1st time boat owner - learnin the ropes

[jiggastunts]

Hi everyone !
Glad to be on this boat forum, from browsing around seems fairly friendly unlike some of the auto forums im on.

So my grandpa left me his 15' Gregor which has a 25 mercury 2 stroke.(passed last month)

Unfortunately, no one in my family know anything about boating, let alone boats in general.

From browsing around, I really couldnt find any instruction on how to operate the motor properly, what to check for, maintenance, etc ...

*edit* Just read http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=138594 - good read !

To be honest, I don't even know how to test the motor, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been run in a year or so.

I found a couple threads of finding if figuring out the year, which I'm going to do.

However, it may help for my actual main question.

My grandpa was in the process of setting up a side console, and I think it'll make it lean, so I'd like to make it a center console if possible.

There is a brand new cable for the steering to motor, will that still work ?
If so, what type of electronics do I need to control the throttle & ignition ?(where do I find them on top of that)

Also, how do I test the motor, other then going out on the water ?

I'm fairly handy with stuff, if I have the right information or material to reference.

Anyhow, any tips, tricks and such for boating in general will be apprecaite, and if it's specific to this motor/boat combo, would be even more appreciated.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to being a member of this forum.

Cheers.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 1st time boat owner - learnin the ropes

Pictures - pictures - pictures: Worth a thousand words when it comes to the physical stuff. As for the motor, you can run it but it MUST have a supply of water for cooling. You accomplish that with a flushing device available at any store that sells boating supplies. They look like ear muffs. Rubber cups clamp around the water inlet on the lower unit just above the prop. A garden hose is then screwed onto the flusher. Turn on the water and start the engine. But WAIT! Before attempting to start the engine, drain the old gas from the tank and fill with fresh. If the engine is NOT oil injected, you need to mix two stroke oil (look for the TCW-3 symbol on the label) at a ratio of 50:1 (one pint oil in six gallons of fuel). Connect the fuel line to the engine and queeze the primer bulb until it is firm. Place the shift lever in neutral, set the throttle to START, pull the choke (or activate the primer a couple times if it has one), and then pull the cord like you are starting a lawn mower. DO NOT let the cord snap back into the engine. Guide it back. Letting that cord snap back is the single most reason for broken cords and rewind spring breakage. When the engine starts reduce rpm to a slower idle and let it warm up. You might want to add a fuel conditioner called Sea Foam to the first few tanks of fuel to help clean up the fuel system. Once you verify the engine runs, then you can shut it off and do the other maintenance. Fuel filter, lower unit lub change, spark plug replacement. You can obviously do this before hand to increase the chances of the engine running. Since you have no idea if the water pump impeller was ever changed, it would be highly recommended you do that. Lastly -- do yourself a big favor and buy a service manual for your engine. All systems and maintenance procedures are spelled out in that manual.

 

[jiggastunts]

Re: 1st time boat owner - learnin the ropes

Awesome.
Thanks for the engine test run down.

P.S. Seafoam ! Use that stuff in all my cars, even my lawnmower since you mentioned the pull start.

The motor does have a "push start" button on the motor & the "handle".

Currently at work, so when I get home, I'm going to grab the serial # and run down the exact year and everything.

Here is a pic I took after putting it in the driveway.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3459500&l=ec127ba8b4&id=553657462

But I will get more detailed pics later today.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: 1st time boat owner - learnin the ropes

Depending on how many people you plan on having with you while boating/fishing, it may be fine as a side console. If alone put the fuel tank cooler etc on the port side to balance out the weight a bit. If with people move them around accordingly you probably would be fine. The steering control cable may not be long enough to reach in a C.C. type set up. Plus with it on the side you would have a bit more room to get by, that isn't a super wide boat to begin with if it had a console in the middle getting to the bow may be tight if there were a few people aboard. I do know some people will use a garbage can full of water if they dont have the muffs, I prefer the muffs as it forces water in there but I see the garbage can used quite a bit on the small outboards like that one. Once running you should have a nice stream out the tell tale, which is a small water outlet on the lower rear of the engine hood, it tells you the waterpump is working. However even if it is streaming water its still reccomended to install a new waterpump impeller. If you have a manual its not a difficult job, and it will save your outboard because heat is a killer to outboards. Good luck.