[Tom]

My son-in-law and I bought the boat to use for our family camping adventure in Ludington, MI. He and my daughter also live between two lakes in the sister's lake area of Michigan hear Paw-Paw, so they'll have the boat there. The boat has been alot of fun, but we had a couple of issues. The neck on the fuel tank was leaking and we managed a patch while we were on vacation and have already ordered a new tank. The shift link boot was leaking and with the help of some 3-M 5200 we stopped that until we can replace all the boots in the off-season.

Having messed with engines over the years I'm wondering about juicing up some of the electrics with Accel stuff and if anyone has done that. I plan on replacing the distributor cap, rotor and wires and considering the coil. We do have a picture of the boat on Green Lake near Traverse City and we'll get it posted this weekend.

[WetWilly]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the club!

As for replacing your ignition system with Accel parts, as long as they are rated "For Marine Use" it's OK, if they're not, don't use them and here's why: Click here and click again on the links in post #4

IMHO, save your money, as you a won't get any noticeable return on your investment. Our marine motors are built for torque not high RPM (mid to high 4K max) as such, the stock ignition systems work well enough. If your looking for better performance, look into a different prop or a set of Trim Tabs.

If you need any help with your picture, read this tutorial: Here

Good luck,
WetWilly

[Tom]

Thanks for the info. I really wasn't worried about extra power, we have the 4.3 with a four barrel, so it's got plenty of that. I'm new to power boating having been an owner of a 36 foot sailboat for awhile with a 3 cylinder diesel. It just seems to me that it requires alot of pumps on the throttle, 4-5, to get it started and I've seen the gas sent from each pump which to my eye is more than you'd see in a typical carburated engine. I just wonder if the spark is weak. We put in new plugs and the wires look fine although I haven't checked resistance on them. Once it starts there's no lag in power and the throttle response is smooth.

Even though it's premature I also wonder about the best way to winterize. I have seen 5 gallon containers that you hook up and run antifreeze through the water intakes. Some have told me that you should just drain completely.