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  1. scoutabout

    Advice for attached carport plans?

    Hey folks -- I want to build a carport and attach it to this old garage to store the boat under in the winter. (The building is too short to put the boat inside). Three questions: 1. I've got the basic power tools but haven't built anything more complicated than a deck before. Are there any...
  2. scoutabout

    Hard to replace prop shaft seal on 7.5 hp?

    Hi folks -- I have a little 7.5 horse merc of late Seventies vintage. I noticed the gear housing won't hold its oil any longer. It appears to be coming out around the prop shaft. No damage has been done, just age, I suspect. Our family has owned it since new and the motor must have a bazillion...
  3. scoutabout

    Winterizing - to empty carbs or not...and is it hard on your fuel pump?

    Got a 2004 90 4 stroke. It's that sad time of year in the soon-to-be-frigid north...winterizing time. When I was buying my supplies from my local Yammy dealer, I got into a discussion about ethanol with the mechanic on duty. He recommended that, while stabilizer in the tank is always a good...
  4. scoutabout

    Proof ethanol is bad for boats?

    I've heard two marinas in my area are changing their fuel supply to premium unleaded, as apparently it's the only stuff that doesn't have ethanol in it (Shell Gold 94 octane) at least in this part of Canada. One of them, my Yamaha dealer, sent out a newsletter announcing the decision and stating...
  5. scoutabout

    How to connect wireless remote to power winch?

    Looking for some advice. We recently installed a marine railway to pull the boat out of the lake. Problem is that once I have the boat secured to the cradle to come up I then have to climb over the bow and tight-rope walk up the rails to the switch at the winch. It's quite the pain in the rear...
  6. scoutabout

    Take that OPEC! - Boating fer cheap!

    Gonna take a bite out of summer gas prices with this little gem. Boat and trailer (with new lights and tires) cost me $350 all in. She's a little aluminum Petrel, made in Toronto in the seventies probably. She's pretty scruffy but some paint (maybe soda blast and etch prime first?) and some time...
  7. scoutabout

    Retrofitting trailer brakes

    Anyone have any experience adding brakes to a single axle trailer? Although my boat is "only" about 2000 lbs wet (hull:1200, motor:500, gear/fuel:300) I think I'd get more peace of mind with another set of brakes back there. The trailer itself is a pretty standard galvanized 2004 EZ Loader...
  8. scoutabout

    Leaking fridge help

    Our fridge is a no frills GE unit -- probably of early 1990s vintage (came with the early 1990s vintage house...). Anyway, last coupla weeks we've come down in the morning to find a great bloodly puddle on the kitchen floor under the door. My first thought was the door seal is going (and it...
  9. scoutabout

    Pimp my prop

    It was suggested over in another thread I had started about engine rigging, that my standard issue Yamaha prop was "not that good." So I thought I'd start another thread here and invite comments. This is the pic posted in the other thread that generated the comment. I'm assuming the person...
  10. scoutabout

    Gap between motor and top of transom

    Howling winter winds and swirling snow drive me to ponder all sorts of boating issues, large and small. Here's today's burning issue... My 90 Yamaha 4 stroke rigged by the dealer is actually sitting up off the top of the transom as you can see in the pics below. The shot of the anti ventilation...
  11. scoutabout

    Good on ya Scout!

    About a year ago I posted a question about repairing gelcoat cracks and got various responses from live with it to seal er up to expect to get soaked for a professional repair. After trying the live with it option all summer I couldn't bear looking at it any more. So, I dropped into my nearest...
  12. scoutabout

    Aftermarket Water Pressure and Temp Gauges for Yamaha

    - Note to mods - i'm hoping a topic on preventing troubles can live here too - I would like to install both a water temperature and water pressure gauge on my 2004 Yamaha 90 4 stroke but am not that impressed with the Yamaha factory analog gauges as they don't have any numbers on them (!?)...
  13. scoutabout

    Blue smoke out of a Yamaha 4 stroke?

    Any input on this mystery is appreciated. I've got a 2004 Yamaha 90 4 stroke purchased last year with 24 hours on it. We've put about 60 hours on it this season and I've noticed the idle getting progressively lumpy over the summer. In neutral at the dock it stumbles a little like it's missing...
  14. scoutabout

    Digital Camera Overboard -- resuscitation possible?

    Oh man - I really feel like a dumba**. We were setting off this afternoon for a ride and I wanted to double check we had enough PFDs for everyone on board. I lifted up the locker lid without realizing my camera was tucked away behind me in a corner. The action of lifting the lid caught the case...
  15. scoutabout

    Good WOT RPM?

    This past weekend at the lake I trimmed the Scout and its 90 Yamaha 4-stoke out to a max GPS-confirmed speed of 65.4 km/h (40.3 mph) with the motor turning at 5700 rpm. The painted steel prop has "19 K" stamped on it which is the pitch I assume, although I've never seen a letter designation on a...
  16. scoutabout

    Installing bimini hardware - best method?

    I want to transfer the bimini from my previous boat to the Scout as I think the beam of both boats is within a couple of inches. The bimini was secured on the SeaRay in six places -- four metal hoops (2 fore and 2 aft) for the straps to clip to, and two saddle type mounts with the quick-pull...
  17. scoutabout

    Oil buzzer on start after extended tilt

    I'm leaving our 2004 Yamaha 90 4 stroke tilted up out of the water while away from the lake. The new (to us) boat will be sitting in the water all season at a rental slip and this was the first time coming back to the boat after it had sat in the water for two weeks, engine up. The previous...
  18. scoutabout

    Hydraulic steering retrofit advice

    Anyone done one of these retrofits? My former SeaRay IO's power steering has spoiled me and much as I just love the Scout, the stiff, jittery manual steering is the rig's worst feature. Searches here seem to turn up just Baystar units. Is this the unit to go with? Any other experience, advice...
  19. scoutabout

    Auto bilge pump wont shut down

    Yes, I thought the problem would be crap wedged under the float too - but this pump works in a way I'm not familiar with. Its a Rule - Mate 500 gph of an oval design. When you pull it out of its base you see that one side of the oval housing has the impeller in it, the other has a chamber...
  20. scoutabout

    Removing tank dents on old Scott-Atwater

    Hey all -- I've picked up one of those little Firestone outboards from the mid-forties (3.5 horse or so, made by Scott-Atwater). Very similar to this. Figure it will make for something else to fiddle with and I love that streamlined gas tank. As with many kickers of this vintage, the...
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