Way2slow

You are asking questions there are no one magic answer. First, you need to know the motors max recommended RPM and how many RPM the motor is currently turning at WOT and the current prop size. You want a prop that lets the motor turn within 100-200 rpm of its max rated. 100 over is better than 200 less. Trying to go to a higher pitch prop than the motor can turn near max rpm can actually slow you down. As for the best type of prop, that is determined by the hull. Some hulls like a prop with a lot of rake, some don't. Some do better with a three blade, others do better with a four. Not knowing any more than you posted, would be like trying to tells you what golf club to play a shot and knowing nothing about where the ball is.

Yes, see if this helps. http://shop.evinrude.com/media/document/ModelNumberReference.pdf The data plate should be on the left side of the engine pivot mount. It just sticks on so hopefully someone hasn't pulled it off.

Not sure about the guru part but I am somewhat familiar with it. One major issue that was suppose to be fixed under a factory field campaign was replacing the bolts that hold the top main bearing retainer in. The bolts were working loose, letting the bearing work out and increase end play let the crank move up and down to the point it wiped out the motor. The new bolts had a blue thread lock the old ones didn't have. If the motor has not blown by now, then that mod was probably done. The next major issue is the ring locator pins coming out, number two cylinder being the worst and number four the second. If any of the other came out first, it was rare, but did has happened. This is caused by two problems. In late 95 they changed the process to install the pins, because it was cheaper, and the fact the motor has unbalanced cooling made those pins come loose. Number two cylinders egt's run approx. 50 degrees hotter than 1,3,and 5. Number fours temps are about 30 degrees hotter, causing the pins to loosen sooner. One way to delay this from happening, if it's going to, is to run one size large jet in #2 carb. If/when the pin does come out, it's a major failure because it hangs in a transfer port, busting the piston and breaking the sleeve. Sometimes it break the rod also and the rod saws the block in two or punches a big hole in it. I don't know the percentage of the motors that have this problem, but it is a fairly common problem with the late 95 and newer motors. Theirs and most aftermarket replacement piston have the pin relocated so it does not go through any ports. Plus during the rebuild, there is a cooling mod that can and should be done. It's also easy enough to check if the pins have loosened and backed out any by pulling the spark plug, putting a small bulb through the plug hole and look at the sleeve with the piston at BDC. If you see a scratch/line/grove going from the top of the sleeve all the way to the top of the piston, that is in line with the center of one of the transfer ports, that pin is loose and the motor needs to come apart and be rebuilt. That groove is the ring locator working out and it will eventually hang that transfer port, and it's goodby when it does. It's still my favorite motor though.

Well, if that's all you did, you can remove the "fixed" at the end. The problem just has not shown back up again "yet". Changing to ethanol free gas does not "fix" anything.

Try reading this. http://www.minnkotamotors.com/Support/Battery-Selection---Rigging/ They might know a little bit about how you should rig it. However, there is one thing they fail to do is account for the smaller 24 volt motors, but if you have a 55# thrust, 24 volt, you can figure half the current load of the same size 12 volt.

I think there are some that will disagree with you but thanks for the comment. Most of it's just called being and old fart that pretty much fits the old saying, "Jack of all trades, Master of none" and have been fairly heavily involved with cars, boats, guns, fishing, electronics, wood working, metal working, radio controlled planes and helicopters, and I could keep the list going on and on. There is just not a whole lot that I don't do or haven't done. As for charging, that's not in my nature, I don't even charge people to help them face to face, but it's rare for me to work on something for someone else. I've had that bite me in the butt more than a few times, while I'm trying to do them afavor. However, as for your Mercury, I'm afraid I would be very little help, other than my basic knowledge. I haven't done much with them since I quit racing them back in the early 70's and forgotten most of what I knew then. The JohnnyRudes, I know pretty good. The old two stroke stuff anyway, I've never had my hands on or even seen a four stroke with the cover off.

Take the fuse out and connect a 12v tail lamp across it. Unplug the connectors you can and turn the switch on. If the bulb doesn't light or is dim, you probably unplugged the short. To verify this, put a fuse in, it will not blow if you did. Now, put the bulb back in, turn the switch back on and start plugging things back together. When the bulb goes bright, that might be your short. If the bulb burns bright when you first turn the switch on,, then you probably didn't disconnect the short, but you can try a fuse to see. Since you are dealing with a 20 amp circuit, some good components can make a small bulb burn bright so something like a headlamp might be needed, but I would start with something like a single element tail lamp. I use a $200 circuit checker because I can trace the signal to the problem, but before that, the bulb trick has saved me a lot trouble many times.

No, I'm am not at all. S**t starts flying if I get too aggravated. My POS, 3/8" IR, Knuckle Saver air ratchet is still in the neighbors back yard where I sent it sailing last week. That's why it aggravates the crap out of me to start something, and have to do five other things before I can finally get to the original task I started. Which seems to be the norm for everything I do lately, but as the old saying goes, things happen for a reason, and I had much rather find those problems now, while the boat is setting some place where I have the tools and time to fix them.

For that size motor, you should probably be using a 60 amp breaker. The largest I've seen those small $7 breakers is 50 amp. To get a 60 amp you will need to go with the Minn Kota/Buss. Those run about $25 and up. I think Cabela's has it for $30. A fuse is NOT the way to go for that much current. You could buy one of those large, square 60 amp fuses that go in automobile power panels, but then you have to figure out how to mount it. I haven't seen many fuse holders that handle #6 wire or even #8 if you skimp. Plus, with a breaker, if it happens to trip, you can just reset it, with a fuse, you had better have some spares.

look in the corners below the seats and see if there are some holes about 1/2". I've seen a lot of boats put them there and the get plugged up or covered over. Adding a drain with the floor in may not be possible and do it properly. you don't want it dumping on top of the flotation foam and it may not any way for it to run off it because of other bulkheads. you will also be compromising the water seal if it has a plywood floor that's glassed over and sealed on the bottom side.

Went out to run my 225 Ficht for a few minutes like I always do when it sits for a month or more. When it sit's, I pump all the gas out of the tank, and every four to six weeks I put about a 1/2 gallon of gas in a jug with an ounce of SeaFoam and let it run about 10 minutes on it. I sit the gas jug in the splash well, pull the tank hose off the primer bulb, stick a short piece of hose on it and stick it in the jug. Eight years of doing this, I've never had to pump the primer bulb, the motor starts and runs just fine with the gas in the system. A very simple process that doesn't take but a few minutes to do. Well not today, it didn't want to start, so I pump the primer bulb some. Still didn't want to start, so I pump it until it's a little firmer, Then I see a small stream of gas coming out of the plastic webbing over all the wires and hoses. Cut it loose and slide it back and some how, where the fuel hose was touching the rubber insulator it goes through, had reacted with something about it and there was a small, soft bulge in the hose and a small hole, so I pull cover off and replaced the fuel line. While doing this, I see a small puddle of oil in the lower pan and I see where a hose on the oil pump is leaking, so I put a new OMC tie wrap on it and fixed that. OK, got all that done and so I should be good to go. Tried to start it, nothing, didn't even click after it went through the self check, which this is nothing new, for years it has always done this on rare occasions, thinking it's just the shifter not making the neutral start switch, I could move it back and forth a couple of times and it would usually start, not this time. The switch was loose also loose so it was wanting to spin with the key and figured just as well tighten it, nope, the treads had broken loose. While screwing with the switch and holding with my other hand to keep it from turning, I found if I pressed against one wire, the motor would crank, but touch that wire another way, and it wouldn't. A little more trouble shooting and found the terminal was loose inside the switch, so it was a bad switch that has always caused my random not wanting to crank. Just ordered a new key switch. Ok, got it cranking, the leaking oil line fixed and the leaking fuel line replaced, she started up the second I turned the key. While letting it run and since I still had the cover off, I just used the throttle linkage to rev it up to 2,000 rpm and hold it for a few minutes. That's when I noticed the roller on the throttle cam has come apart and I need a new one of those, That's a 90 mile round trip to the dealer. Went out there for a 20 minute task and two hours later, I'm still doing that 20 minute task, but much better to find all that in the back yard instead the lake.

B.O.A.T. is oh so true if you can't fix them yourself and even when you can, they are still dam expensive. I do a all my own work on my boats and vehicles also, and other than my wife's (our main family car) I never buy anything new. I find a steal with a bad engine or other problems and fix it. My 1999, 20' Javelin Renegade 20DC with a 225 Evinrud I bought at auction about eight years ago for $5,000 and spent $1,100 getting it in good condition. So, for approximately $6,000 I had $15,000 bass boat. Just like a 2001 4WD, Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab I recently bought for $1,000. Like new inside, great paint, and no dents in body. After a $3,400 total investment ($900 of which was tires) I have a very nice truck that could easily sell for twice what I have in it. Even being able to do this, just buying parts, that I get wholesale, is getting too dang expensive to work on them. Another old saying that's very true about boats, "The bigger the boat, the bigger the hole it makes in the water to throw money in".

With the 405 area code, one would have to assume he's around Oklahoma City. As for a boat on disability, mine stays that way about half the time. (Sorry couldn't resist that one). As one for a person on disability, I would have to assume you are talking about something like this http://www.basspro.com/Sun-Dolphin-Sportsman-2Person-Boat/product/1405131228/ being that small or one of the mini pontoon style. If that's what you are looking for, maybe someone on here has something like that but craigs list or other local listings would be better, because of the shipping involved could be more than the things is worth.

I hope this link works because it sounds like the same problem you are having and is a pretty good discussion on the matter. http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/020581.html

I recently help a friend sell his 93, 17' Bass Tracker with a 40 on it for $2,000. Very low hours on it and it had been sitting under a shed for five years. Three years ago, was paying a guy to replace the carpet and redo the seats, and some other stuff to get it back in nice shape. Just after the guy got it all stripped apart, he got killed in a car wreck and left the boat in a mess, but nothing a little time and TLC couldn't fix. Then my friend had triple bypass surgery and finally decided he was done with fishing. Several times I considered just paying him for it and keeping it, but that small motor turned me off, plus with five boats, I don't really need another. I just keep thinking a small, easy to handle tin can might make it more enjoyable to go by myself.

Well, when I started, the term bass boat had just come to be and those were the Bomber boats. From how you describe your situation, I would strongly recommend staying away from anything you have to finance more than a couple of years. Also understand, unless you pick up a good deal from an individual, anything you buy is not going to be resale able for near what you paid for it, and the longer you finance it, the more upside down you are going to be, and for a much longer time. That's why you see people advertising just take over payments, and it's not even worth what they still owe on it then. The auction companies make big bucks every year off repossessed boats because the buyer finds out what it really cost to have and operate one and can't get out from under financial burden. You also have to realize, just buying the boat is only part of the expense. If it's a very large boat, it takes a fairly large vehicle to tow it. If towing very far, cost of gas gets expensive, not counting what the boat is going to burn. If it's financed, you have the insurance you must carry on it. Then you have the expense of just maintaining one. Two or three batteries at $100 or more each, every few years. Engine maintenance and if the motor happens to break, it can be super expensive to get them worked on/repaired, and most any are subject to break. Find you some kind of a 15'-17' aluminum boat for starters from the early 90's to the early 2,000s that has a 40 - 70hp motor on it, have it checked out by someone that knows their stuff. There are some great deals to be had, if you are patient, and now is when you want to start looking. The season is coming to an end soon and people will want to start getting rid of them while there is time. Then you have Christmas coming soon and people are looking at them out there in the yard, thinking that would be some quick Christmas money, and right behind that comes taxes due.

I'm by far no expert on them but I do have an 88, 115. Mine died on me a few years ago while in Floridaand it was because the idle control module shorted and took out the stator low speed winding, and both trigger modules. You do know there are two sets of windings in the stator, one set provides low speed signal to the trigger modules, so if you are positive the trigger modules are good, then you might want to check the stator. Might also want to disconnect the idle control module, it's not required to run, just to make sure yours hasn't pulled the same stunt mine did.

Too bad to, even though some of the 200's are 225's with 200 decals on them from the factory, if you try to insure it and the model number on the sticker show it a J225, they probably would not insure it, about 5% over is the most many companies will allow. Then you have some states that are very strict on over powering. An to think this is coming from a guy that was running 325hp on a 285 Pro. The only difference between the 200 and 225 is the carburetors and throttle bodies and Johnson was good at sticking the 200's decals on 225's and labeling it a J200. They've been doing that for years, the old GT200 was a 225 motor. Especially on the ones being put on bass boats and performance type boats. Their unadvertised 200 HO. Like their 225 HO was the 250 with 225 decals.

A slightly larger motor is not about more speed. Lets face it, with that size boat and that size motor, the speed does not even equate. Many time, the next size up has more CC's. Granted, there are those cases when a 20 is a detuned 25 so up sizing don't help. But it you can go from something like a 700cc to a 800cc, that could make all the difference in the world. The hardest part about getting one like that setup is being able to get it on plane and not be pushing through the water like a barge. If you can get it up and on plane, it takes a lot less power to push it down the lake, but making that transition from bow up and plowing to laying over takes torque. Torque is what gets you going, horse power is how fast the motor can push it when it gets going. I don't care how you dissect it, it takes CC's to make torque. I've heard the ramps about with these modern motors they are getting more and more horse power from smaller and smaller motors, but again, we are not looking for how much HP the motor will make at max rpm, we are looking for how much torque the motor can develop at 3,000 - 4,000 rpm. Boat motors don't have transmissions so they can change gears to get rpm up into it's peak torque band. They have to do it with one gear and if that one, and sometimes, that one is not enough. That's why us speed freaks play with bunches of different props and setups, Changing props is the only "transmission" you have. Years back, they even tried making a variable pitch prop but that invention, while a great idea on paper, never worked out.

Not sure what batteries you are looking at, but if your TM is 24 volt, two of these are what you should be looking at for it. http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-29-Marine-Battery/20531539 Even if it's 12 volt and you want bunches of run time, two of those batteries will fill the bill. If your motor is electric start, one of these is all you need for it. http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Group-Size-24DC-Marine-Battery/20531540. This will be more than enough to the motor and any electronics and pumps you plan on having. If you are looking at batteries any smaller than the 24DC, don't waste your money. That's about as small as you can run and expect to get any run time out of them. Also understand, I think you said you had an early 25hp Johnson, most of those early models did not have a charging system on them, so you have to be sure and charge the cranking battery every time you come in. You will also probably want to look at getting a three bank, on board charger to help make life easier. It's a pain in the butt having to charge three batteries every time you come in with regular chargers. There are some cheap, off brand Chinese models sold that are fairly cheap, and most reviews recommend staying away from them. Stick with one of the major brand names. They are probably going to be made in China also but the hope is they have some say on the quality control, and most do offer good customer support.

Ouch! That's a little harsh. I would say more a lack of knowledge, after all, he has already said this was his first boat. My concern is the money and work he is apparently planning on putting into his boat just to find out it was possibly mostly wasted when he puts it in the water the first time, and has to tear it out and do it again. I'm sure he's no different than the rest of us, he wants to make his new boat the best bass boat he can make it with what he has.

A role of Bounty is nice to have nearby. Wipe everything out with that first. I like Bounty, over rags because when it gets full of grease, you toss it and get more. Then use a spray can of brake cleaner for an auto parts store. If you have an air compressor, mineral spirits is what I keep in my parts cleaner, it's not as rough on your hands as the brake cleaner is, but you pretty much need compressed air to blow them out using it. A couple cans of Brake cleaner would be the go to, shad tree solution. Try to minimize getting brake cleaner on your hands, it will dry them out badly and can make the skin crack. Also, it will melt those disposable gloves in about a minute, so by a box if you plan to use them and change them often.

Yes, it would float, but it would probably be about as stable as trying to fish off a 4' step ladder in a canoe. I'm like the others, you must be using deck planes Home Depot drew up for your house for it to weigh anywhere near 250 pounds. A half sheet of seven or nine ply marine grade plywood with a couple 1/8" thick channel iron or aluminum reinforcements would hold anybody that had any business standing on a deck in a boat that size. Total weight would be approximately 50 pounds. Now, the trick is going to be finding the seven or nine ply. Five ply is more common and on a small area like you would have it would work if reinforced, but it's no where near as strong as seven or nine. Nine ply is super strong, but rather expensive, so I just use the seven ply, which it ain't all that cheap either. When you say five batteries, are you counting the two in your flash light also?

As the guru posted, you are either overloading the circuit breaker and it's probably an auto reset, so it's just switching the motor on and off, or you have some bad connects. Like he said, try it without the breaker, if it works fine, replace your circuit breaker with at least a 50 amp, manual reset. Minn Kota has a nice 60 amp breaker or you can get one in a BUSS brand, You can usually find those for about $30. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Minn-Kota-reg-Amp-Circuit-Breaker/738084.uts?productVariantId=1202789&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=36-94489334-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=00034335&rid=20. If that don't fit your budget, go with this http://www.cabelas.com/product/manual-reset-circuit-breaker/738260.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3D50%2Bamp%2Bcircuit%2Bbreaker%26x%3D10%26y%3D6%26WTz_l%3DHeader%3BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=50+amp+circuit+breaker. If you shop around, you can usually find one that comes with a battery mount like this, or your old breaker may have the battery mount. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-Reset-Circuit-Breaker-Battery-Mounting-Bracket-for-Boats-/120873936615 By the way, I would like to offer a sincere welcome to the Minn Kota rep. It's nice to have expert factory reps respond to problems. I think you are about the first I've seen from a major brand and I think that speaks volumes for the kind of support Minn Kota offers. Hope you have time to check in frequently. Ton's of TM question pop up.

I'm not going to make a video but I've been packing bearings for over 50 years and still don't use a packer. I bought one many years ago the just hooks to a grease gun, but never seem to use it. It only take a minute to put some grease in the palm of one hand, and press it through the bearing. Hold the bearing in one hand with your finger through the hole and the big side of the bearing facing down. You will notice the big side is a lot more open than the small side. Holding the bearing at about a 30 degree angle, start pressing a portion of the large side edge into the edge of the grease in your palm, pressing it fairly firmly against the skin. Taking small bites into the grease continue to do this until the grease comes though the slit in the small side of the bearing. Turn the whole thing on your finger a little more and do this again. Go all the way around the bearing until grease has come out of the slit all the way around it. Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a couple minutes per bearing. If you are not running Bearing Buddies, don't put grease in the bearing cap. Put some in the hub between the rear seal and rear bearing and between the two bearings is all you want. Fill the cap up also and it can push the cap off when you start towing. To tighten the bearings, run the nut all the way down and snug it against the bearing, you should be able to feel some friction on the wheel when you try to turn it. Then back the nut off slightly. If it has a castle nut, just to the next slot you can get the cotter pin through. If it had a retainer that goes over the nut, just back it off about 1/4 inch and keep moving the retainer around to different positions until the cotter pin will go through it. Spin the hub to make sure it turns freely. It's not going to spin freely because the grease prevents that, but it should turn very little friction.