Bad Habit

hawkeye625, the derby is a trout and salmon derby but if you look at the prize structure it says " $$$$$ for the biggest salmon" in each derby. That tells me that trout are only eligible for prizes from 1st place to 20th in each division but not the grand prize.

I do believe it was used. Looks like that's the next step to take. Thanks.

This is a new problem for me. it used to work fine. I can bump it up and it will be ok for a while and then just rev higher without touching the throttle. Does anyone know if the mercruiser "brain box"could cause this? I had it replaced and it seems like the problem started shortly after. Is the brain box and ignition amplifier the same thing?

I have a problem with my 1987 350 mercruiser. When I try to bump up the throttle from a slow troll (about 800 rpms) the motor will run for a few minutes then surge to about 1100 rpm. I can't dial in the speed between 2 and 3 mph. I've tried everything I can think of to fix this including having the carb rebuilt, all new plugs, wires, cap, etc. I even tried to lube the throttle cable. Now I'm looking for a dependable mechanic in the Irondiquoit Bay area who might be able to help out. Thanks, Rick

Thanks for the replays. I think I'll stick to the oil I've been using and never had a problem ( If it ain't broke don't fix it) Rick

Does anyone use or recommend synthetic oil in a 1987 350 mercruiser? I've been using a straight 30W for years but wondering if there would be a benefit to using a synthetic. If so should I stick to mercruiser oil or could I use Mobil 1? Thanks Rick

Finding a lot of mildew on my canvas and need advice for a good product to kill mildew on sunbrella? Thanks, Rick

If that doesn't make you want to go fishing it's time to sell the boat. Very cool!

I'm looking at replacing the prop on a 1987 25' fiberglass boat with a 350, 5.7 Mercruiser. Right now I am using a 17 pitch.(recommended in the manual) The question I have is can I change to a 19 pitch to try to troll a little faster without having to bump up the rpms so much? I realize the rpm at wot will change and the boat will be more sluggish out of the hole but if there isn't any harm the gas savings might be worth performance loss. Thanks, Rick

Anyone fishing smallies in the lake from I-bay? Haven't tried in a few years but I heard it was a little better last year.

After doing some searching on line about what the purpose the "check balls" that are on the thermostat housing serve I came across this on another forum. (For the "check balls", you simply tighten the little lock nut(s) all the way down, until there's no more threads..........in other words, you bottom-out the nuts. There's no "setting" or "calibration" for the balls.....they're only to provide a slight back pressure to the "extra" flow from the drive, so the cool water doesn't simply go right out to the elbows without circulating through the block and keeping the system topped-off. Issues with the check balls usually cause overheating at low rpm's.) I decided It would take about 5 minutes to check and I had nothing to lose. I added a couple of washers to tighten it up slightly and it actually fixed the problem. I apparently didn't have enough pressure and it was allowing to much water to go directly to the exaust elbows and not through the motor. I don't know if the springs weaken over time or something else happened. The set up is actually quite touchy. a little to tight and it runs too cool, and a little loose and it runs warm at idle. I still need to dial it in a little but I'm back up and fishing!! Thanks for all the suggestions. Rick

Thanks for all the replys. The boat is a 1987 with about 4000 hours. I've owned it since it was new. Never in salt and never had the exaust off. I did check the intake flow to the thermostat housing and it looks good. I can hear the flappers clicking probably from the rubber seal worn or chipped off. Maybe that is the problem. Thought it would be an easy fix and it just kind of snowballed from there. I guess it's time to admit defeat and do like Rustyrat says and take it to a pro.

Well I thought I had the problem fixed so I splashed the boat Sunday. Unfortunately I was wrong again. While trolling the engine ran hot again. So far this spring I have Changed the impeller, changed the thermostat, pulled and flushed all the cooling hoses, pulled and cleaned all the drain plugs, new water circulating pump, new belts and a new temp sensor and it's still running hot. The only thing left that I can think of is something clogging a water jacket somewhere. Any suggestions on where to start the proccess to try and find it?

I pulled the lower unit and changed the impeller again and it seemed to be a lot better. I don't know if I did something wrong the first time, it was a combination of things or I just got really lucky. There wasn't any damage to it and it didn't look like it had take to much of a set but what ever it was hopefully is fixed. I have only run it hooked up to muffs but I hope to splash the boat and give it the real test soon. Rick

After a lot of time, trial and error (mostly error) i got the boat to run cool again. In the proccess I changed thermostst and a local marina recomended I use a 140 degree. After reading this and other forums it seems quite a few people use 160 degree thermostats in the same size boat. The boat is a 25 foot, fiberglass with a 350 5.7 (260 hp) mercruiser. The boat is used 95% of the time for trolling. any opinions or advice i appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Checked Harbor freight for an infared temp gauge but the didn't have one. Decided to run the motor until it got hot and check the water temp with a candy making thermometer. Tested it on boiling water and it read 210. While the motor was running I opened a drain valve enough to let the water run over the tip until the reading stopped rising for a couple of minutes. Thermometer read 155 degrees. It seems like this should be fairly close to the actual temp. Not sure what it should be with a 140 degree thermostat but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Now I need to find out what it is for sure.

Thanks for all your advice so far. Spent the day today working on it. I pulled up the deck for easier access. Opened and removed all drainplugs looking for any debris, sand, dirt or anything else that might be restricting flow. Used a coat hanger to dig around. Pulled all the cooling hoses looking for the same thing. Didn't really find much, just a little sediment and rust. Flushed out everything while it was disconnected with a garden hose and nozzle. Put everything back together and still running hot. I even tried running it without the thermostat......Still hot. I did hook up another temp gauge a couple years ago to see if mine was accurate but is there another easy way to check the temp without buying an expensive temp gun?

I have checked ther intake and it is clear of debris and mussles. I also replaced the housing and plastic tube when I replaced the impeller and didn't seem to make a difference. The hoses seem rigid and I didn't find any collapsing. Maybe something is lodged in the system resticting the flow. Any ideas on how to check that? Rick

It's a new season and I'm still chasing an old problem. My 350, 5.7 mercruiser is running hot AGAIN. It runs hot while trolling but if I kick up the rpms to about 1000 the temp comes down.I had this problem last year and never figured it out. I have changed the impeller and the thermostat. I also hooked up another gauge so I know that's working too. When the engine is winterized the drain plugs are pulled and any sediment that can drain out does. Is there a way to check if enough water is circulating through the engine to cool it? Has anyone had a water circulation pump go bad? I don't hear any sqealing or grinding and it,s not leaking. Thanks for any help. Rick

Pulled the boat out from the side of the house today. After I backed it into the driveway and then pulled forward one wheel of the trailer was locked up. I backed up again it was free but locked up again in forward. Tried this a couple more times with the same result. (free in reverse, locked up in forward). It's a tandem axle trailer with brakes on one axle. I haven't pulled the wheel yet but wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what to look for. Thanks, Rick

Did one small Brown off Shipbuilders. That was the only hit in 3 hours.

VOTES!!! Since when did common sense have anything to do with politics?

27 Giants, 17 Pats 44 total score

I probably did catch the cribs. Been fishing the area for years and never caught it before. I actually have my own scuba gear but never marked the spot. We were to busy trying to get everything back to the boat after I tried to turn the boat, in full panic mode, before all the cable ran out with six rods in the water (150 feet of cable goes fast!) NOT PRETTY!! Oh well at least we caught a few nice fish. Rick