Had to get a tow back today and looking for advice

[Cs419]

Hello Jet Boater family,

Purchased a 165 and am in the honeymoon stage but we had two fights. The 1st fight was when she sucked a wood piece the size of a thimble and couldn't get out of idle. If I tried to push her she just rumbled and it made my heart bleed. Paid for a lift and with a flashlight and long screw driver freed up the thimble size piece of wood in the impeller. Once out it broke apart and was a really soft piece of wood. Was surprised she got stuck. In retrospect, I should have given it more alone time by cutting the engine for a longer amount of time in hopes of the debris floating away.

Skip about six hours on the engine and we jump to tonight. Had a great run and cut the engine to turn around after I got to my destination in the middle of the lake. Fire here up to head back to shore and out of wake started great then it skipped a few beats. Thought I had possibly sucked up something like last time. She would run and then the engine would appear to choke out. Last time she would still cruise 9 mph. None of this nonsense about the engine cutting out! Gave her some alone time and then it ran her and she would just sputter and the engine would die. She is completely fed with petrol and battery voltage is 12.8. No error lights or anything. Left it with she won't start at all. Almost like the fuel source is cut off.

Purchased fuel Costco (87) and that ran great. Filled up at the Marina for a $1 more and I suspect the gas they gave me could have been bad? Right now my boat is at the same place I purchased the gas from. Like it because they lift your boat, but it's really expensive. Haven't gotten past the 1st fuel indicator which struck me as odd because we ran for a while.

They stated Monday they Mechanic will check it out. Left it as it was getting late. Going to check it out tomorrow in the day. Possibly load it up on the trailer and take it to the dealer. Have 13 hours on the motor so I will report in for the 1st oil change/warranty checkup.

Called the tow service and had a long screwdriver but didn't see anything and with enough time lost my screwdriver in the lake. Rooke mistake but I am a rookie. This is my 1st boat. Was thinking outside the box and what if I installed an electric Ryobi pressure washer next to my Rotax. If I sucked at driving and sucked something up and the impeller wouldn't spin I would possibly pressure wash whatever was stuck in and force it out is my wishfully thinking.

Does any of you guys have trolling engines in case you go to sketchy shallow areas? I purchased paddles for such risky activities. Can I get an aftermarket intake that might slow me down already? my top speed is 38.5 mph but feels like she has more power to give for corners just not faster in a straight line.


TLDR: My 165 won't start. 13 hours in on motor taking to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[Julian]

I'd have the dealer look at her first....

 

[subysti]

I would have checked the gas first. If you bought it the marina and you're having them check it I doubt they will say it was thier gas that caused the problem. You don't need anything else for shallow water that's the big benefit of jet boats. Don't go in anything less than a couple feet because you will then start sucking things off the bottom. If you want something to go in water less than that then get a swamp boat.

 

[Robert Sands]

Couple comments on your post.

1. I had an issue with the gas at my marina, they tested it and it had an low water content. The guys say this contributed to some issues with my spark plugs and they had to replace them. What I do now is on every fillup I put in a stabalizer that deals with water and ethanol in the tank.

2. In shallow water I constantly run my depth finder and don't generally go into anything less than 3 ft.

3. The boat will chew up weeds and seaweed when you're under power, but I've heard of people having issues with the tougher weeds wrapping up if you are at idle or in a no wake zone. My marina has some underwater plants growing to within a foot of the surface, I actually go around these, and if I'm on the lake and am going through plants I rev up.

4. I've had a few issues sucking things up into the intake, I really wish the Scarab had a gate on hinges in addition to that nice big stainless steel sleeve. I'm impressed with the durability of the entire system--never sucked up rocks though, that's my number one fear and thing I avoid. In my boat I keep a little tool kit, in that kit I have a few tools specifically for dealing with issues with the intake. They include: long snorkle hose for breakthing; face mask and fins; long style tube exacto blade; long pliers and vice grip, sharp knife, underwater flashlight and head light, longer steel spike for pushing and prying. I tie up the breathing hose to the side of the boat and can stay down there until the job is done. You have to be careful, if you stay under too long, or you are constantly coming up for a breath and gonig down for a few seconds you can get nausious and dizzy.

5. I can't paddle my boat, it's a 195 and too heavy for that, I've tried and failed. If I have issues I would have to call a tow, but I've been thinking of having a little trolling motor. One thing I'm always consious of though is the space I have in the boat for storage and the weight I'm carrying. I hate knowing I'm not getting 44 or 43mph because I have gear. People though I'm happy with, what's the point of having it if you can't share it, right.

6. I'm not sure the pressure washer would work, I'm thinking if you can see something in the impeller or along your sleeve you're better off "surgically" removing them.

7. Oh, and it sounds like you're keeping your boat in the water? If so, you're like me, you need to get that sucker cleaned every few months. The junk that builds up on the bottom can rob you of like 15mph or more.

 

[Bruce]

Your 165 only goes 38.5 mph? I thought they would be rockets? Is the low top speed normal, part of break in or a sign of engine trouble?

Hope you have her running again soon!

 

[Cs419]

Mr.Sands - I will check for water in the fuel. Going to get an exact copy of your toolkit. Have to accept that shallow water will not be worth the headache.

Bruce - Was disappointed when I found that out. Wanted to compare 165 top speeds with other guys as I only have the single Rotax 150 HP engine. Was hoping to hit 45 but 38.5 isn't too far away. It's a smooth ride the entire way. Rather have that than a boat that does 65 and isn't comfortable. At least that's what I keep telling myself when I cry myself to sleep due to lack of speed.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Sounds like water in the fuel. A lot of fuel gauges will peg to full and stay there when water is detected.

 

[Robert Sands]

Sounds good, I find that around my area the marinas only have diesel and gas that's 87 Octane. I know the Rotax will compensate for the lower octane fuels so the engine won't knock, but I have a feeling using the higher octane is better for it if you can. For me, I just use the stabilizer that works on ethanol and will bond to water molecules while they make their way through the system. When I go on a trip and have the boat on the trailer I use the opportunity to put 91 Octane in it from a gas station. I feel like the gas stations have better control over their fuel quality. FYI, if your fuel has water using an octane booster won't help, instead just rely on the computer to figure it out and protect the engine with the stabilizer. For me a 9 dollar bottle will treat 40 gallons, measure it out for your tank size.
In the tool kit I gave you the items I have to deal with any intake issues. I’ve got a bunch of other things in there like wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, sealants, protectants, electrical stuff, etc. But, the items I have in there to deal with the intake problems work very well. Long cutting implements, long grabbing implements, and long stabbing and prying instruments are your friend. Items that won't bend if you need to really pry a rope off your sleeve, etc. The flashlight is key as well, don't skip it, it's dark down there. You can go on ebay and get a little 10 dollar Cree LED underwater light that will do the trick.

 

[billyb]

Whenever I fuel up, I always add stabil marine as well as the Yamaha fuel treatment. Very cheap insurance.

 

[Cs419]

Service tech said my fuel tank wasn't displaying fuel properly. I ran out of fuel while indicator said I had all my bars. The tech is replacing some parts in the fuel tank. Surprised that it was out of gas as I filled up the week prior all twenty gallons. Filled the tank up twice since taking possesion and only have 13 hours on the motor. 10 of those hours where break-in hours as well.

 

[Bruce]

Is the tank only 20 gallons?

I would guess that it can burn 10 to 15 gallons per hour.

 

[BryanW]

easily 15-20... my twin 155s can burn 38gph wide open! On a longish trip 70 miles in rough water I've burned 27 in a day.

 

[Cs419]

My tech ordered a fuel pump on Monday and it still hasn't been shipped from BRP yet to my understanding.

 

[Cs419]

Good news! BRP stated my fuel pump is on the way and the dealer should have it tomorrow. Looks like I might be on the water after all this weekend.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

And all this time you thought the boat was getting great fuel economy, glad you located the problem.