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Mercury Report

Boat winterizingBoat winterizing

The holiday season is fast approaching and, while most boaters in your neighborhood have winterized and stored their boat and engine until spring, you still have some late-season fishing and/or hunting on your to-do list. Several sections of the US offer outdoor activities late in the year – and all Mercury Marine outboards are rated to operate at temperatures as low as -15C/+5F.

However, no matter how invigorating late-season boating can be, you'll need to ensure your outboard and boat are ready to withstand the cold. Before you set the alarm clock for early tomorrow morning, keep these facts and recommendations in mind.

  1. If you have a FourStroke outboard, check the owner's manual for advice on proper oil viscosity for cold-weather operation.
  2. The most common cold-weather outboard problem is something many hunters call "duck hunter's freeze-up," which occurs when a hunter in the winter months tilts up the outboard to keep it out of marsh muck or to pull their skiff ashore. Tilting up the outboard traps water in the motor, which freezes if the air temperature is low enough. Frozen water in your outboard almost always results in serious engine damage.

REMEMBER: When the air temperature sinks below freezing, always keep the motor in its down position when it's not running. 

  1. After each outing, pull the hull drain plug in your boat and tilt the bow up to allow all water to drain from the bilge.
  2. And after you've taken your last boating trip of the season, don't forget to winterize appropriately, including these basic steps:
  • Gasoline containing alcohol (ethanol or methanol) can cause the formation of acid during storage and can damage the fuel system. If you use gasoline that contains alcohol, drain as much of the remaining gasoline as possible from the fuel tank, remote fuel line, and engine fuel system.
  • Then fill the fuel tank and engine fuel system with treated (stabilized) fuel to help prevent the formation of varnish and gum.

Following these simple tips – and the advice offered in the owner's manual for your engine – will keep you boating longer now and in the coming spring.

*Also, don't forget to protect yourself with the appropriate cold-weather gear and clothing. ALWAYS wear a lifejacket, and during cold weather consider a float coat and protective bib pants. If you fall into cold water, you have just a few moments to get back on board before your mobility starts to decline. Think about cold-water reboarding as an important part of your preparations.

Yamaha Outboards Report

Protect your boat from critters

When Frank Wilhelm visited his house on Lake Norman last winter, he walked out to the dock and hopped on his Suncatcher® pontoon, thinking he would run his Yamaha VMAX SHO® 225 for a while to keep it in mid-season form. But when he turned the key…nothing…no trim, no lights and never mind turning over, the starter wouldn’t even click. He had the battery on a trickle charge so he knew it had juice and figured the problem was something simple like a blown fuse so he took it to the local shop for a diagnosis.

The Worst Phrase a Boater can Hear

A while later he got a call and heard the words all boaters dread: “I’ve got some bad news.” As it turns out, muskrats had chewed the rubber off his wiring harness and transducer wire like they were ears of corn, and the estimate to fix it was in the thousands of dollars because once the wires within are exposed, everything shorts out. What was weird is the destructive ‘rats didn’t touch the wiring harness coming from the engine because it stayed underwater in the splashwell. Instead, they had found egress through a small opening in the rear of the center pontoon he didn’t know existed. Wilhelm noticed the muskrats didn’t touch his bass boat, which was on a lift so part of the solution was to do the same for his pontoon. He also sheathed the repaired wires in stainless steel mesh and fabricated a screen to close off the opening in the pontoon.

Unfortunately, boaters aren’t the only ones that love boats. There’s a lengthy list of other critters that find boats irresistible. Some want to chew, others want to move in, burrow or leave deposits aboard your pride and joy. Learning how to discourage them requires preventative steps specifically targeted toward the pests in your area. If you are new to an area or boating, it’s a good idea to ask around to see what lurks in and around the waters you will frequent.

Mercury Report

Boat owner calibrating depth finderBoat owner calibrating depth finder

The vast array of marine electronics available these days is simply amazing. Quality, high-functioning products that can do just about anything can be easily found, making this an exciting time to be a boater.

However, that’s not to say that you can just plug them in and expect them to be set up for optimal performance on your boat right out of the box. You’ll want to read your owner’s manual first to make sure you understand all the basic functions of a given piece of equipment, so you can get the data you need, when you need it, without doing a bunch of trial and error in a moment when it might not be convenient to do so. Some items, like a depth finder, might also need to be calibrated.

But if you buy a new depth finder, why would it need to be calibrated? Wouldn’t it be adjusted correctly at the factory? The answer is no, actually, there’s no way anything that measures the depth of the water can be accurate without some adjustment. That’s not a big deal when the unit says you’re in 50 feet of water, but when it says you’re in 2.5 feet of water it could become a very big deal.

The reason for this is that the transducer – the transom-mounted part of the system that sends and receives sound waves off the bottom of the body of water – may be located at varying depths below the waterline, depending on the type of boat and installation method. If you don’t calibrate the unit to account for the distance the transducer sits below the waterline of the boat, you won’t get an accurate reading.

Fortunately, the team at Wired2fish has put together this easy-to-follow Mercury Quick Tip video that shows you just how to do it. All you need is a tape measure, notepad, writing utensil and perhaps the owner’s manual for your depth finder. Then just follow these simple steps:

  • With your boat on its trailer, go to the transom of your boat and locate your transducer. Measure from the waterline (usually visible in the form of a slight stain that can be seen going across the transom and/or outboard bracket) to the bottom surface of the transducer. This doesn’t have to be extremely precise, but the more accurate you can be the more accurate your depth readings will be. Record the measurement on your notepad.

Garmin Report

ECHOMAP UHD2ECHOMAP UHD2

Garmin has announced the ECHOMAP™ UHD2 chartplotter series with 500W of vivid, high-contrast scanning sonar power, all-new hardware with a sunlight readable display and more.

Offered in a new 5-inch as well as the popular 7-inch display, the ECHOMAP UHD2 plotters offer physical buttons for easy control and operation of functions every angler depends on for a successful outing, including marking key waypoints or quickly toggling between different chart views. Plus, built-in Wi-Fi® enables seamless sharing of sonar and user data between two ECHOMAP UHD2 units onboard.

The ECHOMAP UHD2 series is available now with suggested retail prices ranging from $399.99 to $649.99.

Wirelessly share sonar and data across devices

Whether fishing with a friend or wanting the flexibility to add another chartplotter on board, built-in wireless networking allows anglers to stream sonar and share user data, such as waypoints and routes, between two ECHOMAP UHD2 units.

Mercury Report

Of all the critical parts of a boat, few are more important – or more overlooked – than the humble bilge pump.

Not only does it get rid of the small quantities of water that get inside the hull from unexpected waves and the like, but it also serves as an essential warning device that your boat has a significant issue. After all, a constantly running bilge pump is often a boater’s first indication that the boat has a considerable leak, or that it’s been launched without installing the drain plug. Even so, most of us just take it for granted that it’s going to work as expected year in, year out.

The fact of the matter is that virtually everything has a finite lifespan, especially electrical components that are repeatedly exposed to water, but you can easily extend the life of your bilge pump with just a quick bit of annual maintenance. In this Mercury Quick Tip video, we’ll show you how to do it, and all you’ll need is a flathead screwdriver, wet/dry vacuum, white vinegar, scrub brush, small scissors and a tiny bit of grease. Here are the steps.

  • Open the access panel that’s closest to your bilge pump. If you’re not sure where that is consult your boat’s owner’s manual, but it’s typically near the centerline of the vessel, far aft. The bilge pump itself is about the size of your fist (in small-to-medium boats), and it will have a couple of insulated wires and a discharge hose attached to it. It’s usually positioned close to the lowest point of the hull, within a foot or two of the drain plug.
    Note: In a sterndrive boat, the bilge pump may be located directly under the engine, which makes access a little harder, but it still should be reachable from the side of the engine.
  • Remove any visible debris from the bilge area by hand. Be sure to look and clean as far forward as you can as any leaves, grass, etc., that are under the deck will eventually end up near the bilge pump.
  • Confirm that the bilge pump activation switch is turned off. The bilge pump should be connected to the boat’s wiring harness via a plastic connector. Find it and disconnect it.
  • With your screwdriver, loosen the clamp that is keeping the discharge hose connected to the pump. Work the hose loose from the pump and put the clamp somewhere it won’t get lost or dropped into the bilge.
  • Grasp the top of the pump and carefully twist it counterclockwise. It should come free of its strainer base with just a quarter turn or so. The base will be attached to the hull, so it will stay in place.
  • Take the portion of the pump you just removed and twist the top counterclockwise until the top comes out of the lower housing. Clean out the inside of both pieces until they are completely free of debris. If the pump has sucked up any fishing line, you may need to use your scissors to cut it up so you can pull it out one piece at a time.
  • Thoroughly inspect the pump’s impeller: if it’s cracked or broken in any way, the bilge pump will need to be replaced.
  • With your wet/dry vac, vacuum out the bilge area, including in and around the strainer base of the bilge pump.
  • Away from the boat, rinse the inside of the bilge pump (top and bottom) with vinegar to remove any mold, mildew or sediment that may have accumulated there. A scrub brush – or even an old toothbrush – can help clean the crevices. Then rinse the pump with clean water, taking care to keep the wires and connector dry.
  • Apply a thin coat of grease to the O-ring seal inside the pump. Then, put the two halves of the pump back together. They should lock together with a small clockwise twist.
  • Put the pump back in its strainer base and lock it in with a clockwise quarter-turn. Make sure the pump is oriented as it was before; otherwise the discharge hose may be difficult or impossible to connect.
  • Put the clamp over the discharge hose and reconnect the hose to the pump. Tighten down the hose clamp good and snug, but not so tight that it crushes the outlet connection of the pump. Give the pump and bilge area a good visual inspection to confirm that everything is in order, then reconnect the pump’s wire connector to the boat’s wiring harness.
  • Replace any hatches or access panels you might have removed, and the job is done.

It’s also a good practice to test the operation of the pump while the boat is on the trailer. To do this, put the drain plug in and put a few gallons of water in the bilge via an access panel (taking care to not unnecessarily pour water directly on any under-deck electrical components). If equipped with an automatic float switch, the pump should activate on its own and pump the water overboard. In any case, you’ll want to test the manual switch as well. Once the water stops flowing, turn the switch off immediately as it’s not good for the pump to run dry.

Bilge Pump MaintenanceBilge Pump Maintenance

It’s almost impossible for the pump to be in the absolute lowest point of the vessel, so it’s normal for the bilge to have a small bit of water in it even after running the bilge pump. If either a concerning amount of water remains, the pump won't turn off or the flow from the pump is weaker that you think it should be, take your boat to your local Mercury authorized dealer to have it inspected before putting your boat back on the water.