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First boat... a couple months later
kindofsudden
Member Posts: 133 ✭✭✭
Bought a 1979 Sea Nymph Fishing Machine with a 1981 Johnson 70 HP outboard. Deep V, 16 and a half feet long. Seller wasn't completely honest with all the things that needed work (of course), but I think I have most of the issues worked out. Here are some things I am wondering about:
- The livewell pump (services 2 livewells) always turns on okay, but doesn't always deliver water to the wells. It is hit and miss throughout the day. Is it a plugged intake, or a leak, or what?
- My outboard is very cold blooded and needs to idle a little higher, but I would rather not spend $30 on the manual to find out how. Anyone with Sea Horse knowledge here?
- Anyone know a good web site where I can learn how the best way to recarpet the boat?
- I lost my anchor last time I fished. What kind/poundage of anchor should I buy?
- So I go to the river, put a load of catfish in the livewells, and drive the boat home. It's 2 in the morning and I'm not going to clean them then. Should I ice them down? Leave them be? Is it best to stay up another hour and clean them then under a porch light and a legion of bugs?
Thanks ahead of time.
- The livewell pump (services 2 livewells) always turns on okay, but doesn't always deliver water to the wells. It is hit and miss throughout the day. Is it a plugged intake, or a leak, or what?
- My outboard is very cold blooded and needs to idle a little higher, but I would rather not spend $30 on the manual to find out how. Anyone with Sea Horse knowledge here?
- Anyone know a good web site where I can learn how the best way to recarpet the boat?
- I lost my anchor last time I fished. What kind/poundage of anchor should I buy?
- So I go to the river, put a load of catfish in the livewells, and drive the boat home. It's 2 in the morning and I'm not going to clean them then. Should I ice them down? Leave them be? Is it best to stay up another hour and clean them then under a porch light and a legion of bugs?
Thanks ahead of time.
Comments
On to what I do know. Catfish are really hard to kill. A few hrs., and they may still be alive to clean. If you want to be safe...pluck them from the live well, gut 'em, (leave the head on), pack them good in ice...Ive done that with cat, bass, (saltwater fish)...SO many times...and left them for 12-14-16 hrs., and a LOT of the time, their eyes are still clear even...[;)]
Your pump problem sounds like a blockage of sorts, remove the intake and blow it out or run a wire into it and see if that helps.
If not they probably need replaced.
Pop the cover off the motor and see where the adjustment screws are on the carb and tweak the idle screw for your low idle problem.
My pump does the same thing. I have to "prime" it. This is sone by manipulating the hose where it comes in to the boat so that the hose fills up and builds up pressure.
That could be the very problem. There are several pumps out there that will not be able to suck the air, but once they have the water it keeps flowing.
In order to fix this, you could add a small hand pump or thumb pump to the intake line for the pump.
You could also have a close off valve on the intake line, place a hose in between the valve and pump, put a funnel on the hose poor water in the hose, fill it up, turn the pump on, turn the valve to open and let water in.
Let me search for a cheap hand pump.
http://www.boatersworld.com/product/367400058.htm
let me get a drawing drawn up and I will post it.
You would close the valve until you get the pump primed, turn pump on and keep pumping slightly open the valve keep pumping until pump runs water through without pumping.
Since my front livewell has inferior plumbing (doesn't drain as quickly) to the rear livewell, I have been using the rear to keep fish and I have been using an adjustable valve on the input of the front well. Basically, I nearly shut off the front so it doesn't overflow while the rear is still circulating.
Well, I checked the pump inlet before I put the boat in last time, but it looked fine. Wells ran great UNTIL I choked off the front well. Then the pump wouldn't circulate at all. Hmmmm.... opened up the front well again at the valve, and viola: circulation.
Thanks for the input... I wasn't looking forward to opening up the back of the boat to put in a hand pump, so I'm glad it worked out!