Messed up at launch, need motor help.

[Sandmannd]

Sent you an email John.

[Sandmannd]

Well I got some help from a friend tonight.

Pulled off the plugs and noticed water drops on them. Pulled the gas line off the motor and sqirted into a jar. Had water in the bottom. It took a few hours but got all water out after draining about half the tank. On John's recommendation I put some heat in the tank to chew up whatever water was left in there. Let it sit for a bit, drained the carbs and fired it up. It sputtered and grumbled for a few minutes then it started getting that lovely Merc sound to it. Let it run for a while and would drop it in gear and it really started to purr once that thrid cylinder got the water out of it. It's running great now. I have to get it out on a lake and test it, but it looks like the problem is solved. Not sure how the water got in. I do remember the last time I went to put gas in the cap was a little loose and not down tight. Might have done it with some back trolling or the rain.

Saved me some coin at the shop for sure.

[boatfixer]

Glad you got it figured out Shane.

[marine_man]

Glad you got it figured out!

marine_man

[Sandmannd]

Thanks guys, nice to have the motor running again. For the record, had the compression checked and it was 120 psi on all three.

[fishingmn1977]

Glad to hear you got her up and running. Does not take much water to mess things up.

[rtwills]

I had this problem with my old boat as it was sucking air where the hose attaches to the tank.I heard this was a common problem.

to fix it I got a new hose and a new connector and seal that attaches to the tank.worked fine after that.

[JohnMickish]

I have to ask, do you run non oxy fuel in it or "normal" gas?

[Sandmannd]

I just run the "normal" gas. Where would you find non oxy fuel and is it better to run that?

[rodmaker]

Boaters Outlet in Roseville is very good

[jwhjr]

There's a Sinclair and a Marathon right off of 94 and Century in St. Paul that has non-oxy fuel depending on where in St. Paul you're located. Non-oxy fuel is higher octane (usually 92) that doesn't contain ethanol. It takes longer for the fuel to seperate when sitting than the 10% ethanol fuel. I also add Seafoam to my tanks when I fill them to help prolong the storage time.

[JohnMickish]

The reason I asked is that normal gas is at a minimum of 10% ethanol in MN. Usually that takes care of any moisture in the system. Glad it turned out to be a fairly easy fix. Is there any way that lake water can be gettin past your fuel cap?

[Sandmannd]

To be honest, I do remember the gas cap being a little loose. The day I first was working on the problem I thought maybe my gas gauge didn't work so I filled it up and it only held two gallons. I noticed the cap was only on a couple of turns. Not sure if I did that or someone else did, but that doesn't matter. Talking to a couple of folks it sounds like water can get into the tank if it's not turned down nice and tight. Anyway, problem solved and can't wait to get it back in the water.

So many thanks to all you guys that posted on here. One of the reasons I love this site is all the help you can get and all the new people you can meet. Even though I don't know everyone on her personally, I feel like I do to a certain level and it's great.

[Sandmannd]

Took the boat out last night and it ran for five minutes and then did the same thing. Took a fuel sample and there was water again. I'm not sure if it's coming in when in the water or what. I got it totally drained dry tonight. I'm going to take it to the water tomorrow and put it in and squeeze the bulb to see if water is coming out. If not, I'll put a couple of gallons in and see if she runs for me. If that works put a few more gallons in and run her around the lake. If it doesn't work and water is coming in, I think I will have to take it in and see if the tank has a crack from the drop of the trailer. Really frustrates me at this point. I just want to get out and fish. Did manage five pike on Friday but three were just snakes.

[Sandmannd]

So I took it out and now water came in at all. I went and put my gallons in and it ran good. Went to a gas station and put another three gallons in it. Tooled around the lake for a half hour and the motor ran fun. Just screamed accross the lake. The thing I did notice is that now when I slow down or stop, water comes through the back (the back where the motor sits is always full of water now) and up over to the front where I was sitting. I also noticed the motor RooserTails now. Not sure what all that means. Might have to do some more searching, but for now I think I got the motor going.

[croixflats]

Isnt that the way it goes, get one thing fixed another problem shows up. Hopefully moters stays runnig good for you. As for rooster tailing you might try trimming down a little. The landing might have nocked alighnmant of moter. or the extra weight of water in back is forcing bow higher.

[Sandmannd]

I can understand that and since the "V" is smashed up a little that might be throwing some stuff up. Why is water comeing up over the back when I'm moving forward? I know it happens when I'm back trolling, but never seen it going forward. I had it full throttle and backed off to take a sharp turn. When I did the throttle back and the turn a few gallons of water came gushing up the along the inside of my boat and drenched me from the knee down. What the heck would cause this?

[croixflats]

Something must be deflecting the water. Im just trouble shooting here but maybe a seem might have opened up is letting water in or deflecting it. You got me real curious on this one, wish I could see it. How is the nose cone on the lower unit.

[AngelicFatum]

Just a thought, have you closely examined the motor mount after the "accident"? Does your entire lower unit look normal?

Or it is possible, I guess, that the change in hyrdodynamics, caused by the dent, is reponsible.

[Sandmannd]

Lower unit didn't hit so that looks fine to me. I suppose it's possible that the motor mounts might have slipped, but it all looks fine to my blind eye if ya know what I mean. Like I said, I'm green with all this. Croixflats, if you're in the St. Paul area and wanna take a peak at it, let me know. I always welcome a set of eyes to see something I'm not. It seems to be a pretty odd problem.

[backlash 1]

Dont remember reading, but if you have full coverage ins, I would be looking at that route. Too many things going on here all of a sudden I think.

[croixflats]

Sandmannd I can stop by any time to take a look, a fresh pair of eyes works wonders sometimes. Just let me know best time and I can be there. Ive got an apointment at 10:30 am tomarrow. Being self employed I can adjust schedule to fit my needs most of the time.

[Surface Tension]

The dent in the hull is throwing water up. Got any pictures of the damage. Depending on where it is will determine the best way to fix it. Might be a DIY project or it might need to be professionally done.

More about the dent and where to bring it in.

What you want to avoid when taking the dent out is stretching the aluminum anymore then it already is. As I said it depends on where the dent is and shape. That'll determine the best way to go about taking it out. I'm sure any shop like Steve Bakken's will know what to do. Also a good auto body shop will know best how to get the dent out.

[Sandmannd]

I agree ST, I'll get some pics of it.

Backlash, I'm probably going to put a call into my insurance this week if it can't be figured out.

Croixflats, shoot me an email at s_e_hendricks at comcast.net.

[Sandmannd]

I got some pictures of the damage today.

My skeg is also broken.

I called and made a claim with my insurance yesterday. Waiting for an adjuster to call me and setup a time to look at it now.