Starter Swap Out

The starter has been giving me some problems every now and then. Very occasionally when I turned the key the starter would just begin to turn and then stall. Turn the key off and back on and all was good. So I took my spare starter and had it overhauled. Surprise number one, even though it came off a marine engine it was not a marine starter !! Well the shop was able to take care of that problem so now it is time to install it. Today, I dug the old starter out. It was pretty oily confirming that my rear main seal is leaking. The new starter slid right in without any problems. When the old one came out  I discovered that the rear hanger bracket was broken. Well I got the new starter installed and gave it a try. Everything worked !! Seemed to start with a little more authority as well so hopefully starting problems are in the past.

Memorial Day 2012

Accepted a friends invitation and headed out to Grand Lake of the Cherokees Sunday. Put in at the ramp just past the dam. Bad idea. Pretty windy. While trying to pickup my wife after she parked the truck I got the prop in the rocks. So now I have some souvenirs on the prop. The rest of the day was pretty good though. Heading across the lake from the ramp to the cove the combination of wind and wakes made for a rough crossing. Lots of spray coming over the side of the boat. Had a good time swimming and hanging out at the dock. About 6 headed on up the lake past monkey island. Still pretty rough, but not too bad. After supper headed out at sunset for an evening cruise. Ran up duck creek and checked out the yachts and then back across the lake at dark. Put the boat on the trailer after 10pm. Of course I was tired from a long day and well I forgot to put the drive up. Should not have been an issue, BUT, there was a pot hole on the ramp and I just scraped the skeg on the drive. Still a great day on the lake.

First Time on the Water for 2012

Saturday was very warm and I could not stand it any longer. The boat was ready to go and I was out of excuses so loaded everyone up and headed to the lake. Motor ran great, drive sounded great. My oldest finally felt comfortable enough to push the throttle down enough to bring her up on a plane. Dad very proud. Water was very rough with about 20 knots of wind out of the south. Went out looking for ducks to feed. Finally found some back at the ramp where we had started. Looking forward to a great 2012 on the water.