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I agree with this…you truthfully are gambling when your motors compression is starting to go that bad. Sometimes the piston ring cracks and you “mildly” blow it. A re bore and some new rings and you’re back in action but sometimes she blows bad, your piston essentially super heats and gets stuck while firing and destroys the crank case, or literally blows through the top of the motor. I’ve seen videos of high powered motors shoot a piston literally through the engine cowling like a rocket. Needless to say, there’s no rebuild when it blows that bad

A 30 lb difference between cylinders is a sign the motor is starting to self-destruct. The compression will continue to lose as more metal and the numbers become more unbalanced. This is equal to walking with one leg stronger than the other. For now, it might be less expensive to fix it before it damages the crankshaft, crank bearings, and piston walls. After reading your responses, I do not feel that you can do the machine work and ensure the correct tolerances and torque specs are accurate. Anyone can assemble a motor but without experience, the mistakes become apparent when you are not at the dock or home. Just some insight from a person who has been building high-performance jet skis and motorcycles 2 strokes since the late 80s. Congratulations and enjoy your new boat. Art

Congratulations. Nice boat! I’d just enjoy it as it is for a bit before you dig into it, particularly if it seems to be working well. Love my 14 foot aluminum but perhaps a tad envious…

Very nice shot with the fog. How's the fishing at Mountain Lake these days? Speaking of making the move out west took a little grit but not all that much really as I had my mind made up and my wife was a behind me all the way, as she so nicely put it, a new beginning and we were young and loved adventure. I should have mentioned my younger brother came with me. From Wiarton to Beaver Lodge in northern Alberta, almost a 4000 km drive and made the trip (winter driving) in 43.5 hours. Of course we didn't have GPS back then just a road map. Conditions permitting the speedometer was seldom under 70mph and quite often 90 with my 76 Dodge Royal Monaco. Upon leaving I told my brother I was going to drive 1500 miles, not km. non stop except for gas. which I did. It took me 28 hours and 20 minutes. The last 3 miles were the worst as I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Jumped in the back seat and became wide awake for 4 hours LOL. I don't remember how much gas was then but it was a fair size car, weighted down with a 360 (5.9) it cost me $224:00 for gas. Yeah, Happy days.

So I'll look out for a newer motor - hoping to still nab an ipilot.

Chances are it just needs the cylinders honed, new rings and gaskets. A much less expensive option. Buying another ol' two stroke may find you in the same position. $2000 is a rebuild. As said, basically a new motor. Sometimes it's the way to go. Better the devil you know. A new engine for 2k is cheap. In the interest of more power, you may want to keep your eyes open for a bigger engine and have it rebuilt while you still run what you have. Maybe find one with good compression and other problems like lower unit issues. Cheap motor and you can tackle it yourself. I just know that if I wanted toys, I had to learn to work on them. Otherwise I couldnt afford to own them when they broke. lol. Broken=worthless. Basically throwing it on the scrap heap and starting over with another old used motor with the same risks. Get some tools, pick up another cheap motor and tear into it. I think I mentioned Iboats forum. Those guys eat sleep and breath this stuff and will help you through anything you want to tackle. It's where to go for boat related problems. ANYTHING boats. I'm sure there are folks here that will agree.

The motor in the photo that you have displayed in your other post of your new boat can’t be upgraded to a Minn kota ipilot head unit. Only the black V2’s and upwards can be. I’ve “heard” of some V1 conversions but I’m not sure how reliable that is. Yours is pre V1, or basically the original MK bow mount. For the money people are asking for used, I’d be looking at a 2016 plus MK. As I’d mentioned in a previous post, my MK is in Aikmens for repair and he mentioned to me that anything other than the latest gen MK’s he’s been told motherboards have been discontinued.

That takes some grit to make a move like that with a family at home. Good for you for going after it. I had a simular opportunity 30 years ago and as a family with 4 kids we decided against it. Still wonder what could have been to this day. Myself and family have seen many sunrises from the Colpoy's dock and as many sunsets from Oxenden. I work primarily on the Bruce Peninsula. We had spot on Mountain Lake for many years. In recent years it expanded so we gave it up, but Wiarton was our home town during the summer. I dont think you'd appreciate what the Peninsula has become. It's a zoo. My typical mornings on Mountain Lake. A stones throw from your farm. Small world

looks interesting. When shopping for a used one, should I be looking for anything with 'ipilot'? Or am I looking for anything else?

There’s some third party products that essentially connect with your phone that you install onto the trolling motor to effectively make them have iPilot. not sure if they are available for the first gen power drives. https://pronavmarine.com/alternative-to-the-minn-kota-i-pilot-link-add-on-gps-autopilot-for-bow-mount-trolling-motors/

The boat came with an older Minnkota powerdrive.. he never used it - you can tell because there isn't a scratch. With that boat, should I still be looking to move up to 80lbs or can I get away with less? Seller said boat is under 1500lbs without the trailer. Is there any chance I can convert that unit to a spot lock by replacing the head? Thought i'd ask because i have come across this option. *I am going to continue this on the other thread I started on trolling motors.. *

the boat I just picked up has an older MK Powerdrive. I've heard the heads can be replaced to make the spotlocks. Is this correct?

I should also mention that the seller had a used lower unit put in in 2021. He said something about a gear issue. But like I said, it sounded great, took off, attained a speed of 30 mph with three guys in the boat. I realize that that doesn't mean it'll be trouble free! I like that they are pretty simple engines. Lots of Johnson parts around still but i realize that in the future there will be fewer and fewer and parts will dry up. By then I'll have a new motor!

I don't know if spending $2000 on that motor is prudent. I can buy a used newer 2 stroke for not much more.. Maybe Biteme is on to something. Worth exploring. What tools would i need?

Easy peasy you can do it unbolt the head slide it off the pistons get the serial number tell them to bore it out for a new set of over size rings to your pistons now put the rings on slide it back on bobs your uncle 2 strokes are easy and that’s not a complicated motor personally I’d run it for the season the way it is are you very confident with the pressure test seriously rings are not big deal all said and done 500.00 on the high side if you do it yourself that’s with the boring make a nice stand bring it inside or out and just do it get a good tear down manual lots online YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! Cheers Peter BringOnAnotherThousand

I really appreciate your emails, and am very happy you and your wife like the mountain lake pics. Some are are worthy of hanging on the wall. Most our families on both sides after coming out for a visit have moved here. We are only an hours drive from the mountains and as the 100's of times as we have been there they are still breath taking. I was born and raised in Oxenden and after getting married we lived in Wiarton for a couple years then move out the 21st onto a hog farm right across from the airport runway. The last Christmas we spent there It took me 8.5 hours to get the car out of out long driveway to visit my mom and dad which were less than an hours walk across the airport. The airport recorded one inch shy of 15 feet of snow that winter and I don't believe it has happened since. I remember back in the day Colpoy Bay would only freeze over once every four years or so. In 1981 upon my dear old dad's advice I decided to make the move out west. With my old 1976 Dodge under my ass (which made the trip four more times to first and foremost get my dog, then my fishing gear among other things, fish and deer mounts etc.) I arrived in Alberta February 14th 1981. Had job offers coming out my ying yang. Saved enough money to get a place and fly my wife and boys out and never looked back. I do dearly miss Bruce Peninsula. for the fishing especially, didn't matter what species you wanted to catch on any given day they were there. Keep playing them lottery tickets and I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Have a super day. picasabackground-359.bmp picasabackground-359.bmp

Usually a couple thousand bucks will be enough for an engine rebuild. basically turns your motor new again. id get a transom saver, aluminum wood transoms are soft to begin with, I personally don’t like the idea of flexing them constantly. low compression equates to low power. Luckily on an old carbed two stroke it’s not going to be a major major issue until it totally blows.

I wouldn't even contemplate this. I can drain oil at the end of the season, change plugs and fog it! The rest I would leave to a marine mechanic! What would this cost if a mechanic performed it. On another topic, should I get a transom saver ?

Refers to "re-building" the motor. In layman's terms: Hone....re-surface the cylinder wall (where combustion takes place) by removing a slight amount of metal and "polishing" to create a new surface Re-ring....replace the piston rings to create a better seal to prevent combustion gasses "slipping through" The end result is to restore the compression so you're back to the original power and fuel economy Unless, you have a decent amount of mechanical experience, not something for DIY.

Nice boat! You will be really happy with it. I'd repower with a 90HP if this motor is shot.

Amazing settings!

Honed and re-ringed - Can you expand on this ? Thanks

Congrats. Always something with boats. I had problems this morning with my Lowrance. That could be a potential 3k. Use it for the summer and fix in the off season. Old 2 strokes are pretty simple. Have it honed and re-ringed over the winter. Most likely never been done.

Looking to do some upgrading so selling my HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch. Works great just switching over most electronics to Garmin Comes with the following: Sun cover Power Cable 2D 83/200 transducer 6' Lowrance Network cable 6' NMEA2000 cable Minn Kota trolling motor US2 adapter $600 Will ship anywhere in Ontario for $20 PM me for details

NICE RIG >>>CONGRATULATIONS!!! Have a great season!