Pleasure boating and fishing are starting to wind down for the year in the in the northern U.S., but one thing is always in season – saving money by being smart with your boat maintenance.
So before you put away your watercraft for the winter, consider this: Van's Sport Center offers discounts off labor and marine parts involved in outboard engine rebuild, lower unit rebuild and repairs.
"When we are busy, there are no discounts," said Scott Quoss, owner of the Grand Rapids-based provider of marine engine service and online seller of new and used engine parts for repair shops and do-it-yourselfers nationally. "But we are pretty much like our customers -- things start to slow down in November. So to stay busy, we start offering the discounts for the winter months."
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If you chase steelhead or salmon in any one of our river systems, chances are your sled has an outboard jet drive motor on it or you wish it did. Jet drive outboards are the motor of choice for almost every river fisherman for the simple fact that they allow anglers to motor through skinny water that is too shallow for a propped outboard. They also eliminate the chance of damaging a prop and lower unit on unseen hazards such as logs or unexposed rocks. With jet drives becoming more common on rigs in the Midwest, there are a few important factors that should be taken into consideration to achive top performance.
One of the first thngs to think about has to be with the width of the boat. Jets tend to run better on boats with a width of 48” or more. This is because the wider the boat is at the bottom, the higher the hull sits in the water and creates less drag. The second would have to be the weight to power ratio which will determine getting the boat onto plane. Jets are unlike a propped outboard in terms of power because once an outboard is jetted out, it loses 30% of that powerheads original horsepower. There is also no way to play with the RPM’s due to the boat having a heavier payload. When the payload is too heavy on a propped motor, you can simply change to a lower pitched prop so that you can get to the recommended RPM’s for that motor. There is no wiggle room with this on a jet. That's why taking your regular payload into consideration will determine the amount of horsepower needed to power your boat and get it on plane.
Almost every jet drive pump on the water today, no matter what brand motor, is made by a single company: Outboard Jets out of San Leandro, California. The company was started in 1960 by Dick Stallman, who worked closely with the Wooldridge family to form the product that you know today as the jet drive. Today, Outboard Jets build over 80 different models to fit 6 of the top name outboard manufacturers in the marine industry. One of the things Outboard Jets recommend is that a jet drive motor should be rigged on a boat that has a slight deadrise of 6 - 10 degrees for the best overall performance. This is important because this slight dead rise, or “V”, makes for a smooth ride and splits air filled water before it reaches the jet intake and causes cavitation.
Cavitation can be common occurence in rough waters or harsh conditions as well as those who run a flat bottom sled with no dead rise. With that being said, there are a few solutions to help prevent cavitation from happening. One solution is to install jet intake fins that can be bought as an after market accessory. These fins are not only easy to install, but they can be an economical and simple solution for directing a larger volume of water and reducing the amount of air getting to the intake. They also provide a little more grip in tight turns or rough waters.
Another easy to install solution to cavitation is a transom jack. Transom jacks come in both manual or hydraulic styles and many different sizes. Transom jacks allow you to adjust the height of the motor so that if there is a bit of chop, you can lower it into the water more to get a better intake or water. They also allow you to adjust the intake foot several inches back from the transom for better water flow and efficiency. Some downfalls to transom jacks are that they will add more torque to the transom as well as shift the weight more towards the transom. Because of this weight shift, you may need to adjust your boats load to evenly disperse the weight again.
Outboard jets rely on a constant flow of water that is free of air pockets for them to run efficiently. Boats with keels will carry pockets of air all the way back to the intake causing the jet to run inefficiently. One way around this is to remove a section of the center keel about two feet or so from the stern of the boat. This should create a nice flow of water that is wider than the jet intake.
Another common problem with outboard jets is back spray. This happens when water sprays off of the transom and the foot, which may cause for a wet ride or produce cavitation. This can be fixed by welding an aluminum plate that is just a few inches wider that the intake foot to the transom of the boat where the jet sits. Some of the boat builders acctually fabricate these plates into their original designs.
The use of outboard jets is definitely on the rise in the Midwest and we will be seeing a lot more of them on the rivers in the years to come. If you are an angler that is thinking about purchasing an outboard jet, these are some great things to keep in mind when looking. Van’s Sport Center sells quite a few new and used jets thoughout the year and our salesman here has quite the experience with them being a river angler himself. Based on your boat and the payload you plan to run, Van’s can get you set up with exactly the right amount of power for the right price so you can get out there and chase some of the greatest trophy fish Michigan has to offer.
Like every body of water, river fishing comes along with uniqUe obstacles: shallow water to maneuver with visible or hidden debris -- added risk if the bottom is rocky. These common risks play a big role in jet motors gaining popularity amongst Michigan river anglers.
An outboard jet motor sits on the outside of a boat, just as a propped outboard does, and appears the same in many ways. They're different in the way the motors get power, direction, and force. While a propped motor gets its force from prop propulsion, a jet outboard relies on a water pump, which sucks water in and pushes it back out to move the boat forward. This difference is the root of jet motors biggest advantage: shallower water capabilities -- especially useful in river fishing.
Somethings are out of sight, out of mind - a boat's accumulation of bacteria, grease, or odor should not be one of those things. There are a few covered parts of a boat that really need to get some attention in order to keep your boat in good shape. Often, the places you can't see are the places that could use the most TLC; like the live well, bilge, or gunk that collects in your engine. Cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness of your boat and outboard can be easy and worth it.
Maintaining your engine
All maintenance serves the same purpose; it helps avoid damages while also getting the most out of your outboard's performance. When it comes to boats and motors, a shiny exterior is nothing without a shiny interior. Cleaning your engine is important regardless of what kind of water you are cruising through. De-greasing the inside of your engine and removing all the gunk and dirt should become an annual part of your end-of-season care. Using an anti-corrosive, like WD-40, helps remove all the possibly troublesome grime from your engine.
Once you have a sparkling engine interior, flushing out your outboard with fresh water helps maintain a healthy engine. If you're cruising through salt water, flushing is recommended after every use. Left over salt sitting in your engine can be harmful. Even when going through fresh water, if it is especially sandy or dirty, flushing after use is a good precaution. Flushing is also helpful because it helps your engine cool down. With a set of engine ear muffs and a garden hose, flushing out your engine can be quick and painless. Attach ear muffs to your lower unit so they're covering the pickup, attach the garden hose to the side of the ear muffs, and start flushin'. With the engine and garden hose both running, the water is sucked up by the fuel pump and through the engine. By flushing regularly and keeping up with consistent engine maintenance you can prevent issues before they get too major.
Maintaining your bilge & livewell
The bilge of your boat can have an odor, collect bacteria, or rust and corrode the equipment that sits there. With that being said, it's clear why keeping your bilge clean is advised. Bilges can get dirty and not all sections of the bilge are easy to reach, but cleaning all of the areas you can will make a huge difference.There are different options for bilge cleaner, but going with a biodegradable cleaner can have advantages. Products that aren't biodegradable can harm the water; they require careful use. With a biodegradable cleaner you don't have to be quite as cautious. After applying the cleaner, let it soak before scrubbing: why not let the cleaner do some of the work for you? Letting it sit and soak gives it a chance to de-grease, making the rinse easier.
How many times have you caught a fish, put it in the live well, took the fish out, and gone about your business? Probably atleast a few times. How many times have you given your live well a good scrub-a-dub? Hopefully at least a few times. Fish aren't clean by any means, so chances are your live well isn't either. Probably one of the easiest things to clean, the live well only requires a little scrubbing with anti-bacterial soap. After washing, especially before boat storage, make sure your live well is dry. Storing a boat with a wet live well, even clean moisture, can easily grow bacteria and reverse your hard work.
A nice boat can help ensure weekend plans, fresh fish dinners, and bragging rights. A dirty boat, on the other hand, can potentially lead to odorous boat rides or hefty mechanic bills. No doubt keeping your boat and outboard clean will definitely pay off. Stop by or call Van's Sport Center with any questions or boating needs!
Ta-Who? Half the time this is the typical response I seem to get when I mention the Tohatsu line of motors to a customer looking to repower. Just because you may not have heard of them before or seen an advertisement for them on your Saturday morning fishing programs doesn't mean that they aren't one of the big dogs in the outboard game. In fact they are one of the larger manufacturers and make quite a few motors for some of the other outboard manufacturers in the industry. With all of the Tohatsu outboards that we sell, and we sell a lot of them, the MFS40AETL and the MFS50AETL would have to be the most popular models. Heres why.
One of the bigger concerns boat owners have when repowering their rig with a specific brand motor is whether or not there is a certified service center in their location. This is actually a good concern to have when you think about the possibility of any warranty or major service work needing to be done. I have even seen boaters sway to a particular brand based on what their local marina is certified to work on. That kind of limits your options at times but at least someone in your area can work on it. No matter where you are, there is a place in Grand Rapids that is certified to work on your motor no matter what brand you have.
Tagged UnderTrim is all about changing the propeller shaft's angle in relation to the boat. If your prop shaft is parallel to the surface of the water then the trim is at zero or a neutral position. If it is trimmed all the way down and bottomed out, the prop shaft will be angled down away from the surface of the water. Trim it up from the neutral position the prop shaft will be angled up towards the surface of the water. This will create the opposite effect as if it were all the way down. But what exactly is the trim doing to the performance and speed of your boat in these positions?
Tagged UnderDetermining the right propeller for your boat is obviously not the only thing you can do to reach optimal performance, but it is one of the easiest. When selecting the right propeller for your rig, you can look at a number of different things such as going up in pitch, down in pitch, run an aluminum, switch to a stainless, or even go to a four blade. Before you can do any of that though, you have to think about how you use your boat and what your looking to change about your current performance. From there you can begin your selection.
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