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  1. Knot Waiting

    Trailer Tires... from on a boat to under one. What's a decent brand?

    It seems pretty universal that these days no matter what brand of tire you buy, all trailer use rubber is made overseas. There's no avoiding it, even familiar brands are produced at a factory we can't pronounce. With this in consideration, what affordable trailer tires do you recommend? I...
  2. Knot Waiting

    Winch Capacity?

    This past summer I had the wonderful experience of my winch snapping and sending my boat careening down onto the launch. Tore the saftey chain clean out of the trailers mount too. Awesome. It wasn't like the strap broke or anything but the whole winch. Looks like the ratchet dog/lock completely...
  3. Knot Waiting

    Tools to bring to sea trial?

    Tomorow my friend and I are going to sea trial a boat he is considering buying. It will be is very first boat and as the resident boat expert of our group I have been solocitated to help protect his investment. Now, much in part to my years with you fine folks on iboats and my own experience I...
  4. Knot Waiting

    Accelerator Pump..... what is it and what happens if it fails?

    Im trying to resolve a serious running issue (main thread here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=498470 ) and the trouble shooting section of the Mercruiser manual refers to an "accelerator pump" several times under my symptoms. Im not exactly up on my carburetor lingo so forgive the...
  5. Knot Waiting

    Surges/boggs down randomly at speed?

    1988 23' Crown Line Cuddy. Mercruiser 5.7 350. Alpha 1 Just recently my boat has developed an issue of bogging down or surging after planing out. The problem seems to start if more fuel is demanded (ie: planing out or speeding up) and once it starts will not stop until the engine is brought...
  6. Knot Waiting

    Saftey Gas Cans - Messy Frustration

    Anyone here try to use one of those new fuel cans without a vent and that ridiculous "saftey" spout? Good lord, whats so safe about that? After spilling about an 1/8 of the fuel all over the engine it takes about 15 minutes for it to slurp and glug its way out of the can. About half way though...
  7. Knot Waiting

    Alignment tool wont fit into drive coupler?

    For the past few years I have only been able to insert about 1" of my alignemnt tool into the drive coupler. No matter how I moved the engine only 1" went in. So while replacing the gimbal today I decided just to test fit the tool. Low and behold even without the confliction of the gimbal I can...
  8. Knot Waiting

    Is it really that hard to put your shopping cart back?

    Seriously. I hope you got something accomplished in the four seconds you saved by shoving your cart into my car instead of the nearby corral. Maybe Im crazy but If I see an errant cart on the lot on my way into a store I will make an effort to bring it back with me, and I always put mine away...
  9. Knot Waiting

    I almost had hope for Wisconsin ths summer.... almost..

    Last weekend, and for a few days after, Wisconsin managed to pull itself from the clutches of the New Ice Age with defiant summer like temperatures. My boat, of course, was laid up with mechanical problems during this thermal renaissance so I was unable to fully immerse myself in it. However...
  10. Knot Waiting

    Engine Alignment

    So at the start of every season I pull my drive, replace my impeller and check my engine alignment.... and it seems that every year the alignment is off. This year, as a result, I've got a worn out gimbal bearing... again. This cant be normal. Whats strange is that the drive slides off without...
  11. Knot Waiting

    Drive Fluid Compatibility

    The brand of oil I have been running in by Alpha 1 is no longer available in my area so I was going to switch to Mercury High Performance sterndrive fluid. However, Mercury states on the bottle not to mix theirs with any other brand of fluid. My question is: The residual amount of fluid left...
  12. Knot Waiting

    Swim Platform Bolts

    This may need to go to the restoration section (mods?) but I'll start here. Last year I went to tighten the lower bolts on my swim platform only to have them strip out. They are just 1/4 wood lag bolts going into the transom. Any suggestions on how best to drill, fill, and replace these so I...
  13. Knot Waiting

    Risers Question

    I was reading the repair forum in one of my 'Boating' magazines and one of the advisors made a comment that exhaust risers are only good for about 5 years?? Is that right? He didnt specify if the recommendation was for fresh or salt water but either way I just cant fathom that. Mine are...
  14. Knot Waiting

    Creating Bow Rail Curve?

    I need to replace the starboard side of my (aluminum) bow rail. The curvature of the bow is fairly gradual and the rail is mounted in four spots (per side) then joined with the opposite side via angled bow rail cap. My question is; how is the rail bent? Is it just straight stock that uses the...
  15. Knot Waiting

    Bow Rail Replacement Parts?

    So my boating season ended with a minor disaster yesterday... Upon leaving a dock to head down river I got caught up in a swift current, and with a knee jerk reaction powered myself into a pylon... ouch. Although my pride took the biggest hit my boat sustained some damage too. I need to...
  16. Knot Waiting

    3.0 Engine Swap?

    A friend of mine recently bought a 1984 Welcraft 19' open bow with a Mercury pre-alpha drive. The original 3.0 l4 is ruined from never being winterized. We are planning on installing a replacement engine this weekend but we cant find the original 3.0 l4. We did however find a solid running 3.0...
  17. Knot Waiting

    Shift Cable Nut Tool

    Does anyone know the size of the shift cable nut on the Alpha Drives? Im looking to replace the shift bellow and will need to make a tool to get in there. Im assuming a modified socket is the best approach to this, correct? Thank you.
  18. Knot Waiting

    Finding a bouy in the dark..... the hard way

    Fortunately it was a slow no wake bouy so very little speed was involved but I sure found that sucker. The light was burned out so I didnt see it until I was on top of it. Scared the hell outta me and made some pretty harsh noises but didnt seem to do any real harm beyond my pride, lol. Un-lit...
  19. Knot Waiting

    Bellows Grounding Clip Placement

    Of course I am asking this after I did the job but I wanted to check before I put the boat in the water... Does is matter where the grounding clip is placed on the bellows (as long as its on the end somewhere? The Merc manual doesnt specify. Thank you.
  20. Knot Waiting

    Upper/Lower Unit Quad Ring

    Quick question. Does the quad ring for the oil passage between the upper and lower units have to be installed dry? Normally I join the two halves comlpetely empty but I had to make a correction and didn't let all of the oil drain from the upper unit before reinstalling so oil dripped all over...
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