Hey Newbies

[Old Ironmaker]

Just wondering do I have to run anti freeze through my outboards? I have done it twice and I was easy. It helped me sleep through the long winter nights. I like wasting money. Advise please.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Hey all newbies...... if you bought a 40 year old boat

at a minimum take a course on the simple workings of the internal combustion engine

at a minimum you need understand the following:

• the otto cycle
• carburetors - care, maintenance and cleaning
• breaker point ignition systems - most importantly file, gap, dwell and timing
• why there is a ballast resistor or wire and the coil does not see 12 volts
• why is usually never the coil
• how to check timing
• basic 12 volt wiring
• the ability to read the manual

however none of the newbies will ever read this

Hey Scott, if I knew all that I wouldn't have to hire guys like you. Watch what you wish for. I'm great at breaking things but not at repairing them, again that's what I need guys like you for. I can tell you exactly what I broke but don't have a clue where it is and what it's for.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Here's my history of breaking stuff.

At age 5 I bent the front wheel of my bicycle when I put it through a gyprock wall trying to take it to the basement so my cousin couldn't ride it.

At age 7 I broke the sight glass off my fathers new gas powered lawnmower. I thought it was the dip stick.

At age 8 my cousin (same kid) and I blew the engines in my Uncles 55 Chevy and my Fathers 59 Chevy wagon. We were playing gas station and filled the tanks with water.

By age 10 blew the engine on my cousins (yep that be him again) go cart when we didn't put mix in the 2 stroke.

At age 13 totaled my Uncles Honda 50 when I stole it and took it off road.

At 16 bought my 1st car, a 1967 MGB for 500 bucks. Took me 2 weeks to blow that little engine. The blue puffs of smoke out the tailpipe apparently was burning oil of which had to be replaced.

For the next 49 years I have burned out, smashed up, burned up you name it almost everything ever made by Mankind and counting. There's a clunking noise coming from my front left wheel bearing on the 011' Silverado, appointment made.

I'm not including being responsible for 1 of my young Foremen at the Steel Plant chilling the Hearth in a 7000 ton/day Blast Furnace. Took 8 @ 24 hour shifts to get her back on line. Lost revenue $1200.00 per minute. Do the math, around 13 million dollars.

 

[Scott Danforth]

so you are single highhandedly supporting mechanics?

 

[Old Ironmaker]

so you are single highhandedly supporting mechanics?

And Electricians, Plumbers, Body Men, Carpenters, Painters, Handymen, Landscapers, Lawnmower men and women, HVAC techs, Computer techs, you name it, I keep them all busy. Oh man I almost forgot, Marine Mechanics above all !!!!!

See my by line below. At least now I know what is broken after all that experience.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Gotta love the thread where the person bought a deck-overed 35 year old bayliner...... then proceeded to remove the improper deck-over, then screwed down the new floor with 4" screws that went 2" past the bottom of the boat......

almost as funny as the " I have this 12' skinny v-bottom boat I want to put a casting platform in it and turn it into a bass boat" thread

 

[Scott Danforth]

Hey Newbies........... Read the stickies first prior to asking common questions.

there is even a whole FAQ Forum

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/engine-repair-and-maintenance/engine-frequently-asked-questions-faq

that is all........

PS, yes, I am a bit grumpier this AM

 

[racerone]

There are some who claim to be well versed with outboard motors.---Way up north , in the bush.-----Then they ask the same questions on one motor after another.----All different ones.-----Makes me chuckle a bit , just like reading Saturday comics sometimes.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I myself have been around a number of outboard motors over the decades, while I know the basics of the OTTO cycle for two strokes and 4-strokes ...... when I get into trouble on a specific motor doing something that I have never done prior, I search iBoats, manuals, etc..... and when that fails, I post a thread in the open forums and specifically ask a few members here, like you and F_R......LOL

 

[Watermann]

Only a few short months until the "Water in my engine oil" posts...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Just watch the weather maps in the south for freezing temps

 

[Old Ironmaker]

And please newbies if you are going to use acronyms, which is totally acceptable, spell out the acronym once before you use it. Drives me bonkers. I even see it in published news items by so called professionals. OTTO?

 

[Scott Danforth]

The Otto Cycle is the process an internal combustion engine goes thru. its not an acronym.

its the name of the thermodynamic process named after the guy that invented internal combustion - Nikolaus Otto

the father of Suck-Squish-Bang-Blow. if you turn a wrench, you better know that. that is engine 101

https://web.mit.edu/16.unified/www/FALL/thermodynamics/notes/node26.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/otto-cycle

 

[Scott Danforth]

'nuff said

 

[tpenfield]

Otto. . . I thought he invented the transmission that shifts all by itself

speaking of newbies, there is a ‘how can I build a casting deck’ just started yesterday.

 

[Scott Danforth]

speaking of newbies, there is a ‘how can I build a casting deck’ just started yesterday.

let me guess.......its in a 10' row boat that is only 40" wide

 

[aspeck]

speaking of newbies, there is a ‘how can I build a casting deck’ just started yesterday.

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/gen...-can-i-add-a-casting-deck-to-my-open-bow-boat

"I bought an open bow boat for $500. Can you tell me how to build a casting deck ..." So much info to go by ... um, get some treated lumber at your local hardware store, 4"x4" posts for the support, and cover with basic plywood ... use a grinder and sawzall to cut away anything that is in the way and level any uneven spots. That should work, right?

 

[Scott Danforth]

thanks for the link.... that is the exact newbie that this thread is aimed at......

however needing to remove a dash and windshield to add a casting deck means that someone bought the wrong boat to start with.

 

[aspeck]

however needing to remove a dash and windshield to add a casting deck means that someone bought the wrong boat to start with.

Now there you go again, worrying about details! LOL! But it was only $500! Who cares if you have to sink $3,000 into it and are left with an unstable boat because you didn't do it correctly!

 

[Scott Danforth]

the only way to make a small fortune modifying boats is to start with a large one.....

or to put it another way...... the only way to save a very little bit of money modifying a boat is to waste so much money on the project you miss some of it somewhere.