Finally took the new boat out!

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 10:33

After a couple of weekends with poor weather I finally managed to get the boat out at the weekend - only for an hour or so, but it was great!

It handled well, rode the water as well as I expected it to and it went pretty fast - I got almost 40 knots out of it on a quick blast.

I had a bit of a problem reversing the trailer back down the slipway to collect the boat (as it was getting dark and I had no boat on it to reference where the trailer was) but nothing major.

The only question I have is this - my throttle seems to go into gear fine, and then moving it forward I have an easy to move patch (where almost no speed comes on) and then it goes stiff (giving 6 knots at this point) and is stiff up to full speed. This is fine when going up in speed as you kind of know what is happening, but it caused problems when bringing the boat back alongside as you get 6 knots or no knots (and reduced steerage). Consequently I bumped the jetty a bit on the way in (not helped by having to negotiate a fishing boat mooring up on the slipway as it waited for low tide so it could beach and allow the fishermen to remove their own fishing line from their prop).

Is this usual for a Yammy 115 4-stroke for almost nothing then 6 knots, or is there anything I can do to allow me to control the speed easily at lower speeds? (There is a throttle friction screw on top of the throttle housing - will this help?)

Thanks in advance.

The Black Pig · 11 November 2013, 11:09

Hi,

It could be the teleflex throttle cable, they can do some strange things inside if the cable is frayed, worth checking

chris.moody · 11 November 2013, 11:13

For slow speed manoeuvres neutral will be the gear you use most, with occasional very short blips of tickover in gear. The trick is to point the engine while in neutral, then the short blip of "in gear" will give maximum directional force but not give you too much unnecessary forward motion. For slow speed manoeuvres its "the slower the better" as it gives you more thinking time.

Chris

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 11:23

Thanks TBP, will have a look to see if I can see anything wrong with it.

Thanks Chris, I think I need to get used to the boat and it's "quirks". Boats I have used before seem to be fine at slow speeds, albeait with much smaller engines (appreciate your comment about slow is good, and I've always done this); it may be that I just need to learn to use the boat differently from what I've been used to if this is a characteristic of it.

Robox · 11 November 2013, 11:58

Hi,
i had the same problem on my Ribeye 5.8 and found the all or nothing throttle a nightmare for making small adjustments either way.In my opinion the routing of the cables on my Ribeye, and maybe yours , meant the bends were close or below minimum recommended spec.Over time this exacerbates any wear on the cable bends and causes the small input problem.
I eventually re-greased the throttle housing and replaced the friction adjustment screw as well as replacing the throttle cable.This did give a big improvement but the tight bends in the cable still exist and throttle inputs are still not as easy as other boats i have been on.

Rob C

PeterM · 11 November 2013, 12:16

As Chris said - you (ideallly) dont want anything more than ' in gear and idle' for ' normal' coming alongside.

The set up should be ( and is designed to be) - throttle control at helm will first place engine in gear (the first bit) with little resistance while leaving revs at idle - giving you control at least , then the next push advances the throttle up to max - with a controlled throttle friction (usually on top of the Yam control box if you have a box)

Sounds like it may just be a case of getting the hang of the set up .

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 12:20

Ah right, that sounds like it might be something to look at then, thanks Robox. I thought I may be the only one with an "all or nothing" throttle.

I must admit the engine only has 172 hours on it and I've got receipts and inspection records for a 100hr service and the throttle cable inspection was noted as being in excellent condition (obviously that was 72 hrs ago, and you can't see inside the cable housing over the whole cable). I wonder if it's possibe to re-route the cable? I might have to do some investigation.

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 12:26

Hi PeterM, I think you're right, and what you say makes sense - it seems to be that is how the boat is so I'll have to get used to it and practise, practise, practise!

It may be that a cable re-routing makes a difference, but I'm guessing not. And with the Yammy 115 being a "big" engine then it's idle or 6 knots rather than the slower speeds I've been used to with smaller engines. I do have a throttle friction control screw on the throttle control box so may have a quick "tweak" with that, but otherwise I'll go with the "practise" option.

Thanks all!

Trimix · 11 November 2013, 12:32

You may find you can re lube the cables. I used to do this for cables that operated clutches on motorcycles. The oil will of course migrate to the lowest point and any ingress of water / dirt will not help.

A quick lube brought them back to smooth operation even with bends in them.

Ive a cable oiler you can borrow if you like, but you need to be able to remove the cable, stick one end in the oiler, fill it with oil then you screw the plunger in and it forces oil along the inside of the cable.

Its like this one:

Hydraulic Motorcycle Motorbike Quad Car Professional Quality Cable Oiler | eBay

chris.moody · 11 November 2013, 16:36

The stiffness of the throttle should be adjustable using the friction control on the throttle control box.

Is you engine idling normally or is it ticking over too fast? 6 knots does sound a bit quick for tickover in gear. But it is normal to be doing slow speed manoeuvres mainly in neutral not in gear all the time.

Chris

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 16:52

Hi Chris, yeah I do have a friction control screw on top of the control box and I'll have a tinker with it.

The engine is ticking over normally both in and out of gear. It's just that prior to the "stiffness" (what I now know as tickover in gear) there seems to be no noticeable speed/headway/steerage other than left over momentum from having been at higher speed. Once you move the lever forward so it just goes into the "stiff" area from tickover then you're doing 5/6 knots.

It may be that the boat does creep forward in tickover, just that I didn't notice it on saturday. I was trying to avoid a fishing boat taking up most of the slipway and adjacent jetty as well as play with wind/tide at the same time. I'll see if I get a different result when I next take it out and hopefully have less things to take into account.

Ovey · 11 November 2013, 16:53

And thanks for the offer Trimix, but I can borrow one from work if I need a cable oiler. But much appreciated. (I'd rather break theirs than yours if it goes wrong!)

chris.moody · 11 November 2013, 17:18

You should be moving through the water in tickover forwards or reverse. I would not expect to need any more revs than tickover in gear if manouvering in confined spaces unless there was a very significant tide or wind.

More than happy to meet up sometime on the water and you can try my SR4 for a comparison.

Chris

moore288 · 11 November 2013, 19:40

Hi -
I have a 600 with 115. In tick over it does about 3 knots maybe building to 4 or just over if on flat water for a while. So seems to be much less than you have. 6 knots needs some throttle on mine. I can echo what others said that a rib takes some getting used to . I drove a few over the years and not just ribeye's . Adjusting from a boat with more weight is weird at first! Neutral and bursts of throttle with wanted steering applied in advance is the way I learned to do it- although others on here can give more expert advice than me. What I can say is that I bounced mine a little hard for the first weeks, and then with practice learned less is more! Good luck - 1. I'm sure yours is running a little to fast in idle and 2. I like me practice will lead you not to leave it in idle anyway well in close manoeuvres (neutral is the one) ! Enjoy

chris.moody · 11 November 2013, 20:16

One tip, always put out fenders even in a rib. Don't use the tubes as fenders as they can pop.

Chris

jyasaki · 11 November 2013, 21:13

For the trailer part, put your hands at the bottom of the steering wheel; move your hands in the direction you want the trailer to go. Smaller adjustments more often are better than large adjustments when it gets way out of whack.

If you can't see the trailer, consider something like a small fiberglass pole on a magnet mount stuck to a fender or the rear corner of the trailer frame. I have guide posts that do essentially the same thing.

jky

Ovey · 12 November 2013, 10:16

Hi all, thanks for the advice.

But just to clarify, in order to get the 6 knots I do need to push the throttle into the stiff (more than tickover) zone so the tickover is fine, I don't believe it to be running fast. (I just didn't notice any speed when in tickover, but this may have been due to the conditions). I think I'll just start taking it out and playing with it to get used to it as it is a bigger boat/engine than I've previously been used to.

And I'm usually ok with a trailer (think lack of practise and a bit of stress started to play a part), but that trick with your hands at the bottom of the wheel and moving them where you want the trailer to go is useful!

Ovey · 12 November 2013, 11:03

Chris, thanks for the offer. I'll take the boat out for a few more trips to get used to it, and then if I still find problems I may take you up on it!

chris.moody · 12 November 2013, 12:13

No problem, I run out from Southampton Water so we are close to each other. Not ribbing this weekend but probably out one day the following weekend subject to weather.