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I agree with Akrisoner, an 80lb electric TM with a couple of lithiums might be a better investment than hanging a gas kicker on that boat. A lot more versatile...you can still troll with it, and if you wire it up so the big motor charges it when running, should always have enough juice to get you back.

I was about to reply almost exactly what Randy said. Start with a compression check on a warm engine.

Hi, I suggest that before you get too worried about what might or could happen with the engine, you or a experienced mechanic should perform a thorough inspection of everything to make sure that there are no evident service or maintenance issues such as fuel lines, chaffed or damaged wires, leaks etc. Then do another compression test and actually confirm that there might be a problem. It is very important to use a high quality reliable gauge. I have seen some widely variant readings from cheap low end compression gauges, so find a good one to do the testing with, you need good consistant readings to confirm what the compression is. You can also try doing a cold and warm test that might show that the compression is within spec when warm and may explain why the engine seems to run well. If the compression is not bad go ahead and enjoy your boat and stop worrying, Should the new testing show that there is a potential problem then it becomes a question of how bad is it really? If it is not to severe use it this season and have it freshened it up in the off season for use over the next few years with no worries. If it turns out that it is in fact bad enough to be worried about then bite the bullet and fix it now. That engine as others have pointed out is a good, reliable, and relatively simple engine that any good experienced outboard mechanic can overhaul in a few hours without having to spend a fortune. Finding a good and honest mechanic might be the biggest challenge... Best of luck and have fun with your new boat!

Having to get towed is always a risk. Thats just boating with older equipment. New equipment breaks too. All one can do is be prepared as anyone on the water should be at all times. Treat it right and I think you'll be fine. I've been on the water my whole life with some questionable equipment including ill running motors. Never been towed, but always ready for it. Just dont go out for midnight cruise's with the wife and kids on board. lol

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

JBs had 25% off but that regular price was well above what other shops had. I miss the Odyseey from last year. 30% off at Gagnons. I bought 2 Legend Tournaments on got a Premier graphite/fiberglass trolling rod for free lol. I grabbed a few Bulldawgs and a big blue/silver bucktail I'll be using for open water Gbay.

Any form of heat welding (arc) or gas can not be used with the backing foam in place. The heat will flash the foam and contaminate the weld and or catch fire. I own and use both TiG and MIG equipment and the above reasoning from your welder is correct. There are cold welding products (epoxy) that could be used like marine tex which will be acceptable as a repair.

as mentioned by bite me...batteries take a friggin beating in boats. just ask me about how I literally flipped an entire battery tray and unbolted three others in one single trip across the sound in parry sound lol. I just installed an Automatic Charge Relay in my boat. I call it the poor man's powerpole charge. Actually very very happy with it. Im pretty harsh on my electronics battery (10 hour days livescoping with 3 10 inch screens) and last year on some 12+ hour pre-fish days I actually ended up hitting the low voltage alarm which then sketched me the heck out because I needed to navigate back home in a new area of georgian bay with the possibility of not having charts. The ACR is most certainly the answer to the problem. Boat turns over, a couple minutes of the main motor running tops my starting battery back up, and the switch engages and my units that were just reading 10.9 volts are now reading 12.3 as they are being fed by the boats alternator.

A trolling motor is enough to get you to safety. ive been stranded multiple times, most recently on Georgian bay…in the fall, during a wind storm. made it home but it took a while

Well, one way to avoid getting stuck on the water is to buy a kicker. I was going to do that either way as I do like to troll and I was thinking about adding auxiliary power

Well, it seams to have worked, I just had a friend call and leave me a message and it came through as a normal voice mail. Thanks again I really appreciate the help!

Open the Settings app, then tap Phone. Tap Live Voicemail. Turn Live Voicemail on or off.

I personally think you run it until it explodes and then re power with a used motor with the max horsepower for your hull. You might get a year out of the motor for free.

Was out with Bray again yesterday, we caught some Panfish and I was messing around with worms also and hooked into a Monster Rock Bass, biggest I've ever caught. I need to work a little with him on his camera aiming. What's everyones biggest Rock bass? I know the Ontario record is 17 inches and around 3 pounds.

Top gun marine in innisfil, but not sure he works on lower horsepower engines? maximum marine in port Perry does it for sure, my buddy got his motor rebuilt there

Nah don’t sweat it. There are used two -stroke 50s and 60s in the 2k ish range everywhere. If that’s worse case scenario, enjoy your nice boat. You’re generally good if the cylinders are between 10-15% difference in PSI, your in 25% territory so you don’t want to leave that for more than a season.

Don't start regretting now. Get that engine fixed soon and you'll never have to worry about it blowing up on you. The boat looks real nice.

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

So I don't usually take pictures of my food, because my wife thinks it is highly aberrant behaviour. I catch enough flak for other stuff that I don't need to add to the topics where my behaviour is found wanting. BUT! If she is not around, I can take some pics. Tonight it was DUCK BALLS!!! with sweet Thai chili sauce on acini de pepe pasta, very toothsome even if I say so myself. That black spot on the parchment paper is evidence of quality control before the sauce got added. 😉 The duck balls are meatballs of course. I had made some country style (caseless) Italian sausage with duck meat, and had one package left, so I did it as meatballs. Doug

I'm pretty sure every kid would call a Big Rock Bass, Rocky! lol