Way2slow

For almost 10 years, I've been towing a 20' Javelin with a 225 Evinrude/325 Johnson with nothing but the support built into the motor, and if I have that boat another 10 years, I will still be towing it with nothing but the built in support. It has also made a number of trips over 1,200 miles each way. Before that, I've had a number of boats, with a number of OMC motors, but I've never had a transom saver. I've bought boats with them, my Javelin came with one, but they get removed and trashed right off the bat.

Use a wet stone and smooth off the edge, get rid of all the little burrs sticking up and smooth it off some. That will also take care of most of the rust you are seeing. Do Not use a file, or a prop shop will hate you. Many times when you use a file, fine pieces of the teeth get buried into the stainless on the prop, so when the have to TIG the edges, that file metal can cause all kinds of problems for them. I use a 41/2" side grinder with one of the heavy sanding disk and keep my leading edge almost knife sharp. I will say, yours looks a lot better than my everyday prop. It has all kinds of ugly places on the edge from sucking up stuff power loading on shallow ramps and one hit on a concrete ramp. If I want max speed, I change props to one of my go fast props, but they are not used to power load or run in shallow water, and have no nicks or dings. I've seen Just a couple small nicks slow mine five mph. Now, would I recommend you go to work on your prop with a side grinder, NO! When I was racing back in the late 60's/70's I used to tune my own props so I have a little more experience. Get one out of balance by much and it can play havoc on your LU.

My guess is, with the way people are financing boats today, he was probably too upside down on the loan to get high enough offers for the boat to pay it off. I know two people that own new boats they've bought in the last couple of years trying and wishing they could sell them but can't, because it would cost them several thousand dollars out of pocket. An Air Force neighbor got unexpected orders to Germany and had to sell a Nitro he bought on one of the forever term notes at BPS less than a year ago and had to pay $4,300 out of his pocket to sell it. He was over a barrel though, said he had no family he could leave it with and would have to pay secure, covered storage and let the boat sit for at least three years. Poor guy had 19 years in, had just gotten stationed here a year earlier and thought he was going to retire here.

Your little picture there is showing you looked up a 176, the boat listed says it's a 186 Price is all going to depend on how bad he wants to get rid of it, how much he still owes on it, and if he's willing to come out of pocket much if he's really upside down on it, and if there are any other interested parties involved. Then it's how bad you want that particular boat, and what kind of negotiator you are. Under the right conditions, you might can get it for $17K, and doubt I would go over 18K. Now, if he stills owes over $19K on it, unless he's about to loose it to the loan compay, it might be hard to deal on.

Might want to check your prop for the size and damage, and consider trying one a pitch smaller. Granted, 25 on a 17.5 is on the small size. There not a bunch of difference between a 25 and 35. If I was going to swap, I would be looking at least a 40/50. Many times the 40 is nothing but a detuned 50 so hole shot is about the same with them, Some 17.5's can be rated for a 90 and I've seen a couple older ones rated for 115, just depends in when and how they fell in on the coast guard rating criteria.

With the Terrova, If you can keep it in the water are not chasing lures in shallow water and to the bank to get them unhung, it's an OK TM. My problem was I have to take a lot of inlaws that can't cast and spend more time going shallow to get lures than I get to spend fishing, an that Terrova ain't no fun when doing that. Now in the summer when fishing deep and working submerged structure, the anchor hold and gps was nice. I was just thinking about making a mount that would let me use either one. Then I can use the MG when fishing shallow bass and the MK when chasing schooling bass and fishing deep.

That's like Ford or Chevy. For tiller steer I have both and can't say I prefer one over the other. As long as it's variable speed. For bow mount, I had always run MG until a couple years ago, I bought a Terrova US80 with the I-Pilot. I fought with that thing for a couple of years until a while back the $150 foot control went out and gave me a reason to put my old MG back on, There are things I liked about MK but the getting it in and out of the water was one thing I hated about it,

After going to the emergency room for 12 stiches in a finger on one hand and 6 stitches on the other hand typing is a problem so I suggest just getting back on topic for the OP. It's useless to try and discuss something with someone that thinks they are right. More speed us not the always the reason for going with a larger motor. It takes torque to get the boat up and on plane. It takes more CC/CI's to make torque, and it takes a bigger motor to have more CC's. So, if you go with another motor, you want to look at what CC it is way more so than what HP it is, and get one noticeably larger than your 25. If you were just wanting more speed, then you look for the most HP with the best power to weight ratio. I can show you a jon boat running a modified three cylinder Johnson (about 200hp @ 10,000 rpm) that will run 78mph, but struggles to get on plane with just a few gallons of gas and pilot. I say pilot because the way that thing runs, he's flying it instead of driving it. Propping a small motor down a lot doesn't work that well because then you just have a barge. or if it does get on plane. the motor may over rev at WOT

I guess I missed something in my knowledge base on Johnson and Evinrude, I was under the assumption all 2006, 115hp Johnsons were four stroke Suziki's, and all 115hp Evinrudes were two stroke engines made by OMC/BRP. These are two totally different engines, with different manufactures and other than maybe a few minor parts, almost nothing is going to interchange between the two, Now before 2,000, yes many of their parts were the same, and if it's not a DFI Evinrude, almost all the parts are interchangeable. Sure would be nice if folks checked their facts and posted those and not just what they "THINK" they know.

First off, I was just making the point that over powering one probably was not going the get his boat confiscated or suffer serious fines for doing it, he would have to check the laws of the state he lived in and the areas he was going to fish. I was not suggesting he overpower his, but I also don't get on the Oh, it's do dangerous soap box if it's legal where he want's to, and if a person want's to in a reasonable manner. Yes, there are possible legal issues that can come up if one happens to have an accident in a boat that is not 100% legal, but lawyers are going to have a field day, legal or not if involved in an accident. If I had a boat that's rated for say a 40hp motor and was wanting to upgrade from a 25hp motor. Now, I find two different motors, ones a 35hp that's in so-so condition and another is a 50hp in great condition for almost the same price and both similar in weight and size of the 40. Me, I would jump all over that 50 and never think twice about it. Many 40's are nothing but detuned 50's anyway. After all, a lot of the motors you used to buy overpowered the boat right from the factory to get that little performance edge on other brands. There's a whole bunch of 200hp Johnsons running around that are nothing but 225, with 200 decals on them from the factory. The 225HO is a 250 Johnson played with the numbers on so they could call it a 225. Mercury did the same thing. Several of the Japanese companies have done it.

I would not let the discontinued brand be a deal killer. That can even work in your favor as a price negotiating tool. I think between BRP and Suzuki, (since I think it's just a rebranded Suzuki 115) parts and service will be around for a long time. However, there is always the possibility some parts may get scarce, like with anything that's specific to one on two models that are no longer in production. That can happen on anything though, discontinued or not. I'm not into four stroke outboards, so I don't know how well they are going to be supported. I know most of the two stroke motors have been supported extremely well for many years.

Maybe where you live but that's not the case in all inland waterways. You have to check your state laws and any special restrictions certain bodies of water may have. In GA, you can run a 250 on a canoe if you wanted to. Over powering a hull can lead to problems with insurance and some areas have pretty steep fines for it, but it's not chiseled in stone as being illegal, that just depends on where you live and where you are planning on using it. Most of the boats I've ever owned have been over powered to some degree. My 1436 jon is rated for a 15, a lot of times I'm running a 25 on it. My Javelin it rated for 245hp, I run 325

Doing that, I would run the second battery connected to the cranking battery through an Isolator. That way the motor can help keep the second battery running the electronics, pumps etc. charged, but it can not discharge the cranking battery.

One on cranking battery is usually not needed. Just about all good, LCD sonars will monitor battery voltage, and those are usually connected to the cranking battery. So, unless you are still running a flasher, or off the TM batteries, you should have the cranking battery covered.

It's been so long, I don't remember the model I installed, but it looks like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Curtis-Instruments-900R36BN-900R-36V-Battery-Fuel-Gage-for-Electric-Vehicles-/271870353388. Now, it's not as simple as just sticking it in. I installed a small relay connected to the boats main power switch. That way, you could turn the BDI or BSOC as they call them now, off and not have to worry about having to remember to turn it on and off from the front. If not, it will stay one all the time. I also like the Curtis because it does not fluctuate when you are running the TM. I has a time lag to change voltage readings I've run them two ways. I've run a 12V one with a switch so I could check each individual battery and I've run the 24V/36 volt and just monitor the full voltage. The one I'm running now, is a straight 24V, since that's the system I have. Back when I got the things for free, I got a 12V, 24V, 36V and a 48V, just to make sure I covered all basis, but now I wouldn't be surprised if high voltage TM don't start showing up in something like 72 volt or higher. I figure they will come up with someway to keep someone from electrocuting themselves with their TM one day. When you get up that high, it can hurt you.

You do know they make a monitor you can install at the bow, that will let you monitor them from there. I've run a Curtis BDI on the bow for the last 15 years, The Curtis would hit you pretty hard in the pocket book but BPS and places used to sell a panel that had a meter and switch so you could switch to each battery and check each individual battery, and they were not very expensive.

You have one of the best load testers there is hanging off the front of the boat. I'll bet you had a hellava time finding a 36V or any TM that size. I guess that was a pocket model you can just keep in your tackle box. Just take your DVM with you when you have someone else going. Or, just rig up a long test cable with a couple alligator clips so you can run the TM and check the battery voltage too. Don't pay any attention to what the battery voltage is when you first disconnect the charger. That's all surface charge and is meaningless. Run the TM on max for about five minutes to knock off any surface charge, then take a voltage reading on each battery while the TM is still running on max. All three should have about the same voltage and it still should be fairly high. After a couple of hours fishing and running the TM, check them again while it's running. All three still should have close to the same voltage. At the end of the day, just before loading, make another quick check with the voltmeter and the TM running. If any battery is much lower than the others, then it's time for a new set. If all three batteries still have about the same voltage, they might being going out, but at least they are dying gracefully.

Where to lube. Just spray the heck out of everything you see on top of the starter with WD-40. The bendix is that small gear with the spring and all the other stuff under it. If it I was mine, and I wanted to check it out, the first thing I would do is connect a digital volt meter across the terminals of the cranking battery, making sure the leads are contacting the lead post with the motor on a set of muffs or in a tank. The following process sounds complicated but is actually very simple and doesn't take but a few minutes, but will show you exactly where your problem is. Try to crank it and see what the voltage is showing when trying. It should be no lower than 10.5 volts when trying to crank it, and hopefully not that low. If it's below 10.5VDC, it's time for a new battery or make sure that one was fully charged. Understand, that's while the starter is under the load of spinning and trying to crank the motor, not just sitting there. If it's above 10.5, leave the lead on the negative battery post and connect the positive lead to the lug on the starter the positive cable is connected to and try cranking it again. You should have the same voltage that you got on the battery, If it's more than a couple tenths lower, you need to clean all the connections between the starter cable and the battery. When you have good voltage on the positive with the meter's negative still on the battery post. Connect the meter's positive lead back to the lead post on the battery and move the negative lead from the lead post to the metal housing on the starter and try cranking it again. You should have the same voltage as you had when you had both leads on the battery terminals. If the voltage is lower, you need to clean all ground cable connections between the motor and the battery. What you have just done is verify both the negative and positive cables to the motor are good connections. Now, if you are getting good voltages doing the test above, it's time to start looking at the starter. Make sure the bendix is good. If so, it might be time for a starter to go to the repair shop.

Not needing to take it for a test run because I got it at a steal is something I can say. That's not a very wise decision for a novice that doesn't know them like the back of their hand. By the time you get all the bills from getting everything in proper working order, At approx. $100 per hour labor and the cost of parts today, after you pay the bills you might be finding out the repair shop got the steal. Giving it gas at the carb is not the same as giving it gas with the throttle. The throttle is primarily just advancing the timing for the first part of it. With many engines, it's not even moving the carb butterflies for the first 25% or so. Most motors that have sat for a couple of years, that were not properly prepped are going to have fuel problems. Even going through all the right steps does not assure you won't. When I buy a used motor, especially one that has sat for a while, the first thing I do is rebuild the carbs and fuel pump (if rebuildable), purge the fuel system, check/replace all fuel lines that are dry/hard or soft and gummy,service the gear case and replace the water pump. These are done before I even try to start it up.

Sounds like the carbs need to be pulled and cleaned, but having sat for a couple of years, there are several other things that probably should be done as well. The whole fuel system needs to be gone through, probably needs new fuel lines also. That's an eight year old motor, and with the gas we have now, fuel lines should be replaced after about five years. If you are not familiar with rebuilding carbs and synchronizing the linkages, even with a service manual, you might get in over your head. Cleaning them takes being familiar with how they work and all the passages that need to be cleaned. Might be better off paying the big bucks for a shop to do them. If you had taken the boat for a test drive before you bought it, you would have found this before it became yours and you could have had him get it running properly or reduce the price several hundred dollars to help offset what it's going to cost you.

If I use mine, that's what I do. I use mine for storage more than anything, seldom ever put water in it. My bass fishing is mostly C&R. I've always said, what few bass I eat, probably cost me about $5,000 per pound.

I bought several new boats when I was young, back in the 60's and 70's but the only new I've bought since then is a couple of jon boats. The last three I've bought have been auction boats. Doing this I have been able to get boats needing some kind of repair, usually the engine, for about 20% their actual value. It's been a long time since I've had a shelter to store a boat under and I tend to use the crap out of them, put them in places most won't and clean them about once a year, whether they need it or not. Any new boat I bought would loose a ton of it's value in just a few years, and look like it was rather old, so why not just buy one already fitting that description. However, I also know a hellavalot about boats and motors, so I pretty much know exactly what I'm getting and there's nothing I can't fix on one myself. So, I don't have to worry about what kind of repair bills I'm going to get hit with after buying a used one. All my repairs are parts only. Now, with all that said, if I was not a master mechanic and my knowledge level was basically how to operate one, I would only buy new or fairly new boats, with the best, longest warranty I could get. When that warranty ran out, I would sell that one and go buy another new one.

I have a 99 Renegade 20 and it has switches on the console for the pumps and lever next to the flood by the drivers seat to select if you want to fill, drain etc.

First off, you probably should install a new set of plugs if you haven't done so recently. Then you should try to determine which cylinder/cylinders are skipping. Without a dino or test prop, the best way to do that is to do a plug dump. Hold the hot foot down for about 30 seconds or so while it's skipping and then turn the switch while still holding it down (understand, this is going down the lake, not in your yard). Now, remove the spark plugs and see which ones are wet/dark. Do not restart the motor until you have looked at the plugs Once you have determined which cylinders are skipping, swap the coils and plug wires and do another plug dump. If the problem moved to the cylinders that were good, then you can figure you have a bad coil/plug wire. If the same cylinder is still the one skipping, then you have a problem that might be beyond your level of repair. You will most likely need DVA or Peak to Peak Voltmeter (this is not your standard DVM) or an O-Scope, and a good service manual is also a must have. If that motor has the shift interrupt switch on the side of the shift linkage (under the engine cover) those can mess up so unplug it if it will let you just to try it. There are a couple of coils on the Stator that can cause problems The timer base is what generates the initial spark signal and sends it to the power pack. The disc or pickup may be causing problems, The new power pack can also be the problem. A weak magnet in the flywheel can cause problems When you get into ignition problems and don't have a dino or test prop, things can get very complicated and difficult to troubleshoot. To add to all this, you have to determine if it's ignition or fuel causing the misfire. Could just be carb or other fuel problem, so you don't realty want to shot gun parts at it because there is nothing cheap about any of them. One other tidbit, the block could be cracked and letting water leak into on the top cylinders and causing a misfire. The Fast Strikes have a casting flaw that probably 75% of them crack where the Rectifier bolts on and lets water into the cylinder, which can also melt a piston. I also haven't worked on Fast Strikes so can't get real detailed in being able to tell you exactly how to check each part.

I always keep a kit handy, but normally just change the impeller. If all goes well, and the unit has be serviced/changed at regular intervals like it should be, then most of the time, everything is reusable. The impeller is only about half/one third the price of the whole pump but it kinda sucks to get it all apart and find the housing cracked/melted (been there, done that several times) or your seals/O-rings are junk, and all you have is the impeller. So, I keep the whole thing handy, and if I only need the impeller, that's all I use and order another one, or other parts I might have used to keep the kit complete. You also have to realize, I have 11 motors, so keeping that many serviced can get a bit on the expensive side, so I have to save when I can. With just one, a $100 every two or three years ain't so bad.