Bequia Easter Regatta 2008 - Caribbean Compass

— Continued from previous page
When the new oil leaks out of the top hole, the unit is full and you can replace the
top screw. Next, remove the filler tube and replace the bottom screw. I am sure by
now you are saying, I wish I had two more hands when doing this procedure. It
really is not hard or complicated. If you need help there are sure to be several old
pro’s out there who would be glad to give you a hand on your first try.
Now get out your spark plug wrench and remove the plugs. (You do have a spark
plug wrench, don’t you?) Take a good look at the plugs. Are they clean? Are the
insulators a nice light brown? Is the gap close to specs? You need to get out the
handbook on your outboard and check what the gap should be. It could be .030”,
.040” or .060”. You will need a three-dollar feeler gauge to measure it. If it has been
a couple of years since they have been checked, do yourself a favor and buy some
new plugs. The NGK brand is usually pretty close to being gapped correctly from the
factory, but it is always a good idea to check them before installing.
Now that you have put in the new plugs, look at the connector boots that you are going
to put back on the plugs. Spray a little WD40 in there and push them on good and tight
(make sure they snap on). Then put the cover back on the motor and put it back on the
dinghy and start it up. Never run the motor out of the water without a water hose hooked
up to it. That is the quickest way I know to destroy a water pump impeller.
Water pump impellers are another item most people don’t think about until the
motor overheats. It is a good idea to check or even change the impeller once every
two years. Even though the engine is running cool, periodic inspection will prevent
the lower unit from being frozen in place. Just take off the lower unit and grease up
all the connectors and bolts as you reinstall. The motor will show its appreciation by
running smoothly for a long time.
If the outboard will not be used for an extended period (more than one month), run
out all the gasoline from the carburetor. If this is not done, the gas will turn into
varnish and will gum up the carburetor.
Perhaps one of the most important pieces of advice that I can give you is: use the
best outboard oil you can find. It is the cheapest insurance you can get to keep your
outboard running well. More is always better than less when adding oil to the gasoline.
A little extra oil just produces a little smoke and will not hurt a thing, although
you might find yourself having to clean the plugs now and then.
A little preventive maintenance will go a long way toward getting good service from
your outboard for a long time.
The Two-Cent
Outboard Fix
Has your Yamaha lost its get-up and go? Well mine sure did and it just about drove
me over the edge, although some people may say I didn’t really have that far to go. I
spent a good deal of time and effort trying to solve this problem.
My 15-horsepower Yamaha was running like a 5-horse. It would not get up on a
plane. This didn’t happen overnight; it was a gradual process. It first started taking
longer to plane out, then needing more throttle to stay up on a plane. Finally it would
not get up on a plane at all, just mush along.
I tried new spark plugs, no difference. I checked the compression. It was the same
in both cylinders (120 PSI), no problem there. I made a spark tester and checked the
spark. No problem there.
Well, as my Dad once told me, if you have good compression and good spark, the
problem is fuel. So I took apart the carburetor, cleaned it, put it back together and
reinstalled it. No difference. The motor started and ran at low speed as smooth as
silk, but would not run at high speed. This was really driving me nuts. I fix other
people’s outboards, but can’t get mine to run.
I tried to buy a rebuild kit for my carburetor in Venezuela, no luck. I tried to have
some cruising friends who were going back to Texas get me the kit, still no luck. The
Yamaha dealer said, “There is no such model number.” Some friends who were going
to Canada checked with the dealer there. He said, “That model was not a North
American model.” What? I bought it from a licensed Yamaha dealer in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, in 2001.
I would like to say that I came up with the solution, but I didn’t. A friend described
the problem he had with his 15-horsepower Yamaha Enduro, and it was the same
as mine. He told me how a mechanic in Panama fixed his. It seems the Yamaha uses
a very soft brass in its high-speed jets and the orifice enlarges over time, causing the
motor to get too much fuel. This causes it to bog down at high speed. So the cure
was to put three small copper wires into the jet, which leaned it out. So I tried it and
it worked. I will get a new jet, but the two-cent fix is a great stopgap measure.
Here is how I made my “magic” wire. First I found a scrap piece of #12 marine wire.
I stripped off about three inches of insulation and untwisted the wire. Then I snipped
off three strands and twisted the ends together for a distance of about one inch. I
took my needle-nose pliers and made a small loop in the twisted end (about 1/8 inch
in diameter). I had already removed the carburetor bowl from the carburetor so I
could insert the three wires into the jet. When I could see they could go no farther
into the jet I removed them and snipped off about an inch. When reinstalled the
little loop stuck out about 1/8 inch from the bottom of the jet.
Now it was time to put the bowl back on the carburetor and put the carburetor
back on the motor. When I started up the motor it idled as it always did, but when
I opened it up it jumped up on a plane and would plane out at one-third throttle as
it did when it was new.
I only wish that I could claim that it was my idea. If your Yamaha is acting tired
and nothing else seems to help, give it a try.
Richard D. Fitser was a former teacher, general contractor, and marine mechanic. He
and his wife Diane left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in June 2003, on their 38-foot ketch,
Jabulani. They cruised down the island chain and west to Curaçao, spending much
of the past three years on the north coast of Venezuela and its islands. Richard
enjoyed helping people and healed many ailing outboards. Richard and Diane were
anchored in Porlamar, Margarita, Venezuela, when he died of a heart attack on
January 28th. He was buried on Margarita.
We are on-line:
www.caribbeancompass.com
WALLILABOU
ANCHORAGE
WALLILABOU BAY HOTEL
VHF Ch 16 & 68
(range limited by the hills)...
P.O. Box 851, St. Vincent & the Grenadines,
West Indies.
Tel: (784) 458-7270 Fax: (784) 457-9917
E-mail: wallanch@caribsurf.com
PORT OF ENTRY
MOORING FACILITIES
WATER, ICE, SHOWERS
CARIBEE BATIK - BOUTIQUE
BAR AND RESTAURANT
TOURS ARRANGED
CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
HAPPY HOUR 5-6
Bequia - Restaurant - Great Cocktails & Fun
Bar open daily until… Sunday 6pm - 2am
Kitchen open Monday to Saturday 10am - 10pm
Menu: Burgers, Flying Fish, Philly Steak Sandwiches,Fajitas, Salads,
Chicken Wings, Conch Fritters, etc. • Dinner Menu
Full Cable TV • Air Conditioning • Sportsbar • Pool Table
BEQUIA, Port Elizabeth, Admiralty Bay
Tel: (784) 457 3443 • e-mail: saltydog@vincysurf.com
Your Expert Guide to Carriacou’s Best Diving
Find us right in the town of Hillsborough!
Phone/Fax (473) 443-7882 and VHF CH 16
scubamax@spiceisle.com
www.scubamax.com
• Daily dives at 9.30 am and 1.30 pm or individually
• Air-Fills at PADI 5 * Standard
• Scuba and Snorkel Gear Rental
INSTRUCTOR
TRAINING
• PADI Courses from Beginner to Instructor
& 15 Specialties in English & Deutsch
• Rendezvous Service for Sailors at Hillsborough,
Sandy Island & Tyrrel-Bay
• Special Group Prices for Sailors
B & C FUELS
ENTERPRISE
Welcomes you to
Petite Martinique
A stepping stone as you
cruise through St. Vincent, Grenada and the Grenadines.
Come alongside our splendid jetty and replenish your
supplies of FUEL, OIL, WATER and ICE
at the cheapest prices in the Grenadines.
Call sign: “Golf Sierra” VHF channel 16
For further information call Glenn Clement or
Reynold Belmar. Tel/Fax: (473) 443-9110
APRIL 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 43