Basic mechanical trouble shooting

[Shepnoir]

Well there I was first hali day of the season (for me) and I was stuck at the dock due to motor troubles. The real salt in the wound was seeing Dirty oar leave and come back with three halis before i even left the dock! *******! I know everyone has been there... all it was was a corroded distributor, but took someone that knew a bit of basic mechanics to figure it out. Needless to say that person was not me...give me a break I'm a carpenter by trade. It got me thinking, as I have many times before, what if I was on anchor off shore, or somewhere remote, or worst of all out with the family and have this happen. I would feel more conforable having a bit of knowlegde in getting things going again even if it was a McGyver fix. Anyone know of a crash course in basic marine mechanics, or if any others where interested, I think I could motavate a really good mechanic to have a day course. Thoughts / comments?

BTW yes I did get out, but no love from the hali gods. Oh well, still a better day than sitting in the office!

 

[Labman2]

It's amazing how much you can fix with a can of WD-40 and another of Brakeclean.
Always have both with me in my hunting trucks and my boats.
I made the mistake of backing up too far on a ramp one time, trailer pulled the wifes LTD into the lake!
water was up to the front seats, pulled it out, yanked the carpets, pulled the drains in the floor pans, let it dry for a dy, sprayed the power seat buttons with the WD and the dist.with Brakeclean, started right up, ran another couple years before I traded it in!

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

Nobody can teach you in a day what it takes us(mechanics) many years to learn, trust me on that one. What you need is to just know the basics. You need to know how something works before you can fix it. Otherwise you will find yourself replacing parts, hoping for the best. Most times the cause of failure is something simple. My advice to you is first- get yourself a good shop manual for your engine and study it. Dont be afraid to take stuff apart. If you dont have the right tools, get them.. dont be using vice grips and cresent wrenches to remove bolts. Take pictures of whatever it is youre taking apart, believe me, it will save you headaches sometimes when reassembling. The internet is another tool you should use, anything you ever need to know is at your finger tips. Good luck.

 

[Gunsmith]

Best advice I have seen so far. There is also a do it yourself magazine that does not take you in depth about mechanics but helps you on trouble shooting and also step by step projects that are well explained Sometimes the best money saved is knowing how to explain to a mechanic what the symptoms are and he can get to the actual problem quicker.

Nobody can teach you in a day what it takes us(mechanics) many years to learn, trust me on that one. What you need is to just know the basics. You need to know how something works before you can fix it. Otherwise you will find yourself replacing parts, hoping for the best. Most times the cause of failure is something simple. My advice to you is first- get yourself a good shop manual for your engine and study it. Dont be afraid to take stuff apart. If you dont have the right tools, get them.. dont be using vice grips and cresent wrenches to remove bolts. Take pictures of whatever it is youre taking apart, believe me, it will save you headaches sometimes when reassembling. The internet is another tool you should use, anything you ever need to know is at your finger tips. Good luck.

 

[casper5280]

Excellent advise Island Fish Lifter has given you. Get a manual. Tools, Tools, Tools I can't stress that enough, it makes the job so much easier. All you need is a decent set of sockets and wrenches and screw drivers,Volt meter and you can fix most things. Much more then that and maybe you should be seeing a real mechanic. A mechanic once told me the three things you need to know "Spark,Fuel and Air the three things a motor needs to run". Pull a plug wire to see if your getting a spark. Pull the air cleaner and pull the Throttle to see if you are getting Fuel. Than start going from there.

 

[Foxsea]

My younger brother, a darn good mechanic, would tell me that if I took care of the regular checks (battery charge, fuel, oil, etc.) and scheduled maintenance, the emergency repairs would take care of themselves. I eventually figured out what he meant. I still carry a few basic tools but have never needed them. (Touching my forehead)

Early one summer morning, my trusty Yammy would crank over beautifully - strong battery - but would not start. I check the fuel and tried it 3 or 4 more times over the next couple of minutes, with no luck. Another fisherman, walking by and apparently not as hung over as I was, barely made eye contact as he quietly said: "Kill switch." ...My Homer Simpson moment... Doh! If it wasn't dark he would have seen my red face!

We were fishing outside of Bamfield on a beautiful July 1st weekend a few years back. By 6:00 am, 4 boaters had radioed the Coast Guard on 16 - out of fuel.
6:00 am! Just freakin' unbelievable!

 

[Dogbreath]

Always be sure there's a guy named Alex within hailing distance-he'll save your bacon every time (don't ask OK?).

 

[chris73]

Maybe not a day course on how every detail works and how to fix it all, but I could imagine a day course going over the basic on how an outboard functions, what the main components are and what should be checked in what order if this and that happens (based on experience what the most common break downs are). Aand maybe an hour for the do it yourself maintenance steps for the common motors out there. If you can organize that you can bet you will have full attendance.

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

Maybe not a day course on how every detail works and how to fix it all, but I could imagine a day course going over the basic on how an outboard functions, what the main components are and what should be checked in what order if this and that happens (based on experience what the most common break downs are). Aand maybe an hour for the do it yourself maintenance steps for the common motors out there. If you can organize that you can bet you will have full attendance.

Funny you should say that, Ive been teaching 3 day courses on basic outboard maintenance this year. I have two more to do before March is over.. so far going well.

 

[profisher]

LOL..also very funny because.....I've been thinking of my next seminar project and here is what I was trying to put together in my head. A large venue for a marine flea market plus a centre seating area with a raised stage...various speakers and demonstrations. 1. have a boat trailer up on stage and have someone show what is the proper annual maintenance on a trailer and how to service and replace brakes. 2. Move a fiberglass boat up on stage and have an expert show the proper repair of small chips...polishing, waxing and products. 3. Move a couple outboards up on stage and have an expert (maybe IFL ..wink wink..nudge nudge) explain proper annual maintenance and troubleshooting. 4. The same for I/O engines. Make this a day long flea market with ongoing speakers. I would need the support from a few thousand people to make this a success in a larger venue...anyone care to give me some feedback with some thoughts?

 

[Foxsea]

LOL..also very funny because.....I've been thinking of my next seminar project and here is what I was trying to put together in my head. A large venue for a marine flea market plus a centre seating area with a raised stage...various speakers and demonstrations.

Great idea! Topics: could include the hali seminar that was mentioned on this board; Power Squadron, Operator's Licence courses; Float planning, weather and marine safety; boat handling and etiquette, anchoring, docking; using marine electronics; etc.
Keep us posted...

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

LOL..also very funny because.....I've been thinking of my next seminar project and here is what I was trying to put together in my head. A large venue for a marine flea market plus a centre seating area with a raised stage...various speakers and demonstrations. 1. have a boat trailer up on stage and have someone show what is the proper annual maintenance on a trailer and how to service and replace brakes. 2. Move a fiberglass boat up on stage and have an expert show the proper repair of small chips...polishing, waxing and products. 3. Move a couple outboards up on stage and have an expert (maybe IFL ..wink wink..nudge nudge) explain proper annual maintenance and troubleshooting. 4. The same for I/O engines. Make this a day long flea market with ongoing speakers. I would need the support from a few thousand people to make this a success in a larger venue...anyone care to give me some feedback with some thoughts?

Im in.....

 

[TheSookesOfHazzard]

Nobody can teach you in a day what it takes us(mechanics) many years to learn, trust me on that one. What you need is to just know the basics. You need to know how something works before you can fix it. Otherwise you will find yourself replacing parts, hoping for the best. Most times the cause of failure is something simple. My advice to you is first- get yourself a good shop manual for your engine and study it. Dont be afraid to take stuff apart. If you dont have the right tools, get them.. dont be using vice grips and cresent wrenches to remove bolts. Take pictures of whatever it is youre taking apart, believe me, it will save you headaches sometimes when reassembling. The internet is another tool you should use, anything you ever need to know is at your finger tips. Good luck.

As others have posted, very well said. Learning this stuff is not quick and easy. However, at the dock there are a few basics things you can learn to check yourself. Most Outboard problems I see have to do with spark or fuel, checking to ensure you have both should make it run.

Again, proper maintenance is a must. I've never had a single problem - ever - with my boat engines (fingers crossed) and I owe that to ritualistic maintenance!