New guy with a couple questions

[elchaseo]

If its the hub ,it can replaced in a matter of minutes 

It's for sure they hub. They pulled the prop off and the rubber is all torn up. I guess they ship the prop out to have the new hub pressed. I doubt I'll have any time to go out this week anyway so it's really not hurting. Plus I can probably get my honey-do list checked off. 


One thing I did notice, there was some light rust all around the hub when he pulled it off. The prop itself is stainless and pristine but the other metals were definitely discolored. Again probably not a big deal or relevant but on a boat with less that 40 hours it seems strange. 

 

[Jack M]

 

[Link]

Good info Jack

 

[cwag911]

I would NEVER use that hammer on metal! Especially around a $500.00 prop and the thrust washer! I sure wouldn't let him work on my boat.

 

[kaydano]

I probably wouldn't have prop rattle if my sleeve fit so tight you had to hammer it in...


I did cake the contact surfaces between the prop and sleeve with a ton of marine grease when I put my prop back on for the summer.  When we took it out the other day, it rattled only about 10% of what it does without the grease.  You can still faintly hear it in the boat, but now the whole marina isn't hearing it!  A cheap fix for a mostly rattle free prop.  Thanks for the tip Carl (it was about a year ago - I finally got around to trying it).

 

[Jack M]

I would NEVER use that hammer on metal! Especially around a $500.00 prop and the thrust washer! I sure wouldn't let him work on my boat.

You would think he would have a press or at a minimum use a dead blow 

 

[cwag911]

You would think he would have a press or at a minimum use a dead blow 

Or a piece of wood. Maybe it was between his ears.  

 

[azray007]

Just wanted to update you guys. So far we have about 15 hours on it, and every one of them has been great. I also learned real quick about pontoons and following seas.....My face when that wave came crashing over top of us must have been priceless....lesson learned lol


I tried to do some digging and figure out the prop specs and from what I've gathered its just the Yamaha stainless 13 pitch. Not sure how to verify that, but my readings mirror their performance bulletins for my boat/setup http://yamahaoutboards.com/sites/default/files/bulletins/BNT_22SSX_F115LB_2014-10-28_PNT.pdf


As far as the trailer, I haven't figured out where to get a tongue weight but I do think the boat could use to go back a couple inches. Next time its in the water I plan on loosening the 6 bolts and sliding that bumper back a little bit until it looks right.


I did add some interior lighting which really sets it off, and I will be adding the blue lights under the deck probably in the next week or two.

Very nice boat and I'm glad you got the trailer issue squared away.  Did you do the lighting yourself or have someone else do it?  I'm assuming it isn't factory from Bennington.  I'll be ordering my boat soon and the cost of the led light option seems a little high.  I'm curious how expensive it is to have done on the aftermarket.

 

[Rcook539]

Thinking of doing lighting too  Where did you get the lighting?  Was it hard to install?

 

[Spoiledrotten]

Definitely didn't hit anything and I know its a wear and tear item, just stinks that it happened on such a new boat. I baby this thing, it gets used in saltwater so it gets washed and flushed inside and out after every trip. I'm lucky we were only about 20 minutes into the ride before it crapped out. We ended up making a nice day out of it since I could still move at idle speed, then again its a pontoon going its designed speed lol. I guess I will find out in a couple days what is going to happen. Til then I have a lovely lawn ornament to look at for a week or so.  

I feel for you with something happening within the first season of having the boat. Ours was less than a month old when I hit an underwater log. Tore up the aluminum prop and bent the prop shaft. $1200.00 later, I was back on the water.

 

[elchaseo]

I feel for you with something happening within the first season of having the boat. Ours was less than a month old when I hit an underwater log. Tore up the aluminum prop and bent the prop shaft. $1200.00 later, I was back on the water.

That's pretty steep, sorry to hear about that. The prop they have is flawless so I'm still hoping its covered

 

[elchaseo]

Very nice boat and I'm glad you got the trailer issue squared away.  Did you do the lighting yourself or have someone else do it?  I'm assuming it isn't factory from Bennington.  I'll be ordering my boat soon and the cost of the led light option seems a little high.  I'm curious how expensive it is to have done on the aftermarket.

Thinking of doing lighting too  Where did you get the lighting?  Was it hard to install?

I did the lighting myself and it really wasn't bad, most expensive part was buying the marine wire. Ended up buying 50' from west marine for about $40. The LED rope lights can be cut into any length you want, this was (I think) just a 20' section and did everything I wanted. The soldering of the cut section of the LED light was tricky, so I'd recommend trying it first before you start on the boat so you get the hang of it. Running the wires was straight forward, just have a good fish tape handy. Other than that I'm super happy with the results

 

[Spoiledrotten]

Marine Wire????   I found that the most economical way to get wire is to buy the trailer wire kit from somewhere like Lowes. It cost about $14 for 25'. Split the four wire into two, and you have your 50' of marine wire. I used the yellow and white for positive and the green and brown for the negative. Just an idea for you. Worked for me.

 

[TomS]

Marine Wire????   I found that the most economical way to get wire is to buy the trailer wire kit from somewhere like Lowes. It cost about $14 for 25'. Split the four wire into two, and you have your 50' of marine wire. I used the yellow and white for positive and the green and brown for the negative. Just an idea for you. Worked for me.

Marine wire is in fact quite different even from SAE automotive (more copper strands per AWG, more flexible, tinned to resist corrosion, specific insulation for chemical resistance, etc), and is what should be used on a boat, at least for power/ground/switching runs. Bennington follows the AYBC standards for it. West Marine, Overtons, and most boating equipment suppliers all have it readily available.

 

[elchaseo]

Marine Wire????   I found that the most economical way to get wire is to buy the trailer wire kit from somewhere like Lowes. It cost about $14 for 25'. Split the four wire into two, and you have your 50' of marine wire. I used the yellow and white for positive and the green and brown for the negative. Just an idea for you. Worked for me.

Standard copper will work for a while but the wire with the tinning will out last and resist corrosion better. And since the boat is used pretty much exclusively in salt water, I really didn't want to run wires a second time. My last boat trailer ate about 3 sets of lights before I moved them up on the guide poles out of the water.