nail or pen is ALMOST touching the side of the shaft. Put a sandbag or other heavy weight on the base of the frame so it does not move. A well placed set of jack stands may also help to stabilize the trailer/boat combo. When everything is in place have some turn the engine over as slowly as possible while you watch the tip of your homemade micrometer. (You may have to remove the spark plugs and turn the engine by hand while it is in gear to do this.) If the tip of the nail is barely touching the side of the shaft on one side it should maintain the same distance while it revolves. If you are using the pen method the tip of the pen should be always maintain the same distance away from the shaft. If it clears on one side and strikes the shaft as it rotates you got troubles.

Take the motor by a dealer for a micrometer test of the shaft for runout. If it is bent the seal will fail soon and allow water into the gear box. The gears will be the next to go.

Update on the Rockhopper skeg/propeller guard. I got in a new Piranha three blade composite prop the other day. I took it and the Rockhopper out for testing. According to my Lowrance GPS the best speed I was getting without the Rockhopper was 22 MPH with two people and all our gear. With the Rockhopper in place I was getting 20 MPH with the same load and trim. This is closer to a 9% loss. Also for some reason the engine seemed louder. It may be due to the extra turbulence from the guard. However the good news is the guard is a quality piece of equipment. It is all stainless steel and fits nice and snug with no slop or movement. With a ratchet it takes less than two minutes to remove the guard and it stows away in my front locker when not needed. Running known clear water one might be tempted to leave it in the locker. In unknown water, rivers or stumpy areas it is comforting to have.

I have a Rockhopper on my 25 HP Honda that I put on after getting into a fight with a rock on the Haw River in NC. THE ROCK WON THAT BATTLE. I have looked at all the options and I am planning on ordering a Clackacraft for my 5 HP Suzuki as soon as he has them back in stock (next week). They look like a good unit. The ultimate would be a jet boat of some type but I just named both my boats and I do not hink I could part with them. What did I name them? PAID FOR

I owned a big Grumman aluminum canoe back in the 1970's. That thing worked me to death. I understand your feelings having tried to fish out of one myself. I took mine to an 11 acre lake one afternoon and tried to fish out of it by paddling around. I did not have an anchor and a 3 to 5 MPH breeze pushed me as fast as I could correct my position. Going forward they knife thru the water but stationary fishing......forget it. Another point is I would have NEVER stood up in that aluminum bathtub. It had a rounded bottom with a single center keel and I turned it over twice the first time I took it on a river. I stand up to fly fish from my Coleman all the time. It is flat bottomed with three molded in keels and is extremely stable. Anyway my old Grumman got breached on a rock in the Nantahala River in the mountains of NC. When they finally cut the flow off from the dam and the river fell it looked like a giant aluminum letter C and was a total loss. I have breeched my Coleman twice and both times it popped right back into shape. Three adults in a canoe to fish is a little crazy but two adults can and do safely and comfortably fish in out of my Scanoe. What we usually do is take turns with one fishing and one steering or we just tie off or anchor to fish. I have taken it out with myself, my son and my 10 year old daughter but it was more of a lark than serious trip and was on calm sheltered water.

http://www.spiderboats.com./ These are really nice boats.

My son and I fish from my Coleman Scanoe some. I weigh in at around 280 and he is 140 lbs. I don't know about other square ended canoes but my boat is rated at 950 lbs capacity. When we fish from it we go light. Small cooler, smaller lighter tackle box, limited rod selection, ect. I am currently using a 5hp Suzuki two stroke twin on it with a remote gas tank and it moves out and run rapids very well. I put one of those Clackacraft prop guards on it to protect my prop from rocks and logs in the river. We regularly use it in medium sized rivers to motor up and drift back down. Saves time and we only need one vehicle. I currently carry it on a 20' flat bed utility trailer originally built for go-karts. We often launch from places that do not have a boat landing. We have slid it down river banks, carried it thru the woods down trails, and even lowered it down to the river with ropes. The Coleman Scanoe is not a white water boat. We have come to refer to it as the "Green Pig" due to its oversized flat bottom with three molded in keels. However, the same characteristics that limit its white water control make it an excellent medium semi v hull boat for sheltered waters. It is basically a Ramex plastic 16x43 semi V hull that has a tapered rear end instead of the more traditional square rear transom all the way across the 43" beam. I like mine I have used it for fishing, light river travel and canoe camping for over 20 years. Nuff said..........

I recently went thru the same process. I was fishing from a 1236 Jon boat with a 5.5HP engine. Like most fisherman and hunters we started collecting equipment and before long we had to have a bigger boat or sink! I sold all my old rig and stopped by AK McCallums in Fayetteville, NC with a pocket full of money and an idea of what I wanted. I had decided on a Jon boat. I figured I needed to support at least 1000 lbs of motor, equipment and people. To do that and still draw very little water I decided to go with a 16 to 18 foot boat. I run a mud motor and use the boat for fishing and duck hunting so I wanted a flat bottom. Once I got to McCallums and started looking over the 3 acres or Jon boats it got a good deal more confusing. I ended up with a 1648 Alumacraft NCS. This boat has a large front deck, no center seat and is rated for 1010 lbs and 35 HP. Cost with galvanized trailer was just over $2100.00. Modifications have pretty much been finished except for the bearing buddies on the trailer wheels and some running lights. So far we have installed a 8' by 46.5" piece of 1/8" treadplate aluminum as the center floor/deck. Then we painted the front flipping deck and the new floor with self etching automotive primer and with epoxy floor paint mixed with sand. It made for a nice no-slip durable surface. We also put in three removable pedestal seats, Rod Savers, oar holders and holders for my collapsable Avery Marsh Foot pole. Everything is attached with stainless steel screws, bolts and rivets. The final addition was two 500 GPH bilge pumps in the rear, one in each corner. The entire rig is propelled by a 13 HP Honda Scavenger mud motor. I finally got a chance to take out my new rig the other day. I had 3 people, coolers and fishing gear that weighed around 600 lbs, add to that the engine weighs around 120 lbs. Boat, motor, people and gear the boat was close to 1000 lbs. We experimented with moving all the people load back to the center of the boat rather than having a person on the front deck. The boat ran better and we picked up a couple of MPH. With proper weight distribution the 13 HP Scavenger pushed us around 15 MPH with two large wakes on either side of the boat, on plane, with the bow high and free of the water. Later we were fishing mud flats and catching some good cats on shrimp and minnows. In areas I used to pole for 100's of yards I just cranked the Scavenger and idled along watching for stumps and downed trees. I kept hearing a rubbing on the bottom of the boat and noticed we were running in less than 4" of water. The Scavenger was plowing thru soft mud and pushing just like it does in deep water. No water pump or impeller to worry about plus the prop will grind rocks, its that tough. The Scavenger is a great little engine for the type of thin water fishing and hunting we do. It does a great job in the open lake as well. Here is a link to three pages of pictures of my new rig. Rather than tie up bandwidth here I posted them to my site. http://www.yerfrockethellhound.com/boatpage1.html?1154045769830

I just picked up a 1648 Alumacraft NCS. It has a large front deck and a rear seat. In between is an 8'x 46.5" flat area with no seats and just the bare ribs. I just laid a piece of treated plywood in the bottom and I like the look of the large open floor. Last night I was reading that the current type of copper treated wood with eat away aluminum after a while! So I took the plywood out and will use it for a box type blind or tree stand. Here is my question; What is the best way to deck a jon boat? If I use regular plywood I will have to seal it with epoxy and paint it. Plus it will be HEAVY. I am considering having my welder order a sheet of aluminum diamond tread plate and sitting it over some closed cell foam between the ribs. All I have to do is figure what weight I want and give him the dimensions. What do you think?

Nothing like being chased back to the boat landing by a storm with rollers coming over the bow. Even with a good bilge pump going it is some comfort to know you are riding in a cork, not in a stone.

Doesn't Tohatsu make all Nissian and Mercury's small outboards?

Greetings This is my first post to this board. Recently I obtained an Alumacraft 1236 Jon boat with swivel seats at an excellent price. The only outboard I have access to is an old 1.2 HP Aquabug I use on my canoe. Pretty good bet that little engine is not gonna make the grade so I have been shopping. The boat is rated for 15 HP. I assume that means a two stroke engine as the tables were set up back when two strokes ruled. Taking an average I notice that most 15 HP two strokes weigh around 80 lbs. Looking at the current market the only new two strokes left are Yamahas and they are hard to find. Looking at the current crop of four strokes the contenders seem to be the Tohatsu/Nissian/Mercury line that have a 9.8 hp at 85 lbs for an electric start model (did I mention I wanted electric start?) and the 15 HP Yamaha two stroke if I can find one at 79 lbs that does not have electric start available. I have always thought that one should get the most powerful engine the boat can handle safely. But I do not want to be dragging the transom inches above the water. Here is my question (finally); Do I need to give up the electric start and go with the 15 Hp if I can find one or will the 9.8 do just fine? To qualify the question I weigh in at 280lbs, my son weighs around 140. So most days it would be 700 lbs of total boat weight with tackle, cooler ect. I had a 5.5 Mud Motor on it for a while and it would make 12 MPH according to the GPS but it was no where near getting up on plane. I do not want to water ski behind this thing but I would like the boat to pull up and run on top. I found an old rule of thumb that states you need one HP per 50 LB of boat to plane. I also found an boat builders refference that says flat bottom boats would plane well at one HP per 85 LB of boat. Given differences in boat loading and balance points that means my boat would plane consistently with between 8.5 to 14 HP depending on the formula you apply. HUMM Thoughts, questions, comments, real world experiences? Thanks