On Topic-Specific Internet Forums everybody plays Pappa-Bird. Each man shares what he can and feeds whoever is hungry. Some men have infinite knowledge and they answer in a few paragraphs. Some men have less knowledge and a camera, so they provide useful footage.
Here below is some non-useful footage of our wild pet birds. This is the skinny pappa-bird feeding the babies. Mamma just took off to go find more grub. If you get hungry enough you will eat them…. so let them roost is what I say.
That hook above, made of 1/2″ PVC Electrical Conduit and 10AWG wire, was used to grab a balloon 20′ up in the power lines. Dont ask how that turned out.
Onward to the footage
DEPICTED BELOW
- Removal of the beauty plate, fastener was rusted on
- Removal of the crank case vent and flame arrestor
- Finding the dead lead acid batteries
Nothing of note so far
Later on we show WHY you need that flame arrestor. I caught a nice backfire on camera. If you do that with an engine compartment full of gasoline fumes you WILL find out the hard way.
DETICTED BELOW
- Proving that the Lead Acid is shot
- Proving that the Safety-Chargers are Obnoxious
- Attaching the IP63 Lithium Jumpers
- Low Current Electrical Checks (Trim etc)
DEPICTED BELOW
- Very first crank, and pretty sure it has been 2 seasons, not 1
- No starter spray used, priming the bowl by cranking
- Choke starts closed, starter actually bumps!
- Throttle cracks the choke and Accelerator pump works
- Jumper Pack turns S T R O N G!
The goal above was not to start the engine, but to prime the carb. We dont even have water hooked up at that point. When I prime with the throttle I disengage the prop by pressing in on the button at the pivot. If you dont do this… well… THEN CLEAR THE FUCKING PROP.
Shit gets real super quick
Dont be that guy…. chopping up the dogs and such
DEPICTED BELOW
- Water muffs are attached
- Fuel bowl may or may not be full by now (likely is)
- Tries to light on second turn (great!)
- Choke appears to be working
- Engine Lights, CHOKE IS WORKING
- Engine displays expected cold running performance
- Engine stabilizes and starts warming up
- CHOKE STARTS TO LET GO AROUND TIME 2:50
- By time 3:40 the Choke opens wide
- By time 4:20 the Choke is totally open
- By 4:40 the Choke stays open across Starting Cycle
- By time 5:00 I see no excess fuel pouring in
- Fucking Great!
Wow… Appears to be perfect operation.
Someone must have come in the night and finished my half-ass carb rebuild.
DEPICTED BELOW
- Zooming in on the Carb
- Operation at ~140F
- Around 2:15 the thermostat opens
- Alternator making 14.5V
- Impeller moving plenty of water
- Repeat proof that the Lead is Dead
- Lithium Packs CHARGE FAST to full (<——–)
- Lithium Packs starting like a champ, even over clamps
DEPICTED BELOW
Normally I am inclined to SLAM the throttle forward (Step Response) and BLIP the throttle full and back to Idle (Impulse Response). I do a soft job of it below… but we do get a backfire. These backfires can beat the crap out of components inside the carb (what is it called, the Power Valve?) and of course they can ignite trapped fumes that are of an A/F ratio suitable for ignition (like 3:1 to 20:1 and anything in between)
TL;DR
- Avoid Creating Backfires up thru the Carburetor
- Use the Coast Guard Approved Arrestor
- Time 1:00 visible backfire up out of carb
DEPICTED BELOW
- Starts on 1st turn with no prime after sitting 30 min (THE GOAL!)
- We aint there yet tho… hold off on celebration
DEPICTED BELOW
- Trailering Safety Disclaimer
- Visually Check your pin and pin lock
- Visually Check your chains, both of them, with a clip
- Visually Check your rims and measure your tire pressure
- Keep the speed down, I run in compound low
- REMEMBER THAT FUCKING THING IS BACK THERE!
- Dont clip corners
- Dont drive fast
- AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR BRAKES MAN !!!!
- Dont tow on soft brakes!
- Worry more about your Mission Critical Systems and less about your Lights and Tags
- Humph
I live at the Harbor (I can see the boat ramp from my porch) and almost DAILY some sap pulls a major fuckup towing his boat
- Dragging the stag
- Rolling the rear wheels into the water between swells
- Dropping the boat on the ramp above the water line!
- Losing the hitch a mile from the ramp
- Setting the boat too far back on the trailer
- Setting the boat crooked as hell on the trailer
- Not using the rear straps
- Grossly over-loading the trailer with weight
- Running with weight aft of the axle (light tongue)
- Miss-adjusted ball tongue
- Ball attached with a nut and no washer
- Undersized Vehicle for the load
- Small ball with a 2″ trailer
- On and on and on… YES… Boats DO get wrecked around here regularly
Captain Schindler
Lets close with the 3 ways a man can become a Captain
- You can Earn It by working every single station and being a strong and experienced leader
- You can Stumble into a half working boat with half baked advice and learn as you go
- You can build your own boat from scratch and learn EVERY hard lesson
The first is the best… you are ready. The second is most common, call it “half cocked”. The third… sigh… may just be better than the second. A little bit of knowledge can be VERY DANGEROUS boating in open water.
THIS BOAT?
- Can take you 20 miles out into open water in under half an hour
- Can take you vertical in high surf
It is probably the most scary and dangerous toy I own, so… TAKE IT SERIOUS. This thing is more of a Death Machine than my guns, high voltage power supplies, giant batteries, ebikes, etc. Voted most likely to cause Death and Destruction of Property.
-Schindler