Way2slow

In 1966 I was a senior in high school when I bought a brand new 14’ glass boat with a 65hp Mercury, mainly for water skiing. For four years before that, my primary fishing boat was a 17 ft canoe. I’ve probably bought and sold 100 boats since then but I still have that 17’, and spent a lot of time in it through the years. As for motors, thats going to depend on your mechanical skills/knowledge. Other than two 135BHP Mercury race motors, that 1966 Mercury was the only new motor I ever owned on a regular boat. I made bunches of money over the years buying those “used” boats and motors, fixing and selling them. The older carbureted motors are easy to fix. Owning one of the newer four stroke or fuel injected motors can be very expensive for most people if its not under warranty, so be careful buying one.

You are probably wanting to buy one at a bad time. The large corporations have pretty much monopolized the boat industry so now they have full control over pricing and have taken full advantage that. A 1436L Lowe that I bought new for less than $600 in 2005 is now selling for almost $3,000. Those that have realized that are taking full advantage of that selling their used jons. Then you add the huge increase in new outboard motor prices, good, older used motors are selling for premium prices, even the used parts for them are selling for ridiculous prices. So, if it were me, I would be constantly checking all available sources for a used boats of anything that met my needs, regardless of how it's rigged, and plan on buying it pieces at the time as items come available for a fair price. Granted, not the most convenient way, but probably the cheapest way. There is still a few popping up for a few hundred dollars by someone not aware of what the current market value. You might get lucky and find a boat, motor and trailer combination but you have to be ready to buy it immediately, they don't stay on the market long. I'm a prime example of that. A year ago, I considered my 1436 with 1978 9.9 Johnson or 1982 25hp Mercury, rigged with running lights and removable sets, and galvanized trailer to be worth about $1,600. I am giving strong consideration to selling it now and with a fairly new MG X3 TM, and Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73sv I'm probably going to start off by asking $2,900. A lot more than I would have a year ago.

Your options are going to be very limited on TM's with 36" shaft. Two years ago, I had to settle on a X3 because that was the only motor available, I wanted a digital. And I mean the ONLY ONE, not just the only brand. My brother recently purchased a 36" shaft for his jon boat, and he had to get a Minn Kota because that was the only one to be had, and Cabela's only had one of those at the time. So, basically if you can find anyone that has a 36" shaft motor, that's probably going to be the one you have to settle on.

They look great but for me, I wouldn’t have them. Summer sun here in Georgia is going to make that black feel like you’re sitting down in a frying pan after you have been out of one for a while

I guess that explains the logic, at least it makes a lot more sense. Tires should be good on a 2021 trailer, but I would still be replacing the bearings. Four years not knowing how they've been serviced or how the looked the last time they were serviced. It's still going to be one miserable, tiring trip though. Yea, when you have to pay a double with that extra length it bites. I shipped a Chevy 2500HD from south Texas to middle GA and got hit with that but had no choice because it had a bad differential.

Not sure of the logic behind buying that old of a boat that far away, unless they are paying you to haul if off. The old saying goes, live and learn, and pretty sure you will be learning big time on this one. Your main concern, provided the trailer it not rusted out, is going to be tires, bearings and lights. You want to make sure the tires are fairly new, even if they still have good thread on them, dry rot is a major concern if they are more than a couple of years old. If I was going that far to get one, I would either take new ones with me or plan on having those replaced when I got there. Since you probably have no way of knowing what axle is under it, you won't have the option of taking new bearings also, so plan on buying and installing a new set when you get there. DO NOT trust the ones on the trailer to be good, you will be running an extreme risk of one failing on the trip home. Make sure you plan properly. The trip up there is going to be one long, hard day and (that's if you are young) and two days if you don't want to torture yourself. That's only if the weather is good to you, heading North, this time of the year is playing roulette with it. Plan on one day dealing with the tires, wheel bearings and lights. Plan on a minimum of two days for the trip back home. Even if you average 50 mph, and that's not very likely pulling a trailer, that's 16 hours travel time. Then you need to add one more day just for "When S**T happens" if you have to be back for work. On your trip home, stop after the first hour and feel the bearing hubs, make sure they are no more than just a mild warm and both are about the same. Stop one more time after about another hour and feel them again. After that it's a good idea to make a quick feel of them on your normal stops. The only other thing I can think of saying is "Good luck" with your trip, it's going to be long and hard.

Yea, I saw it was an extension cord but just couldn't resist pulling your chain.

Ha, Ha, my pontoon trailer came with one built in. If you consider yourself old at 67, I must be ancient. What's the yellow cord for, so when you can't get in with the steps, you can hook it to you an have someone winch you in?

Back in 1961 my first car was a 1948 Ford I bought for $10. Since I was only 14 and not allowed to drive into town so my canoe stayed on top of it 24/7 except when I was using it. (the great part of being a country boy). I was 18 when I got my first 4WD vehicle, a 1966 Ford Bronco. I have owned a 4WD vehicle ever since. The 66 Bronco got swapped out for a 73 Bronco. In 86 I also bought a 4WD Toyota pickup and traded that for a 93 4WD Toyota. As My boats got bigger, my Bronco was getting some miles on it so I ended up swapping the Bronco for a full size 4WD Chevy truck (still wish I had kept the Bronco). Today, I'm still driving the 93 Toyota, and using a 2500HD Chevy for towing. For my use, I have never seen any since in buying a 2WD truck. I drive in places I wouldn't try to walk. For many years I fished ponds, creeks and rivers there was no convenient access to so I might be driving through the woods and over small trees, across fields and bunches of other places a 2WD would never go. My canoe was a wide 17' aluminum cargo style, so it was a little heavier than comfortable to carry so it got drug through the woods a lot. I always kept the smaller truck because I was a big-time quail hunter and full-size trucks would not go where the smaller, lighter truck would. However, it only takes one 2800-pound bass boat pushing you through a red light on a wet, slick road to learn that smaller, lighter truck ain't worth a darn for towing your bass boat. So, if you ask me, a 4WD truck and a canoe are a great combination for getting in places off the beaten path to fish. I'm not a yak person, tried one, hated it and gave it away. If by yourself in a canoe, just turn it around and use it backwards, that equalizes the weight much better and keeps the nose from sticking up in the air.

I will run TM batteries until their performance starts interfering with my fishing. I also ran Trojan SC225's and it was very common get five years. We used to spend hours chasing schooling bass feeding on shad, spending a lot of time running the TM on high getting to where they would pop up again and it would be several years before I started noticing enough reduction in run time to replace them. However, TM batteries I don't have to be concerned out getting stranded or frying a charging system if they decide to go belly up, so I have no problems with getting my whole nickels worth out of those. Plus, the last 225's I bought were a little over $200 each (haven't check on what they are now if they even still make them) and you are always supposed to replace the set at the same time when connected in series or parallel. That gets out of the class of being cheap like a single cranking battery.

If you really want to get into how long a battery last in term of years, there are way too many variables that determine that with any degree of accuracy. First off, battery life is not measured in time, it's measured in cycle counts, how many times it can be discharged and charged. A major factor in that is going to be how the battery is made and what alloys were used. Cheap batteries have cheaply made plates, quality batteries have a much better and more alloy in them. The next is going to be how the battery is used and maintained. Cranking batteries are not designed to be discharged. Their plates are designed to give a high surge of current over a short period. Letting one discharge very much greatly reduces its cycle count. How the battery is maintained has a huge effect on how long the battery lives. A good maintainer is a must for batteries not regularly used, regular use is needed. Letting one sit for long durations on a maintainer is not that good for the battery. While it does need to be on a maintainer, they still need to be cycled regularly. A top-of-the-line maintainer will actually cycle the battery periodically. They say with age comes wisdom, well when it comes to batteries, I've learned they are too cheap for the grief and misery they can cause. I buy the biggest, top of the line batteries that will fit where I need it to do, but I don't care who's brand I buy, three years, maybe four is it's still testing near100%, is all I will run a cranking battery. They come out and go in the golf cart (it's a gas model) the welder or just a spare battery sitting around, but it' does not stay where I have to depend on it.

Where did you mount the trolling motor? I have a 24’ Bentley fishing model and the fence and gate as you call it, is behind the two pedestal fishing seat so you have an open deck up front. I mounted my two TM batteries in the back with the cranking battery. I installed blind nuts under the front deck and a quick connect so it only takes a minute to remove and install the TM when I don’t want it in the way. Mine came with a large live well up front. I use a 9” Garmin on a swivel mount up front with the Xducer on the TM so I see what’s under me and not 24’ behind me. I have a 7” that’s mounted on the console with the Xducer on the back for navigation.

I never run a cranking battery more than four years and usually replace them at three. They can cause too many problems when they get weak. Burned out charging systems are a common problem with a weak battery.

Not sure what M-Y your merc is but my 2006 90 have a very simple valve that just connects to the throttle linkage so you might want to see about checking that first. Also understand, if you are getting an alarm for no oil, if yours has the oil tank under the cowling they are bad about the sensors coming loose and causing the alarm, but still be oiling. So, if you are basing the no oil on the engine alarm, let me make a suggesting. Before running it again, premix your gas and oil at a 50:1 ratio in the gas tank. Make sure there is oil in the oil tank and with the motor trimmed down, mark the oil level with a marker. The next time you use it, it's going to smoke a lot more because if the oil injection is working, it's going to be double oiling the motor (not going to hurt anything) and when you are done for the day, check the oil level in the oil tank, it the oil is still at the mark you made on the tank, the oil injection is probably not working. If the oil level is below the mark you made on the tank, the oil injection is working, and you just have a bad sensor. If it's in the tank as mentioned, they can be glued back with a good grade of CA glue (super glue). You might want to do this for the next couple of trips, marking it each time just to make sure it's a faulty sensor. Just remember, premix the gas in the tank before you do anything else. It's a whole lot safer to double oil one while trouble shooting it than taking a chance on it really not be oiling.

Many of the props today use and adapter so they can make one prop fit several motors. If the movement is just where it's moving on that adapter, I wouldn't be too concerned. If however, it's the actual prop shaft moving back and forth in the lower unit, then I would be getting concerned. There should be not movement of the prop shaft in the LU other than rotational, unless it was made in China, then all bets are off on how it's made.