Once I had the console built, and everything connected, I tried starting it up in the driveway with a hose attached to the motor. I was able to get it to start, but not to stay running for very long. It seemed like there was something strange with the remote throttle/shifter, and the idle was off as well. I have an excellent boat motor shop just a few blocks away (Mack’s Motors in St. Francis WI), so I took it in and they took a look at it.
Later that day, they had it running like a top for me. The controller had a missing ground wire, and they had to adjust the min and max timing among the few small things that were needed to get it running perfectly. I was ready to hit the water!
Now though I live not far from Lake Michigan, this boat isn’t designed for such a large body of water. It’s convenient though, so I rounded up a buddy and we headed off to the nearest boat landing on a calm day. In my excitement, I forgot the oars, and a mooring rope, so he had to hold onto the dock while I parked the truck, and we had to cross our fingers that the motor ran well. Lucky for us, it did. We got going pretty well out there. I didn’t have a way of measuring the speed, but it felt like 25-30mph. It seemed to plain out well with us sitting on the middle seat. I had him move to the back seat and the nose really went up in the air, so I’m definitely sure I don’t want the console back there.
Loaded up ready to go
My friend preventing the boat from floating away
