The perch here, have been sick lately, the last one's I caught all smelled funny, sort of a chemical smell when I cleaned them.
(White perch), but the water's where they're plentiful are suspect now I suppose. They move into a small lake here with the high tide and get flushed back out with the low tide. When the tide is running out they're easy to catch but after the last few, it turned me off of them. In freshwater I tend stick to chasing catfish most of the time, they're more fun and great to eat. I particularly like the one's we catch in nearest to the saltwater marker.
I've got five boats now, three Mirrocrafts and one Starcraft 14sf with a 9.9 4stroke, and one with a 35hp Johnson recoil start tiller motor , two of the MCs are 16ft, one side console and 35hp Johnson, one tiller model with a 15hp, the other a 17 ft version with a side console and a 40hp. The tiller Mirrocraft is a recent acquisition but it belonged to a friend who passed away and I've not decided whether its staying or not, but its not likely going anywhere at the prices they're bringing these days.
Around here lately, if I bought every $100 -$200 14-16ft aluminum boat I saw I have to start stacking them.
The same with motors.
There are no 'running' motors for sale, every thing that's for sale has sat at least since last season or longer because of the registration issues here now. People without internet are really screwed and if you didn't renew for 2020, your looking at a trip to the regional office hours away to get a renewal where they will charge you for all the missed years even though the boat sat.
For me, you know what will freeze over before I'll pay them for something they I didn't use just because they closed everything down for a year. Now they just closed down all the game preserves and lakes due to 'high crime issues' again. The prime fishing spots and ramps are closed till Sept. 25 or until no one wants to go there due to the weather changing.
I don't consider any motor that's sat for a year a running motor, nor would I want the seller to try and run it to show me it runs because half of them will run them out of the water, or hit the thing with starter fluid to get it going, neither of which is good for a two stroke.
I bought a 1997 Mariner 4 stroke 9.9hp this morning that the owner said 'sunk'. He told me its stuck and that its sat for four years untouched in the shed after it sunk while on his jon boat in saltwater one night.
I pulled both plugs, took a look inside and its not rusty. I pulled the rope and it won't budge, but with the recoil off, I can turn it over by hand just fine. The recoil is locked up on the center shaft.
The crankcase oil is clean, as is the lower unit oil. The prop won't come off though but I sprayed it down with some kroil.
I bought it for parts because I have another that needs a better hood and this one is pretty clean. I dropped the lower unit and the thing is clean inside the mid, the water pump is barely worn but has cracks.
Using a rope on the flywheel I did a crude compression test and got 137/127 top/bottom.
The carb is stuck closed, so that too is soaking. I drained the oil and its clean but pretty dirty. The power head appears to be the same as an early 80's Yamaha but the lower and mid are made in USA.
I gave $20 for it.
I have little doubt it'll run if I bother to deal with the few things it needs.
carb cleaning or replacement, water pump impeller, free up prop on shaft, plugs, fuel filter, oil change, and any electronics that may or may not be bad. I didn't notice it having any spark but I also noticed the lanyard clip missing off the button on the panel and I suspect if it did go swimming the tiller handle will need to come apart as well. But I have my doubts as to whether it really went fully under water or not or for how long. I really think if it got sunk the engine oil and and/or cylinders would have signs of water in them. All i see is a bit of rust staining around the plugs, but neither is rusty.
It was listed in CL and about to expire when I saw it, meaning its been there at least a month and a half and it was listed at $50 obo.
It makes me think that there's either no one out there with any cash or no one out there with any ability to tinker with a motor and get it going or brake it up for parts anymore.
I'm betting that it won't take more than a few hundred dollars to make this run again.
The rust dust blows away with an air hose, its not 'stained'. And its all over the from the top down but I don't see any signs of anything giving off rust and there was no rust inside.
I realize this isn't a 40-50hp or what this was originally about but there are tons of deals out there right now but most need a bit of work, but I think that's been the case in my price range all along, there's just more and better items in my price range now.
A buddy who stopped by this afternoon may be a good example of what's wrong, he took one look at it and said its junk, there's rust bleeding out the cylinder and its stuck. Why bother with it? he said. That coming from a guy who spent half a day with a giant size JB weld kit patching corrosion holes in his Black Max 150 Merc and has 6 1,500 gph bilge pumps and two extra batteries in his boat because he's too cheap to buy a bag of rivets or some Gluvit for his boat.
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