Got the boat out!

Finally took the maiden voyage on the boat this spring. Was planning on just getting things dusted off and ready for the open water season. The problems I encountered may go down in history as the worst 1st trip of the year…Here are some of the problems listed in order they occured.
1. Bilge didnt work
2. Front live quit working
3. Rear live well didnt work
4. Running lights worked till I ran the trolling motor then it burnt a fuse and they quit working.
5. Trolling motor kept burning fuse if I ran it above 1/2 power.
6. Finally after a lousy day of fishing I fired up the big motor and started down river towards the ramp. After I got up on plane I hear a high pitch squealing. Engine dies. Tried to start it back up but engine is froze solid. Oil tank was full, no warning lights came on or anything…

The boat is a 2002 Lund Mr. Pike the engine 2002 Johnson 115hp. The only thing that worked well was my Yamaha T8.
Hears to kicking off the open water season.

Anyone with ideas on the engine feal free to offer advice

Who winterized(or did not?) your boat?

I did, just like I do every year. Drained all the water out of the engine and ran Stabil. Worked fine for me the previous 4 years???

Ouch…that sucks. Just guessing but maybe a mouse or 2 got to the wiring? Maybe a loose ground wire? The big motor sounds like baaadddd news, have you had the impellar replaced? I feel bad for ya dude, Adam

Haven’t had the impeller replaced, is that a costly repair? I did notice it was shooting water out of the back the entire time. So that leads me to think it wasnt the impeller. I dont know too much about outboards though so i may be wrong

I’m having a new impellar and all my lower unit seals gone thru and having them replaced right now and it’s going to be around $300.00. I guess it’s not to bad to do it your self but I didn’t want to mess with it.

Best advice is to bring it in and have someone look at it.

Quote:

---

After I got up on plane I hear a high pitch squealing. Engine dies. Tried to start it back up but engine is froze solid.

---

Is this a 2 or 4 stroke? If it’s a 4, you may have just dumped a belt. If it’s 2, sounds like you lunched the motor.

-J.

2-stroke..Took it in today. Results will follow.

Besides motors, you have some serious electrical issues going on. You shouldnt be blowing fuses.

It sounds like you had a mouse issue over the winter. You have damaged wires somewhere. I wouldnt even hook up a battery until you go through all the wiring. Getting your motors running good will do you no good if your boat is in flames

Gear case locked up.. 3 grand to repair. Im getting an e-tec instead.

Quote:

---

Gear case locked up.. 3 grand to repair. Im getting an e-tec instead.

---

You may want to shop around at the boat bone yards. You should be able to pick up an entire lower unit for a lot less and just slap in on. Most of that $3000 is labor.

Maybe give these guys a call…

http://www.twincityoutboard.com/

-J.

Thanks, I found a good deal on trading in for an Etec after calling around. So it didnt turn out too bad…

Well I took the Etec out for the first time. I ran well and was very responsive. It did want to kill a few times as I was trolling but hopefully it just needs to be broken in.

Now the good part. This is just another reason why i think i deserve the title of worlds unluckiest fisherman. As i back the boat in the driveway I hear a load grinding. Reverse goes out in the truck. Unhook the boat and try my best to push back out of the way. Get in the truck and start heading to the repair shop. Then it makes a loud grinding sound… Now the truck is stuck in the middle of the road so i call the tow truck. The bill will be $2300 for a remaufactured tranny on a 2000 GMC.

OH did I mention that someone stold my custom built walleye rod and about $500 worth of tackle out of my storage shed this spring??

2 trips with the boat so far this year.. Things are off to a great start!!! Im getting so used to it that i just laugh now when it happens

It’s good to hear you got a sense of humor about the whole deal, Soon enough the fish gods will reward you, atleast I keep think that myself.

This hasn’t been a great year for me either, but I’m still here and I get to fish

So, I’m thinkin’, 20 grand for a boat rig, another two grand for rods, tackle, electronics. And, you’ll need a big 4×4 and lots of gas, bait, and …

How about this; You call James, and for $350 bucks or so, you and a friend or two can split the cost, meet him at the landing and spend the day him, not only catching, but learning, too. All this with no boat, trailer, E-tech, gas, tackle, bait ………… only a license and expectations for a good time. He cleans the fish, too.
And, if his stuff breaks down, it’s his problem.
I often wonder about us fisherman.
Swede

Ok this is getting a little annoying now. So i take the boat out for the 3rd trip of the year shortly after I got the new tranny put in the truck. Now the NEW Etec overheats when I run it wide open. I shut it down and start it up and its fine for a while. What a pain. Plus the NEW stereo i had installed woulnt hold onto a station so I brought some CD’s with. CD funtion doesnt work on the NEW radio. So now it has been in the shop for about 2 weeks and I havent heard nothing….When will it end. Im thinking of getting rid of the rig and just shore fishing and hiring a guide. I think someone upstairs doesnt want me to own a boat…

Update- Sand got in the engine and they had to flush it out. That was last week. They are still monkeying with the radio. Going on 3 weeks now at the shop to flush some sand out. Are all shops this slow?? I would think I would be a top priority customer after dropping over 8 grand on the new motor with them