Newbie boat owner questions

[powermargin]

Hi all, sorry for the stupid question -- but I'm new to the boating world, having just purchased a 2001 Crestliner Fishhawk. My only previous experience with boating was with those little tin rentals, so there's a lot I'm learning about my new boat (which is part of the fun)

Can someone tell me what this device is that's mounted off my transom (not the transducer, the other thing with the long arm)? As far as I can tell, it might be something that tells speed relative to the water, perhaps a pitot? But it seems odd to me that it seems to be flipped up and not down. If I try to push it downwards, it only goes about 45 degrees before there's a hard stop, any further and I feel like it will break.

Also one of those black tubes hanging there is just open-ended and not attached to anything. Is it supposed to attach to that black device? It seems to lead back to the engine, where I would have expected it to lead up to the instrument console.

I'm thinking of buying a new fishfinder, so I'd like to remove this if I don't really need it, to give me more space to mount the new transducer.

Second question -- since I'm not sure how long it's been since the bearing were serviced, I'm going to do this pretty soon. I've read enough about how to replace and repack bearings that I think I can give it a try, but in looking at parts, I see that buying a whole new hub isn't really that much more expensive than the bearing and seal kits. The existing hub seems to work just fine, but it might be worth the extra $ to replace the 13-year-old, been in saltwater, hubs just for the peace of mind. Is there any downside to replacing the whole hub? Alignment, balance issues, etc...?

Third question -- on the instrument console, there's a circle in the middle with no gauge in in. Interestingly, every picture of old Crestlners I've seen also have that spot empty. What was there originally? Perhaps just a Crestliner badge that tends to fall off?

Thanks in advance!

 

[four winns 214]

The "long "arm" thing is indeed the speedometer pitot. Pull it down past the stop. If it breaks, then it is defective. It is designed to flip up in case it strikes debris in the water. When it is flipped down, you should see a barb sticking up vertically. Push the black tube down over that and the speedometer should work. Regarding the bearings, I've done it both ways. Buying new hubs complete certainly is easier.

 

[NYBo]

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:

1. Yes, that's the pitot for the speedometer. It may seem to come to a hard stop at 45° but keep pushing. It has to go all the way down to function. However, you may have a pitot built into the lower unit of your outdrive. Mercruisers have them, as do many later Mercury outboards. Either way, a tube has to run from the pitot to the back of the speedometer. A picture of where the tube in question leads might clear things up.

2. If you don't want to mess with replacing the bearing races, go ahead and get a complete hub and bearing kit. As you noted, they are not much more than purchasing the bearings and races separately. There should be no issues of balance or alignment. Just be sure to put the proper amount of torque on the bearing nuts.

3. No idea. Here again, a picture would help.

 

[roffey]

I'm thinking it might be a spot to install a depth sounder. When I purchased my boat I had a empty gauge and when I had the depth sounder installed that's where the gage was installed. Just a thought.

 

[powermargin]

Thanks all! Now that I know what that is supposed to be, I applied a little extra force in pushing that arm, and sure enough -- SNAP! it flipped down! Looks like it was designed to only flip up parallel to the water when it hits something, and it went past some kind of detent when it was flipped all the way up like that. I plugged that tube into the nipple and will see if it works next time I'm on the water. Although I don't really need it, as I use the GPS for speed and I only fish lakes not rivers, it would be interesting to see if it actually works!

See below for a picture of the empty spot on my instrument console:

I believe you all are correct, the Crestliner brochure for 2001 (they keep an archive back to 1985 on their website, neat) talks about an optional "Crestliner/Humminbird fish finder", so I guess this is where it is supposed to go. I assume it was a circular flasher unit? Even the boats in the brochure have that empty spot in the center.

Thanks again!

 

[hungupthespikes]

:welcome:
Lets see what you need for the hubs first. All you may need is a set of seals.