First time EVER!

[capt]

Hello everyone,
I bought a 2007 sx230 on Jan 25th and finally got it out for the first time on the water yesterday. My oldest daughter asked to take the boat out for her Birthday! Everything went pretty smooth except for a couple of things.

When I was still on the trailer launching the boat the port side motor stated and then died immediately. Then would not start. I check the Lanyard and still just cranking over with no start. Then I opened the clean out hatch and pushed on the kill switches and closed hatch and tried again and finally started. This made me really scared to turn the motors off while on the lake (so I didn't until I was back on the trailer). Any ideas on why this happened? The starboard motor started right up every time no problem.

The only other thing was just getting the boat back on the trailer. It took me two attempts still not sure how deep to have trailer and not used to driving this thing yet. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for all of the info on this site. I have been following this forum for like 3 years now!

 

[Scottintexas]

congratulations on the boat, Is this your first boat?

You may consider some veve guides, my first attempt loading was perfect, what's the big deal I thought, the next trip I was sideways on the trailer past the fenders, uggg

with our always windy conditions it may be helpful,

I normally back the trailer in just so the top front of the fender/diamond plate is out of the water, deeper is not better, with three small kids I was a one man operation loading/unloading for 5 years,

for the engine, it certainly could have been the lanyard,
the cleanout hatch won't let the engine turn over at all,

I might try it at home a few times and see if you can duplicate the issue, otherwise I don't think I'd worry about it,

I'd put a bottle of sea-foam in it since you don't know how old that gas is,

If you want any help or hands on advice I'd be glad to meet up with you,

 

[bronze_10]

Did the boat sit for a long time before you bought it?

 

[capt]

Thanks Scott. Yes this is my first boat but I grew up with my dad always owning at least 1 boat sometimes 3! I will get some sea-foam. Do you think the motor not starting easily could be an issue with spark plugs? I have not checked them yet since I purchased the boat.
Also that reminds me I was getting 10,000 RPM on port side and only 9,700 starboard at WOT. Top speed was 47 on the boats speedometer.
I also am having a problem with the depth finder it turns on fine and shows all zero's then the alarm goes off and then just dashes the whole day. Whats up with that?

 

[capt]

I do know that the dealer did a water test and video taped it on Jan 14th and even in the video you could see starboard side would only get to 9,700 or 9,800 RPM at wot.

 

[bronze_10]

These motors are VERY plug sensitive! It's not expensive to change.. just be careful of the number 3 plug. Sometimes it snaps.
Also if it is the factory dept finder its junk. Get a new one or a chartplotter.

 

[Scottintexas]

welcome to the mystery of used boat ownership,

The engines are plug sensitive but I don't think starting would be an issue especially if you're turning 10k on that engine,

The starboard engine only at 9700 could be plugs or could be throttle cable not connected correctly to give 10k

When I had a plug issue the engine would only turn 7k,

As I remember, you said they did a service recently but that the oil looked dark, do you know if they changed the plugs then?

It might be worth while to change the plugs and oil now just so you have a starting point,

I'd be glad to help you do it the first time if you're unsure, we could even do it a boat ramp, it's that easy and I could bring the YDS to scan the engines


.

 

[Scottintexas]

also,
how much fuel was in the tank when you bought it?
have you filled it up since?
don't trust the gas gauge until you've filled up a few times/ see the link in the FAQ

since you don't know how old that gas is, the next non-windy, semi warm day I might take the boat out and run it for an hour at full throttle just to burn through half a tank of fuel at least and then fill it up so if you had some old/bad fuel/water it would help dilute it,



.

 

[capt]

I was planning on changing the spark plugs before the next time I get it on the water. I have read about plug #3 getting stuck is it wise to just let spray liquid wrench in the plugs before trying to remove them? I am pretty sure plugs have not been changed recently. Scott it would be great if you could meet up and give me some pointers especially near a ramp and go out on the water. Looks like the weather is going to turn pretty crappy here soon but maybe afterwards when it warms up again.

Any recommendations for depth finder replacement? Do i just need a new gauge or all new transducer and wiring?

 

[capt]

Fuel gauge was half full then I filled the tank with 24 gals drove for a couple of hours and fuel gauge said 3/4 tank

 

[Scottintexas]

Any recommendations for depth finder replacement? Do i just need a new gauge or all new transducer and wiring?

do you know if the transducer is still on the back of the boat ? ( mine got knocked off a few years ago )

I new stock set up will be $100. easy, do you want to upgrade with a chart plotter/GPS unit,

 

[capt]

I was thinking if I could get a depthfinder with gps and fishfinder like the Garmin Striker 4 that would be cool but worried about the transducer having interference from the jet wash. Yes the transducer is still attached. I want to stay around $150 don't need anything too fancy.

 

[swatski]

Hello everyone,
I bought a 2007 sx230 on Jan 25th and finally got it out for the first time on the water yesterday. My oldest daughter asked to take the boat out for her Birthday! Everything went pretty smooth except for a couple of things.

When I was still on the trailer launching the boat the port side motor stated and then died immediately. Then would not start. I check the Lanyard and still just cranking over with no start. Then I opened the clean out hatch and pushed on the kill switches and closed hatch and tried again and finally started. This made me really scared to turn the motors off while on the lake (so I didn't until I was back on the trailer). Any ideas on why this happened? The starboard motor started right up every time no problem.

The only other thing was just getting the boat back on the trailer. It took me two attempts still not sure how deep to have trailer and not used to driving this thing yet. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for all of the info on this site. I have been following this forum for like 3 years now!
View attachment 87368

COngrats!!!!
Guys are giving great advice here!

--

 

[bronze_10]

Dont worry about the transducer and the jet wash... I have a garmin's sv/DV 74 with a large transducer and it works perfectly..

 

[capt]

Dont worry about the transducer and the hot wash... I have a garmin's sv/DVD 74 with a large transducer and it works perfectly..

Great thanks for the advice.

 

[Betik]

you have today and tomorrow to empty that "bad" fuel.

 

[tabbibus]

Are the old depth finders the sucky ones ? Do new models have a better one?

 

[PJ73]

 

[tabbibus]

General Kenobi

 

[PJ73]

General Kenobi

Well, the name of my boat is "Jet-I Master"...