Save old baking sheets and broiler pans. They work great for leaking parts trays and a host of other things in the garage.

Thanks. Heron Bay. The right condo with the right slip came up FSBO and we made a deal last Summer, but put off the closing till this Spring.
Lots of people thought we had a place. We rented at HB 3-4 times a year, plus I own a timeshare week at Vintage Landing at the 12.5mm so I was down about 25 days a Summer.

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

I plan for the worst, and hope for the best.
Two trailer spare wheels/tires; plus a full spare hub, brake pads, bearings, bearing grease, grease gun.

My boat was probably 2mph slower at cruise speed because of the number of tools and spare parts I carried with me. But then again, Murphy's Law kept me from needing them often. They got more use from being loaned out than I ever used them for.

Stuck azz spin on filters NEVER had one beat me ever. Vise grip oil filter plyers and a extender as a cheater bar.

2 second clip job for the gear oil valve connection coming thru the transom.The one that breaks or cracks and leaks gear oil all over the place. The heck with the small C clip, These are so easy to install and remove can do it with my eyes close. You will thank me for this especially when it comes time to change out this junk fitting. I have done in the hundreds this way. No issues. And a screw to pull out the broken plastic fitting stuck in the oil line / hose that was cause your gear oil leak to begin with. You can thank me now I promise haha

part 1 -- carb dry as bone no fuel at all in the carb. No start period - We have fuel right to the carb but again the carb is dry as a bone and no fuel pumping into the carb. We have fuel right at the carb thou - old fuel yes but again none in the carb Easy fix ??/ Yes indeed
NO START

^^^^^^^ Stock Merc TKS 2 bbl carb what was the problem above ??? Easy fix

^^^^^^ surely I did not stump the band here ? Offering a diagnostic tip / trick here. One tip -- does your fuel pump pump fuel test - yes it does ( in the pic) key on crank motor over - fuel flowed in the jug. We have fuel flow to the carb.

2, BUT the carb is dry as bone even with fuel flowing ?

Mean while something else --- at the time when this came out bought it for 30 bucks in Vegas. Or should I say Veg - azz, its still a good price. Many uses for marine apps. Enjoy the video

After trying to pull the blind cotter pins out of OE hydraulic rack to tiller bar and steering cable pins, I'll be reinstalling safety wire spring clips in their place.

Keith

I've got a few in no particular order.

I use an old rolling A/V stand (like the ones they rolled into classrooms to watch a video in school) to hold a tool box on the top shelf. Roll it up to the side of the boat and you don't have to climb out of the bilge nearly as often. It's also a good place to put your beer down.

Convert a bug sprayer into an outdrive oil svc tool. I used a fitting from one of those 1 qt pumpers and connected it to the bug sprayer hose. Fills the drive in abt 10 mins and it's way easier and a lot less messy. Mine came with a press dump valve which comes in handy when oil starts coming out the top hole.

For eng builders, take an old crankshaft timing gear, hit it hard with a chisel to crack it at the keyway (mine only took one strike), weld a large cheepo 1/2" drive socket to it and turn the crank with ease.Cracking the gear makes it fit easily onto the keyed shaft but still be plenty strong to turn the crank especially with a large socket welded to it..

If your P/S pump has a 3/8" hex receptacle, cut off ~2 inchs of a 3/8" allen wrench, key it in a 1/2" drill and purge air from your P/S system w/o starting eng.

Keep a set of mechanical fingers in the bilge at all times. Can't count the number of times I've used them.

Install a 120V power outlet where you can easily reach it while in the boat. This is something I did when wiring the shop. Use it all the time for vacuums, drop lights, fans, drills, batt chargers, etc.

Don't ever put your cell phone in your shirt pocket when leaning into the eng bay!

Good thread.