[Hawkeye]

I should add that the water was no more than 3' deep, mostly only inches deep... and although I do know you can drown in 6" of water and we should have had on PFD's, I was ready, willing and able to abandon ship to haul one of the kids out if they had fallen overboard.

I take their safety very seriously. They asked me if they could take the boat out alone, and I said they could, but they'd have to put on their vests....

 

[mudd_catt]

That was a great idea. I kinda wish I had a canoe, to fish and hunt some of these places in the swamp around here. That is the only way to access some of them.

Looks like the kids had a wonderful time. I beleive I would have At least with everthing else happening, you found a way to look at the bright side. Even in the aftermath of a hurry-cane.

Hawkeye, If they have to operate on my aunt, I will be in your neck of the woods possibley as early as next weekend. If I get up there, I want to have a face-to-face with you and the NightTrain.

BTW, did you try to call me yesterday?

 

[Hawkeye]

No sir, I didn't try to phone yesterday. I'm sorry to hear they may have to do surgery on your Aunt. Let me know a little in advance if you can visit, and I'll let Bill know. Maybe we can squeeze in some catfishin while your here...

Here's the latest update on the boat/motor saga....
I went to look at the motor Jerry told me about. It turns out I know the fellow who owns it, and he's one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet in my life. He bought a boat/motor/trailer from a guy a while ago, and he's offered me the motor. It's an inline 6, 90 HP, Merc. Neither one of us has any clue if it will run, but get this... He's going to work on the motor this afternoon to see if it will run. If it runs, he's offered to sell it to me for $100... If it doesn't run, he told me he's got another boat/motor/trailer that someone gave him, that has a good running Evinrude 4 cylinder motor on it... I Don't recall how many ponies that motor is, but he's said I can HAVE that motor if he can't get the merc to run.... So, it looks as though I may be fishin in as little as a week or so... depending on which motor runs. I've got my fingers crossed for the Merc to run, as my controls, steering and gas tanks are all set up to run with mercury stuff, and the motor swap will be easier than switching to a Johnsonrude motor... I told him that I would take either motor GLADLY and that I will be VERY thankful for anything he can do to get me on the water. He's an extermely busy man, so it might not be today when I hear, but at least he's got it in his head to help me... and for that alone, I am very thankful....

There's hope...

I also found a guy with a rebuilt 200 hp powerhead that will bolt on my lower. I don't really want all the horsepower, as the boat is only rated for 115 horsepower, and I felt a little insecure with a 175 (150 rated at the prop) on it.... so, I'm keeping the powerhead in my back pocket as insurance if everything else fails.... we haven't negotiated price on the powerhead either, but it will be considerably more than a free motor LOL... I know the crank is worth $800 and so does he....

 

[Profish00]

IF the crank is broken you can generally hear it when it runs. A clanking noise.
Remove the flywheel and see if the crank still moves.
Its possible the top brg has gone out.

There is nothing in the flywheel to come loose and cause problems as you have mentioned. By this I mean rubber grommets to spin out.

Ensure all the small bolts are tight too

 

[mudd_catt]

Hawkeye, I don't know who it is that is trying to call, They are calling from a "Newport New, VA" 757-262-**** #, and always manage to call when I ain't home. I thought it mighta been you. Oh well, if it's a bill collector, I don't wanna talk to them either

If you HAVE to put the Johnson on, all you should have to do is swap the shift/throttle cables, and put a new fitting on the fuel line. It's not really as bad a job as it sounds, but it looks bad. If in the long run, you end up taking the 175 off and don't want it, I might take it off your hands.

If I end up coming up, I don't know if I will have any time to fish or not. Will probably end up staying at the hospital alot. How far are you from Norfolk? If I go up I want to at least put a face to a name. I don't know exactly what they are trying to accomplish by operating, but she has Khron's (sp?) disease, which they tell me is an inflammation/infection of the intestines, a very painful experience. Gotta go plant food plots. Later.

ps. Didn't mean to cut off in mid-sentence yesterday, but had just enough time to hit the enter key before power went off. My ups was supposed to kick on, but the battery was dead, and when the warning beeper went off I hit the enter key just before it went dead.

 

[Hawkeye]

If you want to find out who is trying to phone you, send me the number and I'll see what I can do. We live about an hour and fifteen minutes from Norfolk, depending on where you are talking about in the city. If/when you get here, you can call me at work (757) 365-2423 or home (804) 834-2245 and we can get together. NightTrain lives about another 75 minutes or so south of me. We can run down there to meet him, and if you're pressed for time we can just forget about trying to fish. After I wrote that I felt pretty dumb about trying to squeeze in a fishing trip when you're visiting a sick member of the family...
I'm not much to look at, and there isn't anything particularly special about me either, but I'd be pleased to shake your hand. Newport News is closer to Norfolk than it is Waverly, where I live. It's possible there's someone lurking here that is trying to contact you... I have no clue.
I thought it was a little odd, no, dramatic that your last post was cut off mid-sentence, but I wasn't worried that you'd been abducted by aliens or anything... I figured something (like a power outage or you got disconnected when you hit the enter key) like that might have happened...

I'm probably going to just let the 175 sit for a while, until I get past the disappointment and anger of buying a "rebuilt" motor that suffered a broken crankshaft so soon after putting the boat in the water. It really is a nice motor, it just needs more work than I can afford right now, and it isn't "worth" rebuilding according to the "experts" and it isn't "worth" much for parts according to the same experts.... so it it probably a good project for me to undertake when the insanity of having it wrecked so soon after buying it passes.... I'm sure I can replace the crankshaft by myself. I'll get a service manual and I have ready access to folks who have forgotten more about building engines than I'll probably ever know. Right now, I lack the motivation and time to do anything with it... can't hardly bear to look at the boat... so, the feelings I have about the "deal" I got need to pass before I try to do anything with the motor. I'm still a little sore where I sit down after the experience, if you know what I mean...

Khron's is very painful from what I understand. If I recall correctly, the immune system basically eats the lining of the affected person's intestinal wall... they can't get the nutrition they require from the foods they eat, and there is a lot of pain. I know two other folks with the same "disease" and they are both very thin and are in constant pain. I am sorry to hear your Aunt is dealing with the disease too. Like you, I do not know what the benefits of operating would be. I'm not a doctor, and I barely understand what Khron's is, so it's not likely I would have anything insightful to add. We'll lift her up in prayer. It's all we can do.

 

[Hawkeye]

IF the crank is broken you can generally hear it when it runs. A clanking noise.
Remove the flywheel and see if the crank still moves.
Its possible the top brg has gone out.

There is nothing in the flywheel to come loose and cause problems as you have mentioned. By this I mean rubber grommets to spin out.

Ensure all the small bolts are tight too

I have not removed the flywheel yet. I've got to the point where I just sort of walk past the boat without really looking at it right now. I'm a bit angry... Last time I did fool with it, the top portion of the crankshaft, the flywheel nut and the flywheel all moved in perfect time together.... the "wobble" isn't just side to side or up and down, I can lift one side of the flywheel, and the opposite side goes down kind of wobble... The crankshaft that is sticking through the flywheel, and the flywheel nut aren't "fixed" with the flywheel moving around on the shaft... they "go with" the flywheel motion. I'll get out there this weekend (was kind of busy yesterday and today) and pull the flywheel off to be absolutely sure, but I can't think of any way shape or form that it is possible for the top portion of the crank to move independently of the bottom section without there being some seperation (broken?) in the two. I looked at a crankshaft yesterday, out of a 150 Merc, and it's a CHUNK of metal. I can't even begin to understand how I broke the one in my motor running it the way I did. The crank had to be defective prior to me buying the boat. When I get it apart, I think I'm going to have a talk with the guy I bought it from and we may end up in court. Something that substantial doesn't "just break" through normal use. Someone, somewhere at sometime HIT something with that motor.... and it wasn't me.

 

[mudd_catt]

It does take a HIT to break a crank like that. If you were in the boat you would think you were gonna sink, most times. Although I have heard of a RARE case or two, where it was stressed already and just gave way under torque. If it was stressed in the right spot when you tried to see what the motor would do, it MIGHT have gave. But on a boat rated for a 115, the chances are probable about .001% for that to happen.

I have a buddy that is learning the hard way that rocks and a high speed boat motor do not mix. He clipped the top of a rock pile in the upper end of Pickwick, and sheared his crank, stripped the gears in the foot, and just all around "fubar"ed his 150 Yammer Hammer.

The mechanic thinks that the major thing with my motor right now is the starter melted the windings together when it got hot. He doesn't like the low compression, but says that may be a stuck ring. He doesn't think it is TOTALLY ruint. (bout time for some good news huh?)

 

[Hawkeye]

The mechanic thinks that the major thing with my motor right now is the starter melted the windings together when it got hot. He doesn't like the low compression, but says that may be a stuck ring. He doesn't think it is TOTALLY ruint. (bout time for some good news huh?)

I could use some good news myself. As it turns out, the guy who offered me the motor is about the busiest person in Virginia... it's going to be a while before I get that motor, or any motor from him. He runs a logging operation with his brother. They're super people, but they're super busy too. I caught him in one of his stationary moments yesterday because they were putting a new engine in one of his trucks... this is all new information to me since last night... I guess I'll have a motor when I'm supposed to get one.

Good luck on yours... I'm still checking out every option I have available to me... found an evinrude a few miles up the road, but don't want to shell out $600 for a motor.... yet

 

[Profish00]

The top bearing on the crank shaft takes a pretty good beating over the years. If not properly lubricated it will eventually fail earlier than expected.

Its located directly under the flywheel. It is sometimes accessable without tearing the engine apart

its worth a look