sherman brown

you could take the plugs out and put a good penetrating oil in the cylinders turn it over a few times by hand to get the oil to the rings then add more oil and let set for a few days. then crank the motor over with the plugs out to get rid of the oil. make sure you have water going to it before cranking. then do a compression check to see if it has stuck rings. if its good start it up and let it idle for a while before using it. I bought a old 115 merc off ebay on an old boat out in a field. it had been there for god only knows how long. the bottom of the motor was all incrusted with white muck where it had set in water for long periods while in the field. the boat had pretty much rotted away on the inside. the tires on the trailer was half flat and badly weather cracked. he gave me the junk boat and trailer so I could haul the motor home before removing it. I stopped at the 1st station and aired up the tires. got it home hooked up the muffs and fired it up. it started right up and ran great. so I put it on another boat then a new water pump in it then took it down to my bil in fl. we used it for a few yrs when I went down fishing. then it started running rough for him and he sold it. he pretty much gave it away when it probably only needed plugs. I never did anything before starting the motor. I would use a can of seafoam in the 1st few tanks of gas. if there is any stuck rings this could help unstick them.

if your 12# to 20# weight doesn't scare the fish off why would adding the probe do it? if you let out the one with the probe it is going to have more blowback than just a weight. the depth finder just read how far from the transducer. if your getting more fish on the non probe rigger let out another 15' on the probe rigger and see if it changes things any.

i use the lite bite ones on erie and they are priceless.

check the transom good for unsealed screws or old holes. you could have some loose rivets thats also leaking. sometimes you can put your plug in and put water in the boat on the trailer and check the outside for leaks.

the end on the cable may have come loose and when under pressure its sliding on the shift cable wire.

check over on lakeerieunited.com for a new set of brand new 36" amish bags with ropes. that will get toy down to walleye speeds for spring fishing. 140.00 for the pair.

I run 3 divers on each side on erie all the time with one rigger off each back corner. for 1 or even 2 divers run them out the side at 90 degree angle. but the front diver can be set a little higher if your running 2. set the inside diver on 1 and the front one on 3. run longer leads on the front diver. to let the front diver out over the back diver just start out on the other side of the boat at the back but not far enough to tangle the other lines. start letting the line out slow. usually the clicker is enough. if you still get tangles while letting them out your probably still going out to fast. let it out until your past the other diver and about 15' from desired lenth. then lift rod up and over back rod put in holder and lock reel down. most linecounter reels has a small knob on side to adjust tension on clicker. if you want to run 3 divers at a 1 a 2 and 3 setting. just keep 15 or 20 shorter leads on the back divers. 100' on the front at a 3 setting 80 or 85 on the middle diver set on 2 and 65 or 70 on the back diver on a 1 setting.

if its a filter housing where you only replace the filter and it screws loose then will screw back tight it sounds like the old filter is just stuck. screw it loose then wiggle it back ant forth pretty hard and see if the filter breaks loose.

the screwdriver works great for oil filters that gets stuck.

yeah you need to check speed and rpm's. they just don't match up. and I wouldnt run the motor over about 4800 rpms.

I put auto pilot on my boat a few yrs ago. it makes fishing so much easier than before. I would much rather have the auto pilot. you can still catch fish without the fish hawk. but with the auto pilot you can keep your course without someone having to fight the wheel. by the way I don't have a fish hawk and I have no trouble catching walleye on erie once I find the fish.

use your boat and motor just like you was going to the dock. just before you get to the dock make a sharp 90 degree turn and stop. and release the boat being towed. it should coast right to the dock. good luck.

I cant load pictures. but if your interested pm me your email or phone number for pictures.

I have a 17' tri hull open bow boat for sale. its an older boat but in good condition for its age. 17' tri hull with 85 hp Johnson motor. the motor is worth more than i'm asking for boat motor and trailer. I only have a couple of pictures but if your really interested in driving to Indiana to save some money I can get more pictures.