Way2slow

PLEASE UNDERSTAND!!!!! The is no way on planet earth I can tell you anything about what to do about props or setup without knowing the exact RPM the motors is turning right now, with the current setup. Maybe one of these other guys that have a better crystal ball them me can, but I can't.

I think when you pick it up from the prop shop, you need to ask them. I've never seen one missed stamped with the pitch. I believe if you look at the last digit a little better, it's a( 5) that the corrosion is making you think it's a (3).

Without knowing the exact RPM, the motor is turning when at full speed, with the motor trimmed out properly and your normal load in the boat, anything anyone tried to tell you would be pure speculation. Knowing your RPM is a must, at least is before I can give any advise, because like I said, I think you are running to much prop. If that boat was able to spin a 24" prop at 5,800 rpm, it would be running about 65mph and with that setup, that ain't gonna happen.

First, You didn't post any rpms on your motor at WOT. I have a hard time seeing that setup turning a 24" prop anywhere near max recommended rpm with a load. That can slow you down a huge amount. The condition of the prop can have a big impact on speed. Not know how the motor is set and not having a jack plate, that hydrofoil could be costing you a few mph. How much you over load the boat with your friends and gear, can kill huge amounts of speed, and with an oversize prop, can make it very difficult to get on plane. Then the condition of the motor. If it has some weak cylinders, that can kill huge amounts of speed and hole shot.

My son has the hydraulic ones on his back bay/flats boat and wouldn't have it any other way. Now, let me list all the reasons for not putting them on your them on your bass boat, a. They might make you enjoy going fishing more when you see how much better the boats gets on plane and handles at lower speeds where the hull is just barely on plane. b. If you go fishing more, the wife is going to be even more aggravated with you for spending more time fishing when you could be spending that time and money with her shopping.

My first assumption is you are speaking of identical batteries that you are wanting to connect together. If you are not talking about identical batteries, it's not recommend you connect them together. Connecting dissimilar batteries in parallel is not as damaging to the batteries as connecting them in series but it's still not a recommended practice. If your TM in one that has the set number of speeds, like 1,2,3,4,5. Most likely your TM will not cause interference on the sonar. It's normally the Variable Speed TMs that cause a problem. The filtration in most sonars will filter out TM interference. Hook them in parallel, Positive of battery A to positive of battery B, and negative of battery A to negative of battery B, with Positive TM cable to Positive Battery and Negative TM to negative battery. Try it and see if it going to causes a problem on the sonar. It's not going to hurt the sonar, if it's going to interfere, usually it just make a black area or blanks the screen for a couple of seconds when you press the run switch. If nothing abnormal happens, run it. However, if you run your TM batteries down, it will probably make the sonar shut off when you run the TM because of the low voltage. If you can run the batteries in parallel, it will give you a long run time than swapping them out because it make the batteries much more efficient.

If it has metal flake in the gel cost, spend several times what the boat worth and have it refinished or take it for what it is and use it. At that age and exposed the elements, most likely that thin coat of clear gel over the metal flake is gone. Metal flake don't polish and if you sand it smooth, it's silver. There are some products that might give it a short term shine, but nothing like a glossy gel coat, but they normally are very short term. If it's just gel coat without metal flake, wet sanding, 800, 1200, 1600 grit, buffing compound and then some polishing/waxing helps but it's not going to bring back the original color, just makes the faded color it is shine some.

For best performance, don't put anything in it and just a few gallons of gas. If you want to use it to fish out of, pay attention the where you are placing the weight. Most of the weight needs to be fairly balanced from side to side and from the drivers seat back. Naturally with rods and reels you don't have much of a choice, but store your lighter stuff like life jackets and hard baits in the front boxes. Plastic baits and heavier stuff in the rear boxes. If you are like me, and have a garage full of junk, don't try to keep it all in the boat. Only take what you are going to be fishing with. Like right now, it's pretty obvious you are not going to be throwing many top water lures, so why have them. Plastics, many are seasonal, only used at certain times of the year, why have them in the boat when there is no chance they will get used the next trip. I doesn't take a lot of them to total up to a lot of weight.

On my Javelin, the left console is molded into the top cap. It would take a sawzall and a lot of fiberglass work to remove it, however, I've never had a reason or the desire. I bought the boat because it was a dual console, and that's what I was looking for.

That's where you have to be your own judge. Like car insurance, pay dearly for it all your life and hope you hope you don't have to use it. Of course, a lot of states have gotten smart enough to take that option out of your hands. If it was one of the big V-6s, I would say without out a doubt, but the smaller motors are not quite as bad to replace if a major melt down happens.

Here is where lack of knowledge of your motors comes in. If it was an OMC, the first think I would do is say check the recirc (recirculation) valves in the intake, but I don't know if Mercury runs them or not. Simply by the nature of the way a two stroke works, they have areas that lets fuel accumulate, and if that fuel is not syphoned off, it dumps large globs in the cylinders at one time. The recirc valves are one way valves that keep the that fuel siphoned out of the intake to prevent that. In an OMC, if they go bad, they give you the exact problem you describe. I'm pretty sure the EFI motor's oiling system works pretty much like the carbureted motors in that the oil and fuel is premixed by the oil injection prior to it going into the injection system. I still have an old 1988, 115 tower of power I-6 Merc and it has an idle control module on it that went out and that caused it to have a very rough idle, but I don't know if yours has that or not since it has a totally different ECM. Also, again, not sure about yours but the carbureted mercs run what I call a two stage stator, having a high speed and low speed winding in it. A bad low speed winding it the stator will cause similar problems. I'm will also post a link to where you will find a collection of the best Mercury gurus around, at least a few years ago it was, haven't been on their in a while myself. http://www.screamandfly.com/forumdisplay.php?20-Technical-Discussion/page2&order=desc. If all the old heads are still on there, I can assure you, they could tell you the right things to try. Also, I know it's not the time of the year to go cruising down the lake at WOT but I would suggest you do a plug dump and see if it's a high speed or low speed problem or both. By this, I mean you get it warmed up, then take it WOT for about five minutes to gives it time to get good, clean burn. Then, while holding it still wide open, cut the switch off or pull the safety cord and shut it off, You don't want to let it idle or lift off the gas if possible before shutting it off. Then pull all six spark plugs and see how they are burning. They all should be nice and even, between a paper bag/ light tea color and white. Depending on the motor, I usually do this while heading back to the ramp and kill it just before the NO WAKE area, then use the TM to load it. With some motors, it's a whole lot easier getting the plugs in and out while standing behind it than bent over it on the lake. Also, a word of caution. If your boat is one that gets up on the pad very nicely and flies the hull good, trim it down some before killing it and still hang on. Some boats don't take to kindly to you killing the power while they are trimmed up and flying. They can do a bat turn in a heart beat, and if you don't know what a bat turn is, that's not the time you want to find out. Watch the You Tube video of the idiot cutting across a wake in his new Triton with it up on the pad. At the end you see what a bat turn is.

Not sure how much help I can be with your Mercury, I raced them back in the late 60's and early 70's, but haven't had a whole lot to do with them since. I got into OMC in the late 70's and better at modifying those than working on stock motors. For about the last 15 years I've just built hotrod 3.0 OMC's. Making the 3.0, 200, 225 etc, put out over 300hp and still run on pump gas. I'm probably doing my last motor now. A friend in California I built a 325hp motor for about seven years ago asked me if I would build him a 3.3L 450+ hp motor http://www.davebushracing.com/dbr-johnsonevinrude-33-liter-b-spec-sleeve.html and like an idiot I agreed. That's about 100 hours of bending over an engine stand with a die grinder in your hands preparing it for those sleeves. With the work I'm doing, it will probably realistically be closer to 500 hp with the injection system we are putting on it. I've already pulled a couple of the vacuum motors out of my flow bench for coffee roasters I've made, (I roast my own coffee beans also), because I doubt I will porting any more intake systems where I need a 1,200 cfm flow bench. Pushing 70, my old bones and muscles can't handle the hours in front of a flow bench or bent over a motor they use to.

Maybe he's going to park the Lamborghini for a couple of months so he doesn't have to pay the insurance and buy both. Just kidding, I'm sure there is going to be one very happy female on V-Day

If someone quoted me a price of more than $35 - $40 for a factory manual, I would know they are probably a rip off joint when I comes to parts pricing. Mercury sets a recommended list price, some dealers will sell at that price, some dealers will mark it up additional 15% or so. Some actually double it and more. Some Independent repair facilities will almost double it if the have to buy the OEM part because a lot of dealers will not give them a price break and they are still going to make their 100% markup on parts plus the price for their labor. Your place may not be a licensed Mercury dealer and not be getting the parts at dealer cost but still using the signage and stuff to make it look like he is. Then you have those using the much cheaper, generic parts and pricing them like they were the OEM parts. You have to face the fact, todays overhead cost for businesses is high, very high and a lot of them tend to get very creative on their pricing strategy to pay the rent and put a few dollars in their pocket. In the 60's when we ran a service station 25%-35% was a good markup, today, it's almost a minimum of 100% and double or triple that in a lot of cases. As for having to wait to place an order, they do need a certain dollar amount to get the price break and shipping, so if it's a small place or during the winter months when business is slow, you may have to wait. I have a friend that runs a very large repair facility and during the winter months, he's told me I may have to wait a week until he can get a large enough order.

I guess the ones around here figure a sale is a sale, and if they told someone that, no way in he** would that someone take it to them for service if it was something beyond the person ability, which many times is the case.

I have a scary question. Why not just go to the dealer and order the factory manual? The last one I bought was only $35.

The problem I see, While sitting at the ramp and your out, If someone thinks there might be something worth stealing in it, and you make it where they can't get into it easily, that will just encourage them to steal the whole trailer so they could take it someplace to get it open.

I don't shoot 7mm-08 but shoot a ton of Rem 260 and I don't like Varget. My two preferred powders are the Reloader 17 and the H-4831SC. My 260 shoot very small groups at 500 yard with the R-17, my granddaughters shoot very small groups at 500 yards with the H-4831SC. Both rifles will shoot the other powder, but each shoot the tightest groups with the powders I mentioned for them. Hers has a Shilen 20" barrel, mine has a 24" Krieger barrel and I have another with a 28" Krieger barrel that shoots both about equally well.

I bought my first Remington 6mm in 1969, a model 788. I have since done two model 700's in 6mm. I have over 30 long guns, rifles and shotguns, and don't even own a 308. So, just in case you can't figure it out, I wouldn't even trade my old 788, 6mm for his 308.

I have it on the last couple rifles I've built, but not the air dry stuff, mine are the baked on. The air dry strikes me as being nothing more that an expensive paint.

I went to a couple indoor gun ranges and ended up renting about a 1/2 dozen different models and calibers during my decision making process and when it was all said and done, I decided a Glock 20 was my handgun of choice and I am also a south paw. However, would I say a Glock is the gun for you NO. They have stacked magazines which make them have fat grips, not everyone is comfortable with fat grips. I would recommend doing the same, it not very expensive to rent one to try and see what you like the feel of best. If a handgun don't fit and feel comfortable to you, you will probably never be very good with it. Try some with stacked magazines and single row magazines like the 1911 frame.

For personal protection outside the home, my weapon of choice is a 10mm Glock 20, with a clip of Hornady 155gr XTP with enough Blue Dot behind them to push them close to 1,500fps. They will not shoot through a person upper torso but they will literally explode it. Then I keep a clip of 180gr Golden Sabers with it loaded at 1,350fps ready if I need to do a quick change to take out a vehicle or something. Say what you want about them 9mm's and how they are just as lethal because you can put more shots down range faster and more accurately. Well, I say bull crap, that's fine for the FBI who spend ton of time shooting up the government ammo, but the average individual is hoping to get one bullet on target, and even though I'm a little above average, I want one to be able to knock some hyped up drug attic backwards several feet as he's going down. My wife carries a baby Glock 40 S&W. For home defense, I agree with a 12ga pump gun. Put an open choke 18 1/2" barrel on it, extended magazine for eight rounds but loaded with #4 shot so you won't be shooting through walls like buckshot will and potentially hitting other family members, but more that lethal enough when a person is in front of you, and a couple like this in key areas of the home. I like a pump gun, because of the very distinct noise it makes as a shell is being chambered and not too many fools are going to be hanging after hearting that. As for shooting through doors, etc, I sure hope someone is not fool enough to do that because there can always be unexpected, unpleasant surprises on the other side of that door. My dad was an alcoholic and drunk at two AM one morning, he decided he wanted to come visit his new baby granddaughter and was headed up the stairs when I flipped on the light on the shotgun pointed at him.

If yours is like most of the boat I've had, the switch is a centered rocker switch where the center position is off and you flip it one direction for manual and the other direction for automatic. Manual goes directly to the pump, automatic goes through a timer module, then to the pump. One side of the switch, or the timer could be bad, or just a bad connection on them.

I guess I was the one that struck a nerve, wasn't trying to though. If you really want to make a statement that makes your boat stand out and be different when sitting in that line of 100 shiny, new, bass boats, be able to put a big sticker on your not so shiny, new boat saying "IT'S PAID FOR!"

It don't have much to brag about sitting on the trailer, but makes a hellava statement when it leaves the NO WAKE area when I have one of my fun motors on it. Never have been into the bling, if it's nice and purrty, you don't want to put in some of the place you need to be. Like these people with these jacked up, fancy 4WD trucks and won't drive it off road or though the bushes because it might get dirty or scratched. Me, I drive a 4WD because I can use it to go through places I can't or wouldn't walk.