Newbie Boater

[BlueDart]

Have purchased a first boat which is a 1985 16' Doral with a 3L 140 HP OMC stern drive engine.
Studying on how to safely operate as I await spring here in Canada.
The manual provides me with three options of remote controls.
Not sure my matches any as it is a single lever with a red button on the left side marked up and down, assume for trimming the engine, and on the right side underneath the lever is another red button.
I believe the right side button is to allow starting and warm up without engaging the propeller.
I think for starting I would pull up this right side button and push the lever ahead and back two or three times to prime/choke the engine for staring.
Would someone correct me on my read on controls.
Much appreciated as I have a lot to learn.

 

[BigManDan72]

First ofa all, though I haven't been around here long enough to officially welcome other new members, I'm going to do it anyway. Welcome! :welcome:

Secondly, I'm glad to see that there are others out there who are brave/crazy enough to buy a really old boat. I recently purchased an 85 Wellcraft and have loved the boating we were able to do before it got a bit too cold to get our there.

I can't help you from a technical perspective but I assure you there are some old salts on this forum that will have some great input for you shortly.

Cheers!

 

[alldodge]

Have purchased a first boat which is a 1985 16' Doral with a 3L 140 HP OMC stern drive engine.
Studying on how to safely operate as I await spring here in Canada.
The manual provides me with three options of remote controls.
Not sure my matches any as it is a single lever with a red button on the left side marked up and down, assume for trimming the engine, and on the right side underneath the lever is another red button.
I believe the right side button is to allow starting and warm up without engaging the propeller.
I think for starting I would pull up this right side button and push the lever ahead and back two or three times to prime/choke the engine for staring.
Would someone correct me on my read on controls.
Much appreciated as I have a lot to learn.

Howdy Bluedart


I say pull, but if there is a button in the center, you might push to go to throttle only position.
The red button under the handle is pulled up so you can move the throttle to forward or reverse. The leveler locks in neutral position, so it is squeezed up and then the lever can be moved forward or reverse.

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard BlueDart: an '85 OMC would have a different type of trim system. You will want to hit that "trim" switch on the remote and see what moves. Provided the drive doesn't have any rams on it (and it's likely white), if the drive goes up and down, then that switch is your TILT.

Trim for an '85 OMC would happen at the front on the engine ... the whole drive and engine move with the trim.

That's important because you don't want to run an OMC with the drive tilted.

 

[BlueDart]

Thank you to all that replied. The info on trim will help and I will note there is a trip button on the dash that actually tilts the stern drive and the one on the handle for trimming when operating. I believe it is not wise to operate the engine in gear with the engine raised by the trim control on the dash as it separates the gears.
The picture explanation of controls by AllDodge helps greatly as the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words".

 

[southkogs]

I believe it is not wise to operate the engine in gear with the engine raised by the trim control on the dash as it separates the gears.

That's mainly the ball gear between your intermediate and your upper gear case ... which is pricey and tricky to fix. The drive you have is called a Stringer, and there's a bunch of good information in the link in my signature.

 

[BlueDart]

Thanks I will check out the link.