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  1. harringtondav

    The day two old boating pals realize they've become two old drifty/dozy boating pals

    I recently helped my long time boating pal Tom do a long overdue replacement of his Alpha II lower shift cable in the parking lot of his marina. Teamwork. I removed the trim senders and broke loose the bell housing pivot pins while he disconnected the cable from the shift plate. Outdrive off...
  2. harringtondav

    IBC stretch?

    Here is my question. When wiring a lighting only circuit downstream from 20 amp circuit protection is it safe (not a question about compliance) to use 14 ga/15 amp wire for the switch pigtails? Here's the back story. The original owner of our river house wired the whole place with 12 gage wire...
  3. harringtondav

    Boating Karma

    I saw this dead pontoon about 200 yds up our slough, two younger people paddling with an older guy than me in the boat. They weren't making much headway downstream to the ramp. Good current, but better south wind. I saw several boats pass with their heads turned away. This pricey wake boat from...
  4. harringtondav

    Air Boat on Deep Water?

    I heard this thing rumbling for 40 seconds as it idled up our slough. He opened it up in front of me. Clearly a big block engine. For the noise and power it uses it doesn't move very fast....not compared to a big block glass boat. It made my ears hurt from 200' away. I can't imagine sitting on...
  5. harringtondav

    Ficht Evinrude. Survivable?

    Another boating pal + wife are spending the weekend at our place. I noticed his O/B as I was helping him launch. 1998 Evinrude 150 hp Ficht. I recalled stories about the problems from this forum, but I didn't say anything. Last night he mentioned he heard about the issues and researched before...
  6. harringtondav

    Man of The Year...whoever his is.

    I watched this guy using his trolling motor go upstream to a local sand bar with his lady friend in front. Several hours later I saw them drifting back to the ramp. Trolling motor up, lady paddling/steering from the bow. He had his portable bimini up. ....thinking he had enough battery to steer...
  7. harringtondav

    Still running hot on muffs. Should I worry?

    Below is a scan from my engine manual showing minimum raw water pump output. Output varies depending on your drive's reduction ratio. Most common drives are are around 3.5 quarts in 15 seconds. The test must be made with the boat in the water since garden hose pressure will skew the results...
  8. harringtondav

    River Hazards

    This deadhead emerged yesterday. Our slough is just off the Mississippi main channel. The river has dropped 3.5' in five days. I saw boats cruising over this thing earlier. I learned the hard way to keep to center channel in sloughs years ago. That's why I only use aluminum props. I haven't...
  9. harringtondav

    DIY Rain Enclosure for Tower Sunshade?

    This is premature, but it will be my 2021 Winter project if it's possible. Our new boat will have a bimini sunshade. I'd like to build a vinyl window and canvas full enclosure for overnight trips in case of rain. I envision sewing a continuous zipper from one side of the sunshade around the...
  10. harringtondav

    mercruiser 5.7 hard start fuel pump/oil pressure switch?

    The two prong oil pressure switch will close when it sees 4-5 psi of oil pressure, enabling the fuel pump to run. Since jumping the harness caused your fuel pump to run at key on, I suspect the switch is bad, needing more oil pressure to close. Merc 87-86425A01.
  11. harringtondav

    Alpha I gen 2: newly acquired boat, couple of questions.

    Try using a wide blade screwdriver with an adjustable open end (crescent) wrench over the blade to get extra torque. If that doesn't work, get a hammer impact screw breaker. I have one and it's never fail. With the correct seal under the screws, hand tight is all that is needed. Water coming...
  12. harringtondav

    Boatless

    There are real benefits of fussing over your boat. Real time for the confidence and security of having a boat that will get you home every time. Long term so when you're ready to move up you have a valuable boat to sell. All that fussing, buffing, updating, maintaining paid off for me today. I...
  13. harringtondav

    Troubleshooting a nonfunctional speedo

    I rigged up this thing years ago to help unplug trash from my drive's speedo pickup. If a drill didn't fix it I'd hook up this and without fail it would blow out the clog. I'm showing my boat for sale. I claim everything works great....almost. Speedp stopped working, The drill came out clean...
  14. harringtondav

    Best R Value Batt Insulation for 4" Stud Wall?

    I'm furring out our river house's basement concrete block walls with 2x4 studs. Goal is to make this a year round house in cold winter Iowa. I put up 1/4" R1 fanfold behind the stud panels. What is the best R value batt insulation to stuff in the stud spaces? I know I could triple up three...
  15. harringtondav

    Alternative to angle grinders?

    I have a Porter Cable RO sander/polisher that works great. I use their dust hood which attaches to a vacuum to control dust which seems to collect at least 90% of the dust. Only downsides are you have to handle the dust collection hose, and you're limited to w/in 1/4" of corners.
  16. harringtondav

    Dream Boat

    A new boat has shown up in our pool. Local dockside chat has it as a 40+ ft Formula.bowrider with plenty of space below deck. Four 300 hp BRP 'Rudes. Rumor puts it at $1.1M Rumor is you can get it with four 400 hp Mercs, if 1200 hp isn't enough. I made a search of Formula's web site and could...
  17. harringtondav

    Don't procrastinate fixing "small" problems

    ...a stitch in time saves nine. My boating pal has been putting off replacing a bad old style shift cut out switch in his 350 Mag Merc for years. I've repeatedly reminded him that this will eventually bite him in the form of a damaged lower shift cable. He checked the price of the replacement...
  18. harringtondav

    Inboard cruiser propulsion question

    Help me settle a disagreement with my pal who owns a Bluewater Coastal Cruiser. Twin Cruisers 350 with Borg Warner Velvet Drives. I say the prop thrust is transferred to the aft bronze shaft struts just in front of the props. He says the thrust is on the drive shafts and is taken by the...
  19. harringtondav

    Weekend drinking game: Name that boat...by ear.

    Retired, so we mostly spend our river house weekends on the deck 30' above the crowded fray. Mon-Fri water is nice. So I listen to approaching boats on our slough, and try to guess what is coming. Drink when correct, or wait until the next boat. -PWCs. Easy. -Flat bottom O/B. Easy. Slap...
  20. harringtondav

    Do current SX drives have a lube monitor, or is it a dipstick?

    I'm looking at the VP 240 G5 SX for my next boat. GM 4.3 V6, direct injection, partially closed cooling, cone clutches get my vote. But I can't find any info about a drive lube monitor system. Does it have one, or is it the 'ol dipstick?
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