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  1. ahicks

    Lower/ midsection unit gasket?

    Is this the older 75 (97-98?) that uses a metal impeller housing? If so, I've not been able to find one, have been using a Mercury part (they built your lower unit). See #32 here: https://www.boats.net/catalog/mercury/outboard/75hp/75hp-0p325500-up/gear-housing-driveshaft-2-31-1
  2. ahicks

    Pontoons - Growth from being slipped...what is it?

    Works best on dry tubes. Too much dilution if wet down first. Multiple applications often required, make SURE to rinse well between them. Pressure washer will often remove a lot of it. Water line build up still pretty tough.
  3. ahicks

    Pontoons - Growth from being slipped...what is it?

    I live on a freshwater lake in SE Mi. Comfortable sharing it's normal/not unusual. Guy likely lives in an area of the lake that doesn't get a lot of water circulation, and further, my bet is he's not cleaning it annualy or it wouldn't be that bad. It's not corrosive, no danger there, but it IS a...
  4. ahicks

    Discolored seats…paint?

    I've only seen vinyl paint used one time on pontoon seats. Looked OK at first, but they were an eyesore later on. Vinyl was in good shape going into it, they just needed to change the color.
  5. ahicks

    How to find what model boat with out capacity tag

    So you're telling us the 4 models don't have the same or similar capacity specs?
  6. ahicks

    Old Honda 7.5HP (BF75) fuel line - buy NoS or replace connector?

    I run into quite a few of these. Honda suggests you buy both sides, converting to their later "square" post setup. Not cheap.... I've found the Yamaha connector works just fine on the older connectors like that. Easy to find - ACE Hardware and WalMart both sell them - and they don't leak. What...
  7. ahicks

    Pontoon vs tritoon ride height?

    There's a big variable called weight. Without that there's no answer that's going to do you much good. To illustrate, if you have a pair of old, say 18"- 20", pontoons that are mostly submerged when just sitting there, and you add a 25" or 28" pontoon between them, clearly the boat will float...
  8. ahicks

    Regular maintenance - change just the impeller or entire housing too?

    Customers get one heads up/warning from me, along with a short lesson that includes the necessity for winterizing and checking lower unit fluid in the fall. I figure even if they have me on ignore the whole time, they might remember that SOMETHING needs to be done prior to putting it away...
  9. ahicks

    Regular maintenance - change just the impeller or entire housing too?

    I gotta believe a LOT of people learn that lesson the hard way.
  10. ahicks

    Regular maintenance - change just the impeller or entire housing too?

    Just don't assume that because it's pissing everything is OK. Assuming it's not accidently run out of water, I think an impeller's age will take out way more than wear does. I tell people if they don't know when the impeller was replaced last, they're running on borrowed time. Pressure gauges...
  11. ahicks

    JACK PLATE?

    No suggestions here until I see pics showing the motor install clearly, where it's height can be seen relative to the bottom of the boat. I will say that installing the motor so low the cavitation plate is level with the pontoon bottoms sounds WAY low. Also, once you have a solid install...
  12. ahicks

    Want to verify that I have the right prop (Mercruiser MC-1)

    Just a thought, but if you are at your max rpm at a lower throttle setting (say 3/4 throttle), that should be the end of the test. The prop is too small. If max performance isn't necessary, as in the boat is never being used to pull anyone tubing or skiing, you don't necessarily need the prop...
  13. ahicks

    4 stroke merc 40 into 60Hp mod

    News flash. If before and after rpm numbers don't easily show it (say a 500 rpm increase minimum), and the motor won't pull a bigger prop, it's NOT making any more power than you started with. No "if" to it.... Anything else is due to your imagination/wishful thinking....
  14. ahicks

    First pontoon boat

    My budget would force me to go used. In either case, it would be powered by a 4 stroke....
  15. ahicks

    Stable Fishing Boat for a Big Man

    6'2"/315/71 years old. Climbing in and out of small boats is tough, especially if there's nothing sturdy you can grab on to to help steady yourself. That would be key to any bass or fishing boat I was planning on keeping for a while. Sturdy grab rails on a center console work great in that...
  16. ahicks

    Spectrum 1990 tunnel hull.

    I'm not quite as paranoid regarding big power, though I'd leave the decision in your lap regarding if you want to do it or not. Knowing pontoons as well as I do though, I'd have to see a picture of a 225 hp anything on a boat like this to believe it....
  17. ahicks

    Oil pan size

    I had a rather extreme big block in a v-drive "ski" boat 40 years ago. In the process of getting a durable motor I could trust, I learned that big blocks run at high rpms have a habit of pumping all of the oil from the pan because it couldn't drain back down as fast as it was being pumped out...
  18. ahicks

    Speakers

    The radio doesn't care if that's your question.
  19. ahicks

    Trailer questions for vintage Glastron Tri-hull

    He could have the tongue replaced/lengthened without a lot of trouble as well.
  20. ahicks

    Trailer questions for vintage Glastron Tri-hull

    Regarding bunk placement, I'm assuming your boat has stringers running front to rear. That being the case, you can't find a better place to support the hull best possible for trailer bunk location. Bunk trailer, best case, will be backed in far enough to float the boat above the bunks...
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