Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

[Jimmy310]

Ok a little background info. Bought the boat cheap. 1961 15' Horizon with a 1967 Mercury SL. Came with a trailer. The outboard is immaculate and ran on first crank. It looks to be in great shape so I am almost ready to take it on water. I am waiting for my new water impeller to get here.
After I replace the impeller what other things should I do to increase my chances of actually boating and not just trailing the boat to water and back for repairs?
I have ran it a few times at home with the proper response from the engine all the while making sure the water was flowing.
I expect to not have an issue with the outboard but want to be prepared in case something goes wrong.
What are your checklists before taking out a boat?
What do you look out for?
Should I get an oar just in case?
Any things that I may have overlooked that I should examine?

 

[HAV2FISH]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Take all your safety equipment, fire extinguisher, flotation devices, paddle, whistle, orange flag, etc. i would also take some basic tools and fuses. Stay close to the dock for a while till you get a feel for the boat and see how it runs. Better to be close to your dock than on the other side of the lake if something breaks down. After you find out how it runs and if it runs good then go have fun.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

In addition to all the normal safety gear I also take an electric trolling motor or a person to help paddle if needed. Paddling a 16' boat really s***ks

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Thanks for the suggestions.
I never thought about taking some tools just in case but it was an oversight by me. Spare fuses? I don't even know where if this boat has any.

I am planing on taking a friend maybe even meet with one of the other members of this board can suggest when and where to go. Again just in case.
I don't have a trolling motor due to fund restrictions. So meeting with another member would be awesome I got the first round and carne asada tacos as incentive.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

I would also throw in a various assortment of nuts, bolts, washers, magnet, and bailing wire. For sure when working on a boat on the water they will drop.
It reaaly stinks to have to paddle because you lost 1 nut that has to hold a part on.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Not familiar with your boat...is it aluminum or fiberglass? Have you checked it for soundness? Is the floor and transom solid? Have you dipped it in the water to check for leaks? If you've never had it in the water before, I'd consider a float test just to check the hull for leaks. Have 2 paddlers and paddles on board when you splash test the outboard.

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

My boat is a 1961 Horizon fiberglass hull, with a 1967 Mercury 650 SL.
I have finally buffed out the boat the whole time looking for any scratches, cracks, or breaks in the fiberglass. Nothing serious a couple of nicks and scratches here and there on the hull. Mostly superficial.
The engine is cleaner than most recent outboards. The previous owner really payed attention to details on this boat. Had it serviced often.
I am just waiting for the impeller to arrive so I can change it out and field test it.
Wish me luck.

 

[woosterken]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

it mite help to mention where you are and what body of water your going to
Iam sure if there is somebody close they would take you up on you offer.

woosterken

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

it mite help to mention where you are and what body of water your going to
Iam sure if there is somebody close they would take you up on you offer.

woosterken

I live in Wilmington and decided I will take her out to lake Peris. Seems to be the cheapest over all price. Since I only intend to try my boat out. Ok a lil fishing never hurt no one

I also found out the cheapest way to go would be to launch out of Long Beach Harbor. Only $10 buck for 24 hours including parking. But a bit reluctant since its the salty water clean up duty afterward.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Floatsum]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Pump a bit of grease at all the fittings, lightly oil the linkage bearings / joints, inclufing throttle and shift linkages and have a ball.

When them old motors run good,,, they run awhile. Generally they'll warn you in plenty of time when something starts to go afoul. The old ones are like a good lawnmower engine. Not much electronics and such. (less things to crap out)

Salt water cleanup isn't nothing. Quick hosing is all.
I'm lucky and launch in brackish waters. Does the engine flush for me at full bore.

 

[Reg312]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

check your trailer bearings. trailed mine twice before I checked the bearings. Got lucky on that one. Take a spare battery or a jump start battery. Oars a must. Get the full length ones. Mine had the shorties which I've replaced. A few hand tools.

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

UPDATE:

Well finally received my impeller today.
Replaced it, the old one looked pretty good considering how long it has been out of water.
It took me some time to get the lower unit back in place. The dam copper shaft that I assume takes water to the top of the outboard kept messing me up. I bought a service manual that covers my engine but I don't see any diagrams on how things go. I was tempted to just cut the length on the copper pipe out of the water pump so I could join the lower unit. After some head ache It slipped right in. I made sure to tighten each bolt, and nut. I then connected the water hose to check out my work.
Aha works like a charm. I did not notice any water coming out of the exhaust holes on the top of the motor.
Any reasons. I did take out the flush plug while I ran it a bit.
What should I check for next?

Thanks guys for your help.

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Well left the house around 5:30 AM
Pow, blown trailer tire. Had a spare. Back on the 91 for 2 miles, pow again.
Took the Bellflower exit and parked the boat at Fritz'. Ofcourse no one opens early on Sundays so waited till 9:00 for Pepboys. No tires that I needed.
Called around 12 tire shops around the area and nothing.
Finally headed to Wallmart in Lakewood. Got 2 new tires but they would not mount them on my 8" rims. WTF!
Found a Mexican owned tire shop, they mounted both tires, new valve stems, even greased my trailer for $10 bucks. I gave the workers a tip for being cool with me.
The shop is located off Paramount & Artesia Blvd. behind McDonalds. Stop by if you need tires, rims, or anything along those lines. Cool *** people.
1:00 PM finally getting to Perris Lake only to be turned back since "there were too many boats on the lake"
On to Elsinore, stinky launch since they lowered the level and there was a lot of dead fish floating to shore. Successful launch, turned the motor on, hit the boat in front of me, just bearly I was in Nutral
Got out past the bowies running OK for a bit then disaster.
Outboard shuts off. Turned it back on for a while. Had no reverse only forward on both ends of my throttle controls. Shuts down again this time I see smoke. Good thing I have a trolling motor. Back to launch and out of water for repairs. Once back home the following day I turned the engine on for a minute and it worked fine. Reved it up to 2500 RPM's and all looked good.
Decided to mount rod holders and fish finder today. Will mount VHF radio and CD player & speaker later this week.

Any ideas as to why it would shut down on me, blow smoke and then once back home it would run normal?

I finally broke down and ordered a Seloc manual along with some other stuff I need for the trailer & boat.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

As far a shutting down on you I'd bet the carbs are in need of rebuild. Easy to do. 2 strokes do smoke. What kind of motor is it? At a minimum I would clean carbs, fuel pump and replace all filters and lines. A rebuild kit is preferable but sometimes you can get away with a good cleaning if your careful with the gaskets. Just stinks when you rip a gasket and don't have the kit to put it back together. For the reverse, unhook the cable at the motor and see if you can shift it into reverse by hand, may just need adjusted. Is there a grinding when it is in gear? Also when shifting, shift firm into gear at low idle. Don't ease it into gear you'll ruin the gears. Also not advisable to run over high idle on muffs or in a bucket. Do your controls have the black high idle lever?

 

[Jimmy310]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

As far a shutting down on you I'd bet the carbs are in need of rebuild. Easy to do. 2 strokes do smoke. What kind of motor is it? At a minimum I would clean carbs, fuel pump and replace all filters and lines. A rebuild kit is preferable but sometimes you can get away with a good cleaning if your careful with the gaskets. Just stinks when you rip a gasket and don't have the kit to put it back together. For the reverse, unhook the cable at the motor and see if you can shift it into reverse by hand, may just need adjusted. Is there a grinding when it is in gear? Also when shifting, shift firm into gear at low idle. Don't ease it into gear you'll ruin the gears. Also not advisable to run over high idle on muffs or in a bucket. Do your controls have the black high idle lever?

The motor is a 1967 Mercury 650 SL
I will put off the carb rebuild kit for the time being. I will rebuild it.
How would I reverse it by hand? What part do I move or slide to see if it goes in reverse?
I will no longer run it at high idle thanks for the advise.
The controls do have a black "cold start" lever.
I will take more pictures tomorrow.
Thank you
LH

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Fist time takeing out my new, old boat.

Look where the cables hook to the motor and the direction it moves when going into reverse. Unhook the control cable and try to move the lever in that direction by hand. May have to push on it with a dowel or something, and rotate the prop a bit to get it engaged, don't really force it but it does take some pressure. If if will go into reverse that way the cable need to adjusted to move out farther. Don't have to start to test. You should be able to feel the prop lock up by spinning it by hand.

Forward- Lock up on direction, spin and click the other
Nuetral- spin both directions
Reverse_ Opposite of forward.

If you have the black lever, it is a warm-up/high idle lever, Use that instead of the throttle for going to high idle on muffs. It may go up as high as 2000 rpm's or so, I can't rememeber.

Once the carbs are rebuilt do a search for "link and sync" in the Merc forum. You have to do this for multiple carb set ups. Easy to do just time consuming.

The fuel pumps you can probably leave attached and just remove the covers and clean or rebuild. Best to rebuild but if you can visually inspect for pin holes sometimes you can get away with cleaning.

After everthing is back together make sure to replace all fuel lines and filter. If the line is deteriorating from ethanol you will undo everything you just did the 1st time you start it.