79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

[SethV]

I just purchased my first boat. It's a 79 Skeeter wrangler with a mercury 150 motor that is in pristine condition. However, the couple times I've had it on the water it seems to pull very hard to the right and I almost have to fight the steering wheel to get it to turn left. Any ideas what could be the issue/ how much to fix it?!

Next, the throttle seems really hard to manage. It seems really tight as I increase speed and is hard to throw into neutral when I am loading it back in the trailer. Any ideas?/average cost of fix. Unfortunately I do not have the knowledge of outboards and don't have time to learn so I will leave it to the professionals. Help with these issues would be greatly appreciated!

 

[scalebuilder]

Re: 79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

Your pulling problem is likely coming from the angle at which the propeller blades bite into the water. Once you get the boat on plane,(bow back down after acceleration) use your trim button to tilt the motor up slightly until the "pull" goes away. If you go too far, the boat will start to pull the opposite direction. Even further and it will come out of the water making a loud noise and even worse, pulling your water pickup out of the water. Give it a try. Throttle issues....make sure none of the cables and linkages are binding and are well lubricated. If you can't figure it out, get professional help. A sticky throttle can get you in trouble. Good luck!!

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: 79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

Seth, look under the cavitation plate (above the prop)...you probably have an anode that looks like a small rudder. To compensate for the right-hand pull, lossen the anode and angle it to the left. This will allow the water flow to assist in counteracting the pull.

As for the throttle issue, look for a tensioner at the control...just don't go too loose or you'll be holding it all the time

 

[scalebuilder]

Re: 79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

..and yes....there is that also.

 

[SethV]

Re: 79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

Thanks for the great info guys! I took the boat to my mechanic and the throttle and control candles needed replacing. I am also gonna turn that plate!

 

[SethV]

Re: 79 skeeter w/ merc 150 help!!!

After replacing throttle cables the mechanic also noticed that it was idling too high. He adjusted it at the shop and idled it down. When I got it on the water it would immediately die when putting it into neutral after warm up. So I attempted to idle it up a little. The next day it sits in neutral fine but on the trailer smelled very strong of gas and the bottom carb had two drops of gas leaking out of each bowl. Is this normal? I also noticed quite a bit of exhaust at low speed or idle.

After killing the motor and fishing for a while I couldn't get the motor to crank up. I had to throttle forward and sort of "pump the pedal" to get it to fire. I believe the carbs have just been redone and am thinking of calling spankys repair to do a lake call to figure out the problem. Any help on here would be great!