Way2slow

Stratos did make a 185, not sure about in 99 but if that's what they said, then probably so. If it's the 185 J, that meant it was on the Javelin Hull. A lot of people prefered the J models because the Javelin hull was a faster hull than the Stratos hull. The 185 was more of their entry level boat without all the options, trim and some of the features of the 285. Not sure what year they cut them back from 175 to 150 max hp, but with the 175 they made a nice fishing platform. They do ok with a 150 but those extra 25 ponies made a big difference. My 285 Pro actually has more storage room than the Javelin R20. When I started moving everything from the 285 to the Javelin, it wouldn't all fit in the Javelin.

that switch may be hard to come by locally. A double pole, double throw, on/on will work just the same, it will just have the terminals at the top that's missing on yours. Just don't use those terminals on the dp/dt. It will install and operate just the same as your switch. Just don't get and on off on, it will work but not feel exactly like yours. I will have an on in the up and down postions but will have a center off position. Like I said, it will still work exactly the same if wired the same as yours but won't have the same feel because it will have that center position it can stop in.

Most likely 192 khz. It's possible it could be a 200 khz since Lowarance likes to use that frequency, but would lay odds, being and older flasher, on it being 192.

If you're going to spray paint it, you will have to do a final wet sand with about 400 grit. Automotive paints don't hide scratches, no matter how small. If you sand with anything larger than 320 grit, you will probably see sanding scratches. None of your automotive paints are going to stay on gel coat. They will chip easily and once it gets a chip, the chip will keep growing. I stick by the rule, if your going to sell a boat, paint it. If you're going to keep a boat gel coat it. Now, even recoating it with gel coat, the gel coat will even peel if you get lifted but won't chip and flake like paints. If you've never worked with gel coat, you don't want to learn by doing a whole boat for starters you will be bitting off a whole lot more than you're gonna wanna chew. There are some guys on Scream and Fly that do a lot of fancy painting of boats and could probably give you good pointers on what's the best way to chase that rabit and the best products to use.

Mercury's make pretty good ones but might have a hard time finding a spot in your kayak to put one. In ponds and lakes where I don't have to deal with hard wind and currents, the old window sash weights were about the best thing I found for my canoe. You can find them in different weights and they are easy to store out of the way but heavy enough to hold a canoe in mild wind. I would think they would be prefect for a kayak, easy to slip in and out of a small area.

No matter how 12 volt batteries are connected, they are still only 12 volt batteries. You can have 20 of them in series and still charge all of them with 20, 12 volt chargers without disconnecting anything as long each charger is only connected to the negative and positive of each individual battery. On board chargers for 24 and 36 volt systems are not 24/36 volt chargers, they are two, three or four 12 volt chargers connected to each battery.

Ok, you've proved the starter works fine. Now I STRONGLY SUGGEST you buy a new battery. That battery can be the most expensive $50 you will ever try saving. I have very serious doubts about the condition of that battery and most likely your charging system is going to be going wide arss open all the time trying to keep it charged while in the boat. What can easily happen is it will burn out a $150 recitifier/regulator and possibly even a $280 stator and that does not include the $90 an hour a shop is going to charge to diagnose and repair it when it does quit. The first indication you will get, if it has a working tach, it will quit working. It's your motor and your money. If it's a maintenance free, sealed battery, there is no real good test for it. Yea, you can take it to one of these places and they can put their little computer tester on it and say yea, it's good, show's 380 CCA but you look on the battery and it says it's a 550 CCA, daaa, where did the other half the battery go. Half the idiots that have those things don't know what it's really telling them. They throw their little 50 amp load tester on it for a few seconds and say's "holds a load". Put a 150 amp load tester on it and see how long it holds a load. If it has caps you can take off, for less than $8 you can get a hydrometer with the float in it and check the specific gravity. Slow charge it with a small automatic charger until it cuts off, if will take enough charge to cut off, and then check each cell with a hydrometer. Should be at least 1.265 on all cells. Most likely yours will never make it half way up the white scale, much less to the green. Sorry to sound so blount, but I hate seeing people spend bunches of hard earned money trying so save a buck.

As you have found out, you are not going to get much of a boat for $10,000 buying them dealers or individuals. To get good deals, you have to be able to work on them yourself and shop for repo's. Auctions are your best source, banks and loan company's are next. Last November, I saw a repo'd 2005 Stratos, with a 250 HPDI Yammy sell for $17,000. That was almost $40,000 worth of boat and was like new. Two years ago, I bought my 1999 Javelin Renegade 20 DC with a 225 Evinrude Ficht, tandum axle trailer, very nice boat, for $5,000 at a repo auction. Boat was considered a $17,000 at the time. I had to spend $600 on motor, doing the work myself. Like I said though, start buying auction boats, your getting a pig-in-a-poke, no telling what you might run into so you had better know your stuff and be able to work on them yourself or you could burned. Of course, anytime you're buying a used boat, you are subject to getting burned. The newer you get, the less your gonna get and it ain't gonna be much for $10,000 in a boat that's only a couple of years old coming from a dealer.

Just to clear one thing, a 97 Johnson is not a Ficht. Only the Evinrudes were made as Ficht's. To Trouble shoot your problem, I would start by unplugging the tilt and trim motor and see if it blows the fuse then. Natuarly it's not going to move but if still blows the fuse, that will tell you if it's the not the motor but the relay control. I would then unplug the up relay and try it. Might try unpluging the control control cable going to the boat and just try it from the side of the motor. Try to isolate exactly what circuit is blowing the fuse. I would also bypass the up limit switch, make sure it's not shorting. On the 150's, there was some sharp casting edges around the top of the block where the cable harness runs, check and make sure they haven't eat into the harness and causing a short.

Can't comment on the boat, other than it definetly needs carpet. The Ocean Pro 90 is a good motor. The only thing different from the Standard Johnson 90 is the fact that it's the saltwater version, so they take extra measure to use parts more suitable for saltwater use, like all stainless steel fastners, bolt, nuts, etc. With that said though, I would take my compression guage and remote starter button, and do a quick compression check if nothing else, just one of my hangups. The SE Sport hydrofoil tells me it don't have the greatest whole shot in the world. However, looking at that aluminum prop on there could have something to do with that. Adding a Raker would probably help that. Getting the bow up so the spray is behind you makes for a much nicer ride and a little better speed. Oh, you are going to test drive it before the money changes hands I hope, make sure all pumps and controls work, and steering cable is free and not tight or snug.

I keep a roll of adhesive backed material used on machinery and industrial equipment for that purpose. Looks about like a black 50 grit sand paper and it's weather proof. Just cut it to size, peel the backing off and stick it on, will be there a long time.

I would start with the battery. You said you kept it in the basement, but said nothing about keeping a maintainer on it or charging it once a month while you had it stored. You can't just stick a battery away for the winter and expect to have a good battery the next spring, ain't gonna happen. Connect a voltmeter across the battery terminals and try to start the motor. If battery voltage is droping below 11 volts it's junk, actually if it's droping to 12 volts I wouldn't have it. That motor has to spin at 250 rpm to make a good enough spark to fire the plugs. There is no way it's going to spin that fast on a bad battery, so you can spin it until the battery is totally run down and it will not fire. Now, I'm still not going to say it will start, just saying it doesn't even have a chance to start if your not spinning it fast enough to make a good spark in the plugs. If you didn't properly winterize the motor, you could still have fuel and carburator problems but no need chasing that rabit until you get a battery that will spin it.

Those motors hate renegade props. They don't let the motor get up where it needs to make torque. Never tried the shooter so can't comment on it but if they respond the same to the shooter that they do with a gade, that may be some of your problem. You will probably even have worse hole shot with the gade. Check the compression, or if you have the capability, do a leakdown test. Loss of compression can make one a real dog trying to get on plane. Since compression has little affect on hp, it can still make good speed once up and going, but compression has a huge affect on torque so hole shot suffers bunches with much of a drop. Especially since they had already droped the compression of those motor so much to burn low octane gas. Might want to make sure the timing is at least 26 degrees also, book calls for 28 but with this junk we have for gas, if you don't keep fresh or run 89 octane gas, 28 can get you in trouble. Easiest way to check and see if your close, disconnect (take the plastic pin out) the rod going from the throttle lever to the cam, this lets you advance the timing fully without opening the carbs so the motor only revs to about 2,000 rpm. While doing all this, might as well make sure the pointer is zero'd for TDC. Make sure the carbs are fully opening also.

That's a lot of prop for a 150 on that boat. Find someone that has a 22" raker that you borrow to try. I believe you will be much happier with hole shot and top speed. If you're running a 6" - 8" jackplate, set the raker at 3 1/2" below the pad to try it. As mentioned, you want 5,500 rpm with your normal load, at WOT, maybe even 5,600 - 5,700 this time of the year. Your motor is going to loose a couple of hundred rpm when the weather and water gets warmer. Have you done a compression check? Make sure you're running equal compression on all cylinders, approx 80 psi plus or minus 5%. I'm guessing that is the 90 degree X-flow 150 (pre 92).

THose E-tec's are looking better all the time. If they run gaped plugs, if you index them, that will help bunches toward keeping them from fowling. From what you describe, that's going to be a ton of fun doing that. This was something Evinrude learned back in the late 90's with the Fichts but I'm sure Merc would never say that since that was the same problem the early Fichts had. If they are a gapless plugs (flat faced), there's not such thing as indexing.

The boat should sit evenly on all rollers and bunks so the hull is fully support but with no one are exerting more pressure than the others. Is this a glass or aluminum hull? aluminum the bunk will sit between the ribs on the bottom. If it's a glass, the bunks normally are adjusted so there is about 1/2 or so between the inner edge of the bunk and the strakes. This is so it will drive on easily. Both hulls should be resting evenly on the bunks with some weight on the center rollers. Just be carefull with the weight on the center rollers, The bunks support most of the weight and the center roller just privides some support for the pad. Too much weight on one roller and it will put a hook in the hull in short time. Dumb me, I don't think WeldCraft makes a glass hull. Drop the rollers, get is sitting evenly on the bunks and adjust the center rollers to the hull with just a small amount of hand pressure holding them while you tighten them. If you have to load in current, add some side guides and if in current on steep ramps like some of the rivers I use, you will want side guides and those four foot tall guide bars on each side at the rear and your tail lights mounted up on them.

Wow, was that a dealer supplied trailer or boat manufactor supplied trailer? Normally the manufactor fits the trailer to the hull. Believe it or not, that is a very critical deal. If the trailer is not properly fitted so all rollers and bunk boards are properly positioned they will create all kinds of problems in the hull. Too much pressure in an area will create hooks and not enough will create rockers. I've seen hulls that look like tidal waves when a straight edge was placed on them because of improperly adjusted trailers.

Check out this post and replies, I think that horse got rode pretty good here. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1174152630

Couple of things to watch for. If it rolls over the edge of the hatch lids, be carefull and don't cut the corners too close or it will leave the edge exposed. MAKE VERY SURE you cut all pieces on the same biase. In other words lay the carpet out face down, plan and position all pieces to cut so they every piece will lay the same as it would toward the front of the boat as it would be installed in the boat and be sure to mark every piece with an arrow toward the front of the boat. I say front, but they just all have to be cut so they all face the same direction as they were on the roll, it can be the side or the back, just so every pieces that is cut faces that same direction. If not, it will look like patch work quilt and the pieces can actually look like they are different colors. Another thing, watch out for plush carpets in boats that didn't come with it. If you're taking 16 oz carpet out and putting 20 or 22 oz in, you will most likely run into trouble getting the lids to open and close if it wraps around them. They will be so tight, you while need something pry them up, been there, done that. Yea, the plush looks damm good, but you will curse everytime you have to open a hatch if it's surrounded by carpet. Use a 7" side grinder with a cup shaped wire wheel to clean most of the old glue and piles off, blow it out. Don't use carpet glue, use contact cement and both surfaces. I use a paint roller to put it one the larger areas and brush to down the edges on the lids. Makes life much simpler, especially when wrapping the lids. If you have a tight spot, and need to position a piece without it sticking first, cover the area that has glue with wax paper, carefully position you piece, just don't put any pressure while positioning it, once in position, slide the wax paper out a peice at the time and press that area down, just be sure not to press on the other wax paper or you might stick it to the glue. I lay the carpet face down, place the lid on it and using a sharpie, mark all four corners, then I use a guide strip the with of the material it's going to take to make the fold under the lid and mark that lid piece off, and use a utility knife and metel straigth edge and cut it, with a piece of plywood under it. I also make an arrow showing the front of the boat and number that piece and lid the same. For the floor and large areas, I just cut my carpet a couple of inches larger than needed, glue it and then take a carpet knife to cut in the edges. Since there is only contact glue on the areas you want carpet, the glue on the extra carpet I'm cutting away doesn't have anthing to stick to so it comes right out. Just be sure you have it fully pressed into the edges or YOU WILL CUT IT SHORT.

Just for the heck of it I looked at the parts breakdown for the V-4's up to 1980 and they all had that head without the T'Stat housing. I guess since I've only messed with the V-6's, I just assumed the V-4's were the same motor minus two cylinders, quess that assumption did what they say assuming will do.

I run the Sea Star Pro, would have a hard time ever wanting to go back to mechanical steering after using hydraulic. BayStar is just the little brother to SeaStar, so I would think the operation would very similar, if so, you will love it. I think the main difference is the Bay Star is only rated for 150 hp max. The main thing is getting it bled out and use the right fluid. You can save a bunch of money getting you a gallon of the Mil Spec hydraulic oil most any small airport that has someone that does aircraft work will have it. A gallon of it is about the same price as a pint of Sea Star fluid and it fully supported by Teleflex. Do not use ATF, it voids the warrenty. They say you can us ATF in an emergency in the manual, they just don't mention it voids the warrenty when you do.

Oops, you done got me now, didn't realize your motor was that old. I don't think those late 60 - early 70 V-4's had thermostats. I was running Mercs back then, didn't get into OMC's until the mid to late 70's and they had the kind of heads your buddies had. That's why you was getting such a heavy dump of water out those ports, the heads dump their water straight out through them. Just make sure you do reqular decarbs on it.

Not going to really hurt anything in the near future, just makes the motor run way too cold and lets it carbon up badley. This is what causes the damage. THe carbon flakes off the pistons and being as hard as it is, lodges in the sides of them and wears the crap out of the cylinder walls and it also lets the rings gum up so you start getting more and more blow by. THis all boils down to a motor that should run a couple thousand hours being ready for a rebuild in less than 1000.

First suggestion, see if you they make a Clymer manual on your motor, it will be worth it's weight in gold for small jobs like this. The shift rod runs for the lower front part of the powerhead down the the lower unit. Some are fairly easy to disconnect, some are a total nightmare to get to, for instance this XP150 I just rebuilt, you have to take the bottom carb off the get to the thing. I can't help you with the details on just how to do it on your motor because I've never seen one of those up close, but if you look where the shift cable connects on side of the motor, it moves some sort of lever, that lever probably goes under the front of the motor and connects to another rod about 1/4" to 3/8" in diameter that goes down toward the LU. The rod going down toward the LU is what's got to be disconnected, usually by taking a pin or bolt out.

I think I would be more concerned about that much water coming out of the relief ports. Looks to me like you either don't have T'stats in it or they are bad. That water there is probably just coming out of one of the many bleed holes, however, that sure looks like a lot of water coming the reliefs when most of it should be coming out through the prop, if the T'stat are good. Don't try to adjust the idle, just incase you had the notion, it's going to be high on the hose because there is no backpressure that's there when the boat is sitting in the water. Same with the carbs idle, can't make any adjustments on the hose.