First time out

[MPosey519]

Took the Buoyancy Operated Aquatic Transport (B.O.A.T. for short) out for the first time this weekend, We had a blast! Did have a few hiccups...

1st) My SUV's exhaust was rusted out and the muffler fell off when we were installing the hitch, wasn't really any louder so I thought I'd just deal with it when hauling...the lack of extension to get the exhaust out the back caused it to come back into the car and the heat melted my back bumper...

2nd) I apparently didn't get the gear throttle cable positioned correctly when I reconnected, and the boat wouldn't go in reverse when backing off the trailer. I used an oar to push off and once I got out on the water I fixed that.

3rd) First time working with an outboard motor, I had no idea that you needed to keep the gas tank vented...and if I went over half throttle the engine bogged down due to fuel starvation. So we cruised around the lake at 5 mph all day!!

The wife and kids still had fun, cooler day meant the lake wasn't crowded at all.

[margaritaman]

Glad to see that the family had fun and that is what pontooning is all about. The next time out you will have a better experience.

[MPosey519]

Whelp, finally got some free tome to take it back out. SUV did much better with the exhaust system back in place

Gas cap vented properly, and we got up to full speed(or somewhere close)....for about 5 minutes. It's not bogging down like it was, but it is losing power.

Spark plugs have been replaced, and at this point all roads lead to gummed up carbs. Which would make sense, with the previous owner letting the boat sit for a year and a half without starting.

I'm pretty sure we're not gong back out this year, so I'll be getting kits next spring. Had a lot more fun cruising around at 12mph as opposed to the 6mph we made last time out.

[Texoma Toon]

Congrats on your toon.

It will get better each time you go out. We love pictures btw.

[MH Hawker]

Run some sea foam through it before you do a carb rebuild , its been known to fix it.

[MPosey519]

Was able to take it back out due to a lucky 80 degree day! I did add in the Sea Foam last time, along with the spark plugs. It's slowly cleaning itself out, WOT produced mixed results. This time after running for about 20 minutes it took off(GPS said 26 MPH...but that seems a bit much for a 50HP) kept bogging down every few minutes, but it's getting there!

And I've got pics in the pictures section