The lets talk about boat noises and I/O pontoons thread :)

YYZRC

We all are, Handy. We all are. 

J3ff

Handymans342 said:

Yeah but he is running out of money 

ha ha you're hilarious - not running out of money, the budget is balanced - just running out of patience for paying people at 125 an hour and not having things done correctly. I bought the wrong bearing at the start, they were supposed to put it in, then a member here made it apparent that it was the wrong one, I then went to the mechanic and said "take out the cheap bearing and put the sealed, more expensive one in" - did he do it? Prob not but No idea.. I guess we'll find out when I pull it out myself sometime next week. 

YYZRC said:

I think disappearing mechanic #3 did you a favor. 

Is there a Merc certified large (professional) marina near you? It sounds like you keep relying on shadetree mechanics where you have no recourse if/when things go wrong. I hate paying the marina rate for labor but I know in doing so I have at least some recourse if needed. I do understand that you moved cross-country. 

I also think you should stop buying parts and let the marina supply and install. Again, you will pay a bit more but it’s their responsibility to get it right. 

There is a marine max in the keys, funny thing is all the local guys seem to make fun of the place.. I've never used them for anything but it might be going that way! We'll see. 

davidbrooks

The first mechanic i ever used did me a favor by screwing up a simple impeller change.  He got me frustrated enough to learn to do it myself.  Since then i have done most of the work myself but when i did need an expert i started calling around.  Finding guys that dealers use or marinas recommend has been a staple for me.  The good ones are always really backed up and i seriously doubt the ones that can jump on something immediately. 

212rowboat

the game of blame serves no purpose now but to spawn stress and anxiety over something you can't change.... duh.... i offer it as i don't like the tone the thread has taken. 

i do ALL my own work... i spend a lot of time cussing at myself in the mirror... if there was no multiple personality disorder prior to that practice, there is now... there is the incensed, the insulted, and some drunken by-stander mumbling something about "if that dude talked to me that way..... well, i'd...."... i can only assume there is audience for the drunken mumbler, but i haven't met them yet. 

"struggle and cuss, cuss and struggle, then you do what must be done"

just get to it, Sir... you'll be better off on the other side. 

J3ff

212rowboat said:

the game of blame serves no purpose now but to spawn stress and anxiety over something you can't change.... duh.... i offer it as i don't like the tone the thread has taken. 

i do ALL my own work... i spend a lot of time cussing at myself in the mirror... if there was no multiple personality disorder prior to that practice, there is now... there is the incensed, the insulted, and some drunken by-stander mumbling something about "if that dude talked to me that way..... well, i'd...."... i can only assume there is audience for the drunken mumbler, but i haven't met them yet. 

"struggle and cuss, cuss and struggle, then you do what must be done"

just get to it, Sir... you'll be better off on the other side. 

Yup - This kind of comes at a good time anyway, looks like hurricane season will be ramping up - going to pull it out and slowly work on it over the next few weeks... guess the goal will be to have it back in middle or end of Sept. 

PickleRick

My money is still on that cheap gimball.

You're likely to pull it and find the alignment spot on.

A good oem bearing will have zero issues running idle speeds at a reasonable trim for many years.

When my dad beaches his 20 plus year old 27 ft pontoon do you think he idles it off the beach?

He romps her trimmed up in reverse to give enough force to pull free.

I wouldn't do that to my boat but his motto is if I can't use it the way I need to I will get rid of it.  

I'm betting his gimball is at least 7 years old if not original.  

YYZRC

J3ff said:

There is a marine max in the keys, funny thing is all the local guys seem to make fun of the place.. I've never used them for anything but it might be going that way! We'll see. 

It’s easy to hate on a big business but they wouldn’t still be in business if they were messing up customer boats all the time. 

212rowboat

PickleRick said:

When my dad beaches his 20 plus year old 27 ft pontoon do you think he idles it off the beach?

He romps her trimmed up in reverse to give enough force to pull free.

your dad has a 27' stern drive pontoon?  outboards don't suffer the alignment concern... I'm not doubting you, but if i were to witness a i/o pontoon i would be more surprised to see that than if Hoffa and Bigfoot were piloting it.   

J3ff

Boat is out - go to flush it, apparently there's 4 holes on the FRONT bottom of the sea core drive and water is just pouring out of them and not going up into the boat... why do they have to complicate things by adding 4 water pickups on the front!

J3ff

How do you flush this thing? Duct tape around the front and turn the water on? 

Aqua_Aura

212rowboat said:

PickleRick said:

When my dad beaches his 20 plus year old 27 ft pontoon do you think he idles it off the beach?

He romps her trimmed up in reverse to give enough force to pull free.

your dad has a 27' stern drive pontoon?  outboards don't suffer the alignment concern... I'm not doubting you, but if i were to witness a i/o pontoon i would be more surprised to see that than if Hoffa and Bigfoot were piloting it.   

They do make I/o pontoon boats. I have sent them. Hoffa and Bigfoot weren't there though. 

aero3113

Yes, duct tape on the front holes and muffs on the side vents.

J3ff

aero3113 said:

Yes, duct tape on the front holes and muffs on the side vents.

not used to these new designs.. thanks.. it's all set. Tools will be in next week..then the real fun begins. Tempted to just leave it high and dry for a month. 

aero3113

What’s not used? The muffs? Where do you hook up the hose on the new drive?

J3ff

aero3113 said:

What’s not used? The muffs? Where do you hook up the hose on the new drive?

Never had a drive with the front holes... seems "new" to me, maybe it isnt 

aero3113

I have one with the holes and one without. 

PickleRick

212rowboat said:

PickleRick said:

When my dad beaches his 20 plus year old 27 ft pontoon do you think he idles it off the beach?

He romps her trimmed up in reverse to give enough force to pull free.

your dad has a 27' stern drive pontoon?  outboards don't suffer the alignment concern... I'm not doubting you, but if i were to witness a i/o pontoon i would be more surprised to see that than if Hoffa and Bigfoot were piloting it.   

Its a 27 ft party barge.  3.0 merc alpha one.

To change the starter, pull the motor


Change the alternator, pull the motor


Guess how many motors I've pulled or helped pull with an A frame in the last 4 years???

I've sold volvo penta 290 parts to an outfit in Charlotte NC that specializes in diesel conversions.  They tossed a 6.2 diesel non turbo into a pontoon years ago.  The owner loved the noisy smokey thing.

earl1z19

I also have 1 drive with the front holes and one with out. I use muffs on both without issue. I replaced both Bravo 3 drives in 2015

Handymans342

Usually they have a fiberglass bottom

PickleRick

If I'm not mistaken ones with fiberglass bottom are referred to as deck boats.

212rowboat

I've seen them too... ive even ridden on a more rare configuration of a bass boat with an i/o made by skeeter... i was just poking @PickleRick is all... 

An i/o makes no sense in it, though.  

A guy down here I see all the time has a 21' commercial fishing boat with an inboard and jet drive.  I didnt think it made any sense until I saw it zip across a flat no more than 3 or 4 inches deep..... so I guess everything has a purpose even though I don't know what that purpose is...  that thing is a flat bottom boat bit with a pronounced v bow... home built glass over wood, but looks like it was made in a factory somewhere..... somewhere strange.... 

J3ff

Interesting toon there...wonder how it rides?? 

PickleRick

The i/o makes great sense back in the 90s when 2 stokes were your o/b choice


The 3.0 sips fuel compared to a 75 hp 2 cycle of the day.

My dad adds maybe 5 gallons every weekend on average.  Also runs in the mid/upper 20s wot which wasn't bad for a 27 footer back in the day.

Now some 300 hp tritoons run faster than some bass boats

reneechris14

J3ff said:

Interesting toon there...wonder how it rides?? 

On a trailer or on top of water

PickleRick

I have not spent a lot of time on pontoons but my dad's rides well. Huge bimini top. I can see why they are so popular on the keys now.  Its like a floating patio. The ladies can sit under the huge bimni while the guys fish.  Also a great snorkeling or diving platfrom.  

Much more lounging room than an equal sized cc or cruiser.

Handymans342

PickleRick said:

I have not spent a lot of time on pontoons but my dad's rides well. Huge bimini top. I can see why they are so popular on the keys now.  Its like a floating patio. The ladies can sit under the huge bimni while the guys fish.  Also a great snorkeling or diving platfrom.  

Much more lounging room than an equal sized cc or cruiser.

They even have double deckers with a slide for the kids

PickleRick

My last vacation rental had a double decker sitting on a lift 2 houses down.  They had it out near the reef the first day we got down there.  

PickleRick

Ive seen more than a few pontoons turned sideways at the launch ramps.  If its a husband and wife doing the loading, its very easy for them to figure ,out who's to blame

J3ff

Tools will be here tuesday or Wed...  going to attempt the alignment and replacement of gimbal sometime after work or next weekend

reneechris14

Go to a local hardware store get a big piece of treaded rod some nuts and washers a 2x4 with a hole in the middle. It will be the best pulley for a gimbal