fishinwrench

What I think they need to scrap and forget about is controlling ANYTHING by RF signals. You're just begging for trouble, and it costs more to build that way. Forget that crap and stay with mechanical cables and/or wire harnesses that you CAN SEE and TOUCH ! With a drone or little dune buggy you need that......but if you're actually riding in the craft YOU DON'T.......So why add a system that can potentially fail or be jammed?

Heat shouldn't become an issue until the battery (s) get low and Voltage drops, and I'm not sure that even THAT matters with Li power sources that deliver steady voltage until they go dead. Just like in a cordless drill, once voltage drops below a certain level a self-resetting breaker shuts the juice off until the circuit cools back down, to prevent a meltdown. Nevertheless all motors and control units that are covered by a cowling, or buried under upholstery ( affecting heat dissipation) are cooled by lake water in the same fashion that fuel combustion engines are. No different than a drone.....except there's more of a load on the motor.

I'd be glad to give it a try. I've fixed a vibrator or two in the past. 😸

If you ever tinkered with slot-cars and slot car tracks when you were a kid.....then you have a basic grip on the concept. The main difference is that with the slot car your thumb depressing the "throttle button" delivered varying amounts of steady current through the track.....and then through the motor in the car via "pickups" that slid along the contact strips on your side of the track. Instead of doing that same type of rheostat throttle, in order to extend battery charge life, the delivered amount of current stays constant regardless of throttle position.....and the degree of "output" is controlled by switching the power on/off multiple times per second depending on throttle setting. Except (I assume) for WOT.....in which you will be feeding full ON current with no interruptions.

You probably already know this, but just in case......☝️...... Electric fuel pumps must be able to purge any air from within them. Trapped air inside an electric fuel pump can turn it into a hand grenade. Sooooo, be sure to do some research to confirm whether or not that "hole" is there for a reason. 👍

I've been keeping abreast of it, and so far it's pretty basic. Speed and output is controlled by pulsing the amperage varying degrees depending on the throttle setting.....no different than the "Maximizer" system on all post-1995 trolling motors. The problem they are trying to get past currently is the excessive wear on gearsets from the consistent pulsing of power through the driveshaft. You don't notice it from the driver's seat....but that pinion gear sure notices it. Bombardier's design eliminates that by doing away with the 90° "gearcase". Horizontal motor and shaft directly to the prop.....and reverse polarity for reverse. They'll get it figured out. 👍

I'll let you know if it ever happens to me. Electric outboards will be fun. I'm more than ready 👍 They'll still hit things and bend/break shafts. Stopping an electric motor while underway will smoke the brushes and armatures, and pop relays. Running at low voltages will glaze over the armature contacts and cause a permanent loss of power. Unlubricated bearings can only last so long. Gearcase failures will continue to occur. Fishing line will still eat seals. My skin and lungs will be thrilled to eliminate fuel, carb cleaner, and exhaust fumes from my life. Required Special diagnostic equipment consists of a Voltmeter and Ammeter...... Already got it.😊 I probably won't even need to buy hand cleaner anymore. Or at least not nearly as much of it.

I get told that too, and usually it's accompanied by an additional guilt trip. "But I've used you forever, and you've always been great". 😟 Yeah, but now you've gone out and traded for a POS 4-Stroke that NOBODY can fix. I don't wanna be the bad guy. I'd rather you remember me for all the SUCCESSFUL jobs I did for you back when you had outboards that could be fixed reasonably. I'm more than happy to do maintenance on it, water pumps, oil changes, ect. .....but that loss of power thing you've got going on now.....Sorry bro, can't fix it. 🤷 Then I'll run into them a year or so later, and I get to hear THIS, which is so satisfying..... "You were right Glen, I took that SOB to 3 other places, spent darn near 3k.....and it Still runs like I'm dragging a parachute down the lake". 😊👍

Same here. I'm hard on sockets because I use standard 12pt sockets on the impact wrench. Impact sockets will usually not fit into the tight spots I usually have to work in.....so I seldom even reach for an impact socket, even when one WILL fit. You won't get a 15/16" impact socket into a Mercury flywheel hub so there's no use in even owning one. Outboard stuff typically requires thin walled sockets, thin wrenches, and swivel sockets. And because of that they simply don't last very long......and then I catch myself struggling with worn out crap through 1/2 the year. With swivel sockets I'm stuck with Snap-on because they are the only ones that make them thin enough. Their weak spot is the pin that holds them together and the holes that the pins go in. That didn't used to be a problem because the Snap-on guy came by every other week. But then I made the mistake of paying them off in full......Bad move! Because now he never comes around, even if I call him and ask him to. He'll say that he will stop by, but then never does. If you want the Snap-on truck to be at your shop regularly you've gotta always owe them money.

I have to order all new fresh sockets, extensions, allen & torx drivers, screwdrivers, pliers and wire cutters/strippers every single year. I simply wear them out. Do you have any common tools that you think go above and beyond? The ones you'd order an identical replacement for immediately if you lost one? I'd love to hear about them (brand/model) before I begin making this year's list. Ditto for compact cordless drills, drivers, grinders, saws.

I should just start literally shafting people when they bring their boats in here. And if they start complaining I could just say..... "Geeze, I'm so tired of you and all of your negativity"!

Good luck with that. Those articles don't pay squat I'm guessing that means that MDC got exactly what they paid for then, hu? Not wasting my talent on magazine articles.....I'm writing a book....or something. Better yet, a series of them. Be nice to me and I'll see to it that you get fairly compensated for your photography skills. 😊

Covid is a good thing! The last election turned out awesome! Fuel prices are becoming more affordable by the day! Tires are definitely affordable! Outboard warranties are awesome and performing flawlessly! Winter is coming, albeit late because of global warming. And you can now make the most delicious chicken salad you've ever tasted from chicken $#!t and mustard. You're so right. How could anyone speak negatively about anything in this paradise? 😅

That does it, I have found a way to supplement my income and carry me through retirement. If that article ranks in the "pretty good" range, then I'm fixin' to be rich & famous. I'm digging out the camera and keyboard this week. 👍

Are you seriously pouting? 😂 Stop it !

If there's anyone here that forges his own hooks and spins his own thread, it would have to be billethead. 👍

Doesn't count then. Sorry, no self-sufficiency badge for you. 🤷

In my circles the amazing things I see being created today are all just things that make it more convenient for people to remain stupid and lazy.

Notice where Evinrude put their relays?.......Right on top, in front. Remove the cowling and it's the first thing you see. Mercury?...... Way back in the rear, way down low, buried behind everything else. Why? 🙄 They always position the most likely parts to fail in the most hard to get to areas. Sonsabitches!

You can override auto-trim....but it stores that information, so if there's ever any type of engine failure it may effect your warranty.

I know you do. 😊 It bugs me that everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) controlled by humans is dumbing down. People don't aquire individual skills anymore, nor allow any escalation of any skills as time passes, because they have devices that are programmed to automatically do everything for them. Human Evolution has ceased and society is now in limbo awaiting full control via AI.

What you are likely witnessing is this.... https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/gauges-and-controls/steering/active-trim/ In case you haven't noticed, you don't drive boats anymore.....A computer does it for you. 🙄

I haven't run across any others. Have you? Reference a few, and I will. As a quality photographer I'd think that YOU (of all people) would be rolling your eyes completely out of your head over it. Oh wait.... Here's one! Look at this puppy that I caught. At least the rod is loaded. 🙄 I should go lay a bow on the next roadkill I come across, and post it in the Bow Hunting thread.

I know how much you love pictures, but does it even matter whether they are authentic or not? Are you one of those guys that are into anime porn? 😅 You wanna see Scooby Doo knock the bottom out of Dora the Explorer...... don't ya?

If they had chosen to use lesser quality printing then maybe it wouldn't have been so obvious that the flyrod in that photo was a prop. 🙄