I can't talk about fishing, so I'll talk about my boat.
Last two times I used it, it sort of idled bad..........just missed at low speeds. High speeds, it ran fine. But at lowest speed, it just missed. I spend way more time at low speed than high, so that's a problem.
SO....I figured I'd take off cowling, look at a plug and see if it's fouled, and just replace the plugs and see if that helped. SO I take off the nine hundred pound cowling cover........and "WHERE ARE THE PLUGS?".........what an abomination of metallic whatsits all in this thing! I get the book, find the plugs, and it tells me how to take them out. OK, first disconnect the wiring harness. Not that easy, but ok, I get that. Next "Remove the pencil pin, and when replacing it ensure that you push in, and use .20 mm torque, etc".........
OK, I'm officially over my pay grade.
Then I look around and WHAT THE FLYING DOWEEZERS IS THAT THING?
Dang motor has an air filter! Like a lawnmower. I Swear. And worse, the 'foam' around it is eaten up and pieces are everywhere. What the heck? So, I get online and yep, this is a major Mercury issue, and they admit it and will fix it. SO I figure I'll order another one, and put it on. Well, it has hoses, and parts, and wires!!!! Wires to an air filter!! And it's somehow an integral part of a bigger metal plate, etc.
Anyway, I gave up. The place I bought it in town is out of business, so I Googled up a Merc repair guy in Little Rock and took it down there Tuesday. I just got it back today. Labor costs are out of sight, but basically all they did was change the plugs (they were fouled badly), change the oil, service it, and ordered a new air filter. Bad part was my motor had a SIX year warranty, and guess when it ran out? Yep, March 23, 2013. One month ago. However, the guy helped me out and backdated the order and got me the parts free from Mercury. Good guy.
So, I got it back, and all is new and running fine. He said the fouled plugs are just 6 years of running slow, and to 'blow it out' more often.
Other good news...........my onboard Minnkota 315-D 3-bank battery charger had a hiccup. It charged all 3 batteries, but Bank #2 would constantly revert out of maintenance mode, and never get back into it. I changed the leads to a diff battery, same thing. I emailed Minnkota service with a detailed description of the problem, and they answered "Call us at this number". I did, and they said the unit was 2 years old and had a 3 year warranty, and they'd replace it free! They drop shipped a new one and a box to send the old one back in, shipping paid, and it's in transit!!! Whoo Hooo, a new one and don't have to worry about it.
Not that any of this helps catch any fish.........I've given up on that for this spring! But good to have a functional motor and charger again.
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