95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

[ArcticSmoke]

I've got a 95 sea rayder with a 120 merc. The engine runs great, and when I get it up to speed it goes pretty quick, my problem is that it doesn't jump out of the water with much power when I first start, I really need to start it slow to get going. If I do a nice slow increase in speed I'll have steady power, but if I hammer down on it the engine will rev way up but no power behind it, almost like it's sucking in air instead of water?

Any thoughts?

 

[Monte1961]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Look at the prop hub and see if it has been spinning. Might be getting ready to need replacing.

 

[ArcticSmoke]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Maybe I'm missing something, but I didn't think there was a "prop" on a jet boat?

 

[Monte1961]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

opps my bad! Sorry!

 

[ArcticSmoke]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

No worries. Thanks for trying

 

[emoney]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Check the impeller. I know you can get weeds/fishing line/ect. in there to constrict it. Or, it would be worn or broken. (and, I guess we could call the impeller the "prop")

 

[calledinsick]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Check the impeller...like emoney said...weeds, fishing line, leaves...even look for a rock in the impeller blades. Look at clearance around the impeller with the wear ring...should be pretty close. Also check the front (towards the front of the boat) of the intake grate. Should be flush with the bottom of the boat and have a good seal around the edge. If its sticking down at all or the seal is broken/chunks missing will cause problems. Have you removed the intake grate? If so you may not have gotten a good seal when re-installing. Make sure the screws are all tight. Another check is the diverter (the clamshell/grate that covers the jet exit nozzle for reverse. In nuetral it should cover the exit nozzle about 1/2 way, in forward it should rise above and clear the exit nozzle.

 

[ArcticSmoke]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

so, true newbie question. How do I access the impeller?

 

[emoney]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Shift it into forward and then you can see it clearly from the exit nozzle. Forward should move the clam shell up to the top. From there, you can more than likely get to it and if it's debris, take some to drag it out (I use a plastic back scratcher).

 

[calledinsick]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

I would crawl under the boat and shine a light up throught the intake grate towards the back of the boat. You should be able to see the drive shaft/impeller/wear ring. I've used an exacto knife to cut fishing line off (careful of scratching the shaft) and hemostats to pull other 'cr@p' out of there. a long screwdriver may help to dislodge a rock or rocks if they are in there: don't pry, but 'rock' the rock back and forth until loose. The other option is to put it in forward (lifts reverse gate outta the way) and try the same thing from the exit nozzle (again don't pry...if there is a rock or something hard you may have to go from the front side to the back side and wiggle it out). If you can't reach that way you may need to remove the reverse gate/nozzle to get a little closer to the impeller...hopefully you won't have to get in deeper but we can get you thru that if necessary!

 

[ArcticSmoke]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Well, I tried to take the boat out last night but the battery was dead. I did look into the jet from behind and didn't see anything. I looked up from the grate and saw a few dried up weeds wrapped around the pump but not too many. Another thing I've read is that maybe the seal could be bad?

Another somewhat silly question. When my boat is on the trailer it's impossible to get the grate off to do any type of maintenance down there. How do most of you get the boat up in the air so you can work on it?

Thanks!

 

[calledinsick]

Re: 95 Sea Rayder - lots of noise, but no holeshot power

Clean anything that may be in/on/around the grate/shaft/impeller no matter how small.

Did the reverse gate clear the nozzle in forward?

Also check the front (towards the front of the boat) of the intake grate. Should be flush with the bottom of the boat and have a good seal around the edge. If its sticking down at all or the seal is broken/chunks missing will cause problems. (Both the grate and the mounting plate) Have you removed the intake grate? If so you may not have gotten a good seal when re-installing. Make sure the screws are all tight. I use a little dawn dish soap when installing the seal to make it slide in easier.

Could you see the impeller? Any chunks/dings/rocks?

I can access most of the screws/bolts on mine while on the trailer, however I do have to nudge/slide it back a little on the trailer bunks (loosen but don't remove the trailer ratchet strap) to get to 2 of the bolts. You may also want to have it attached to a vehicle so it doesn't move the weight to the rear and flip the trailer up!

I use boat stands on the cruiser when I need to get under it:

 

[Megaflaxman]

It's been a few years since you discussed the problems you were having with your sea rayder, did you ever find the cause of no power? I just recently bought one with the 90 hp motor and am having the same issue.