Quick Minn Kota trolling motor question

[MrGiggles]

Oh and way way way way back to my original post.
Can’t believe I have y’all going down an off topic rabbit hole along with me.

I had used Armor All that day. It stayed mount on a board inside my shop until this weekend. . When I but it in the boat Friday evening it had collected a little dust but right now everything I don’t have covered will get dust on it in my shop. It still looked great but the shaft felt like plastic again. Didn’t feel slick any more.
I stowed it back in the shop last night and I the shaft showed abrasions.
The spot where the steering adjustment was is white and abrasive.
So a fail on the Armor All. I’ll be moving on to the next product.
I’m going to look at my old shaft and see if the ceramic coating has caused any harm. Meanwhile I may use silicone next.
I’m not expecting anything to last for every just something I don’t have to do every single outing.

I really screwed up yesterday and on the way home took my grandson to a creek that feeds the lake where the white/sand bass have been spawning. It’s part of Texas Parks and Wildlife trails which are many miles at the east end of the lake. Five bucks to get in then drive down close to 2.5 miles of terrain and there’s parking at the creek. Would have been ok if I didn’t have my boat behind me. Absolutely no trailers allowed in the parking lot because of space.
So just before the parking lot I pulled to the side out of the way and we walked to the creek.
Wasn’t thinking about the traffic and all the dust. Everyone is in a hurry to get to the creek and all jeeps and trucks bouncing on the rough path.
We got back to the truck and was talking when a truck went by and I saw my grandson duck his head down and close his eyes. Turned and looked.
A huge thick cloud of dust covered us. I looked at my boat and all my gear and everything had layers of the fine dust covering it.
I have to clean up everything. A lot of the dust blew off coming home.
When I backed in last night and started unloading I couldn’t stand it. I started cleaning the electrical. I remove my Garmin and it rides in a case inside the truck. The cable ends where capped but it was so bad after cleaning when I removed the caps it made its way to the connectors. My plug and play connectors for the sonar battery same way switch panel.
Breaker switch. Even dust in storage and water doesn’t get in there but dust did. Most of it can be blown off. But I was out there last night with a headlamp and a can of Deoxit and a tips because I couldn’t stand the electrical not looking new.
I haven’t looked under the cowl of the Yamaha yet. I may have more cleaning under there since the bugs got in it when night fishing dust will get in too and stick real good to the fluid film it’s coated with.
It lives under the cover at home so I’m used to cleaning everything at different times after so many outings. I get to clean everything at once this time. Even 9 rods which don’t all have reel covers.
I won’t take it out until at least the motor and electrical are done. But I need to run it after this trip. I had no choice but to put ethanol fuel in the tank this weekend and want to run it out and get some ethanol free back in the system.

On a bright side. All the little things I found wrong getting ready for this trip. Cracked fuel line , carburetor drain plugs broken or cracked.
When I started it Saturday morning it idled a lot better I didn’t have to keep giving it gas every now and then. I even had to adjust it because it was purring like a kitten at only 550 rpms. I raised the idle and w away we went.
Grandson 120 lbs sitting towards bow on ice chest. His cousin 126lbs sitting in the rear with me and loaded with gear.
Got passed the buoy’s and I gave it some throttle and the bow stood up. I thought ok I’ll need to adjust the outboard a notch (that means I don’t have electric tilt and trim for you young ones).

After that thought I hit wide open throttle to see what I was dealing with.
The 40 2 stroke old Yamaha bowed up and we shot out of the hole and was hauling tail. Better than ever. I had to watch it because in a matter seconds I was doing 6k rpms and climbing. At 5,500k we were getting it own and the boat was planning great.
When I rebuilt the boat I removed a lot of weight just doing the floor.
Going to all lithium batteries took out a lot of weight. Etc.
Now I need to get a different prop.
Or a different tiny Tach to compare to make sure this one’s accurate.

Good grief man! It's a fishing boat, it's gonna get a little worm dirt spilled in it now and then!

I think you'd have a panic attack if you every took a ride in my boat.

 

[airshot]

If you have a prop repair shop in your area, they can put it on a pitch block and tell you in just a few minutes..

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Good grief man! It's a fishing boat, it's gonna get a little worm dirt spilled in it now and then!

I think you'd have a panic attack if you every took a ride in my boat.

It’s not for looks . You can tell by looking at it. It needs a paint job bad along with a few welds wouldn’t hurt.
I’m trying to protect the new goods along with the work I’ve done.
I’d like nothing more than to bring it home with the new carpet covered in catfish slime and blood and scales from bait.
It’s got sand and clay caked underneath the bow as well as tracks all in the boat from us. Yeah I’ll clean it up but not urgently.
But parking it next to a dirt road with everything I got in it. Nope!
I could just rinse off my reels and go. But since I have to put in a requisition to acquire replacement equipment. I’ll be getting all the dust out of everything. I fish in the rain but I dry everything out when done. No big deal but dirt is like sand paper inside of everything. If you let a battery collect enough it’ll conduct electricity enough to shorten the life of a good battery.
Back when I bought my first boat obey off the show room floor.
I took it home backed it in the driveway. Went in the house and grabbed a beer then sit in my new bass boat in my driveway completely rigged out with everything I wanted .
After a few minutes I said let’s get this over. Walked up on front deck and said time to break it in. Then poured the rest of the beer on the deck.
25 years later I have a 1983 jon and 1992 Yamaha that I protect like it’s a family member. Being that old requires a lot more looking after and maintenance than any other I’ve ever owned after the previous owner neglected it for years.
I’m pretty sure this will be my last boat so I’m doing everything I can during the rebuild as well as making everything last as long as possible.

 

[thill]

Congrats on the boat and how she runs! Just be easy on the throttle until you get the prop figured out. My old boat, it would run over 6K when I was alone if I just floored it. But with a few people it was perfect. Sounds like you need to go up at least 2P, maybe 4P.

Some props, the info is painted on, and it soon comes off. Sometimes, it's on the engine side of the hub and gets covered in grease, but I'm guessing you already looked there, so it was probably painted. I hate that.

Boats get dirty, but that stone dust is nasty, abrasive stuff. I live on a gravel road, so I completely understand. An air compressor and nozzle are your friend!

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Congrats on the boat and how she runs! Just be easy on the throttle until you get the prop figured out. My old boat, it would run over 6K when I was alone if I just floored it. But with a few people it was perfect. Sounds like you need to go up at least 2P, maybe 4P.

Some props, the info is painted on, and it soon comes off. Sometimes, it's on the engine side of the hub and gets covered in grease, but I'm guessing you already looked there, so it was probably painted. I hate that.

Boats get dirty, but that stone dust is nasty, abrasive stuff. I live on a gravel road, so I completely understand. An air compressor and nozzle are your friend!

Unfortunately one of my health issues snuck up on me and I’ve been down until today. I’ll turn the pressure down low on my compressor and take care of most .
It rained some but I had covered it the night I got back.
Out of everything. We didn’t catch a fish but I couldn’t have ask for a better weekend. I got to know a grandson which I missed a lot of him growing up.
He thanked me for taking him and that he enjoyed the time with me.
My daughter and I are communicating regularly now.
I feel blessed.

Besides making the boat lighter while rebuilding. This was the first run after upgrading to lipo4 batteries. That removed another 70lbs. With the 100ah trolling battery at the boy would explained the front coming up higher on takeoff.

I found a shop a little over an hour from here. The closest thing to boat repair around here without going to Austin.
He told me to bring my boat and he can look at it. Then give me a prop for me to try in a small lake close to his shop. If I don’t like it we’ll try another. Then I can buy or order the right one.
I also have a stainless steel prop that was in the boat when I bought it. But the hub is gone and it may not have been on this boat.
I don’t want to run ss anyway. So we may do some trading.
First I’ll check the rpm’s against another tach.
Tomorrow the wind will be good for me to take it to a nearby lake and run all the ethanol fuel out I can. This is the first ethanol I used since I bought the boat and rebuilt the fuel system and carburetors.
I’ll also be adjusting the bunks on the trailer. Before the trip I noticed the center of the boat was resting on one of the rollers that go down the center. I tried using a jack and adjusted the bunks a little where I noticed they weren’t making contact then lowered that roller a little.
It was hard to launch a real tuff loading. Broke the end off one of the slicks.
I have two bunks on edge on each side and two wide rollers in the middle. Just another thing I need to redo. I’d remove the slicks but I don’t know what type of lumber the bunks are. It’s not the original trailer and it’s a little to small.
The boat was riding on a small roller just before the bow when I got it so I added a cross bunk just before it starts to slope up to the bow. I noticed it’s bearing more than it should. It came with a 24” bunk and the extra width of the boat isn’t jiving. Tomorrow I’ll replace that cross bunk with a 3’ bunk I made out of a 2x8 which will lay flat and catch all the strikes across the boat. I’m thinking about using some hardware I have. Two bunk brackets with the swivel attachments on top.
That’s enough rambling. I should have most of this stuff in different topics.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

If you have a prop repair shop in your area, they can put it on a pitch block and tell you in just a few minutes..

Unfortunately where I’m at I’d have to send off for any prop work. I didn’t spend much on this one. I do have a repair/salvage yard for boats just a little over an hour from me. The guy said to bring the boat and he can usually get close by looking. But he’ll give me a few props and let me go to a small lake close to his shop and run them. Then I can buy new or used depending on what he has or order if I want.
I’m sticking with aluminum though. I don’t know if I trust a hub to spin in a stainless before damaging my lower unit.

 

[airshot]

Unfortunately where I’m at I’d have to send off for any prop work. I didn’t spend much on this one. I do have a repair/salvage yard for boats just a little over an hour from me. The guy said to bring the boat and he can usually get close by looking. But he’ll give me a few props and let me go to a small lake close to his shop and run them. Then I can buy new or used depending on what he has or order if I want.
I’m sticking with aluminum though. I don’t know if I trust a hub to spin in a stainless before damaging my lower unit.

I tend to agree with you. I never went the SS route as I know how much stronger a SS prop can be. The lower unit won't hold up... In my 60 plus years of boating, only once have I ever ruined a prop by running into sonething, so the added expense is not worthwhile. To each his own, but aluminum props have served me very well and cost me little....more money to spend on other boating items !!!

 

[thill]

Depending on your motor, SS may or may not be worth it. I generally have not worried about SS on my smaller boats. Why?

That being said, I must confess... On my 16' Princecraft, I tried a SS prop I had laying around, and it made an INCREDIBLE difference with the 50 Evinrude.

I went from EITHER having a good holeshot, maxing out at about 26 mph OR having a terrible holeshot and maxing out at about 30 with different aluminum props. Then I put on the SS. I felt an amazing holeshot, and she powered up to 39 MPH and still climbing. WHAT??? Only porpoising stopped me from breaking 40. It gave me better holeshot, better midrange, and a much higher top speed. Didn't matter how many people on board, either, it ran great. I had accidentally found the "magic prop" for that rig.

That was by far the most dramatic difference a prop has ever made for me. On my bassboats, a prop could mean a 3-4 MPH difference, but this was simply incredible.

I hope you can find the magic prop for your rig, or at least one that runs great on your boat.

 

[airshot]

Keep in mind that trim, especially power trim, and motor height can have as big an impact on performance as a prop can. Getting it all in tune together will make tthe biggest difference..

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Keep in mind that trim, especially power trim, and motor height can have as big an impact on performance as a prop can. Getting it all in tune together will make tthe biggest difference..

Yes sir I remember from my bass boat days. Set up with 12” hydraulic jack plates and just the right prop. My fishing partner back then was the technician and he had setting up those boats down to a science. Guys that ordered new boats every year would have him completely remove everything the factory did then rig it out. I watched him climb around and get under the running pad with a ruler.
When he was done all that was left is he took it to the water with a couple different props. One I had was a TR21 (all where Triton boats) 225 EFI Mercs. I had to learn how to drive them . At WOT the boat was out of the water and running on the 12”X18” running pad in front of the power. It’s kinda like driving an old Ford truck and your used to the slack in the steering. Keeping the boat balanced on pad. 75 mph was common.

Now I have no care to go that fast and wonder what was I thinking.
I got my 40 hp locked in a pin where the top of the outboard is level while the boat is in the water with no one in it.
It pulls the bow up for a second then the boat trims out. It stays on plan at cruising speed or mid throttle. When I’m alone and running light I can watch the water line move toward the stern as I open it up and completely trim it out. I can look behind me at the lower unit and see the cavitation plate skimming the top of the water nice and level.
The thing I don’t like. It’s a short shaft and they cut a notch out of the tall transom to mount it. But it’s the right h height . If there’s some good chop on the water and I’m loading I get my butt wet if I reverse into a wave.
That’s the only time though. But I stay vigilant about it being lower.
When I shut down from running my wake hasn’t come in to see me.
Always anchor into the wind and on weekends stay away from the tubing boats. I don’t even try to set up where they’re buzzing around. I slammed into some pretty big wakes last weekend while heading in. These guys where circling right in the middle of where it bottle necks to get to and from the main lake from the Marina and boat ramp.
My grandsons cousin was riding the ice chest towards the bow. The rides smooth when you’re sitting in the stern. They argued all day over who road next to me.
I was working the throttle through the waves and there was a big space all of a sudden then a huge wave. I gunned it coming out of the trough to keep the bow up. When that boy saw that wave coming I bet everyone on the lake heard him scream. We didn’t even hit hard it was a smooth ride to the top. Then we slammed into the next one.
I’m doing all this driving trying to get between a big rock island and the dam. All the while having to make sure there wasn’t a tuber in the water amongst the traffic.