New to boating...
About 3 years ago bought my first boat. It’s a 12’ Grumman flat bottom jon boat 36” wide at the bottom. It has an old 110 Mercury 9.8 on it but I think it’s too long, the cavitation plate is about 5” under the hull.
I finally had it out on the water a few weeks ago and it would keep dying and would run rough. The handling seemed ok but I was on a 19,000 acre lake on a windy day and the waves were higher than the sides of the boat, so who knows since I never really could top it out.
A friend suggested cleaning the carb and replacing the fuel pump (diaphragms). I did and it runs wonderfully now! I took it out today and the lake was unusually very calm so I was able to top it out and it went right at 20 mph as measured by GPS. Drove 5.4 miles with no issues at all.
However, this boat is very squirrelly at that speed! The engine had a long handle on it but I swapped on a little stubby handle from a parts motor. At high speed the motor is very hard to control and is very sensitive to input using the stubby handle. It’s like the boat starts steering itself even if the handle doesn’t move.
What is causing the boat to be ultra sensitive at high speed?
The reduced leverage of the stubby handle?
The motor in the water 5” farther than it should be?
Thats just how it is, little boats are squirrelly at that speed?
Something else?
About 3 years ago bought my first boat. It’s a 12’ Grumman flat bottom jon boat 36” wide at the bottom. It has an old 110 Mercury 9.8 on it but I think it’s too long, the cavitation plate is about 5” under the hull.
I finally had it out on the water a few weeks ago and it would keep dying and would run rough. The handling seemed ok but I was on a 19,000 acre lake on a windy day and the waves were higher than the sides of the boat, so who knows since I never really could top it out.
A friend suggested cleaning the carb and replacing the fuel pump (diaphragms). I did and it runs wonderfully now! I took it out today and the lake was unusually very calm so I was able to top it out and it went right at 20 mph as measured by GPS. Drove 5.4 miles with no issues at all.
However, this boat is very squirrelly at that speed! The engine had a long handle on it but I swapped on a little stubby handle from a parts motor. At high speed the motor is very hard to control and is very sensitive to input using the stubby handle. It’s like the boat starts steering itself even if the handle doesn’t move.
What is causing the boat to be ultra sensitive at high speed?
The reduced leverage of the stubby handle?
The motor in the water 5” farther than it should be?
Thats just how it is, little boats are squirrelly at that speed?
Something else?
