Boating - July 2018

Q&A

By

Michael “Mick”

Hannock

BOAT

DOCTOR

BOATINGMAG.COM

JULY/AUGUST 2018

BOAT DOCTOR ///Q&A • WEEKEND WORKBOOK • QUICK STUDY • WHAT TO LOOK FOR • BOAT DOC SPECIAL • BOATINGLAB

BOATINGMAG.COM | JULY/AUGUST 2018 | 31

MIDSUMMER INSPECTION If you dock or moor your boat, midsummer is a great time

to don a mask and fi ns and inspect your boat’s underwater surfaces and fi xtures. Clear growth

from intakes and scrub, or remove barnacles from trim tabs, engines and running gear. Inspect

zincs for loss. Don’t scrub the waterline too hard, lest you remove the anti-fouling paint. Use a

sponge or soft brush.

PHOTOS: COURTESY MERCURY MARINE

A:

Mr. Bruno, I reached out to our contacts at Mercury

Marine, initially to fi nd out if there were any recalls or

special service memos for your engine. They were pleased

to address your question. The Mercury contacts asked

that you first check to make sure all of the spark-plug

wires are properly seated. Additionally, they suggested

you replace the fuel filter and check for fuel-line vacuum

leaks. Beyond this, they indicated that they would really

need a G3 full report to check for faults. They also asked

that you consider installing VesselView Mobile. This

consists of a plug-in transmitter that enables you to view

fault history on your mobile device, plus much more. You

can read Boating’s online review of VesselView Mobile at

boatingmag.com/new-mercury-

vesselview-mobile-app.

BOGGING

DOWN

Q:

Boat Doctor, I have a 2004 Chaparral 254 Sunesta with

a 350 mag MPI engine with a Bravo Three drive. I pur-

chased it in September 2017.

I was out on my boat fishing this week, and the boat ran

well to Sanibel Island, but on the way back about halfway

home, after I went through a manatee zone, I went to

open it up and it felt like the engine was flooding out at

full power. When I eased back on the throttle, it ran fine

at about 25 to 30 mph. What do you think is the problem?

Do you think the engine is not getting enough or too much

fuel? Do you think it is the gas filter and the fuel separa-

tor? I am baffled.

I thank you in advance for your assistance and coopera-

tion, as it is deeply appreciated.

Phil Bruno

Cape Coral, Florida

EYE, EYE, CAP’N

Install Mercury Vessel-

View Mobile to see what

ails your engines.