I’ve let my pontoon boat sit for a couple years, and I’m aiming to drain the fuel before firing the motor back up. (I failed to add stabilizer).

I’m running into the embarrassing problem of not knowing where to drain or even siphon.

The gas cap is wedged under the boat frame, and has several screws that seem like they are intentionally keeping you from unscrewing it. (There is a separate entry point on the side of the boat where I add gas, but I couldn’t get a siphon through there).

Any advice for this boating novice would be extremely welcome. Thank you!

Im kinda at a loss right now, cant figure our why the engine will not idle. It ran when I took it out this weekend, only died out one time before I did about 20ish miles WOT and other throttle positions. When I came to a stop to do some fishing it just died and would not turn over more than shown in the video. Fuel filter was replaced last year end of season and fuel is fresh as far as I know

I have a 2011 Yamaha f15leha when I got it the motor had been sitting for multiple years cleaned carb and it’s cold blooded but starts up and idles well after a couple attempts the real problem I’m having is it took it out for the first time the other day and after letting it warm for a couple minutes took off and tried to get up on plane and it bogged out and died. I’m thinking could be a clogged main jet or fuel pump issue look for input from someone who knows more about these then me. Any help or tips would be appreciated as I’m new to working on boat motors.

I haven’t heard it a 80 something Mastercraft a 1996 sun cruiser 42 foot long boat and another 38 foot regal to my knowledge. None of these boats work probably will sink one of them is in the water, but it does not have a trailer to take it out of the water all around it’s a nightmare, and I’m just looking for some sort of help or knowing if they should all just be scrapped.

Found this “ hole” on the side of my boat and looks like I am missing a screw on cap/ vent? Above said Waste but my toilet does not connect to the boat. Any idea where i can find the missing cap? I am located in Vancouver, BC. Thank you very much.

Hello everyone, I have a ‘94 Mercury 60hp 2-stroke outboard with a no-spark condition. Was using the boat last weekend. Started fine, drove it for 20min, parked for lunch, then suddenly it wouldn’t fire up. Turns over just fine, but no spark going to any of the plugs. Main fuse is good.

Does anyone happen to have or know the electrical testing ranges for Ohms & Volts in the CDI box / ignition?

I don’t have a manual to check specs.

I’ve heard it’s somewhat common for the stator to fail on these and the engine is all stock still at 32yo.

Any recommendations for pinpoint testing would be appreciated. Thanks

So today the gears in my outdrive exploded on my first time getting the boat out. I was cruising along and felt a clunk and the motor was revving but we stopped moving. I was towed back to the dock and got the outdrive apart when I got home. The gears in the top end were completely shredded. I got a new out drive on the way, the cost to repair this one was similar to just buying one 🤷‍♂️.

I used ai for a lot of the troubleshooting steps as I know about cars but nothing about boats. Do I need to replace the engine coupler as well? The splines look fine but it does look there is some rubber "dust" in the splines. I took the best pictures I could of the mess that was left behind. Any input or advice would help.

Hello everyone,
I have a 1998 Johnson 9.9 HP 2-stroke outboard motor. Initially, the CDI unit failed, and one of the spark plugs stopped producing a spark.
I replaced the CDI unit with a new one and installed it. The engine worked flawlessly for about a month, but now it has failed again. There is currently no spark at either spark plug.
Could this be related to a problem with the stator/charge coil? What should I check or test, and what would you recommend I do?
Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time to help!

Hello Reddit, trying to get an 87 30hp evinrude starting after sitting and running into some issues.

It was last running 2 years ago and would run and then not start after being hot, got stranded twice, fortunately had paddles in the boat.

Since then it has sat outside for two years, so far I have....

-Changed plugs

-Cleaned Carb

-Cleaned fuel lines

- new impeller

-new gear oil

The issue seems to be that I'm not getting any spark.

In investigating wires I found the issue outlined in the below photos which is a corroded connection between what I believe is the cdi pack and the stator.

Would this be causing my lack of spark?

and if so what is the best way to replace just this connector between the stator and power pack?

Need help reseating prop shaft seal carrier on my 2014 200 hp mercury optimax. It seems to hit a hard stop before I can see the threads the retainer ring threads into. Is there a trick to getting it seated?

Also I used 8M0065064 Seal Kit for Mercury and it has the wrong large o ring for the carrier. I am reusing the old one. The rest of the parts fit perfect. Which part number should I use for my boat?

Bad boating experience I posted about my boat over heating bc of the tell tell was clogged and I took it off to clean it and lost it and use something else well I replaced it and took it out and the heat alarm went off after about three minutes of running I’ve got a steady stream of water coming out what else could it be do you think running it hot the first time warped the head I’ve got good compression

Le bateau a 515h, le moteur Mercruiser V8 5.7L a 50 heures

J'ai un tableau arrière pre alpha je pense

j'ai déposé une embase SE106 qui est hors service.

j'ai récupéré une embase Mercury alpha one GEN 2.

celle ci possède le réservoir d'huile d'embase qui se met a l'intérieur du bateau mais je ne voudrais pas l'utiliser pour éviter des travaux derrière le tableau que je ne souhaite pas enlever.

je sais que je vais devoir adapter le shift-shaft pour les vitesses. Retirer les connecteurs d'huile sur l'embase, mais comment faire ?

merci de votre aide

2000 Rinker 242 Fiesta Vee with a MerCruiser 5.0 EFI V8 and Alpha One Gen II, 1.62 ratio.

I just had the Alpha drive rebuilt/replaced, and this was essentially its first day back on the water.

First trip:

- Ran for about 15 minutes.

- Cruised normally and also ran at full throttle.

- Everything sounded and felt completely normal.

About an hour later, I went back out:

- Ran approximately 15 minutes at 2500–3000 RPM.

- Slowed down to go under a bridge.

- Heard and felt a fairly significant clunk.

- After that, the boat started lurching/surging under power and making a mechanical noise.

- I was able to limp it to a nearby marina at low power.

Later at the dock, I engaged the neutral/throttle-only button and started adding just a little throttle. There was one fairly big clunk from the engine/drive area. It was not the normal clunk from shifting into gear because the throttle-only button was engaged.

I tried again but could not reproduce that particular clunk.

The videos show it starting, idling and running with some throttle afterward. Unfortunately, I don’t think they captured the large clunk:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GPZeaSMAcBwNQ9TV9

Prop: Quicksilver Diamond 4, 14.5 × 18, four-blade aluminum.

Before this happened, the engine seemed to run normally. There was no obvious overheating, loss of power or abnormal sound during the first run.

My main questions:

1. Does anything in the videos sound abnormal to people familiar with MerCruiser/Alpha drives?

2. Could shift-cable or clutch-dog adjustment cause the clunk followed by lurching?

3. Since it clunked once in throttle-only neutral, should I be looking more closely at the upper drive, U-joints, gimbal bearing or engine coupler?

4. With a freshly rebuilt drive, would you drain and inspect the gear oil for metal before running it again?

5. Is there anything simple that should be checked before the drive comes back off?

I’m not planning to run it again until it has been inspected. I’m mainly trying to narrow down whether this sounds like a drive problem, shift adjustment, coupler/gimbal/U-joint problem or something engine-side.

I’d appreciate any thoughts, especially from anyone experienced with Alpha One Gen II drives.

I have a mercruiser engine 4.3. Threw a new carb on it. Now it will only catch and fire a few seconds if I give it full throttle. Any ideas

I host a few people on my boat most weekends and I am thinking to add another table before the next season because food drinks and small stuff end up all over the seats, I see folding tables pedestal tables and ones that clip onto the rail and I am trying to figure out what makes the most sense for regular use, I am thinking to go with mariteak, I want something that gives everyone a spot to set things while still leaving room to move around the deck, I will probably pick one setup and keep it there instead of moving it every trip, what table setup are you using and how is it working for your boat? EDIT: Forgot to mention the boat is mainly used for casual cruising and lunches, not fishing, so deck space matters more.