Category: Pictures
We see all shapes and sizes come through the shop.
Sure we get the new high end boats, with the new gadgets that do all kinds of things. We also get the older boats that have been around for 30+ years. Some are even older and pre-date fiberglass hulls, and belong in a antique motor shows.
One thing that needs to be done to almost all of them is they require maintenance to the surface of the boat it self. About the only one that does not is the metal aluminum Jon boats, but it would help with their color fading and chalking.
We have seen plenty of fiberglass boats with a dull, chalky appearance. It’s the result of oxidation, which is the slow degradation of the gel coat’s surface due to interaction with air and sunlight. A fiberglass maintenance regime including lots of wax is the best way to prevent it, since wax creates a protective barrier for the gel coat.
- Resale Value
- Hull intergradation
- and Looks
Are all primary reasons for WAXING your boat.
Did you know a boat’s hull will literally become weaker due to UV damage? That hull will become weak and brittle and easily crack…..yep, nothing last forever but you speed up the break down by doing nothing.
WAX IT!
Wash the boat first. Get all the containments off the hull, and apply a good marine grade wax….
Our customers use a variety of products, but I have heard the name “Collinite” more than once, along with some 3M products. In reality if you’re doing it more than once a year, it’s better than nothing. If you can only do it once a year use the higher end brands.
Weather you do it yourself or get some helpers, you need to wax it …
Not a pretty site
This customer complained about low power with his outboard.
He told us he just rebuilt his carbs, installed new plugs and replaced all fuel lines.
Still his motor did not have full power and had poor idling quality.
In this case he would have done himself justice to take a fuel sample as part of his due dalliance.
Our advice is to install a glass or clear in-line filter to keep check on water in the fuel system.
This makes for cheap insurance.
At Stone and Sons we cater to do-it yourselfers and will help you the best we can with any technical support you might need to perform your own repairs.
It’s easy to forget the simple things.
Removing your outboard propeller to check the shaft for line is one of the easy things you can do to help protect your motor.
Below, this customer ran over a jug line.
He thought he was doing the right thing by cutting off the line, but he failed to remove the prop to inspect the prop shaft. This photo shows the result of not the properly doing the right maintenance. The rope melted into the prop shaft seal and removed the seal from the seal carrier letting water into the gear case. The result was a larger repair, and big hit to the wallet.
Don’t forget to remove your prop often to inspect for “God knows what” might be wrapped around your prop shaft.
More often we see fishing line doing the damage. Fishing line is everywhere we take our boats, and it causes damages to hundreds if not thousands of boats every year.
TAKE THE TIME TO REMOVE YOUR PROP FOR AN INSPECTION AND WHILE YOUR AT IT CHECK YOUR LOWER UNITS OIL CONDITION.
We want you on the water and not in the shop.
All to often we have customers with lower unit failure that tell us, “I didn’t hit anything” , ”I was in open water”.
This particular type if damage does not show up right of way. It is a degenerative condition.
This picture is an example of what we commonly find in gear cases. We generally are taking them down, due to needing the seals replaced and this is what we discover. It is important to have a trained mechanic, who knows what to look for.
The pic. shows damage to the pinion gear from a prior impact; like running aground and hitting sand or mud at high RPMs. Also trying to plain out while on the bottom can be the cause. This can be caused from improper shimming or metal fragments from any parts in the gear case such as clutch dog ratcheting. This is the biggest reasons to check your lower unit oil often. It should be amber or common oil color.
- Black lower unit oil means it’s time to change
- White to cream color oil (your seals need to be changed)
- Metal in oil means there is a good chance you need a rebuild
WATER in oil = Lower unit Rebuild
Neglet of what goes under the water, could cost you big time.
We love our customers, and hate to hear it when someone causes themself more pain. This guy removed his prop shaft seal without removing the bearing carrier and as a result damaged his prop shaft seal surface and the seal carrier. Combined, these two parts cost him $ 520.00. If he had called or came by we would have informed him of “how to” or for a small fee removed his carrier for him. This repair should have only cost him the price of seals. Call us any time you need assistance.
We cater to DO IT YOURSELFERS
How often do you check your prop, and what lies behind it? … Is once a year enough? In some cases it’s not. This was the 1st trip out after it was in the shop. If this would have remained the line would have penetrated the seals allowing water into the lower unit $$$. With costly results in the end. Always pay attention to your prop after each day of use.
Every day we see evidence of ethanol damage in fuel systems…. but it’s not just in your carburetors or your gas … here is another picture of a bad fuel line … you can see where the fuel line particles break away and get lodged in your carb jets …. We are hearing of boaters getting carb jobs and end up back in the shop in a few weeks believing their carburetors were not serviced properly … but in actuality they needed to change their fuel lines as well … the benefits of using a certified mechanic at Stone and Sons Marine would of caught this, and given the boater more time on the water and out of the shop
This is a factory installed ethanol friendly hose, In the 20 inch run of this hose this was the low spot in it where ethanol would stand. This motor required a 385.00 fuel pump to be replaced due to the rubber particles. Old hoses should be replaced. Cheap preventive maintenance
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