Delta fun, long range trolling motoring

[Icastnblast]

Sooo, had a rough day in the office yesterday so I figured I would blow off some steam with a bit of top water action on the delta. Stopped at a Chevron on the way for refreshments, jerky, oil and fuel. Launched at wimpy"s and went south. I was pretty excited as I just got my prop back from the repair shop were the they got her all pretty again and added 1 degree of pitch (cause I thought the old Force could handle it). As I hit the throttle I was pretty excited about the slight increase in speed and listened to the motor purr and figured she was holding strong with a good RPM. but As I reached halfway to my destination I noticed the RPMs had dropped a touch and I chalked it up to headed directly into the wind. Just moments later the sound of the motor was getting gradually deeper and deeper until it was obvious something was wrong. I eased off the throttle and apperantly the motor like that as she began to cut out until there was nothing at all. I stared at the heavens for just a moment as to ask "what have I done now" before turning back for a quick visual of the scenario. What I saw was minimal white smoke coming out of the motor cover. I decided to drop the troller and park along some tules to take a look and as I did a boater was passing by with his arms up giving me the "one of those days" signal and I gave him the same look not knowing the severity of the situation. After letting the motor cool for a bit I checked the inlet for the cooling water and found no clogs, there was no seepage coming from the engine and the smoke was long gone. I decided to give her a second chance and to my surprise she wanted nothing to do with it. OHH BOY, WHAT HAVE I DONE. Did the 50:1 mixture get out off whack enough to do this, was the 1 degree pitch change too much, is the water pump impeller busted, am I cursed???? Now, with no boats in sight I decide to make some sort of headway and use the troller to head back with the wind (thank you wind) to at least get going in the right direction rather than sit helpless and pray. I wish I had fished a bit more on the way back but my mind wasn't in it, understandable I think. I wasn't sure, but very very hopeful, as to whether or not 2 batteries and an old mptorguide could make the 5 miles back to wimpy's but I had to try. The worst part was that at no point did I see another boat!!!!!!! and at points I had to head into the wind with made my face white ( I imagine) and got my heart racing cause battery life was all I could think about. The whole time I began to think I was a bit crazy cause I couldn't help but talk to my troller and tell him how great he was doing and I would feed his belly full as soon as we got home. Somehow, someway, I made it. I bumped the dock around 9:45 and couldn't wipe the smile off my face, That is until MARK asked me what motor I am going to have to buy now](*,). My girlfriend thinks I should hang up the towel and focus on golf, silly woman[-X. Now with the Bass-n-fly just around the corner I need to get this sucker at least in a trust-able condition.

Thats all for now-
Dom, who is happy to have slept in a bed last night

[GreggH]

May the Force be unbolted and tossed as far as you can throw it. DO NOT DROP ONE CENT INTO THAT MOTOR. A good used four stroke is your next step. Craigs list and Cal fishing forums are your best bet. A 50 hp Honda/Yama is my recommendation and I got mine from the Coast Side FC classifieds. Your looking at around 35 hun and becoming homeless when your wife finds out how much you spent. In boat motor's like in most things, you get what you pay for. 2000 Yamaha 50 hp four stroke long shaft (20"), power trim & tilt $3300


http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bod/3017355154.html

[JAWallace]

Glad you made it back. Trouble on the Delta is always an underlying fear with us boaters. Where I was fishing this week there was no cellphone reception and I didn't have my radio. That won't happen again.

I agree with Gregg. If you know the history of Force, you'll have to agree they never had it right with that line, nor Chrysler before the name change. It has little value in running condition and none otherwise. You'll get your money back from a good used 4S but watch the weight. Get the max HP for your boat, get the weight of that engine which will be a 2S, and use that as your maximum weight. You might end up with less HP but you'll have a dependable motor that has great resale.

Today the brands are all good. I've had a Honda, Merc and a Yami now and they're all great. Honda is good, sometimes on the heavy side. Don't be afraid of a Suzuki either. They are great motors, very quiet, and underrated. I think etec is the best but they're expensive and harder to find. You can pay up for EFI and it's worth it. You can let the motor sit for months and it will fire right up.

This is an investment that has become pretty much non-optional. Cry now, smile later.

John

[Icastnblast]

looks like I need to go to the bank and check my credit:puke:

[mar]

aahhhh, the joy of being a boat owner :-) Glad you made it back safely.

I’ve had a 10-min panic session when my motor wouldn’t start. Only to find out that the kill switch was firmly tethered to the pfd. I’ve yanked it out and started fishing with my pfd on. Dooh!!

I agree with the recommendations on getting the best motor you can afford. That and Vessel assist membership, vhf radio and a few other things :-)

[mark]

You son of a gun, call me next time you are night trolling. Ill borrow my neighbors jet ski and come out there and bring beer and a tow rope.

A have to totally agree about the motor with Gregg, waste of money to pour any $ into that force.

I may be able to contribute....... hope my wife doesnt read this.

LOL!

[JAWallace]

One suggestion--look in Oregon, especially Southern Oregon. Their economy is much worse than ours and most everything up there is cheap right now. If you can get the Force to run, you can maybe find a boat with a good 4S, strip it and replace with the Force or another 2S you can pick up, sell it down here, and recoup some money that way.