OneBeastMalibu

I just double check the premix it is 100:1. Thanks though. I found a book in Walmart while I was waiting on my oil change and it said the cavitation plate should be the same height as the bottom of the boat. So when it stops raining I am gonna check the different between to two and see if I can find a jack plate that raises it by that amount, does that sound good to yall? I also bought this cup thing at walmart that has a chart on the side and says if the mix is 100:1 add this much oil for this many gallons, it is all marked out and should let me get it pretty close to dead on. Thanks.

Hey, I just got my first boat, it is a 2004 Southfork 1442. The motor is an 06 Yamaha 25 2 stroke. I took it out twice so far and it was a blast. It was the first time I ever drove a tiller steering boat. One weird thing about the boat it is seems to have a longshaft motor and the boat does not have a high transom. The motor goes so deep it the water there are a lot of places I can't get to. I have been told a jackplate is what I need. I was looking at them and they seem pretty expensive. I am willing to spend $100 - $150 if this is what I need. Which ones should I look at? Which measurements should I take to know how high of one to get? As far as setting the motor back how far should I go? Another question is mixing the gas and oil. What is the best way to do this? I found an online calculator that told me how much oil I needed with how much gass. So I added 3 gallons to the tank and poured it a little less than 4 ounces to get 100:1 ratio. The boat ran fine, is that close enough? It is hard to get it exactly right out of the bottle. When I got the boat going as fast as it can it is really hard to steer, it seems to be straight or turning, not a lot of in between. I guess this is from the resistance of the water going by, is this normal? The prop is chewed up a good bit and a lot of water seems to splash off the transom, it is hard to explain, but this water looks like it is creating a lot of resistance and slowing the boat down. It is almost like a rooster tail coming off the back of the boat on each side of the motor. I have a feeling once the high is right on the motor this will speed it up. Also I was shopping for new boats before I bought this one and a lot of them can be ordered with camo coating for $250 extra, are there places that do that for around that price? I have not been able to find any. I was fishing in water that is a little brackish, should I flush the motor out with a water house everytime? Also should I flush it out with a water house after fresh water? Thanks for your help, I am very happy with my boat, but all of this is very new to me. Thanks again.