Towed in Today

[msbhammer]

Well, I finally had the wife and kids all together today. Went out and bought new life vests, a new chair and put in 20 gallons of gas so we could spend the day on the ocean. Isnt wasnt meant to be. The motor shut off and then notided smoke coming from the shifter control box. I touched the box and realized it was super hot.
Checked the batteries and noticed that the postive cable were super hot as well. I disconnected the batteries to prevent anymore damage. Hoping I didnt fry the wiring harness. Got towed in for the first time and felt pretty embarressed, let alone upset on what the cost will be for a new wiring harness. She started right up at the dock, ran fine for about 15 minutes before the electricial short. Something positive is touching metal ??? or something isnt being grounded, sending direct current ?? Starter, selenoid ??
Totally broke and have other bills first, so I might be dry docked for awhile.
Gonna go soak and cry in a corner somewhere. :'( :'(

[Mac_Attack]

Sorry to hear about it ms. :( *Billy Mac *Keep smiling! *;D

[chumbucket]

Somedays ya just need a good soak and a cry in a corner.
How 'bout a hug?
That really does blow. I've been there before and I know how you're feeling :'(

[racerx]

sorry to hear that bud. hopefully you will be able to figure it out without spending much cash. and dont be embarresed about being towed in. i once got towed twice in one day. left the dock with a plan for trip 2, run out as far as we can till it shuts down, drop anchor and fish till some1 comes along to tow us in. true story. ya gotta look at the bright side..., at least you dont have a force. good luck bud

[rb437]

Sorry about your luck. With all due respect to our beloved V20's, I'm sure most of us are also just one break down away from being dry docked ourselves or we'd all be riding something newer or bigger or both. Hope you find the problem and it's quick and cheap to fix.

[Mac_Attack]

racerx may my Force be with me! Billy Mac ;D

[phester]

mac, your force has treated you well, hasn't it?

[racerx]

ur a lucky man mac. i have heard that from 85 to 87 force made 17 good motors. i got a bud that has a 86 125, same as my old motor. never had any trouble with it. damn good motor! i had mine rebuilt, replaced all electronics and wiring. it ran fine as long as i stayed within 5 miles of the beach. damndest thing, run beachfront all day, no prob. point her towards the islands and she would lay down half way there everytime. ur a lucky man. maybe you should share some of it with hammer.

[reelapeelin]

Sorry about the tow, Hammer...I know it bums ya out, but I can tell ya that much the same has happened to everybody on this board in some way or another :P ...ya fix a thousand things and it's the thousand and first thing that gets ya...hang in there...it'll get better... ;) :D ...

[Mac_Attack]

Phester, don't want to say too much but "yes it has!" Billy Mac

[charlie_the_tuna]

hey racerx, did you just say "i once got towed twice" ?
i thought so.

[msbhammer]

Thanks guys. Ive done sobbing and whimpering as if I bought a Bayliner. Gonna pull the control box on Monday and start looking around to see what might be causing the problem. If the wiring harness needs replacing, I have two replacement Merc. wiring harness's at the boat yard that might work. Hopefully will know more on Moday.

[msbhammer]

Shouldnt the wiring harness be fused ???

[Mac_Attack]

I believe mine has a fuse but then mine is a Force! You know what they say about Force "Yesterday's technology!" Billy Mac ;D

[Airslot]

Hammer, I've waited to reply while batting this around in my head. *It doesn't make sense that the battery cables and the control box were hot. *They are at opposite ends of the system. *It was about 95* with the hot sun beating on the control box, right, so maybe the control box wasn't the problem? *Anyway, what I was thinking is that possibly something is chafed under the starboard gunnel where all the wiring is run. *Just a few ideas here. *Hope you get er done.

Airslot

[msbhammer]

Airslot. When I reattach the positve cable, the wiring harness get hot again. Yesurday the wiring harness was sizzling. solenoid ??
Going out now to take a look at it. Hopefully I will find something.

[Airslot]

Something is shorted before the fuse in the circuit. I'd still think about something chafed.

Airslot

[parishht]

Gotta Agree, check all the wiring for broken and missing insulation.
Everything electrical worked before, so something happened.

By the way, I got towed because I forgot to change spark plugs this year. :-X
Luckily a guy from my marina was going buy and I got a free tow.
Now I will never forget to check and change plugs at the beginning of every season.

[msbhammer]

You guys were right. I installed a new power trim switch in the spring. Well the positive wire got caught under the control arm, shaffing it and grounding it, frying the wiring harness. Also, the engine wire harness fuse was cut out for some reason. I was told that was actually illegal. Dont know how true it is, but it should be illegal.
Picked up a used, but in great condition wire harness and control box. The total cost was the cost of a six pack of beer. : ) Got from a boat thats been sitting in the boat yard and the guy never paid his bill and the boat became ownership of the yard. The owners son hooked me up big time. Whew, glad to. Was worried about the cost factor. The new harness does have the inline fuse as well.

[msbhammer]

Fried positive wire from tilt trim switch. Was caught under the metal part of the control arm.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01898.jpg

[msbhammer]

More fried wires. Notice no inline fuse.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01900.jpg

[msbhammer]

New/used wire harness and control box that only cost me a six pack of Coors. ;D
Hope to be back in the water late this week.


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01899.jpg

[captbent]

;D A SIX PACK GOOD FOR YOU IM A CASE MAN

[msbhammer]

Yo CaptBent,
You been getting any head turns with the Mouth. I get them all the time and get a bit of a kick out of it. But looked more like a fish on a hook the other day when I got towed in ;)

[Airslot]

GLad it worked out for ya. I've been towed too many times. As a youngster we seemed to get towed several times a year on my Grandfathers boat. That's why I decided I was going to know how to maintain my boats. Now my Airslot chucked a rod through the block. The guy that towed me in handed me a coors light for the short ride back. Man, that was one good beer.

Airslot

[msbhammer]

AIrslot. I hope the blowing the rod was a old story and it didnt just happen ???or did you just blow a rod on your V ? ??? :'(

[Airslot]

5 year old story. The 21 Airslot was the boat I had before my V-20. I tend to bounce back and forth from Outboards to I/O's pending on what just broke.

Airslot

[racerx]

great news hammer! glad things are working out for ya.

[Pipe_Dream]

Ditto here -- it looks like a happy ending. 8)

Towing -- been towee and a tow-er. What goes around comes around, right?

[msbhammer]

Was out working on it today. The other control box doesnt have a key and I'm not sure if I should keep the old ignition key switch. I might have damaged it. Looks like I will have to order one.

[Skools Out]

if Mercury's are like OMC's they only make 6 different keys. Just look on the switch and take it to the dealer and get a key.

[msbhammer]

Skools, So you saying if I take the control to the store, one of the keys should fit ??, no cutting of keys ?? or are teh keys blanks and still need the key cut ???

[Skools Out]

no cutting they should have them there, OMC has only 10 total keys for their box's all numbered between 50 and 59. I have one of each OMC keys. Boy's watch out i have key to all your OMC controls lol.

[msbhammer]

;DYo SCKOOL,
You just saved me time and money on buying a new ignition. Took the whole control box to the boat store and they had the keys in stock. 3 bucks a keys, plus a laynard. Thanks Bro. ;D

[captbent]

HEAD TURNS ALL THE TIME BOATS COME UP CLOSE AND LOOK AND IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE CARS STOP AND KIDS WALKING BY SAY THAT IS SO COOL AND SOME OLD TIMER SAID IT LOOKS LIKE A SMALL PT BOAT

[msbhammer]

LOL, Capt.Bent, The little kids walking to the beach in front of my house stop and stair. ;D ;D ;D

[msbhammer]

Ok, went out and installed the wire harness and control box. It was hot as hell out and the green heads tore my A$$ up, but I got a liitle more done. Just need to install the wires to the motor, hopefully without screwing it up.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01902.jpg

[msbhammer]

I guess this is the time I wished I had a Merc. Manual :'(
:'( :'( :'( ??? ??? ??? ???
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01903.jpg

[reelapeelin]

Hope ya haven't disconnected the old one...maybe you can one-wire-at-a-time it back the way the old one is...swat I'd have ta do... ::)...pull old off, put new in same place and repeat...

[Mac_Attack]

I'd say call MJ and ask hime to loan you CB but we all know that ain't going to happen! Buy the manual you should have one anyway and then do it the way Rap said to. Billy Mac ;D

[macojoe]

That's right, I am not loaning him to anyone!!

You need the book!! Even I have the book, we did not do it blind!

I have bought a book for all my motors. I even bought the one for this motor long before I got it here at my house!

[bigshrimpin]

Hey MS . . . unplug the 8 pin harness and do one wire at a time. I'll post the pages from m service manual.

[reelapeelin]

Hey MS . . . unplug the 8 pin harness and do one wire at a time. I'll post the pages from m service manual.

How can ya beat that?? ;D 8) ...

[msbhammer]

The boat is finished, rewired one wire at a time. The starter always seemed to spin/miss on the first try. So my friend at the boat shop taook apart the starter, cleaned and oiled her up. Says the starter get dry ??. But she fired right up on the first try. So I'll be putting her in the water on Thursday for a quickie. ;D .

[racerx]

HOORAH! i love a happy ending.

[C YENSEN]

GOOD JOB HAMMER ;D

[msbhammer]

Thanks ;)

[reelapeelin]

Goin' for that ''quickie'' today?...good work on the controls/ wiring...glad it went well for ya ;) 8) ...

[msbhammer]

Sitting here waiting for the wife to get home now, so I can take the truck and splash in . ;)

[reelapeelin]

Yeah...a ''quickie'' would be difficult by yourself ;) ;D ...

[msbhammer]

Well, she does like that shaking motion when in reverse :D :D :D

[reelapeelin]

Hammer, you're a fortunate man indeed!! ;D 8) ...

[msbhammer]

Sitting here at idle. Its so freaking hot out right now. Looking to wait till about 6 I hope when it should start to cool down.

[Mulv80]

How'd everything work out Mike?

[msbhammer]

Hey Mulv, Everything went well. Boat started up on the second try...forget to purge the ball. Idles at about 800 rpms. Checked and recked all the wires and looked for smoke. Nothing, so I took out into the Bay. I really wanted to hit this one wreck today, but the foggy/hazzy over cast, I decided to stay just outside teh breaker wall. DOnt like not being able to see those tankers in teh shipping lane where teh wreck lies.
Here a pic. of a ship that I passed by.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC01905.jpg

[Mulv80]

Great Pic I'm glad everything worked out. I'm gonna take some buddies fishing on Sunday, I'm hoping to get out in the bay. My father and brother did pretty well in the bay last weekend so I'm gonna try where they were and if nothing I'll probably move out to the rips.

[Stinky_Hooker]

No worries my brother...it happens to all of us one time or another. ;)

[msbhammer]

Mulv, You dont mean th eLewes Rips do ya. MAN, the rips off the point are known to turn boats over. Its all flat until you hit the point where the ocean meets the bay, and its all white capping. Just in one area. I went through the ripps tonights. I was told its because the depth goes from 30 feet to 100 feet real quick.
Thats the are I was gonna wrap myself in th eanchor chain and jump overboard, thinking STINK was gone.
Would have lost a good anchor ;D

[Mulv80]

Cape May Rips, I have always caught fish there. Its a little tricky if you don't have the right drift. Its really only a problem when you drift a stern. I need to find these guys some fish so I have a full tank of fuel and plan on running around till I find some. Even if its just croakers and sharks, that would be fine.

[parishht]

Hey Mulv,
there are usually some fish at the "Hay Stacks".
Mostly the sand sharks at this time of year,
but they are fun to catch cause there are a lot of them.
Some times I think the same one keeps hitting the hook.

[Mulv80]

Parish, I have never heard of the "Haystacks" ??? Wheres that about?

[Stinky_Hooker]

Thats the are I was gonna wrap myself in th eanchor chain and jump overboard, thinking STINK was gone.



No worries brother...Id have heard the splash and got you before you hit bottom. 8)


http://www.forumpictureprocessor.com/pictureprocessor/images/images_47.jpg

[msbhammer]

Go one STINK,
Mulv. The HAy STacks are a great place to fish. Also called the Ice Breakers. Half a dozens of rock piles that stick up at of the water. Just outside the breakwater wall in th eBay. They nailed alot of craokers and flounder there yesturday.

[Stinky_Hooker]

how big are yall average croakers up there?

A .75lber is a huge one here. We only use em for bait, but I here the big uns are good eatin.

[Mulv80]

I'd say they average around 2lb. They are good eatin but there aint a whole lot of meat on them. For a 2-3lb fish they only yield a small fillet.

[Stinky_Hooker]

I'd say they average around 2lb. *They are good eatin but there aint a whole lot of meat on them. *For a 2-3lb fish they only yield a small fillet.


I can imagine..a 3/4 lb ground mullet is big enough to eat here, but not the same # croaker.

I bet they are scrapy fighters at 2-3lb though...even a small croaker has some punch to me. When I accidentally catch a 3/4-1lbish croaker I always think I got a decent speck till I get him up. :o

[parishht]

Lke HAMMER said they are the breakers at the Delaware bay entrance, closer to the Delaware side of the bay.

Got their name because they look just like piles of hay bales sitting in a field.

[msbhammer]

Parishht,
You been in the Bay lately ?

[msbhammer]

Debating if I should go and work overtime today or take the boat out. ??? ??? ??? ???

[msbhammer]

Screw it, the bills can wait. Have a half tank of gas I need to burn. Going back out. ;D
Gonna washer quick though. White boats get dirty quick. Finger prints and scuff marks from working on her.

[msbhammer]

I'll snap some photos of te Hay stacks for ya Mulv.

[Mulv80]

Sounds good Hammer, I'm heading down the shore after work today. It feels like an eternity since the last time I was on the boat. Its only been 3 weeks but feels like 3 months.

[parishht]

I think I'll be out on Sunday.

According to the weather and the marine forecast,
the bay should be almost like glass,
1 to 2 foot waves. ;D

[msbhammer]

Not today it was, Wild Ride, 6ft swells. :o