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Texas Boat Forums • Finally back on the water
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Finally back on the water

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:19 pm
by Speed_Beak
Got the Fountain wet for the first time this season.
The new steering is a HUGE improvement. Especially noticeable when making long slow turns in the chop at cruise speed. Feels MUCH more solid and tight.

Made a speed pass in the smooth water up by the dam. Boat still has a bit of chin walk starting at abt 70, but it was easy to steer thru it. Got it almost to 80 before running out of room. There's definitely a little more left. With the old steering, I would have to keep the tabs down a little at high speed. Not no more!

Dropped by zipline cove for a quick swim. Afterwards, made another speed run down Sandy Creek cove headed towards the dock. As I approached Jone Bros park I slowed for the No Wake zone. Looked at the gauges and the starboard eng water temp was 190 degs! Goosed the throttle to see if there was any water press, none..I shut it off and raised the hatch. Water almost to the top of the center stringer :o :o
Flipped on the bilge pumps and idled toward the dock on the port eng.

By the time I got tied-up to the dock, the pumps had emptied the bilge. Started checking for loose water hoses, but they all looked fine. Finally got just the right angle and found the culprit. The hose coming from the raw water pump popped off the eng oil cooler. Damit, the only hose I can't reach.

Tried to get the boat on the trailer on one eng (no power steering) and a cross wind. Things started getting ugly. Had to restart the starboard eng to straighten up and ease it up on the trailer.
Thankfully, the prev owner had installed dual 900 GPM bilge pumps. They got a workout today.

Although I'm a little bummed it happened, I'm really lucky it happened so close to the dock. Could have been a long long ride back.

Re: Finally back on the water

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:37 am
by Captain YARRR
First off, congrats on the new steering. That's definitely a purchase you don't know how much you need it until you feel a boat having it. It should serve you well.

That sucks about the raw water pump hose! Those things sure can move some water. Just not a great thing when it is in your bilge. :( Glad you were able to get back on the trailer safely.

Sounds like you're on the edge of a great summer.

Re: Finally back on the water

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:10 pm
by Speed_Beak
After letting the eng cool overnight, I took another look at the situation. That hose is a royal bioch to get at on my boat.
I did stick a remote camera down there to look at the inlet where the hose came off. Saw something that at first I thought was a small piece of rope plugging 2 holes and ran across a few more holes. Got a grabber tool in there and pulled it out. It was a bead of sealant abt 4" long. I have no idea how/when that happened. My water pick-up's have much smaller holes than the diameter of the sealant.

Managed to scrape up my arms pretty good trying to get that damn hose back on. Seems every angle I come from, I'm just abt 1/2" short of reaching it. I finally got it on and the hose clamp is loosely in place but have yet to tighten it. That's going to be a job within itself I'm sure.

I discovered the steep ramp at Jones Bros it good for something. Checking for leaks in your transom.
When I initially back it in, I popped the eng cover and started looking for any leaks from the ext steering install. Everything I sealed looked good, however I did see water coming in at an alarming rate thru a hole in the transom (far left side) that connects to the hollow area of the swim platform. Figured it would stop when I got the boat off the trailer and it did, so I carried on with the test drive.

The next day, I pulled the rub rail off the swim platform and found many gaps in the sealant that's supposed to seal up where the top and bottom of the boat meet up. After digging out all the sealant, it appears that it bonded very well to the bottom half but at some point pulled away from the upper half. Guess it shrunk over time. Ordered up 3 big tubes of 5200. It will never leak again when I'm done with it :twisted:

Re: Finally back on the water

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:42 am
by Reaper311
I feel for you SB. Sometimes I wish I streach Armstrong arms lol! I've had more of those times than I care to say.
Good you found the issues now before it became a serious problem though.

Re: Finally back on the water

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 9:32 am
by vickiert

Re: Finally back on the water

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:39 am
by vickiert