First sea trial for the Mako...

Arima17Ryan · 04-27-2006, 08:51 PM

Well, we lit the fires today on Hagg lake for the first official sea trial. The good news is that the motors run well, the bad news is not very long... The "mechanic" I have previously mentioned installed Racors(the one and ONLY good thing he did) but he used the smallest fuel line possible from the Racors to the outboards. So it starves in no time flat. Plus one of the fuel primers had a leak so that motor was sucking air as well. So one of us had to sit in back and pump the primer every couple seconds to keep the motor running. BTW, I don't believe the "mechanic" was actually a mechanic at all. He lived on a boat near by and the salesman had him work on this boat. Everything he touched made the problems worse, and that's not an exageration. We were told that the salesman lost his job for issues surrounding this "mechanic". But hey the guy did us a favor. If he had been able to fix the boat we wouldn't have got the great deal we did. Anyway, back to the sea trial. I think the boat needs more pitch in the props since it freely revs way up and tops out less than we expected. But dang does it leap on plane with twins! I can already see we will have to secure our contents better than in our Arima since everything that was sitting in the V-berth was on the floor the first time we hit the throttle. We need to look up what RPM we should hit at WOT to see if the props are correct for the boat, but we'll do that on a day when we can stay on the throttle longer. We had only about ten seconds or so at WOT before the rpms would start to fall. We could still keep in on plane if we help the fuel system by pumping the primers like mad, but only at about 3k rpm or so. So all in all it was a great day. We bought the boat "as-is" for a bargin and now we are getting very close to fishable. The motors now run great and getting the boat titled went off without a hitch(out of state, owner death). Aside from the many small things, I think we're down to the fuel system and electronics. Then here fishy fishy

Sorry, no pictures. We had planned to drop one of us on the dock and get some "on-step" shots of the boat but the primer pumping made sea trials a two man job. We must have looked awful funny to the people on shore. :blush:

ArimaRees · 04-27-2006, 09:37 PM

I can tell by reading your post your syched!!! sounds like a cool project,Good fishing to you

Arima17Ryan · 04-28-2006, 10:03 AM

Ya, we're pumped up. The motors were a little scary at first. But I'm no longer clueless when I pop off the outboard cowl. I'm learning a lot and they are much easier to work on and understand than I thought. It's a fun summer project until the bouy 10/ocean coho and fall chinook fisheries open up. We'll start there getting some hours under the boat and motors, then we'll start going off shore(short trips at first).

Pilar · 04-28-2006, 01:49 PM

I run an inboard V-8 in a big heavy fiberglass Carver but the falling down you describe sounds pretty familiar. It was a fuel supply problem on a repower.

Now it runs pretty good.

Congrats on your new ride. By the way, the only boat mechanic you can trust is the one you're looking at in the mirror when you shave every morning. I'm sure there are honest, competent mechanics out there but none of them care about how good it runs 50 miles offshore like I do. Just my $0.02.

Threemuch · 04-28-2006, 02:35 PM

Awesome. When am I going to see that thing parked outside your house?

Arima17Ryan · 04-28-2006, 03:40 PM

It was there last weekend waking up the neighborhood. Those engines sure are loud out of the water. I sort of felt bad for my neighbors, but we tried to get it done quickly. I'm planning on working on it again this weekend but I may just tinker with it at the RV storeage lot. I want to fill some holes in the hard top and get the OR numbers on it. I'm making the run to westmarine tomorrow morning to look at fuel lines, primers, and valves. I want to dive into that fuel issue next week.

tomictime · 04-28-2006, 06:25 PM

Mako23ryan:
be careful with undersized fuel hose and starvation w 2 strokes..FUEL = OIL period, so your mech really did you a diservice. Get the Yami manual or instl guide and be sure to use the correct dia line for your engine. Racors should be trouble free..BUT carry an extra or two and a strap wrench..in case. I put them on w a sharpie mark so I can guage rotation and not overtorque. Finally, you might inquire as to what else this guy touched..and check it over...Cool boat, wanna see the big blue photos.
JD

Arima17Ryan · 04-28-2006, 08:57 PM

Well, not the split hairs or anything, but the oil is controlled by rpm(the pump) and the throttle lever position. Not actually the fuel. The oil enters the system behind the carbs and the amount is controlled by throttle linkage. So as long as your motor is spinning and the throttle is pushed forward you're getting oil. Not that I want to have motors starved for gas though. But I totally agree with everything else said. I used to carry a spare filter(and bowl) on my last boat. I plan on carrying at least two in this one since it sat so long. The sharpie trick is a good idea. And yes, we are affraid of ANYTHING that guy touched. I plan on pulling the carbs on the other motor just to check them over. Ah, big blue photos. I'll need a wingman. I'm not going for a swim to get a good shot...

tomictime · 04-29-2006, 07:34 PM

sounds like Yami system is superior to OMC..I remember VIVID warnings in OMC rigging manual. :smile

) One good thing is you are becoming the expert on your MO :smile:
JD

Arima17Ryan · 04-29-2006, 09:47 PM

Ya, there was a thread on classicmako.com not too long ago about oil injection and the different makes. I guess that most consider that only Yamaha and Suzuki got it right. Merc drove the oil injection from a plastic gear under the power head(not reliable, nor cheap to replace) and OMC drove their oil injection off the crank case pressure(not reliable). That's just what I gathered from the thread. I have no real world experience on Merc oil injection and the OMC oil injection on my previous boat worked the whole time I owned it. Yamaha drives the oil pump with a steel gear off the crank shaft. So as long as the motor is turning you are getting your oil. But maybe I'm just thinking positive thoughts...