WebsterWaters

Nice one! Great work BB

Sounds good. I'll do the same. 978-760-7073. Cheers, Paul

I'm going to head out early in the morning to try a few spots I've had success with a few weeks back (I was out of action with some lower drive troubles, just back!). Although - according to the Marine forecast there was upwelling this week, causing the water temp's to drop. If that's reliable, I might try something shallower. Good luck, I'll see any early birds on the water. Paul

Finally I have some updates! She is back in the water. So - a few years back the previous owner hit the bottom of whatever lake he was on. They installed a new after market lower drive. Which I did know, but did not realize it was an aftermarket vendor (versus a Mercruiser lower drive). The problem this time was simply wear and the lower drive was no longer functioning. (I'm not sure which shaft or gear exactly was worn out). So I had two options - Use the warranty for the same after market part (which only seemed to last just under 3 years). It would have been 100 bucks for shipping, then they would have taken 3-4 weeks to process it and send out the new part. buy a used Mercruiser lower drive for a few hundred bucks and be back in the water this week. I chose option B - it cost me a few extra dollars, but I would have the boat for the remainder of August/ early September. Thank you all for the advice!

Thanks for v much for all this great info! Engine type: MerCruiser 5 litre Thunderbolt V Ignition (2001 boat). He checked the prop hub while in the water. Me and his guy stood on the bow while he reached down to the prop. He was able to poke around that way. Since he could not confirm what it was - we're going to take it out of the water. (The damn tow boat at my marina is also goosed, so I have to get somebody down to tow me to dock ). I did not hit anything while planing. I was moving through the water, just driving through some wake from another boat (2 or 3 feet wake), nothing major, and all of a sudden it appeared to slip out of gear. I couldn't tell if there was a 'breaking' noise, there was definitely a noise, but I think it was just the engine revving since the throttle was open and no gear engaged (it all happened quickly, my instinct was to shut the engine off immediately). There may have been other noise that I didn't hear/ notice in the moment. Once I got it started again, I tried many times to get it in gear (FW or RV), as did the mechanic, we could not get the magic 'cluck' sound. Thanks again for all the info. Paul

We were out for a pleasure cruise on the lake outside IBay last Saturday. I was underway when the boat just slipped out of gear, I shut the engine off immediately just in case. Then started it back up. At first I had some trouble starting it. Then she fired up. I thought "hallelujah", we're fixed. Then I pushed the throttle, the engine rev'ed but she never "clicked" into gear. I had to call Boat Tow US (thankfully the tow was covered by insurance - SAFECO). It's back at my slip now (how that captain docked a boat in a crowded marina (light winds) by towing side-by-side, i don't know, what a pro!). Some details: While anchored in shallow water just before this happened, the outdrive may have contacted the sandy bottom, as the wake being drummed up by the traffic was significant! However there was no damage to the prop 2001 Rinker Fiesta Vee 24' with 2' diving dock (26' total) Mercruiser Alpha outdrive Engine starts but will not get into gear. Mechanic has ruled out simple prop hub. He reckons it could be the drive coupler, and I think he mentioned it could also be the drive shaft. Next step is to get her out of the water so we can investigate further. Interested to get some thoughts on this. As an aside, FOUR boats capsized last weekend in the area. I heard of two of them on Channel 16 while we were waiting for a tow, the mechanic told me about the other two. Crazy stuff.

Awesome, thanks gents. Just downloaded the app

This article is 10 years old, ha. I guess I'll keep on 16 and see who's out there. Planning on heading out Friday AM I think.

Thanks for the report man. I nabbed a 14lb King just NE of IBay last week (early morning), I was fishing over 160-220 range. Also on green/yellow fly. This is my first season keeping a boat on IBay. I don't know if this is top secret or not, but is there a vhf channel I can tune in to, to contact other fishing boats while I'm out?