MAIDEN VOYAGE WAS AWESOME TODAY....AND THEN DISASTER

[FSH 210 Sport]

Well by the grace of God or whatever....no damage...Whatever was rattling around yesterday preventing the starboard engine from cranking fast enough to start, must of fell out on the way home. Have NO idea how that is possible. The cylinders are bone dry, the oil still looks new, and no apparent damage to the impeller. Hopefully the shaft splines are not stripped, and the impeller actually turns. She purrs like a kitten right now. Going to flush the engines out and make sure I got good flow. Thanks everyone for your positive vibes. They worked!

Glad to see no gnarly damage was done!
Don’t feel bad..everyone gets a turn at learning!

 

[buckbuck]

With 4 hours you are getting close to your next lesson...How to suck up a rope.

 

[RobbieO]

With 4 hours you are getting close to your next lesson...How to suck up a rope.

There will be NO ropes behind my boat for awhile....?

 

[buckbuck]

It's not the ones behind the boat that get ya.

 

[RobbieO]

Thank goodness.
I’ve been waiting anxiously for the update.

Thank you Octavio!

 

[haknslash]

There will be NO ropes behind my boat for awhile....?

Yup. With that mindset you’ll get your rope trophy in no time

 

[RobbieO]

@RobbieO

When you flush those engines in the driveway. Use this order ONLY.

1. Engine Start
2. Water on
3. Do the things you want done while engine is running.
4. Water off
5. Engine stop

Do not turn on the water until the engine is running and do not stop the engine until the water is off.

Thanks. I have a double Y shut off valve connected to my hose so I can control the water without getting off the boat, or having a second person. I’m going to assume I can run both engines simultaneously with this set up. I have 2 slave hoses with the flush fittings connected to the valve. There seems to be plenty of flow with one engine running, so I feel I have enough water pressure to run both engines. Bad idea, good idea? BTW, what is the purpose of the rubber valves on the side of the transom above the nozzles? They look like the strainers on a garbage disposal. Water doesn't flow out of them consistently, they have a plunging action. Just curious. Thanks

 

[swatski]

Thanks. I have a double Y shut off valve connected to my hose so I can control the water without getting off the boat, or having a second person. I’m going to assume I can run both engines simultaneously with this set up. I have 2 slave hoses with the flush fittings connected to the valve. There seems to be plenty of flow with one engine running, so I feel I have enough water pressure to run both engines. Bad idea, good idea? BTW, what is the purpose of the rubber valves on the side of the transom above the nozzles? They look like the strainers on a garbage disposal. Water doesn't flow out of them consistently, they have a plunging action. Just curious. Thanks

Those would be exhaust outlets.
I personally wouldn't risk flushing both engines simultaneously, I try to monitor the flow and keep an eye on the engine - if stalled it could be bad quickly, and even great tap pressure hose is just barely enough for a good flush, imo.

--

 

[RobbieO]

Those would be exhaust outlets.
I personally wouldn't risk flushing both engines simultaneously, I try to monitor the flow and keep an eye on the engine - if stalled it could be bad quickly, and even great tap pressure hose is just barely enough for a good flush, imo.

--

Great point.

 

[NeoBrew]

Get these if you ever need a tow. simple and easy and dont corrode!

LARGE Jetski Seadoo Tow towing Cooling hose composite plastic tube pinch clamp | eBay

LARGE Jetski Seadoo Tow towing Cooling hose composite plastic tube pinch clamp. Condition is New. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope.

www.ebay.com

How real of a problem is this water intrusion? We became 210 FSH owner's last summer and went on a houseboat vacation before I learned that towing can be a problem. We will likely do that again. We spent 12 or so hours towing the FSH at 5-7 knots and thankfully didn't have an issue. At those speeds is this something I should worry about? At $8 each those are cheap insurance...at least until I forget to take them off when I start the boat.

 

[212s]

How real of a problem is this water intrusion? We became 210 FSH owner's last summer and went on a houseboat vacation before I learned that towing can be a problem. We will likely do that again. We spent 12 or so hours towing the FSH at 5-7 knots and thankfully didn't have an issue. At those speeds is this something I should worry about? At $8 each those are cheap insurance...at least until I forget to take them off when I start the boat.

For that reason, I won't install valves. Because knowing my luck the one time I use them, I'd probably forget to open them again since it's not a procedural task when using the boat.

However, towing isn't an issue if you keep the speeds down to no wake. Also put the throttles FWD to fully lift the buckets and allow water to flow straight through the jetpump - this reduces water pressure and less chance of water pushing through the raw water intake screen.

I have a hose clamp on the boat as secondary backup.

 

[RobbieO]

For that reason, I won't install valves. Because knowing my luck the one time I use them, I'd probably forget to open them again since it's not a procedural task when using the boat.

However, towing isn't an issue if you keep the speeds down to no wake. Also put the throttles FWD to fully lift the buckets and allow water to flow straight through the jetpump - this reduces water pressure and less chance of water pushing through the raw water intake screen.

I have a hose clamp on the boat as secondary backup.

I have a few sets of these, one at work, and one at home. I towed for a few miles between 8-9 mph, and no water intrusion. Lucky AF.

hose pinch clamps - Google Shopping

www.google.com

 

[RobbieO]

I have these as well, but can be hard to install if you can’t reach the hose.

hose pinch clamps - Google Shopping

www.google.com

 

[RobbieO]

For that reason, I won't install valves. Because knowing my luck the one time I use them, I'd probably forget to open them again since it's not a procedural task when using the boat.

However, towing isn't an issue if you keep the speeds down to no wake. Also put the throttles FWD to fully lift the buckets and allow water to flow straight through the jetpump - this reduces water pressure and less chance of water pushing through the raw water intake screen.

I have a hose clamp on the boat as secondary backup.

I plan on a houseboat trip this year, and need to tow the boat somehow. I will definitely be plugging off those hoses! I got lucky, once, not taking a chance!

 

[the MfM]

For those worried about someone forgetting about the vice grips or tow valves...keep a couple zip ties and lock out tags in your tool box. If you have to close the tow valve you can zip tie one tag to the steering wheel and one to the valve.

As others have said I wouldn’t add valves but a ziploc bag with vice grips, lock out tags and zip ties makes closing off the coolant lines as fool proof as possible.

 

[RobbieO]

For those worried about someone forgetting about the vice grips or tow valves...keep a couple zip ties and lock out tags in your tool box. If you have to close the tow valve you can zip tie one tag to the steering wheel and one to the valve.
View attachment 143826

Good idea...I use lockout/tagout at my work.

 

[RobbieO]

Chartplotter will be worth every single cents. When you have it, you know the depth of water around you and throughout your route.

My 212SE came with GPS, Chartplotter, and depth finder. Still learning how to use it.

 

[mrcleanr6]

Just be sure to keep the built in chart plotter ip to date. A yearly update should be fine.

 

[212s]

For those worried about someone forgetting about the vice grips or tow valves...keep a couple zip ties and lock out tags in your tool box. If you have to close the tow valve you can zip tie one tag to the steering wheel and one to the valve.

As others have said I wouldn’t add valves but a ziploc bag with vice grips, lock out tags and zip ties makes closing off the coolant lines as fool proof as possible.
View attachment 143826

"A tool is only useful if you have it"...something I used to hear as a kid. So if you forget to put the tag on the wheel, it's the same thing as leaving the valve closed.

 

[212s]

My 212SE came with GPS, Chartplotter, and depth finder. Still learning how to use it.

My boat came with that too, but the plotter Maps was lacking a bit of power for me and now heads-up orientation too. I'm installing a dedicated Axiom 7 to make me happy and the Connext is great for everything else.

I hear the newer 12" Connext is made by Ennovision and has much more horsepower for the Maps feature and is probably good enough. I think it does heads-up for the Maps too.