My boat.

[jb616]

I love my 14R as well. I do have an 18ft tracker with a 90hp on it but missed my old 14R from before. Bought another with a junk motor and then got a 15hp Johnson identical to your Evinrude.   Not as much get up and go as the 15hp Yamaha from before but a good runner. Solid boats.

[chet]

I also have one of them same boats. We drag that one into those remote, hard to get to UP lakes that I won't take my Tracker. For many years now we don't even take a gas motor. Only a trolling motor to fully enjoy the solitude.   We will be able to open water fish here about 2 months earlier than normal this year do to lack of snow and thick lake ice. 

[Magicman]

I need to catch some bluegills for my pond

Divide them carefully.  A portion for da pond and a portion for da skillet. 

[WV Sawmiller]

    Re-reading this tale reminds me my old mentor made a few boats. We got one 2nd or 3rd hand one time. Sides were 1" cypress or juniper and the bottom and seats and such were plywood. Later in life he built another with a 3/8" or maybe 1/2" plywood bottom and 1X12 or 1X14 cypress or juniper boards for sides. He made removable seats and catwalks to keep the weight down. He'd slide it in the back of has old Valiant station wagon or in an old flat bottom homemade trailer. I think he had a 7.5 hp outboard made by Western Auto. I forget the brand name. He used brass screws and nails so they would not rust painted the bottom with some kind of fiberglass type paint for durability.

    One of my big regrets in life was that in my late teens or early 20's I did not get him to build me a good wooden boat similar to that. The time spent with him would have been way more valuable than the boat at the end of the project.

[Old Greenhorn]

Kick save! and a beauty Jeff! That would not have turned out well and those little boat trailer tires turn like MAD! I am looking for a trailer to buy right now but the thought of driving a couple hours to make a deal and then the chances of getting it home without fried bearings on a used trailer keep me up at night. If I wind up doing that kind of deal I may bring a jack and some grease with me, then find the closet tractor supply or auto parts store.
 Grease is always cheaper than steel.

[thecfarm]

My father always use to say, grease is cheaper then parts.

[WV Sawmiller]

    The last time or two I took a trailer in to service and said to pack the bearings they just replaced the hub with a pre-greased bearing. They say it is cheaper than the manhours to pack them.

[Jeff]

Howard, I may look that up. There certainly would of been less metal slivers in my fingers.

 With new bearing buddies if was over $110 for parts not counting carb cleaner and paper towels.

[WV Sawmiller]

  It seems a shame to throw away what looks like a perfectly good hub and bearing which just needs grease but based on the labor charges that is what it worked out for me.

[Don P]

It's 56 here this morning, so what to do but watch boat videos 
Jeff, pause when he opens the lid, that's a marine Chrysler flathead 6.

I'll snap out of it, snow by tonight

[Jeff]

It's 56 here this morning, so what to do but watch boat videos 
Jeff, pause when he opens the lid, that's a marine Chrysler flathead 6.

Don, if you want to see an overload of the real thing, come up to the cabin with me the second saturday in August.

LES CHENEAUX ISLANDS ANTIQUE WOODEN BOAT SHOW & FESTIVAL OF ARTS.

[Texas Ranger]

Cheaper to repair than repack?  Back in the day I repacked aircraft tire bearings and would take maybe 5 minutes to clean, inspect and repack each bearing.  Cost of replacing the bearing was not on the books.

[YellowHammer]

Very good catch on the bearing.

I don't repack either, when a bearing gets water in it, then there is a leak, and it's likely that unless it is found, it will leak again.  I put several thousand miles on my boat trailers every year, and at best, as Jeff says, a bearing failure on the road is a bad day, but at worst, it can be potentially life threatening.  So I also stopped replacing bearings and now replace the entire assembly.   

I think the costs of insurance claims are forcing the trailer companies to pick up their game a lot, and the new breed of boat trailer hubs and assembles reflect significant advances.  Permanently sealed from the factory, zero maintenance, thixotropic grease that turns to oil as the hub rotates, then thickens back to grease when the it cools, pressurization indicators on the hubs, and even multi year zero touch, zero maintenance warranties.  I had a Dexter bearing and brake assembly lose pressure a couple years ago, and the dealer replaced it (would not let me do it) on the spot.

Anyway, yes, being on the side of the road with a dead trailer is not a good way to spend a fishing trip.   
   

[SwampDonkey]

Getting the itch for some boat'n and fish'n are we? There's an aluminum 16 footer here and a 22' canvas back canoe. 7.5 hp motor as well. Ain't used them for years. Don't feel much like drag'n on all the gear on a weekend after working on a saw and tramp'n woods all week. :D . It's a lot different now than 45 years ago. :D

[Jeff]

We also have a 17ft old town canoe here acquired in a trade. It used to be green. The mildew from being upside down in the shade of red oaks has made it mostly black.

Never had it on the water.

[K-Guy]

Years ago an old mechanic showed me the easy way to pack bearings. He had an old electric hotplate and a stainless bowl with a flat bottom. He put the bearing on top of the hard cold grease in the bowl placed on the hotplate and turned it on, then left it over night. The next morning the bearing was packed and he let it cool. Just make sure you get you heat right as it is a fire hazard.

[Jeff]

Cutting grease into a roller bearing in the palm of your hand is kinda satisfying. 

[gspren]

Cutting grease into a roller bearing in the palm of your hand is kinda satisfying. 

Not only satisfying but in just a few minutes you know the bearing is full. I've heard people say they just pump it in through a bearing buddy, etc but I only know it's full when I cut it in myself.

[Jeff]

Our autoshop teacher would thump you if he caught you spinning up a bearing at any speed with an air hose. We were expected to blow the solvents out, but holding the bearings still. 

[Jeff]

(And, yea, he might of thumped you with an air hose)

[21incher]

And the grease we had years ago made your hands sooo soft   after the gas we used to clean out the old grease dried out our hands. 
What did you name it? Every boat needs a name  .

[Jeff]

I think I have a problem.

https://youtube.com/shorts/k7JYsfdm6QE?si=Kx1KjsWhszZSfxkK

[YellowHammer]

Is the water coming from a manufactured hole in the foot?

[Jeff]

Yes, both sides. I've watched a couple youtube videos that first, said put it in gear stupid. Well, I guess I said that. 

It appears, that everything is as it should be, and that that engine does have a spray and not a stream up top. I also remember noting in the very few times I've had to run it, that that (tom) non-stream spray was, well, notable.

[YellowHammer]

Yes, it all seems normal.  With older water cooled outboard engines, that is the water pump leg vent, and it serves several purposes, most notably is that when there is water peeing from it then it means your water pump is wet and building pressure.  It will also tell you the water pump is wet before you crank using motor muffs, so it will not be operated dry, which will ruin your water pump within a minute or so.  When the engine is in gear, a pressure valve bypasses most of the water through the exhaust hub.   

I have not owned that particular engine, but it does not have a cowl mounted telltale hole at all?