mrrobalo

My son just bought a 1997 Scout 17" with a 90 YAMAHA . I have searched everywhere for info but none to be found. In running the boat (no fuel in floor tank as it hasn't been used for years) just a 3 gallon tank it seems to ride very flat. Having testing boats as 1 of my jobs while working at the boat company I am familiar with trimming the boat in many different ways but it always seemed to run flat. So if anyone has one or had one please let me know. I know how to properly install a motor on a regular transom but this boat has a step on it. I am going to get the speed tomorrow using a GPS and just installed a new tac so I can help him find that sweet spot. The boat was bought new and the owner got sick soon after, leaving it in a garage. the owner left it to the guy who took care of him. This is the guy he bought it from and they tried to use it once but wouldn't run due to bad gas the said so I cleaned out the tank and removed almost 3/4 gallon of water varnish and other crud. I would be grateful for any info someone might have. Thank You in Advance,

I always carry a heavy rigging wire (120lb )with a loop on one end so I can run up the pee hole if it doesn't look like it's peeing good. I also check the waterseperator regularly and also keep grease on the steering arm (under the motor and it bolts to the motor) as every one of the 6 rusted to the point I had to make one on every one. I would love to find a used pair to put back onto my ROBALO as it's the 7th power on her and am doing a complete makeover on her as I type. If I cant find a pair of 90 Yamahas I will also look for a pair of 70 OMC's . If I can't find them it will be a single 200 OMC or Yamaha. Good luck .

Anytime I have a trailer I use a heavy duty extrication cords for the wiring and also mount them high on the uprights. The ground is 99% the problem most of the time so I use a wire brush on the ground wire area and put the bare wire (I strip about a 1/2 inch of the ground wires and twist together to go on the brushed metal) and use a large S/S washer and bolt. Then continue to the multi plug. I also solder all the ends and use heat shrink barrel splices and eyes connectors. I haven't used LED's yet but will do it once my boats makeover is finished. I have yet a problem doing it this way. I also had a portable set with a 25 foot cords with lights but my son borrowed them once and he sold a boat with them left on.

[ I think as long as it starts next spring no harm done, right?

Well I came across the idea when I saw a app ad . I am in the middle of a complete restoration on my 1969 original 19" ROBALO and using our other 2 boats that have no electronics. I realize I can't get it wet and would sew a waterproof case with isinglass front and Velcro bottom (and call forward my calls to the wifes phone)like I did when the hand held G P S's first came out. PoPs lives on the island in Grant and since the last hurricane rolled through there all the holes we fished for 30 something years must have been filled in. While I have the other boats to explore neither the pontoon or 17 Twin Vee have electronics as we use them for taxiing us to the mainland and fishing the area within about 10 miles. I though that if the wife and I started trolling around in grid patterns we could pinpoint some good bottom for winter fishing as well as running the river at nigh which I do now but it would be easier to jump in the boat and head to Capt Harrams for dinner and have the chart plotter take me home without having to worry about the crab pots all over. Don't get me wrong I use to run the river to Ft.Pierce at night before a tournament but this would be a lot safer even though I don't drink. It was just food for thought and I KNOW it won't replace a chart plotter but it would be a good back-up just like a hand held VHF. I guess too much thinking when I am at home in the condo and nothing to do.

Looking great as normal. Been sitting up in the cheep seats lately reading off my iPhone as been spending lots of time at PoPs on the island helping him as much as I can but with no Internet , He had major surgery back in Dec (3 rods,8 bolts, bone graph) and heck some days he's doing. better than I am LOL Like I tell people ...He's 78,lives on a island ,drinks like a fish and party's like a rock star! Boy I want to be just like my PoPs . Actually doesn't drink like a fish but a Bush and a pack of crackers make a great breakfast on the flats in the morning LOL .. Keep up the great work Wiley,

I was wondering if any forum members have downloaded iNavX Marine Navigation By GPSNavX on there iPhone 4 and use it for plotting out for the day/night.. I was thinking about buying the app ($49.95) and this would be used as my secondary chart plotter for my ROBALO and could also use it on our flats boat in the river. Thinking this way running the river at night in the flats boat in order to hit those spots before dawn 10 miles from the island (PoPs lives on a island and only way to get there is by is by boat), I know the waters fairly good as been there 30+ years but would go out more if it takes the worry out of running aground by missing a marker. The other idea is marking those uncharted holes that will be holding fish in the winter when they stack up in those deep holes. Also it would give me the option to mark out a fishing plan say in the keys on it . Any Ideas or recommendations on others would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for passing on your knowledge about the audio. I am older and like all types of music as my IPod shows. I will do a mock up cardboard box and go from there . As for the height I think I can come down the 9 inches I will need and with that I will just be installing the stereo and vhf up there along with some switches for spreaders ,fwd.,nav light and florescent console light as the boat will be used a lot at night in the coming years. I just want to make sure it is done right the first time and have plenty of time. Again thank you and if I can help you all out just e-mail me.

Thanks for the reply. I will start checking it out. As for the radio box it will be just that a box to hold the stereo and VHF.

If your a handy type captain you can use a piece of tupperware over the switch . Run and attach all the wires running then strait down then out to where you have them attached to the box's wall. BUT before you do anything find a piece of tupperware that tightly slips over the switch. Once that is done drill a hole on the side that faces down that will allow you to run the wires up into the switch. So you run all the wires through the cut hole and attach then to the proper stud. Once all are done run the tupperware up the wires and onto the switch and ty-wrap the wires as closely as possible. Once done use some silicone around the edge of the tupperware to hold it in place and make it waterproof if you countersunk the front of the switch through the bulkhead. I did this on a boat years ago and worked like a champ. A little MacGyver yes but if you use a clear tupperware your friends will ask where you bought it at LOL If the switch is inside the box and the back is against the bulkhead you would do it the same way only drilling the switch mounting holes onto the bottom of the tupperware and a bead of silicone would need to be applied a 1/4 inch around the switch so when you slip the switch into the tupperware it will form a watertight seal around the edge or if longer you could extend the tupperware past the switch covering the exposed toggle . Below is a pic of my bare console and in the middle bottom you can see where I recessed the switch from behind so only the toggle section was exposed and never (20+years) had a water issue and it is stored on a lift. I am covering the back as explained when I finish the rebuild. Just my 2 cents.

My old neighbor from Orlando wanted to take his new boat out of Stuart. I lived in Port St Lucie at the time and said yea just let me know. Well a week later he calls on a Thursday night and says he's coming down Friday night and staying at a friends house and wanted me to go with them. I said he needed to check the weather as it didn't look good . No problem we would just fish in the inlet if not. Cool and told him I'd meet him at the Jensen ramp at 6AM. Get there and there a wind blowing and a small chop on our way to the inlet from Jensen Beach. Meet his 2 buddy's and on the way down he tells me he's going to get his Captains license. WoW,that one took me by surprise, as all his other boats were runabouts. His reasoning was that way I can write the boat off. Mind you it was a new 23 Pro-line walkaround with a hardtop and a 225 on a bracket. He then informed me this is the offshore shakedown trip as all the others were on the St.Johns River. She seemed fine running down the river . As we got near the Inlet I told him it is shallow and there dredging it so let's wait for a little more lite to navigate our way out. Actually I was stalling for time as I could see the breakers crashing the jetty's hard. By now I can see how bad and said to him it looks bad and I think we should scrub the offshore,run back in and get some bait to fish the inlet. NO It fine and he nails it and I'm knocked back towards the transom. I said no but too late we are IN THE INLET passing the rocks. Well we hit a BIG wave crashing through it and slide down the other side and bump the bottom,when he said $%^5 we are turning around , NO WAY AS I grabbed him jerked him out from the wheel and tried to throttle down keeping our heading and as the motor starts bogging down. I managed to straitened her out and Slowly plowing into the waves as the motor is missing. After what seemed like a eternity (probably only 4-5 minutes I have her in the ocean and the waves are big but running 6-7 seconds apart. He asks me what the hell are you doing? As I responded trying to save our lives as well as your boat. The motor starts running better and we are near the buoy now . I time the waves for my turn and luckily I'm able to surf the wave back in. Once in and safe I slowed down and said here take over. Immediately he said no man please just take us back to the trailer I have had all I need today. Well we slowly made our way back as they were pounding away the beers and he says thank you and I said I'm sorry for snatching you out of the helm but you never turn around in a inlet. We actually ended up hanging around the river the rest of the day and talking about him getting his captains license (which he never did as he didn't have the water hours to even try). The wife and friend came and picked up my truck and I drove his rig to his buddy's house as I don't drink BUT almost did after that ride.

When you get to that spot you have been drifting to for 1/2 hour and FWC comes driving up stirring the mud and say hi I need your reregistration,fishing license ECT. I get it all the time not just once. He knows the boat as PoPs lives on a island (30 years) I just don't get it . I know he is looking for fish but after stopping us over 25 times in the last 2 1/2 years don't you think he would get the hint. If I want to keep a illegal fish I can wade out from the house on the flat and get one . I do believe in them checking us it is for our safety but heck I have 6 life jackets on the flats boat and 14 on the pontoon (only carry 8-10people max the 1/2 mile to county dock)ERRRR Check me while running back to the house if you want to check me PLEASE!

If I were to mount them behind the rod holders wouldn't the fiberglass gridded in 1 inch squares and 1/4 inch drilled holes and the speaker sealed with clear silicone to the inside fiberglass be the same as a speaker grid. My thought is if down the road I don't want them there any more it is a heck of a lot easer to just patch the 1/4 inch holes com paired to a 6 inch BIG hole???? I'm in my 50's and like my music but it doesn't have to be earpericing just want to be able to hear it while crusing to that hot spot but mostly while she's on the lift and we are on the dock fishing or working on the boats. I actually thought about those wakeboard arch speakers but I am already have too much on the T-Top now. Plus I don't want the system to be over $400. Maybe some of the electronics guys would chime in it would be greatly appreciated.

Kingair. She looks good. A little trick I do to my trailers is I mount a spare tire mount on it and on the spare tire (I run the trailer long enough to show just a little ware on the tires and swap one for the spare tire. Then I use a 1/2 inch piece of a flat tire plug (the kit you get with the handle and plug strips for the DIY guy) and superglue it on it so it looks like it's almost in the sidewall but still on the treads and I do 2 about 1/3 way between them. So this way it looks like the tires been plugged a couple times and who would steal that one they will go to another trailer on the lot and get ione. I use to tow boats a LOT when worked at the boat co and never had one stolen after I did it. Just food for thought.

There are a couple of guys on our website that are in the process right now. You don;t have to have a ROBALO but you do need to join (free we are not for profit at all just for fun and info) to see the pics (keeps down the spamers) So this way you can see how a novas did it.Check out my sig for web site.

Thanks for letting me know "the rest of the story" I am sure once I get my boats make over complete and ready to hit the open water she likes so well there will be one on board. I want to thank you for starting this thread not only for a safety standpoint but I will do some research so when working on my console I can build/glass in a holding area for one. Being a small CC making extra room is a premium.So honey I need to get Ba EPIR for the boat..yada yada yada

There are quite a few things to get the boat ready for the season. First off during the colder months you should look over all your safety gear and make sure they are all in date (olin kit /flairs) ,life-jackets clean and certification is ledgeable ,horn/ whistle, throw-able device,fire extinguisher is loaded and your first aid kit is full. Onto the electronics ... check that they work and ALL connections are corrosion free and lubed with the proper spray. lights all work (corrosion free) dock lines are ready (if you soak them in laundry softener they will be easy to coil and easy to toss) anchor is ok,and all drain plugs accounted for. If cabin boat or CC with potty it's cleaned and charged and proper TP on board. Motor if outboard water pump should be changed if it is within the scheduled maintenance. I like to check over the motor like you would do your car for a long trip if I/O.Lube all points and finally test on hose. Let it run for a while holding your hand on the pee stream. It should get warm and when it gets hot the thermostat should open and cool it down . If not check thermostat. If you have a trailer first check tires not only for air but dry rot if any signs change it now not on the side of the road. Onto the bearings, if you travel over a few thousand moles or saltwater use replace it's cheaper and easer in the driveway. (harbor freight have a bearing packer for about $4. and speeds things up.) Take the ones you took out clean them up and put repacked into tupperware so if you break down you have a spare to get you home. SPARE TIRE a must and what I do is super-glue a 2 separate pieces of tire plug onto the edge of the sidewall THINK who is going to steal a plugged tire there off to the one next to you. a bottle jack and 2 pieces of wood in case you change it on the side of the road. I always recommend waxing it before the season and when she comes out of hibernation. It will help keep it clean all summer long as I would rather be fishing than waxing in the summer. The same goes for the interior put it on heave and wipe it after 1/2 hour if any residue left. As for your seat well Are they the plastic roto-molded? if so if they are brittle GET RID OF THEM you don't want it breaking loose throwing a passenger or worse yet the drive. So inspect the bases ,then sit and rock .Make sure there is no movement at the base or worse yet the floor. (if so contact me and I can tell you how to fix it) This should get you started as it just what came to mind mind. Happy boating and go create a memory.

[i too want to know as I also love my YAMAHA 2 stroke 90's . They are 89's and have well over a few thousand hrs. Retired them off my ROBALO and put one on our pontoon boat and the other was getting tired so pickled it and will use for parts. Looks like I will be going to a single 200 HP for her 7'th power plant(s) if no longer available as it will be a year before her makeover will be completed.

If the tilt tube is the culprit you need to see 2 st if you have enough area to remove the steering cable. If OK then pick up a round wire brush.I use a portable drill and shoot brake cleaner on the brush and in the tube Wear safety glasses it goes everywhere so I put a old towel over it and have at it. Once cleaned I push strips of cloth (old T cut in strips) and clean out. They say use lythem grease so I put a coat inside it. But on the cable rod I put neversease all over it and the nuts. If you can get the nut that has a grease fitting on it it goes on the exit end before the rod is installed. Just my 2 cents .

Any way you could post a pic as there are numerous types and some I have a answer????? Thanks

There are a lot of my forum members that have done this as older ROBALOS are totally foam filled and even the tank. It is messy but a pressure washer will beat away the foam around the fuel lines as they run through a trough. It is a dirty job and you need to use a shop vac and remove the beating foam. Another trick is to run a rope through the hose and using a big washer (cut a piece of plywood just a little bigger than the hose) and Tye a Knot in it just past the hose. Make sure you have enough rope on both sides of the hose. This will allow two people to grab the rope and playing tug-a-war you pull and he then pulls back then get a rhythm going and it will break loose and the one with the easiest opening pulls it through. """"STOP"""" Remove the old hose inspect the trough and clean it up but leave the rope in it. Once clean thread the new hose on and pull it back through and install. I recommend NEW hose clamps (Law is 2 ) 2 tighten . Finish with all hoses then your ready to test. Cap off the vent by wrapping plastic over the opening and hose clamp it. Put a bolt in the fuel line clamp . Put the cap on the fill tight. Now on the vent get a used tire valve (pick one up at any tire store)cut so it will go into and can be clamped. Now put in 7 lbs air and it should stay in for 24 hrs test with digital gage. To test for leaks while testing mix some soppy water and brush on area look for bubbles. I hope this makes scene if not let me know. Good luck

Has anyone used the SPOT and can tell me how it preforms (like you used it in the islands) . I have read articles about them but not first hand. I plan on getting something once the boat is done with her makeover. I really want it for my boys as the don't have the offshore experience that I do. It will be part of my ditch bag. .

Not knowing the boat but I have 3 boats in the water that are on lifts. I run into fuel problem constantly now. PoPs has lived on a Island for 30 years and these last 3 years we have had constant water issues to. PoPs joke that I must have put Velcro on the carburetors as I can R/R then in a little over a hour on the boats as I have done them so often. I have a old OMC primer gas pump that I use to clean the tank and get the water out. I use a 10 micron filters now (ones mounted on the boats)and replaced ALL the fuel lines too. So If I were you I would get a pump and what I do is empty the tank down to less than 5 gal . Once done I hook a separate fuel line up to the out side of the filter and run it right back in the tank. Once securely attached I will let it run while tinkering on the boat and trailer for a hour shaking the rig to move any debris in the tank. However the filter will clog if water is in it. You will need to remove the liquid from the filter and reinstall it and let it run again until it goes the hour without clogging. I put the used liquid in a gallon glass pickle jar so it is easy to examine it. This might not answer where it is coming from but it's a start. This may sound like a shade-tree mechanic trick but I have done this for years and have done quite a few fishing buddy's boats with great results. I was in the marine business for a long time and learned a lot from others. I also use the conditioners all the time and we carry gas over in a 5 gal container for both the 2 and 4 strokes. One other thought just came to mind. How old is the boat ? I tell members of my forum that if they are older than 6 years REPLACE them as the ethanol will deteriorate them from the inside out and thats where the water could definitely be coming in. Think about it they are all under the floor and prone to water invasion. Not trying to come over as a know it all just giving you ideas that I have had to find out on my own. Good luck and keep me posted as it has my curiosity wondering.

I am not a electrician by any means but if it were me I would use 2 deep cycle batteries and wire them up to make the 24volts needed. Then hook up a 12v to 110 converter. Then if you can borrow a 24 volt charger from a friend (or take a new one for a test ride WINK WINK) This way your batteries will be kept charged and the battery charger should be able to keep up with the power needs. Just a MacGyver idea from someone........ " that has done so much, with so little, for so long, That I can do anything with nothing at all" Good luck wishing you bloody deck and a 100's of memories.

Due to illness I have not been around much lately . Somehow I clicked onto your post by mistake and I was so impressed that I read every thread . It was so intriguing that I never got up until I had read the whole article. You are a true craftsman and the boat it is spectacular. "I wish you bloody decks and a million memories". Your boat is the true dreamboat and Florida Sportsman should do a dreamboat article of you and your dreamboat. I am (slowly) trying to re-power and refresh my 69 ROBALO the DOTTIE Q . She was in the 20th anniversary dreamboat article in 1989 and hopefully they will do a 21 year follow up on her when I get her back in the water. My hats off to you. Keep up the good work Captain.