[Steve91T]

WHAT A BOAT!!!! I freaking love this thing! My wife and myself just got back from our 5 1/2 hour maiden (for us) voyage. We launched with no problems and headed down the river. As soon as we got out of the no wake zone, I eased it up on plane and was amazed at how smooth it rides. 30 MPH was so smooth and effortless for this boat. Even in fairly choppy water from wake and wind was so smooth! It handles waves better than anything I've been in. I also noticed the torque and power of the engine.

Anyway, on the way back to the ramp (30 minute ride up the river from the lake), I was able to start playing. For most of the day, we were cruising at 25 MPH. But on the way home I was able to play. 35 MPH felt perfect. 40 MPH still felt great for trying to make good time. WOT with two my wife and myself and 2/3 fuel was 53 MPH. All speeds were off the GPS. The speedo was reading 3-5 MPH faster. I burned just over 15 gallons of gas for the day. We did a ton of cruising around, so I feel pretty good about the burn.

Anyway, only problem we had was towards the end of the day, we shut the engine off for a quick swim and the engine almost didn't start. Battery was nearly dead. Fortunately, it started. I'll pick up a new battery this week.

Another problem was the idle speed. The tach says it's idling about 400 RPM. It's also idling rough, like it's going to quit. Sometimes it did. Should I just adjust the idle speed? Or is it something else What's normal idle speed?

Also, the steering wheel had a lot of slop. 1/8 turn of play. Also, the wheel was "centered" at 90 degrees. Once it was back on the trailer, the out drive has about 1" of play from left to right.

We did take on more water than I thought we would. After a few hours, I checked the bilge and there was a few gallons of water in there. I don't know how normal this is or if it's something to be concerned with.


I'd like to take care of the steering problem. I just hope it's a simple fix.

Anyway, I appreciate all the help!
Steve

[spinks99]

Welcome to owning a boat (bust out another thousand).

My boat doesn't take on any water. I would take a look at that. As far as the idle-you can't just turn it up or down like a car. I would have a marine mechanic set it as there are specific things that need to be done. It probably needs a tune up and adjustment. I would have hime check the shift cable and bellows. Also-how is your engine temperature looking? I would make sure your getting enough water through the engine (impeller). Hard telling the last time that was changed.

Don't think you have to do everything at once. Pick your battles and it won't seem so expensive. It sounds like everything is there and working. You just might need to do a little maintenance. Aren't these boats awesome! It's hard to beat the Mariah look when polished up.

Danny

[theeasynine]

Yeah with EFI you cant adjust idle.
Make sure you have the bilge blower on at anything under cruising speed. My blower wasnt working and the engine would die since it wasnt sucking the exhaust fumes out.
An easy thing to do is replace spark plugs if you are so inclined. That would be a good place to start. Maybe add some Sea Foam also.

[Steve91T]

The temps looked good. On the cool side of halfway on the gauge. The impeller is definitely on the list.

I was running the blower often, and it didn't seem to help. Other than idle, it was running great. A tune up is also something I'll be doing this week.

Where can I find a manual on how to do a tune up? Like a Merc manual or something?

I'm going to fill up the bilge with the plug in this morning and see if I can find out where the leak is.

First thing I'm going to do is get a new battery.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Thanks,
Steve

[Zackattack]

Check the alternator wires too, I couldnt figure out why my well charged battery was having trouble and realized that the wire on the post from the alternator had become very loose and overheated and has almost disintegrated from the heat. Anyways, replaced and rewired and thought it would be wise to make sure this connection was good as well.

I do think the new battery is a great idea though.

And congradulations on a nice ride.

[Oregondunes]

Originally Posted by Steve91T

Here's the chip. Am I OK to go boating this Sunday? I plan on taking care of this next week.

Is one day of boating going to hurt anything? This chip looks like it's been there for a while.

Thanks,
Steve

its going to have to be ground out to repair, so you could just buy some marine 2 part epoxy at napa and smear it over the hole for this weekend if your really worried

[Steve91T]

UPDTATE: I couldn't get the thing to leak in the driveway, so I took it to the river for a quick trip. I did get a new battery and it cranks quickly. I also brought my muffs and a hose and ran it in the parking lot while they tested the charging system. Everything checked out.

I found the idle problem only happened after I was up on plane for a few minutes. I idled through the no wake zone for probably 10 minutes or so, then eased it up to 30 MPH for a mile or two. Then I idled again and it was doing pretty good. I ran it fairly hard on the way back to the ramp. Only a few minutes at about 40 MPH. Seems like once it really gets up to temp, it doesn't want to idle. It's running very rich, you can smell it. Again, it's only at idle.

Is there a diagnosis on these things? I wasn't sure if these EFI boats are OBD 1 or not. I'm still planning on changing the plugs, wires, cap and rotor, and go from there.

The thing that really disappoints me is I have leaky bellows. The marina told me they were just changed, along with the gimbal bearing just a couple of years ago. I guess they weren't being honest, because after only 15 minutes, the water in the bilge was almost at the bilge pump. Probably another 15 minutes and I would have been able to pump water out with the bilge.

I'm going to see if the marina can help me out. If not, I guess I'm going to figure out how to change these things myself.

I'm still thrilled about this boat. I love the compliments I get at the boat ramp.

Anyway, I'm bummed that it's taking on water. Other than that, I love this boat. I'm never selling it.

Here's a picture I took this afternoon. Subway should pay me for this one!

[rajjneef]

I would recommend replacing all the bellows if you are tackling that job. Do the bellows leak while the drive is in the down running position or only when it is lifted? I had one years ago with a slight crack that would only allow water in while in the raised position. It allowed me to enjoy the boat until I could get them replaced like a week or so later. Also for your battery... Make sure you have a large battery with a decent amount of cold cranking amps. My first Mariah was purchased with a brand new battery in it but he had put a smaller one (maybe 600ish CCA) in probably fine for a 4 cyl or outboard but caused problems with the 5.7. It just didnt have the juice to turn that engine over sometimes leaving me to get a jump sometimes after anchoring out for an hour or so. I put a larger battery in and all was well.

[Steve91T]

Dang it, I just bought a new battery with 500 CCA. It was just like what I pulled out of my boat, so I thought it'd be OK. It was on sale for only $59.95 with a 2 year warranty.

The boat was in the water, drive down, and idling. Not good, huh?

Steve

[rajjneef]

Unless you plan on putting a 2 way switch in and having 2 batteries I would take it back. Even then I would consider doing it anyway. If you have an advance auto store near you they have online coupons and you can pick up in store. You could get a much larger battery for probably $75ish and be more confident.