CONTINUOUSWAVE

dtmackey

The used outboard market is on fire as well. I see motors listed at higher prices and they are gone quickly. Prices on everything are up. A couple weeks back in my area, there were three 13' Whalers listed in the $12K - $15,900 range and these were 30+ year old boats with old motors. I've never seen...

dtmackey

It's been a while since I update this thread on the F70 and jackplate install. I am very impressed with the the new Yamaha F70 and also the jackplate. The motor is so quiet you can't even hear it at idle and the pee stream is the only noise it makes. As you power up, the wind and water noise are lou...

dtmackey

One would think but in my area, no. The few “regular” ones are either destroyed or way over priced. I was looking for a center console 15' before I repowered my 15' SuperSport this spring. As Jim mentioned the center console version is very desireable and I'm surprised you've found one at a reasona...

dtmackey

Evinrude went from having market share to insignificant and then out of business for outboards. I can't see any new product launch that would allow them long term success in the marine market at this point, unless they lauched a 4 stroke, but the competitors will do everything to squeeze them out. R...

dtmackey

Seems to make sense, but only if you want to buy a new boat and be dictated as to what motor and compoenents the boat is rigged with. I'm happy with my boats now and not planning to buy another (now), but the biggest turn-off to me is being dictated what motor comes on the boat when purchased withou...

dtmackey

Jefecinco wrote:I believe "worth" is what someone pays for a product. Our little 13 is worth far more to me than what it would sell for.

OK, less decouple "worth" and market value and I think we can agree.

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dtmackey

Phil T wrote:The list [of problems] is longer than my arm.

Phil forgot one important problem with older boats: the owners that are extremely proud of their boats and asking far more money when selling than the boat is remotely worth.

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dtmackey

Much of what's been said. 2001 was one of the worst years for Opti reliability and Merc settled a class action lawsuit against them over this and provided owners extended warranties and a host of upgrades/modifactions to improve reliability. If the dealer (specifically the mechanic) has been around ...

dtmackey

Thanks for the thorough reply. I have just three more questions. Q4. I think you mentioned that both the new and old trim caps have the same thread pattern. I am unable to find an style trim cap. Can you confirm that I can use a new style trim cap instead? Q5. Is the same tool used to remove both t...

dtmackey

Good talking with you last night Thomas. You have the old style trim unit and key parts are no longer available, even from SIM, unless he's has a cashe of NOS parts. https://i.imgur.com/NKQ1dnVl.jpg Once the trim caps have corrosion under the seal they are no longer any good and time to replace sinc...

dtmackey

The Yamaha OX66 and early VMAX two-stroke-power-cycle engines were just EFI versions of their carburetor engine brothers. For clarification. The Yamaha VMAX model outboards have been offered in 4 flavors over the years: Carb, Fuel injection (OX-66), Direct Injected (HPDI) and now in 4 stroke. They ...

dtmackey

@DTMackie - when gluing the boards together with West System 105/207, did you add a filler? If so, which one? I don't want to see seams and I'm wondering if filler will enlarge the seams. Sorry, missed your question when I visited here the past couple days. If you are using epoxy to glue or laminat...

dtmackey

I've seen Outrage cuddy models with the cuddy removed to provide a open bow Outrage. It's a lot of work and with a national backorder on polyester resin you may find it hard to secure materials. It would be easier to buy something that is built the way you like because a modified Whaler of that magn...

dtmackey

The 15 Whaler responds well to the Yamaha 70hp in both 2 and 4 stroke offerings. I had the Yami 70 two stroke on my 15 and it has plenty of power and only weighs 225lbs. The four stroke Yami is 253lbs and I just mounted one on my Whaler with a hydraulic jackplate and hope to water test soon. If you'...

dtmackey

Eventually electric propulsion of recreational boats will become reality. For the near future, say five to ten years, electric boat propulsion will be the domain of wealthy "early adopters". I recall the first GPS I bought. It had a small black and white screen with little detail, was ina...

dtmackey

Rebate of excise tax for fuel burned in your boat. Not all states offer this, but some do and I learned I can file for a $0.24/gallon rebate. More info my state at this site. https://www.marinersins.com/fuel-tax-refund-information-program/#:~:text=You%20can%20file%20a%20refund,in%20a%205%25%20use%20...

dtmackey

The topic of electric motors has come up several times before and I still do not see this as a viable solution in boats for many reasons, but some are pushing the idea and launching product offerings. https://i.imgur.com/tt4RdpIl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/if9RrTTl.jpg Of particular interest is the cos...

dtmackey

I find that epoxy can be a challenge to apply to the wood, but when done right, it really provide a nice sealed surface. If using epoxy, make sure you use the UV hardener or you could be doing it over as the sun tears up epoxy that is not designed for outdoor exposure. Also, it's best to put a coupl...

dtmackey

I cut all my pieces from soft maple and Sipo mahogany and then glued them up with West Epoxy into large pieces and then cut them to fit my interior. I'm sure your not going to the length I did with the number of wood pieces to build the hatch, but I would plan on using 4 - 6 pieces as this helps pre...

dtmackey

Since the sub-topic of Lake Tahoe and E-TEC engines came up in this thread, I did a two-second google search and came up with the following regarding how detailed the Lake Tahoe folks are in what's allowed on their lake: https://www.trpa.org/programs/watercraft/ Straight from the Tahoe Regional Pla...

dtmackey

The outboard industry has been running backorders on outboards (especially over 200hp) since 2018 after the hurricanes.

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dtmackey

The engine must be bolted to the engine stand or you risk potential harm to yourself and the motor. I've used automotive engine stands adapted for outboards for years. It's nice being able to move it around and they also breakdown in several easy to store pieces with a wrench. I use a single bolt th...

dtmackey

Fred Kiekafer expertly analyzes why the return of Evinrude is highly unlikely. Covid or not, BRP can’t overcome government regulation skewed against two stroke technology. E-TEC is only dead in the marine setting and lives on in the snowmobile market where the focus on emission standards is also an...

dtmackey

The decision for Evinrude to exit the market was made at the wrong time. They could have enjoyed selling motors since others are carrying significnat backorders.

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dtmackey

When I did my restoration I ground down the non-skid and went with a Griptex and Awlgrip surface. I do not have problems with it holding water. When I was grinding I did find a piece of iron metal cast into the fiberglass-to-gelcoat interface. It was small and an obvious defect from when the boat wa...

dtmackey

Install of the motor and jackplate is in process. https://i.imgur.com/jxETv3bl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/LjbnPxDl.jpg Tempory mounting until new hardware shows up. I have 5" of additional lift and can gain amount 1.5" from mounting bolts, but don't feel that will be necessary. https://i.imgu...

dtmackey

While you are correct for the recreational version, the commercial division installed whatever brand the customer wanted I recall. Thanks Phil, I learned something. The town, where I've moored my boat since 1976, ordered an early 80s commercial Frontier with the cutout door, tow bits and large coil...

dtmackey

Phil T wrote:The factory will not install engines that exceed the capacity plate.

A Guardian 25 could come with a "reinforced" transom.

I was not aware the factory was installing motors back in 1986, I thought they were dealer rigged at that time.

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dtmackey

Sorry, I'm a little late to the game. In situations like this I use a air popwered high speed die grinder and cut through the outer race and once that happens they come out pretty easy with a hammer and chisel. Prob takes 20-60 mins depending on complexity.

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dtmackey

Interesting topic with many opinions. I actually have electric and surge brakes, but on differnt trailers of variying purposes. For my double axle dump trailer and car trailers they are fully electric and the controller is pre-installed in the truck, so it's plug and play. It's nice because you can ...

dtmackey

SkiDoo already uses a capacitor instead of a battery to start the motor, only thing is the capacitor doesn't hold the charge more than a day, so you first must pull start the snowmobile and once it charges up, you can use the SHOT system (capacitor start). I find it highly unlikely that capcitors wi...

dtmackey

Tohatsu makes nice small engines--if you can find a dealer that sells them near you. Funny thing is I have a 5HP Tohatsu two-stroke that I purchased new around 2000. That engine is bulletproof and served many years on a small inflatable. I think back then I ordered and had it shipped due to the lac...

dtmackey

Tohatsu engine are very well made and reliable. Tohatsu is the second-oldest outboard engine manufacturer in the world and is second in overall sales. Please site your source of information. Industry data does not have Tohatsu at second in sales in the US or Globally. The larger Tohatsu outboards a...

dtmackey

Engine cost can vary widely on engine brand and location. When looking for a new Yamaha F70, dealers in my area weren't discounting much off full list at $10,000 plus rigging and materials. I contacted Boats.net and they quoted me $7,588 plus $250 shipping to my local dealer, and said the F70 was on...

dtmackey

I made the switch to Kodiak Stainless years ago and they are a very nice system with no problems at all. There are others out there, but I've heard many problems with plated caliper and plated rotors not lasting. We swapped my friend’s trailer over to Kodiak brakes from TieDown brakes on both axles....

dtmackey

Mercury did a great job keeping this under wraps and since 7 Marine halted production in November 2020, Merc is now the one to beat. The motor is impressive and lots of thought and designed went into this. Some of my observations: ⋅ runs on 87 octane gas - that's great as marine gas isn't ...

dtmackey

I forgot that when Yamaha begin to copy outboard engines made by Evinrude and Mercury, Yamaha tended to copy the power head designs from Evinrude and the gear case designs from Mercury. There was a good amount of copying at a surface level design, but after working on Yamaha and OMC motors for 3 de...

dtmackey

I've been holding back on this thread... I done a half dozen or so Whaler rubrails over the years and here's what I recommend. Throw the rivits away and get yourself some stainless philips pan head sheet metal screws, 8 X 1-1/4 and clear drill the hard white rubrail piece so the screw can turn, but ...

dtmackey

I've seen a few on small dingy sized boat and that may be fine, but for a boat larger than that I don't understand how this would work. I can only imagine the fuel dock wait as it takes a lot longer to charge a battery that would be the equivalent of 30 - 100 gallons of fuel. Not to mention in the s...

dtmackey

Yamaha does not utilize a shift system where shaft length is a concern like Evinrude does. While Evinrude uses a shaft to push or pull (up/down) to shift, Yamaha uses a shaft that is actuated by a rotational movement. When the lowert unit is off the motor, accidental movement of this shaft or shift ...

dtmackey

biggiefl wrote:Ask a local motorcycle shop. The one by me used to send out parts to North Florida because he said the quality of local platers was not good enough.

Great suggestion since the Harley crowds love to chrome parts on their bikes.

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dtmackey

I've rebuilt several SeaStar helms and while they should stay clean on the inside, I've found some to have dirty fluid and contamination in the helm unit. Complete disassembly and cleaning helps and it's not a bad idea to replace the check valves if they are hanging up. There are places that will re...

dtmackey

[Stainless steel tube in 7/8-in OD is] common and available at most marine suppliers: West Marine, Defender Industries, and Jamestown Marine, to mention a few.

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dtmackey

Q1: Do you have to lower the engine in turns? In wide sweeping turns it should be fine, but in tighter turns you would drop the motor a little bit. Q2: Have you done any modifications to the hull to make it more stable? My boat is currently stable and ran 42.5mph with the Yamaha 2 stroke 70. Based ...

dtmackey

As of 11 Jan 2021, the local dealer here still has six E-TEC engines available. Not much moving in the winter months around here.

one 200-HP E-TEC G2
two 150-HP E-TEC G2
one115-HP E-TEC G2
two 30-HP legacy E-TEC

dtmackey

Hmm, might be more to it than than i thought. I have some leftover west system 105/205 epoxy and I've typically used Epifanes clear varnish. West makes a special hardner for clear coating that has UV protection and also is more "bubble free" because if has better flow properties to thin o...

dtmackey

"epoxy" and "varnish" leave a lot open to chance. Specificially what brand and type of each are you considering? Some epoxies are not intended for clearcoating wood and won't stand up as well, others have special hardners designed for clear coating. I've been down this road befor...

dtmackey

The original spark plugs were OEM Champion RA8HC with a 1.00 mm gap, and they were worn looking and rusty at the bases. I could not get the Champion plugs, and I put in NGK DCPR7E. That Champion plug is available at any automotive store - visit Autozone, NAPA or Advanced Auto parts and they run $2....

dtmackey

Thanks for the responses. Has anyone used the Petit EZ-Poxy Performance Enhancer 3021 in their varnish process? Claims of the varnish being harder and glossier intrigue me. The name is deceiving with EZ-Poxy, it sounded like it was more inteneded for epoxy based paints. It's sounds like a standard ...

dtmackey

"Best varnish" is a subjective question. Over the past 40 years I've tried many and formulations have also changed in the time as well. I am currently a big fan of Epifanes clear that has a high level of UV inhibitors. The trick with any varnish is many layer and once you are in the seven-...

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