Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

I just bought a 1980 Thundercraft boat off of my boss. I believe it is a Titan 150 SS but not sure. Strangely enough I have the paperwork for just about everything but the boat. Anyways, it has spent most of its life in storage so it is in great shape. It just needs some minor repairs. All and all it seemed like it was a good starter boat for the $1,200 I paid for it. But now I have three dumb questions.

1) There is a nice sticker on the dash with the engine operating procedure. The first step is to connect the fuel line to the motor. Am I then to assume that proper procedure it to disconnect the fuel line when not in use (it has a quick connect on both ends)?

2) The nice sticker also says never to put it into reverse from a stand still. I can't say that I ever thought that would be an issue. Can anyone tell me what the logic is behind that warning?

3) There is this bar in the motor mount assembly that drops down when the motor is trimmed up. It doesn't actually fall into the right place to hold the motor though. Generally it's a two person job to deal with the thing. I can't see anything that is broken and causing this. Can someone tell me if it is normal for this piece to just flop around (see pic)?



And just to show it off here is the complete boat and the world's cleanest 33 year old motor.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

First - A big welcome. Now -

1) You can leave the fuel line connected - and of course if it were disconnected you need to connect it - like dah-
2) I suspect that whoever wrote that warning had been sippin the suds. The warning should be not to slam it into reverse when going forward - especially at higher than idle rpms.
3) Can't help on 3) as this is not an OMC motor. I suspect this is just a safety support to keep the engine raised when trailering.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

Welcome to iboats. That sounds like an odd sticker - can you post a pic of it?

Here are my two cents.

1) The fuel line can remain connected to the motor;
2) I don't get that warning either. Ordinarly, a motor is started in neutral, then shifted into reverse.
3) I'm not sure what this is, but it looks like some soft of internal bar that is intended to hold the motor up, when it has been tilted up.

Having said all these, while I have been boating for a few years, I'm not an engine expert at all. These are merely my best guesses, based on general knowledge. I suggest that you go and post questions about the engine on the Yamaha and Suzuki engines page. Spirit outboards were made by Suzuki. You may get a better response to your questions there.

Looks like I posted at the same time as the Admiral above.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

When you said "Strangely enough I have the paperwork for just about everything but the boat." do you mean like an owners manual? Nearly every owners manual I've seen has only had some safety information and cleaning methods. Most motors come with an owners manual. I have searched for a site that has many manuals but did not locate it yet. Your best bet may be to search the net AFTER asking your questions on the Yamaha/Suzuki thread as suggested.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

D_K said:

The nice sticker also says never to put it into reverse from a stand still. I can't say that I ever thought that would be an issue. Can anyone tell me what the logic is behind that warning?

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The owner's manual for my 1995, 25 horse Evinrude says "DO NOT shift motor into FORWARD or REVERSE when the engine is NOT running". (sic) I wonder that's what the sticker on your boat means?

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

Thank's for the replies everyone! :thumb:

crabby captain john said:

When you said "Strangely enough I have the paperwork for just about everything but the boat." do you mean like an owners manual? Nearly every owners manual I've seen has only had some safety information and cleaning methods. Most motors come with an owners manual. I have searched for a site that has many manuals but did not locate it yet. Your best bet may be to search the net AFTER asking your questions on the Yamaha/Suzuki thread as suggested.

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I have the motor's manual, the motor's installation guide, the trailer's title, the trailer's manual, the manual for the 90's era fish finder, and the installation guide for the fish finder's sensors. I don't have anything for the boat though, manual or title. My boss purchased it from the original owner so I at least know it's not stolen. :lol:

I will have to do some more research on this motor though. As for the sticker with the bizarre "don't use reverse instructions if you aren't moving" statement, this is it. The statement is at the bottom.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

Hopefully your boss has the title or at least registration for the boat. I'd not put 5 minutes of energy or 5 cents into the boat at all until certain you can get it registered. With luck it was registered to your boss rather recently or he has the title. At this point you cannot use it.....

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

In some areas there is no title for the boat only registration paperwork.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

D_K said:

As for the sticker with the bizarre "don't use reverse instructions if you aren't moving" statement, this is it. The statement is at the bottom.

That simply means don't shift gears unless the engine is running! Same-same my '95, 30 horse and my son's '84, 25 horse manuals say.

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Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

spdracr39 said:

In some areas there is no title for the boat only registration paperwork.

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That is how it works here. A boat this small doesn't require a title. It was registered to my boss and I just transferred it over to myself with no issues. The thing was originally bought and has been registered its entire life in the same state. So if it had a checkered past, it would have red flagged.

And thanks for explaining the sticker. It wasn't the most intuitive statement that I have ever read.

Re: Old boat, new boater, dumb questions

D_K said:

And thanks for explaining the sticker. It wasn't the most intuitive statement that I have ever read.

Click to expand...

Yes, it is worded rather strangely. Sounds like it was originally written in another language and something was lost in translation.