Recent content by KD4UPL

  1. K

    Family of 5, 19ft or 21ft?

    I've got a 2004 Rinker Captiva 232. I've had it for 8 years and I really like it. We have plenty of roof for our family of 5 and often take another family along. The previous boat was a 20'. It was much tighter with 2 familys but we made it work. I wouldn't be happy with a 19' for our use. The...
  2. K

    Home breaker Box panel question .see pic

    Those 4 green breakers are actually 2 double poles in one. It's a way of getting 2 double pole breakers in 1 double space. The 2 outside are one double pole breaker. The 2 inside are another double pole. Each set should trip as a set. I'm guessing this is a Westinghouse breaker panel; they used...
  3. K

    Engine wouldn't fire without throttle after overnight

    Thanks for that analysis. I've got new plugs and wires on order.
  4. K

    Engine wouldn't fire without throttle after overnight

    Needing the throttle to start has only happened maybe 4 times total in the 8 years I've owned the boat. Twice this year and I think once last year. I've probably started it 100 or more times this year and all but 2 times have not needed to give throttle. I can't really tell on the black smoke as...
  5. K

    Engine wouldn't fire without throttle after overnight

    Correction, the IAC was replaced 2 years ago.
  6. K

    Engine wouldn't fire without throttle after overnight

    IAC was just changed last year after having rough idle and the code for bad IAC. That cured the problem. I've been wondering if it's time to change plugs, wires, cap, etc just based on time. I've owned the boat for 8 seasons and never changed any of that. I wouldn't think the problem starting is...
  7. K

    Engine wouldn't fire without throttle after overnight

    After the boat sat for about 4 weeks I fired it up in my yard on the trailer before going to the lake. All I did was turn the key and it started. At the lake I launched it and it started the same way. Ran for about 15 minutes and shut the engine off. After about 20 minutes tried to start it and...
  8. K

    1985 Bayliner Capri Restore?

    An '80s Bayliner will never have much value. They weren't very good boats when new. I can think of a lot better boats to put time and effort into. Would you restore a 1972 AMC Gremlin? If so this might be the boat for you.
  9. K

    Lead acid battery. Two questions

    Exactly backward. Starting batteries need lots of amps fast. Amps come from surface area, thus more thinner plates in a starting battery. Deep cycle plates are thicker but fewer. As long as a deep cycle has enough MCA (or CCA, whatever you're going by) it will work fine. And probably last...
  10. K

    Spark plugs and cap replacement interval

    Thanks for all the replies. I did indeed leave out the use conditions. Freshwater only. Mostly it stays on a trailer. I have snap on covers but it lives outside. I probably run about 50 hours a year.
  11. K

    Spark plugs and cap replacement interval

    I've owned my 2004 Merc Mag 350 since 2018. I've never replaced plugs, wires, or cap. It runs fine. I have no idea if the previous owner ever replaced anything either. I was reading on several boating forums that a lot of people recommend replacing the distributor cap every year and the plugs...
  12. K

    Anyone know how to open/repair this gauge?

    For the record I can vouch that Faria does repair gauges. "Not designed for repair, throw it away" was horrible advice. I had them repair my '04 Tach. It failed again while under their repair warranty so they repaired it again for free. It's worked fine now for a couple years so far.
  13. K

    MPI Starting

    My 2004 Mag 350 MPI starts with no throttle. I've had it for 7 years and it's always been that way. Except, when I had a bad IAC and one other time recently I've never figured out but its never repeated either.
  14. K

    Is A I a totally unreliable function ?

    In my experience the AI answers that pop up to Google searches (don't know how to turn them off) are maybe 50/50 in being correct. It's not something I'd be willing to count on.
  15. K

    I spent the last 24 years driving at 29.25 miles per hour

    It would be nice to keep a truck that long. My '22 has 74,000 on it already.
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