Results of my first run on 1996 27' Sailfish

[docmace]

I was able to take my new (1996) Sailfish out on the water for the first time last week. For the most part everything was great but I did have some questions. My raw water washdown would not operate. I may have a bad pump but I was wondering if anyone can tell me exactly where the seacock is for this system. I just want to be sure it is in the open position before I go buy a new pump.

The boat still has the original Yamaha Saltwater Series II carbureted engines. They hummed pefrectly for about 2-3 hrs without a problem. However when I powered down to idle speed, the port engine failed and the starboard ran rough. The engines never overheated but once I let the port engine cool a bit it would start again and run fine for about an hour only to do the same thing when I went back to idle speed. Any thoughts? I'm hoping it's just a carburetor adjustment and not a major issue.

 

[LI Grady]

I had a number of issues on my 1990 Yamaha 250's, mostly due to a real bad mechanic.

Was the boat/motors in storage for any length of time?

Check to make sure the carbs are in synch as well as properly adjusted. I had a problem with one motor starting fine when cold and running good, but if you shut it off it wouldn't start back up until it cooled off.

Also check you water seperator.

Question. When you leave her alone for a day or so and then go back how does she start?

 

[docmace]

Starts and runs fine after sitting for the night. But once I run it for a while it does the same thing. Sounds like my problem is very similar to what you had.

 

[sickday]

How old is your fuel? If you arent sure, I would burn through your tank and replace it with fresh gas. Start from there. I'm not a mechanic, but I do know that old fuel, or fuel with water in it is the culprit for poor running outboards a lot of the times.

Good luck, keep us posted

Matt

 

[Grog]

I have the same motors on my Sailfish. Not the most efficient but not that bad either. You could have some build-up in the carbs. I had to rebuild the carbs on both engines last year. It can also be bad fuel or dirty plugs. If you just got her, de-carb the motors. You don't know the last time it was done and too much carbon build-up can hurt the motors.

 

[striped bass]

The placement of the sea cock handles may be at the back of the boat near the transom on the left and right side of the live well. On my Tournament there are two stainless steel handles (live well port and salt water wash down starboard) with a black round knob on the end for grasping. The SS handles extend down to the hull near where it meets the transom which is where the actual sea cocks are located. You have to experiment with the handles to find out the open and closed position when the handles are up or down.

 

[Lainie J]

272

Good luck with the sailfish. I had the same boat, same year with Johnsons though. Check all the connections to the pump, you should be able to reach it if you are on the thin side. It wont matter if the seacock is open or closed, the pump will run when the switch is turned on. Sounds like electical connection or bad pump.

 

[Strikezone]

I had a old 1980's era Evinrude that would behave the same way. It would start great and run great until it had really warmed up. Then you couldn't get it to start until it had cooled down for some period of time.

Never could get this problem resolved.

 

[BobP]

How do you know it's not overheating?

1. Does the same occur on either tank?

2. Look at the squeeze bulb when she acts up, is it full or compressed? Make sure you look at it when motor acts up, not later.

3. Hook up a portable gas tank to the motor, the small 3 or 6 gallon ones they sell, this will isolate the boat's fuel system, fill the portable where you gas your car.

4. If No. 1 changes the performance, reconnect the boat's system but this time with a 2 foot length of 3/8 inch clear hose in series with the boat's line, get the hose and butt fittings at the Depot.

Watch the hose during operation, it should always be solid fuel, never bubbles or streams of bubbles. Remove hose when done, don't leave clear hose in service on boat.

If you are getting bubbles, report back, then you will be given a step by step procedure to find the source of air, and how to fix it.

If you are not experienced working around fuel, or confident, contract out the work.

 

[Emerin]

I have a 1996 Sailfish. My washdown pump is against the bulkhead near the rear seat. There should be a deck access plate that provides access to the washdown and live well seacocks just in front of the seat. Should also be a larger deck plate that provides access in case you have to change out the pump and hoses.

Good luck on the new boat. I have the original 200 hp engines also and have about 1100 hours on them. So far just routine maintanence and no major problems. Did have similar problems when I 1st bought the boat and it turned out to be old fuel. I don't think that the boat had been used for 2 seasons prior to me buying it. Got rid of the fuel and had the carbs cleaned.