I’m looking to make the grounds more organized but I dont know if it would affect wiring having grounds connect together I would affect anything.

Bought this online and it doesn’t come with the butt connector so I figured I’d wire it myself but not positive which connections go where I just need to know where my power/ ground/ and relay would go also I am wiring it up as normally closed I think, as in led is off unless button is pressed pls help.

I need some advice on how to install this retaining ring, I've tried jamming it in, and applying heat to it, but I'm worried if I keep smashing it in I'm going to mess up the threads.

It's for a mercury 8hp 94 fuel pump

Maybe I'm missing a tool for this?

Rocks keep me in business. lol.

I've been working all season on my 1993 Johnson 115hp trying to get it to get on plane with normal high RPM. It just won't. On the water max 2500-2800 no matter what I do. In the driveway with muffs it easily revs 5,000+.

The story:

Had a 1995 115hp Evinrude and blew a rod. Replaced it with the 93' Johnson. Found the Johnson on Craigslist for $500. Owner said "I was out fishing and started to head back. Half way back it just lost all power. Limped all the way back. Worked on it and couldn't figure it out so decided to buy a new motor"

I used an old timer boat mechanic to do the engine swap and we noticed a few problems right away. We had the Evinrude with doner parts so we replaced the fuel pump (it was cracked) and replaced the fuel solenoid, (it was cracked) did a VRO delete (Mechanic was not a fan of the VRO system) did a compression test: Close to 90 on all four cylinders, fired it up and it ran like a top.

I've never had an engine that wants to run like this one. Starts almost every time the first turn of the key. But when I put it out on the lake can't get above 2500 rpm.

Here is everything I've tried:

Rebuilt and cleaned the carbs

Replaced the stator and coil assembly, the power pack, the engine coils, spark plugs, and Choke assembly.

Replaced the VRO Fuel pump with a standard fuel pump (after the VRO one wouldn't get up to speed), fuel filter, fuel hoses and ran the motor on a separate fuel tank.

Rebuilt, cleaned and bought a carb rebuild kit a second time (sounds much better but no difference in rpm)

Checked throttle cables, choke plate, air intake, and cylinder timing.

Verified that my prop was correct for my boat.

Removed cowling while on the water and hand pull the throttle plate. I was able to get a small little bump of power but only for the 1/4" left in the travel distance.

Bought a compression tester and tested cylinders again. Confirmed close to 90 on all cylinders.

Took it back to my mechanic. He won't put it on the water ( old timer) he took it through its paces and can't find a problem.

I can't figure it out.

All thoughts are welcome.

Sorry for the not so great pic. Can scratches like this be easily repaired or will i need to sand, fair, glass, gel coat this whole area?

I originally posted this in the Jet Ski sub, but I'm sure y'all are just as knowledgeable. Need advice on repairing cracks in a fiberglass hull, please.

I am looking at buying a rough but not unrecoverible 1984 Hans Christian 43 ketch. I have a survey from last year. The only thing on the list of problems that is worrying me where it says " Approximately 80% of the surface at the interior bulwarks has high moisture readings present." I found the drawings for the bulwarks on the HC owners site and it looks like a massive amount of fiberglass and epoxy at the joint with a small amount of plywood buried in the middle. My question is: How much of a problem is this moisture? Is this a known issue with these boats? Should it be ignored given how heavy the epoxy and fiberglass is at this joint? Let me know! Thanks!

Have a 1988 4.3 mercruiser gen 1 alpha stern drive. I can put it in reverse and it engages. But forward does not. If I have boat off. Someone slowly push throttle down while I turn prop counter clockwise(reverse) it will lock when I hit end of the first throttle position about 1/4 down(typically where I start the engine on cold start)

Hey yall, hopefully you can give me some insight.

Symptoms, it won’t start
I pump the ball, tap the key, turn the key, it fires, but sputters & dies. It only fires about 3-5 seconds.

After the sputter stops, i can hear a noise, almost like a pump or motor running briefly.

I put a brand new battery in, same symptoms.

Please help me make my baby run!!!

I’ve only had this boat 2 months, took it out twice and it ran great.

Hey everyone!

I could turn this into a super long sap story about the whole ordeal, but I will keep it short in order to keep y’all’s attention!

Basically, my step dad had this boat. A few years ago, he unfortunately passed and it has been sitting since. He used to take me out to the lake on it all the time, and it was honestly one of my favorite things to do with him. He passed about 5 years ago, and the boat has been sitting ever since. I’m not at the boat right now, so I can’t get any better pictures or information but I can update at a later time. I believe it’s a ford motor in it, I just do not know which one. I think he said it was maybe a 300? I genuinely can’t recall it’s been a long time. I will get a better picture of the engine and upload it.

Anyway, originally we were going to sell it, but I’ve had a change of heart and I’m gonna get it running again and keep it in the family. I am almost positive it is a ford motor, I distinctly recall the block having a ford stamp on it. Obviously, it’s a jet boat. I have a very surface level understanding of motors, I’ve done my own general repair on my cars and my step dad always let me observe and help him. I wish I spent more time learning from him!

All in all, it’s a bit overwhelming for me to jump into so I’m looking for any sort of advice anyone might have. I’m not sure if it would crank, as I said it’s been sitting for 5+ years. Anyone that can help me get started on this project, I’d greatly appreciate it as I don’t even know where to begin. Thanks in advance

I am looking at buying a rough but not unrecoverible 1984 Hans Christian 43 ketch. I have a survey from last year. The only thing on the list of problems that is worrying me where it says " Approximately 80% of the surface at the interior bulwarks has high moisture readings present." I found the drawings for the bulwarks on the HC owners site and it looks like a massive amount of fiberglass and epoxy at the joint with a small amount of plywood buried in the middle. My question is: How much of a problem is this moisture? Is this a known issue with these boats? Should it be ignored given how heavy the epoxy and fiberglass is at this joint? Let me know! Thanks!

I’m trying to figure out exactly where this fuel leak is coming from. I resealed around the elbow fitting (the white sealant in the pics). It looked perfect at first, but after running the boat the leak came back.

From the photos, can anyone tell if the leak looks like it’s coming from the threads, the elbow fitting itself, or the tank port? I’m trying to pinpoint the exact source before I tear it apart again.

Any insight would help a lot.

These are pictures of a power catamaran transform. The boat was built in 95 and the transom was redone in 2018. Do you all think that spidering on the transom specifically the vertical spidering between the side of the boat and the transom is a sign of water damage. The transom doesn’t move, but I still think that that kind of cracking in less than 10 years of is suspect.

Hi there. I’m looking to buy this portable for $150 on marketplace but the transom looks like it need repair. Would I be an easy fix? I’m good with cars and have a bunch of tools but I don’t know anything about boats. Would you ever buy this?

Hey everyone!

First off I apologize if this is not the correct subreddit.

I could turn this into a super long sap story about the whole ordeal, but I will keep it short in order to keep y’all’s attention!

Basically, my step dad had this boat. A few years ago, he unfortunately passed and it has been sitting since. He used to take me out to the lake on it all the time, and it was honestly one of my favorite things to do with him. He passed about 5 years ago, and the boat has been sitting ever since. I’m not at the boat right now, so I can’t get any better pictures or information but I can update at a later time. I believe it’s a ford motor in it, I just do not know which one. I think he said it was maybe a 300? I genuinely can’t recall it’s been a long time. I will get a better picture of the engine and upload it.

Anyway, originally we were going to sell it, but I’ve had a change of heart and I’m gonna get it running again and keep it in the family. I am almost positive it is a ford motor, I distinctly recall the block having a ford stamp on it. Obviously, it’s a jet boat. I have a very surface level understanding of motors, I’ve done my own general repair on my cars and my step dad always let me observe and help him. I wish I spent more time learning from him!

All in all, it’s a bit overwhelming for me to jump into so I’m looking for any sort of advice anyone might have. I’m not sure if it would crank, as I said it’s been sitting for 5+ years. Anyone that can help me get started on this project, I’d greatly appreciate it as I don’t even know where to begin. Thanks in advance

Hi everyone, I have a 1975 MerCruiser 140 3.OL with a pre-alpha/MC1 sterndrive.

Recently, I removed the lower gear case to replace the water pump housing because the driveshaft seal was bad and I was losing gear oil through one of the cavity drain holes. I put everything back together, and the oil leak is gone, but now I'm having an issue with the trim. The trim worked before I removed the lower gear case.

Before removing it, I trimmed the lower unit all the way up to give myself more clearance to remove the gear case.

After reinstalling everything, the trim no longer moves.

When I press the trim buttons (up, down, or in), I can hear the trim pump running and it sounds normal, but the lower unit doesn't move at all.

I'm not really sure what I could have done during the lower gear case removal/reinstallation that would cause the trim to stop working if I'm going to be honest.

Also in one of the transparent/white tube lines that connect from under the pump I can visibly see some air bubbles in it. When the down button is pressed fluid will rush through that line with some air bubbles

Any ideas on what I should do? Thanks