Way2slow

Probably about one of the most reliable, cheap chargers you can buy. Thousands of people have been using them for a long, long time but it's not a good charger to use on a regular basis to keep your TM batteries or any other battery you are constantly discharging and charging. None of those type chargers are designed for that type use. They just commit your battery to a slow death because they will never fully charge the battery. As for you're particular problem, have you ever considered maybe the battery is no good. No charger on this planet can charge a bad battery.

As with any seasonal work, they need a lot more mechanics during the peak season than during the winter. They can't afford to pay a full crew of guys to sit around for seven months and work five so when peak season hits, you're gonna be waiting in line a long time. Just the nature of the beast. Also as mentioned, somebody that just bought or is buying a brand new rig is going to bump any other maintenance. NO dealer is going to loose a big sale for a couple of hundred dollar repair. Any boat owner that doesn't want to wait in line at a repair shop for weeks on end needs to learn to do the small, unscheduled maintenance them selves. Major breakdowns, most have no choise, but for a key/switch, the boat should have never been taken in. Just not a whole lot involved is swapping out the whole switch if needed. The whole switch is less then the shop is going to charge you in labor. I've never taken anything I own to anyone for repair unless it was a warrenty or insurance claim. I pretty much feel if man made it, I can fix it and have been doing that for a whole bunch of years.

I run two heights. One is if I'm just wanting to sit my butt on in, the other is if I'm wanting to just rest my back against it, I raise it up. Guess I should have read his comment better, I use an adjustable pole, it's just not the gas type. I use the ones you pull the pin, adjust it to the height you want and put the pin back in. Since I seldom adjust, and only need to positions it works great for me. I primarily keep mine so my back is against it rather than sitting. I usually use my full seat when I'm going to be sitting, much more comfortable on my old back.

These are the style bases I prefer http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_74640____SearchResults I prefer a seat similar to this one, you can set your butt on it or turn it around and just let you back rest against it. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_98465_225008001_225000000_225008000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_SEARCH Might want to look at a tilting mount like this also, makes things a little more comfortable http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_16131____SearchResults As for the pole, I've never had much luck with the gas one living more than a coule years before they loose their charge so I went to the pin style. Now, these are just the style items I prefer, none of those are the exact items I've used. As for mounting the base, you drill one hole approx one inch in diameter and then screw the base down on top of the floor. You can mark the carpet and cut an X shape where the base mounts, try and fold it back and then glue it back over the base, or just mount the base right on top of the carpet. Then drill six holes the size needed for the mounting screws.

The best "FISH FINDER" for the money is a plastic worm.

Have the compressin checked or a leakdown test done on the motor. Compression should be approx 90 pounds on a warmed engine and all four cylinders should not vary more than five pounds. Those are very good motors if it has not been used up, so be sure to have it checked out. Also figure on having the water pump impeller replaced. That's a very neglected item. The boats are good boats, built at the Stratos factory with just as much attention to quality layup as the Stratos, just not a lot of the extra's to keep the cost down and pretty sure that year model still had the wood transome and floor so have those checked, it's very easy for a wet transome to be rotten in nine years. Have it checked out and if things check out good, should make you a good boat. If it has a good stainless prop suited for that hull, I would think high 40's, maybe low 50's for top speed.

Don't use loctite, it hardens plastics and makes it brittle, making things even worse. Super glue is the best thing to use for a thread locker in plastics Not sure what size screws you used but I've had a couple of those seats on portable jon boat cramps for at least 10 years and have never had a problem. Use the biggest, longest lag screw you can get in the hole of the base plate and won't go through into your butt.

NO RUST IN TANK?? Are you running steel tanks? If so, I would look at replacing them with plastic. A couple of things involved with steel. The are very prone to sweat inside, causing water and rust, even when left nearly full. They have to be left full to help keep them from sweating, making you have to deal with old gas. With plastic tanks, they can be emptied of any gas left in them when you get back from the lake because they are not as prone to sweat. This keeps you from having to deal with old gas, and the rust and water associated with steel tanks. Aluminum tanks don't rust but you still have the condensation problem producing water so they are not much better. Since I lost my fishing partner, I don't go near as much as I used to so I pump my tank out every time I come back from the lake. I also prefer SeaFoam over StaBil. There are good things SeaFoam does inside the motor that StaBil doesn't. Another thing you can do is use a small, portable tank and mix a 1/2 gallon of gas with the correct amount of oil and one ounce of SeaFoam and run the motor about once a month for about 5-10 minutes on the hose with it. That keeps the carbs and fuel system nice and clean. Before you go to the lake, remove the plugs and clean them off a little because they can get fouled if you're run it a number of times on the hose between lake trips, or keep an old set to run it on the hose with and a good set to run the lake. Right now, you might want to drain the carbs and try to catch what runs out to see what it looks like. To do this, there are large brass screws on each side of the fuel bowls, remove one and that will let all the fuel drain out of the carbs. You also have a round plastic cover cover on the side of the fuel pump held on by one screw in the center. Take the cover off and look at the fine mesh metal screen under it, make sure it's clean. Pump the primer bulb a couple of times to flush the lines and put the cap back on, pump the bulb a couple of more time to flush the carbs and put the screws back in them.

He has been there since the late 70's. He retired from the Army at Fort Huachuca (Heli pilot and maintenance chief), his wife just recently retired from a civil service job there. I was in the AF and stationed at DM in Tucson in 80 - 82 as an instructor for the Ground Launched Cruise Missiles and used to make the trip to Fort Huachuca to spend a few weeks in the woods on training exercises every six weeks. Needles to say, I am somewhat familiar with your neck of the woods.

If the plugs were dry, it's not getting fuel. The only thing the extra oil would have caused is a lot more smoke and some extra carbon build up on the pistons. A lot of people double oil a motor for the first 10 hours after rebuilding it so the oil was not your problem. Pump the primer bulb until it's firm then try starting it but instead of using the choke, use your hand and close off the front of both carbs for a few seconds, your palm should get wet, and see if it will start then. After doing this a couple of time, if it doesn't start, check the plugs again to make sure they are not still dry because if it's getting fuel into the motor, they should be wet. If wet and it's not starting, you may have flooded it so try drying the plugs and then try starting it without choking it. If it does start, you might need to do a link and sinc. Also make sure when you press the key, the solenoid is closing the choke butterfly. If it starts and wants to die again, keep slapping your hand over the carbs. I will usually open the throttle wide open and keep using my hand several times over the carbs, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE SURE NOT TOO LET THE MOTOR REV OVER 2,000 rpm. The super amount of gas in the engine will keep it almost choked down. This will sometimes clear a clogged jet but if you're not sure how to do this, DON'T try it. You've never had anything scare the crap out of you like a two stroke that's in runaway and you can make a whole lot of internal parts become external.

Airborn Angler, A few things you need to think about when buying a bigger boat. The bigger the boat, the bigger the tow vehicle. Also the bigger the motor, the more it's going to cost to feed it. In your case, that's going to add a lot to the cost of a trip since AZ in not exactly full of lakes. Make sure none the lakes you plan to fish are not federal or have a two stroke ban, no two stroke motors allowed there, so you have to get a four stroke. Your formula for maintenance is kinda out in left field, most people probably don't spend five hours a year on maintaining their boats. Small aluminum boats with pedistal seats also suck. I'm basing that on my 15' Fisher, that I would make you one hellava deal on if you were close to GA. There's no such thing as sitting up straight with two people, any movement and you are leaning to one side or the other. I've never been in a 17' tin can but would have to assume they are a little more stable than a 15'. I'm not an Aluminum boat fan, the only thing I think I would like about one they let you fish on a much smaller budget. They are cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, lighter and cheaper to tow, and take a much smaller vehicle to two them. I hate the ride and lack of storage most have.

He deals in used cars, but one of the big auctions he goes to does boats also. I just mentioned him to Airborn angler because I noticed he lives very close to him. Sierra Vista is in Cochise County Az.

Contact my brother (Randy) in Sierra Vista at 520 508-5008, tell him Keith said he might be able to get you a deal on a boat. They have them at auction in Pheonix and some go dirt cheap, he will probably only charge you a reasonable handling fee and save you a bunch on a boat. Five years ago he got my 1999 Javelin R20DC with a 225 Evinrude Ficht with only 125 hours, very nice, clean boat for $5,000 as a bank repo. That was a $12,000 - $15,000 boat at the time.

Email them back and say it's too good of a deal the let get away and you want the boat. You have a relative that lives in AZ that will bring the money and make the deal. They will either not replay or have an excuse that's it's either in storage or somewhere else right now. They will have an excuse why the deal can't be made on the spot. Total SCAM!

This only goes back to 1968 but doubt there's any difference between a 67 and 68 http://shop2.evinrude.com/ext/index.aspx?s1=59402f8a5f8bb026922fcf6246947d8e. Click on the pull down that says EVINRUDE and select Johnson then go down to the 1968.

If they were maintenance free batteries, or if the caps were on tight, should not have botherd the batteries. If they have caps, pop them off and check the water level in them. If it's no higher than the fill ring, no harm done. If a cell/several cells are over filled it weakens the electrolite. About the only thing you can do then is dump all the electrolite and replace it with new. The will shorten the life of the battery but should give you some service. I was checking some batteries outside and left the caps of one, a good two day rain came and flooded the battery. I dumped it, refilled it and used it another 18 months Normally, the electronics and bilge pump are run off the cranking battery, if yours is that way, your problem could just be all the water caused the wire/cable connections to go bad. Pull everything off the cranking battery, clean everything and put it back together. If you still have problems, use a voltmeter and isolate the problem. Just start at the battery and start following the voltage until you loose it.

Yep, just like Goodyear uses the same compound to make all their tires and the tires they make under other brand names, they just base their price on the different tread patterns and names they put on them. That makes about as much sinse as saying all gasolines are the same, after all, almost all gasoline sold in an area comes out of the same pipeline, so why buy a name brand over the discount, no-name stuff. I'm sure the no-name stuff gets the same additives the name brand stuff gets. All that build up on the back of your valves caused by the no-name must have come out of the engine.

I know of no one that has pdf's on line. A number of people have those old manuals for sale, (usually about $15) it's a matter of if they have the one you need or not. Clymer is a source for generic manuals that cover a range of motors but can coast you $25. Low speed mixture is for your idle. Usually you will turn it CCW about a 1/8 to 1/4 turn to cold start it (provided it was set properly to start with) after it warms up and you plan to troll or let it idle for extended time, you slowly adjust it CW until it idles smooth without lean spitting. Go too far CW and it will lean spit and cut the motor off so you go CCW again just a touch until it doesn't lean spit (lean spit is that little cough the motor makes) If the mixture adjustments turn fairly free, you snugg the brass nut at the base of the stem until there is some tension on the adjustemts.

I would not use starting fluid. Use a spray bottle with premixed gas, just like you run in the motor. Give each carb a pretty good shot and keep spraying it each carb when it does start. If it runs doing this, you have a fuel problem. The three barrel carbs on those motors are a little tricky to rebuild, and will cost you approx $200 to have them done, just be sure you use someone that knows how to do them. I've had to redo a number of them that others considered themselves rebuilding. You can also get a kit for the fuel pump, it's pretty easy to do. I hope you did get rid of any gas that was left in it from sitting that long.

Not sure what make/model controls you have but look on the end of the cylinder where you insert the key and see if there is a number there. May only be a single diget but if it's there, the dealer should have a replacement key in stock.

Seriously doubt the charger is the problem, most likely the batteries were junk before you started trying to charge them. A brand new battery left in a deep discharged state for as little as thirty days is pretty much junk.

Not getting into any p***ing contest about oils, warrenties, who runs what, and how many years someone has run their favorite cheap brand. Like I said, I could 100% absolutely care less if someone wants to run no oil at all. I've always said, no one is going to tell me how I should operate my equipment and I for dang sure ain't gonna try and tell someone else how they should operate their's. I just happen to have enough personal experience with outboards and oils to know what I would run and what I would not waste my money on. By the way, Quicksilver is a very good oil and is all I ran in the Merc's I raced back in the late 60's/early 70's. I have an old 88 Merc 115 "Tower of Power" that's on a boat at the lake. Quicksilver is all that's ever been run in it since it was new and it's still a very sound motor. Just be sure you understand, if you have DFI motor, or any motor with oil injection, the manufactor calibrates the oil injection for their recommended oil for that motor. The Viscosity in different bands/grades of oil can vary and can even change more at different temps. Running anything other than the recommended oil in these motors can cause under/over oiling of the motor.

You have a bad battery or bad connection at the battery. The current required to start the motor is making to great of a voltage drop. To check it, place the leads of a good DVM across the lead terminals of the battery crank the motor. It should not drop below approx 11.5 volts max. Now place the leads on the wire connectors on the battery and crank it again. The voltage drop on the cables should be no more than the battery, if it is more, the connections are dirty/bad. Another thing that will cause this is using a deep cycle battery as a cranking battery. They are not designed to deliver tha amps required to crank the motor and will cause too much voltage drop.

How many times have I heard the BS that all TWC-3 were the same. If all TWC-3 oils were the same, the manufactor would not be so specific specific about whose oil you can run to maintain the warrenty. They don't do that just because they want to sell you their oil, they do that because they are not going to be respossible for the damage you do to your motor with some of that cheap crap people want to buy because they are too cheap to buy good oil for their very expensive outboard. I've been working on outboards for about 40 years and have seen too many time what the inside of a motor looks like that ran cheap oil. I have never, and never will run an oil because it's cheap. For those that have the mindset there is no difference in TWC-3 oils, just don't know what they are doing to greatly shorten the life of their motor. Of course, most of these probably won't put 30 hours a year on one so they can say, "I've been running this oil for 10 year and never had a problem" so after 15 years the motor is junk but it's got less than 500 hours on it. I run that in three years. I've pulled commercial motors down that had 1,200 - 1,500 hours with the manufactors oil that had less wear and were cleaner inside than motors with 500 hours on cheap oil. If people want to run the cheap stuff, it's their motor so they can run 30W motor oil if they want. It just erk's me when they try to rationalize their using the stuff by saying all TCW-3 oils are the same.

What's the lube like in the LU? Is it low or getting that milk chocolate color from water? If full and not getting water, it's probably just the exhaust causing the black oil.