yottyboy

Assuming the cleaning cured your problems, then it might be a number of things that you should be doing. A change in fuel with higher ethanol might have been to blame, or it could have been crud in the fuel tanks, or it could have been building up for years and simply got so bad that it became a problem. Try the fuel stabilizer. Run the engines with the tank valve shut off until they die so that there is no fuel in the carbs. Fog the engines prior to storage.

Hmmm,,to paraphrase an old saying, "got a $59 dollar life?, Buy a $59 dollar life vest" They're sold out anyway

I'm not one to second guess this situation, but I have my own thoughts. First, for what I understand to be one of the busiest waterways in the country, the fire boats seem unusually undersized and not up to the task. Second, a $500 Sea Fire would likely have saved this before it became the roaring conflagration. Third, you don't sea trial without someone eyeballing the engines. How ever this got to where it did has to be laid at the feet of someone.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrup-Grumman, Bell-Textron, Maglight, Stanley Tool, Bush Hog, Cessna, Bandit Industries, Microsoft, Washington Post, Harris, Carrier, and many many more.

Depends on what your needs are. Are you thinking something like a JetSki drive or something more substantial? This forum will probably poo poo anything waterjet related as they are all into the 350hp outboards. Most people are scared off by stories of poor economy, clogged intakes, blah blah blah....I am a fan however, so I'm going to say that it would be an excellent drive option particularly if it has plenty of horsepower driving it. I'm building a 28 foot twin waterjet powered boat with Ford 460s. I'm sure it will suck huge amounts of fuel, but I don't care. It will be able to spin in its own length in 16 inches of water, and go sideways.

The only reason the boat had to be demolished was the owners were stingy with repair and upkeep. There is no reason a wooden hull can't last for a long long time, unless it is left to rot. Here in the Bay, there are many wooden work boats built in the early part of the last century still out there tonging "arsters" and clamming.

Aww, you're just jealous that sailors are smarter than power boaters.

It looks like the boat is small enough that the weird stringer in the middle doesn't really come into play supporting the deck. Hardly an issue.

You're going to need a bigger vacuum cleaner

What you have sounds complated (sic) and expensive. It's actually pretty simple to my mind. I just hook it up according to the directions and it works. Yes, I suppose it stays hot all the time. In case of an electrical fire I'll use a fire extinguisher!! There is indeed a main switch to kill power, but it is just a on-off switch. The boat is on a trailer when not in use. It's not cheap, no. The Yandina has a remote switch that allows emergency parallel without a dedicated 1,2,BOTH,OFF switch. Smart alternator regulator: http://balmar.net/page17-maxcharge624.html Voltage Sensing Relay: http://www.yandina.com/c150Info.htm

Are you saying not to have battery switches Bill? I wouldn't have it any other way................ Well, I don't use 1,2,BOTH, OFF switches in my battery charging systems. I use smart multi step voltage regulators and voltage sensing relays to charge from the alternators, so the house and start battery banks both get charged properly and automatically from the engines. I monitor the battery state with an ammeter and voltmeter at the helm station. At the dock I use a Charles marine two bank charger. No need for switches. They just add clutter and cabling. I use Deka AGM batteries for both start and house. In the remote instance of the start battery going flat (really really remote), I can simply swap the cable from the house battery to the power post for the starter. Not saying not to use the 1,2, BOTH, OFF switch if that's what you like, just that I don't need them.

But I don't see anything stupid with the 4 hotties sitting on the back of it. I suspect they were paid to sit on it. It is a promo vid after all.

Far and away the stupidest thing I've seen all week.

There are several workable configurations. Generally, you should have a dedicated start battery for each engine and a house battery for all your other electrical needs. A trolling motor will add to this demand and a separate battery bank just for this should be part of the plan. That's a lot of batteries, and if you are away from the dock for extended periods, you need to be able to charge them from the engines. If you are simply day cruising and OK with using the house and trolling batteries until they are flat, you can get away with your simple system you outline above. NEVER use the start batteries for house loads. Only use the house battery to back up the start battery as an emergency measure. The size of the battery will depend on how much electricity you will use per day. If you have the room, two 31s will be a very comfortable safety margin for most loads like FF, radio, and lights. If you add a stereo and fans and stuff then you might find you have flattened your house bank and the fun will be over. If the 70 hp engines are equipped with alternators, you will be able to travel a little lighter in that the house bank needn't be so massive as it will be charged when the engines run. A single 31 will suffice along with a Yandina charge controller. There are devices available to charge the trolling bank too. I don't want to go into too much detail without more info, but modern battery management systems will automatically charge all your battery banks from the engines without you having to be concerned that you have flattened your start battery. You no longer need a 1,2,BOTH,OFF switch for your batteries.

OK, so now Mythbusters is the go to authority on aero- and hydrodynamics? I think I'll trust people with actual degrees in the subject. The problem is that water is far more "sticky" on a molecular level than air. It's also far more dense, and, well, it's just different as you can certainly tell. Therefore, it is false to assume the same things that work in air will work in water, even though they are both fluids.

So, judging by this, sinking may actually make a boat better! LOL We'll see when he's had to replace the engines once or twice, lost his best binoculars overboard, gotten rammed, torn his pants on a cleat or any number of other bad things have happened. I'll stick with my own well proven superstitions.

There's nothing scientific in this response. A sunken boat is a boat forever jinxed. There's a reason it sank and it has nothing to do with physics or stupidity or anything else. It's just plain old doomed to cause its owner unending grief if it doesn't outright kill him. I am sure I sound like a crazy old coot. Believe me. Stay away from this thing or it'll be Davy Jones' Locker you'll be refurbishing. Really, I'm not joking with you.

Just wanted to pass along my experience with the Navionics chartplotter ap for the iPhone. I had a chance to try it out minimally last weekend and found that it does pretty much what it advertises. It gives you nautical charts on the iPhone with tap to open reference for buoys, marinas, tide and current information as well as the usual GPS tracking, routes, waypoints and favorites. For the price it is a nice backup to a real chartplotter. I paid $9.99 at the iTunes store for it. I think it's pretty cool to have on your brick.

Alex Plus silicone. Allow 24 hours before dunking.

Anything that changes the US Code has to pass Congress. This kind of fear mongering is already DOA. Put it in the garbage along with the recreational boater's "Grey Water Discharge" tax boondoggle.

I'm sort of at a crossroads. I have this boat and engine and stern drive that is still in pieces. Another boating season lost to technical issues.Should I keep working towards a solution using the existing engine and drive? It's been pretty much one damn thing after another. I have yet to feel like the project is near finished. The engine is still at the machine shop, the drive is OK, but an aged OMC Cobra that is no longer supported by the manufacturer who has gone out of business. The engine is a stock Chevy 350 which is carb'd with a new Edelbrock that, when running, is smooth and powerful. The engine is being tested for cracks due to water in the oil. Should I cut my losses and buy a new engine and drive package and have it installed by someone so that I can just enjoy the boat once and for all? I know it's going to be expensive, but considering that I will have to spend several more weekends installing the existing engine (assuming that it is usable) and sea trialing and blah, blah blah... What would you do? I'm definitely going to keep this boat for many many years, so ditching the whole thing for another boat isn't in the cards.

Weather nerd.

Look for them at the corner of Baloney Street and Hogwash Avenue....

Is that the same boat as in the commercial for the guy with the enlarged prostate?

red drum...that's MURDER spelled backwards...