There Is a Lot of Bum Dope on the Internet, But...

Occasionally, you find something that proves to be enlightening. That was the case for me back in the summer of 2021, when I had to take my boat to the shop and get the outboard rebuilt.

It was December...just prior to Christmas...before Wayne and I picked up the boat and began breaking in the motor. We both quickly realized things still weren't right. The same hesitation and sluggishness the motor had demonstrated before the rebuild was still present.

I should explain here that, while the rebuild was taking place, I had spent a lot of time perusing the Internet for comments from other owners of older Yamahas like mine with problems similar to what I had experienced. It didn't take long to discover that several other owners had had to do battle with their own hesitation and sluggishness.

In most cases, these other owners had traced their problems to what ethanol gas was doing to their fuel pumps and hoses. I discussed my findings with Wayne, who, after considerable troubleshooting, couldn't find any other culprits and decided to change my rebuilt motor's pumps and hoses. And, voila! my problems, too, were solved.

I completed the break-in, and the boat (knock on wood) continues to run as well today as it did when I first bought it. And just yesterday, I rewarded her with a cleanup...something I hadn't done since before the rebuild. With a fresh coating of Bass Boat Saver on the ol' Skeeter, I'll have to be careful, or I could end up like a couple other fellas have done over the years--taking an unceremonious dip into the North Landing waters after stepping onto a slippery gunwale.

Oh, incidentally, on Wayne's advice, I now carry a spare set of fuel pumps for the next time the old problems return.