Pete Collin

Thanks Sam!

Hello All,

I bought a 17 foot Lund that's in pretty nice shape, came with a lot of goodies.  I have taken it out a few times and like it a lot.  One question - the bilge pump doesn't turn on when I flip the switch.  That could be a safety issue should I be in a situation where I'm taking on water.  But I thought that the pump may have a float switch.  Is this a standard thing in some boats?

Thanks Frogger!  I'll give it a try.  Took the boat out yeasterday for a test drive.  Everything functioned well, and the boat rides awesome.  It will feel like fishing from a sofa.  Of course, when I pulled the boat out, I noticed that both trailer tires' sidewalls are severely cracked and dry rotted, probably one trip away from blowing out.  Oh, well!

I don't trust that site because they want you to download an "exe" file to view the manuals.  That could be a virus or something.  A PDF file would be the document itself.

I just bought a Lund, want to take it on a test run this afternoon.  It has an onboard battery charger.  I plugged it in to top off the Minn Kota batteries.  But it has no lights, gauges, or readouts of any kind.  How do I know if the thing's even working?  Tried googling a manual but they all show a unit with lights.  It's a Promariner Pro Sport 12.

Hello All,

Back in 2008 I remember it being a banner year for pike on Seneca.  The next year VHS disease swept the lake, most of them died, and I haven't been back for that species since.  What's it like now?  It was in the fall when fishing was so good back then.  I just bought a Lund, and can't decide where to go first!

Hello All,

I finally sold my tired, leaky tub and got a nice Lund to replace it. There's one issue I discussed with the seller and figured I'd get a quicker answer here than from the DMV 

Can I turn in the trailer plates on his behalf?  Or do I have to mail them back to him?  Been so long since I bought a boat, don't remember. I live over an hour from his place. 

Where?

Hello All,

I have this old compass that I never use, but am curious about.  It is made by Keuffer + Essel, who made a lot of precision equipment like drafting tools, etc.  It's not a good woods compass, because it is rather bulky and heavy.  It takes the needle a long time to settle down.  It is well made, and the big dial could give you some precision, but it doesn't have a mirror, and the "gunsight" on the lid isn't really good to shoot a line with.  There is no fixture on the underside to  attach to a staff.  The strangest thing is the chart inside the lid.  A grid with numbered cells from 1 to 36.  I googled around and couldn't find what it's for.  I assume it's for some kind of point sampling, like to take ore samples, soil samples, or forestry measurements?  Tick off each plot with a crayon as you go?  Maybe one of you know something about this cool old artifact.

Hello All,

I wonder if any of you have deal with Brobeil Marine in Buffalo?  I had to have a pro replace the seals on my lower unit after I unsuccessfully tried to do it myself.  I put in new seals for the prop and water pump, drain hole vomits water after a test run on the lake.  DIY defeat.  

When I brought my lower unit in, the owner explained that he was moving his shop down the street, but believed he could do the repair in a week.  "I could do it blindfolded as long as I have the parts" is how he put it.  That was about a month and a half ago.  I called a few times and he always makes it sound like he's on the brink of finishing up.  He said that I put the seals in perfectly, that there is some bearing housing that needs replacing for it to seal tight.  But still not finished.

I'm willing to give him slack.  He's moving shop but doesn't want to turn down work.  But the season is slipping away!  If guys will vouch for him, I'll give him more time.  But I am tempted to drive to Buffalo and retrieve it in whatever shape it's in.

On 5/15/2022 at 7:17 AM, rolmops said:

Good morning Pete.

I just saw your post today.

Don't be afraid of taking the carburetor off.  You will need that working room. All you need to do is taking the carb off and everything will be easy. You can also take the starter off and approach the whole thing from the other side.

Just get your camera and take pictures of every step you take so you know what to do when getting every thing back together.

after you have loosened the 2  nuts off you can move the carburetor a bit forward and then up a bit. that may be enough to get it done. Otherwise, just loosen up the connections and take the carb out.

Here is a fairly useful youtube off what to do.

 

Cornelius,

Just letting you know that today I finally got everything back together. It seems to work, but I have to bring it to Silver Lake and drive around to be sure.  Thanks for all your coaching. Like most projects I tackle, it was tougher than I thought it would be!

Hello All,

So this project began last November.  With no mechanic experience, I redid the seals on my lower unit, and did the water pump while I was in there.  now that I'm ready to reattach everything, I am stymied by how to re-attach the coupling for the shifter rod.  I had to pull off a bunch of stuff to detach it, but now i find I  just can't get in there to fit the pieces back together.  Here is a picture of the space I have to work in.  I imagine I have to remove the carburetor that is in my way?  Was hoping I don't have to , for fear of buggering that up (the linkage for the choke valve looks delicate).  None of the youtube videos I watched had this tight a space to work in.

Pete

Thanks, Cornelius.  I'll let you know how it goes.

5 minutes ago, Prof T said:

Pete, did you look under the trim tab? Sometimes one hides there.

Yes

Hello All,

Last fall I used the last warm day to attempt removing the lower unit of my 1995 70 hp Joohnson 2 cycle.  I hit a snag when, after detaching the linkage and removing every bolt, I found that the lower unit wouldn't budge.  Not wiggle, not even crack a line in the paint at the joint.  I got a suggestion from rolmops to heat it up, and I waited for a nice warm spring day to try that.  Using a heat gun, I went around the joint and tapped it with a wooden mallet.  Won't budge.  At this point I'm stymied.  I defy anybody to locate a fastener that I overlooked!  The only thing I can think of is that there is a crust of a limestone-like mineral on the trolling plate and at the edges of the joint.  Does the hard water that we typically fish in get in there and cement everything together?  There isn't any shop in western NY who will take it.

Pete

26 minutes ago, Frogger said:

Great video Pete.  Agreed on the narration, Carl Sagan all the way!

Maybe this summer I'll make a video of catching billions and billions of trout!

2 minutes ago, HOLY DIVER said:

Why hasn't PBS signed narration deal with you yet ?  

 

 

 

 

Because Morgan Freeman is still alive!

For some woods, you just have to grab your camera.

Hello All,

I got some excellent advice from this group about how to decouple the shifter rod from my lower unit, so that I can remove it to replace the seals.  Now that everything is undone, I can't get the lower unit to budge!  I undid the 6 bolts from underneath (including the one hidden by the trim tab).  But giving it some good taps with a wooden mallet won't get it to budge.  Not even a little crack is opening between the lower unit and the shaft.  I want to ask if there is somethign I may be overlooking before I really whale on it.  What could be keeping it on there now?

6 minutes ago, L&M said:

On the port side, look in behind where the shift cable anchor is & pull the small hitch pin clip out. Push the shift anchor/cable end in under the carb to the port side of the engine & your shift rod will be released 

That sounds almost too easy!  I'll let you know how it goes. 

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll wait for the next warm day to work on it!

1 hour ago, Frogger said:

Pete, what year motor? Did you figure it out?

I believe it is a '91. I monkeyed around all afternoon, removing the cowling and spent an hour turning one stubborn nut that I thought would release everything. When I went to drop the lower unit, it wouldn't go, so there must be a pin I can't see or get to. Fun fun fun. 

On mine, the starting motor isn't anywhere near the shifter linkage. 

Hello All,

I am using this warm day to take apart my boat motor.  I need to drop the lower unit.  The shifter rod is buried in there pretty good.  It looks like the carburetor is in the way.  Removing it looks like a fair bit of business.  Is this a normal thing, to remove the carb to get at the shifter rod release?  The how-to videos I watched weren't my exact motor.  (Johnson 70 horse)

Hello All,

I need to replace the seals on my lower unit.  It's a '91 Johnson.  Called the local fix-it place and they said they don't work on old Johnsons.  Can't get parts, I'm told.  Gave me the name of somebody pretty far away.  So I looked first online and found a seal kit for my motor within a few minutes.  Does that mean the parts are likely no good, or did the shop tell me they can't get parts just because they don't like working on older motors?  Should I buy the kit and ask them to put it in?  I watched a Youtube video of replacing the lower unit seals, looks within my skills and aptitude.  Should I just go for it and do the repair myself?