Rob Howells
New member
Hello everyone,
I am at a loss on the next action to take with this problem. I will begin with some basics -- it is a 1975 23' Fiberform with a 800 stringer electric shift. Its a great design for family boating now that we have replaced the stringers once and the floor twice not to mention just about every piece of hardware on it including paint inside and out (also have rebuilt it's unruly trailer). Moral of the story is I'm in too deep not to fix this problem i've been trying to diagnose for a couple of seasons. (we inherited it for free bout 7 years ago - ha, not free anylonger $$$$).
So, the problem:
This boat purrs like a kitten until it's about half way up on it's plane, under heavy load bout 3200 rpm's and then it let's go violently (almost like neutral) only for a moment as I pull the throttle back, then it rengages. It does seem like you can avoid this by feathering the throttle up super slowly, avoiding any large waves, and easing it onto a plane. It has also been know to happen while cruising at a good clip on flat water (higher up in the RPM range 3000 - 3500).
Now the crazy part:
After reading lots of forums and racking my brain on which part of the boat to tear into further - we have had the prop rehubbed twice (with a garantee that the second one did not slip, but we rehubbed it anyways). I then figured it had to be the forward coil solinoid or spring in the lower unit. The lower unit was then packed up and shipped to Canada (you know the place!) to be rebuilt. $700 later, they called me explaining that there did not appear to be any problems in the L. unit but the rebuild and resealing was complete. They thought the problem was in the electric throttle shift switch which they supplied me with a replacement. Unfortunately my updatd throttle does not seem to except this switch. I still am finding it difficult to believe that it is an electric switching issue as that it seems to be so related to the drive being under load.
Any Ideas ??
Any ideas on testing the current switch i am using or if the problem may lie deeper in the outdrive or intermediate housing - the only 2 parts left I haven't torn into yet. My fear is the shimming, rolling tolerances and proper gear mesh spec comments in the service manual, not to say any unneeded expense if i make another wrong diagnosis (i mean guess) of what the problem really is.
Pretty sure the prop hub is good
Pretty sure the lower unit is good
Pretty sure the shift switch on the throttle is ok, old but ok.
(super simple 1975 mechanical designed switch which you can visually see the electrical contact being made).
This seems to be a challenge in diagnosing exactly what is slipping. It's killing me. Thanks for any help or ideas. I am hoping someone has experienced this already and can save me some cash. We even named her FREEBIE bout $6500 ago.
It is nice and we do love it we just want it to work !
Oh well, B.O.A.T. = Break Off Another Thousand --right?
Captbert (New User of MarineEngines.com forums)
I am at a loss on the next action to take with this problem. I will begin with some basics -- it is a 1975 23' Fiberform with a 800 stringer electric shift. Its a great design for family boating now that we have replaced the stringers once and the floor twice not to mention just about every piece of hardware on it including paint inside and out (also have rebuilt it's unruly trailer). Moral of the story is I'm in too deep not to fix this problem i've been trying to diagnose for a couple of seasons. (we inherited it for free bout 7 years ago - ha, not free anylonger $$$$).
So, the problem:
This boat purrs like a kitten until it's about half way up on it's plane, under heavy load bout 3200 rpm's and then it let's go violently (almost like neutral) only for a moment as I pull the throttle back, then it rengages. It does seem like you can avoid this by feathering the throttle up super slowly, avoiding any large waves, and easing it onto a plane. It has also been know to happen while cruising at a good clip on flat water (higher up in the RPM range 3000 - 3500).
Now the crazy part:
After reading lots of forums and racking my brain on which part of the boat to tear into further - we have had the prop rehubbed twice (with a garantee that the second one did not slip, but we rehubbed it anyways). I then figured it had to be the forward coil solinoid or spring in the lower unit. The lower unit was then packed up and shipped to Canada (you know the place!) to be rebuilt. $700 later, they called me explaining that there did not appear to be any problems in the L. unit but the rebuild and resealing was complete. They thought the problem was in the electric throttle shift switch which they supplied me with a replacement. Unfortunately my updatd throttle does not seem to except this switch. I still am finding it difficult to believe that it is an electric switching issue as that it seems to be so related to the drive being under load.
Any Ideas ??
Any ideas on testing the current switch i am using or if the problem may lie deeper in the outdrive or intermediate housing - the only 2 parts left I haven't torn into yet. My fear is the shimming, rolling tolerances and proper gear mesh spec comments in the service manual, not to say any unneeded expense if i make another wrong diagnosis (i mean guess) of what the problem really is.
Pretty sure the prop hub is good
Pretty sure the lower unit is good
Pretty sure the shift switch on the throttle is ok, old but ok.
(super simple 1975 mechanical designed switch which you can visually see the electrical contact being made).
This seems to be a challenge in diagnosing exactly what is slipping. It's killing me. Thanks for any help or ideas. I am hoping someone has experienced this already and can save me some cash. We even named her FREEBIE bout $6500 ago.
It is nice and we do love it we just want it to work !
Oh well, B.O.A.T. = Break Off Another Thousand --right?
Captbert (New User of MarineEngines.com forums)