# a couple newbie boat owner questions



## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

The boat will be here in about 20 minutes and I had a few thoughts on things.

For the 1990 Johnson 200hp outboard which 2 stroke oil should I use, and which oil should I use for the 1985 9.9hp Johnson kicker? Seller had the main motor rebuilt 2 years ago, not sure what he has been using since.

For my downriggers should I go with 8 or 10 pound balls for fishing 80-90 feet? I read you want one pound for every ten feet you go down.

That's all for now, feel free to offer any tips/advice.


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## Gunner73 (Dec 3, 2007)

Use a good marine 2 stroke oil and for simplicity use the same in both motors.
For fishing deep you will need 10lb weights.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

jb1 said:


> Use a good marine 2 stroke oil and for simplicity use the same in both motors.
> For fishing deep you will need 10lb weights.


From what I have been reading it seems a lot of folks just use the Walmart brand 2 stroke stuff, but there are a few who swear by the Quicksilver/Redline/other synthetic oils. For a fishing boat that may see full throttle for 30-60 minutes a day do I really need the synthetic?


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

And the 9.9 calls for a 100:1 mix, that sounds a bit lean to me, I thought they were closer to a 50-60 to 1 mix.


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## troller (Jun 27, 2013)

30-06-hunter said:


> And the 9.9 calls for a 100:1 mix, that sounds a bit lean to me, I thought they were closer to a 50-60 to 1 mix.


 I would mix it 100:1 like it said. see if you can find a book on how to take care of it, for the 9.9 If you mix it 50:1 you will get a lot of smoke and I think it would take life of the motor
8 are 10 lbs balls are ok. (is it a elect. downrigger?)
My boy made me some stick 10lb weights that are 12" long and 2" round.
that work good the bad thing is they make a larger mark on the fishfinder.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

It has all of the original manuals so I can look it up. It has one electric Cannon downrigger and it came with 2 different size balls so it should be all set for now.


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## troller (Jun 27, 2013)

30-06-hunter said:


> It has all of the original manuals so I can look it up. It has one electric Cannon downrigger and it came with 2 different size balls so it should be all set for now.


 learn how to stack two poles on the down rigger, get a leaded line pole (this will get you down 30') and you are set for trolling, this time of year you can long line add sinkers to your line that will get you down 5' to ten ft. 
I have been to Jordanelle Reservoir two times this week got a lot of bows 8 to 12" got some browns 17" the browns are about 40' deep the bows are on top and 20' down.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

troller said:


> If you mix it 50:1 you will get a lot of smoke and I think it would take life of the motor


Nah, it wont hurt the motor... it will foul plugs faster though if its too rich. I always run my 2 strokes a little on the rich side. Got several 2 stroke engines that are 20 years old now and still running great. Rather have more lube than needed internally than be too lean.

PS: Walmart oil is pretty good stuff, but I just buy bulk Yamalube and use it in everything from snowmobiles to chainsaws.

-DallanC


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

There is a difference between synthetic and regular 2-stroke oil in the amount of carbon build up left behind and oil viscosity at different temperatures. Synthetic oil does burn cleaner and is less temperature sensitive. 2-stroke engines like my snowmobile have exhaust reeds that flutter with the piston stroke, and the sooty carbon build up from natural 2-stroke oil prevents them from getting a tight seal and the sled starts cutting out at higher RPM's. 

I can also tell whether I've been running natural or synthetic oil in my sled when I try to pull start it on those cold sub zero mornings. It is all I can do to pull the rope back if I've been burning natural oil, it usually takes 20 to 30 hard pulls before the engine is loose enough to fire. With synthetic oil, the engine turns over almost as easily when cold as it does after it's been warmed up. Consequently, I pretty much run synthetic exclusively in my sled.

Now in your case, I doubt your engine has exhaust reeds, and I doubt you'll be running your boat in extremely cold temperatures, so I think you'd be fine running the less expensive natural oil. I would, however, recommend that you always carry extra spark plugs with you in the event you do foul a plug.

Also, 100 to 1 ratio on oil seems a little lean to me as well. Personally, I would much prefer to replace spark plugs as I would pistons.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Kevin D said:


> There is a difference between synthetic and regular 2-stroke oil in the amount of carbon build up left behind and oil viscosity at different temperatures. Synthetic oil does burn cleaner and is less temperature sensitive. 2-stroke engines like my snowmobile have exhaust reeds that flutter with the piston stroke, and the sooty carbon build up from natural 2-stroke oil prevents them from getting a tight seal and the sled starts cutting out at higher RPM's.
> 
> I can also tell whether I've been running natural or synthetic oil in my sled when I try to pull start it on those cold sub zero mornings. It is all I can do to pull the rope back if I've been burning natural oil, it usually takes 20 to 30 hard pulls before the engine is loose enough to fire. With synthetic oil, the engine turns over almost as easily when cold as it does after it's been warmed up. Consequently, I pretty much run synthetic exclusively in my sled.
> 
> ...


I do plan to fish the gorge year round and there will likely be a few cold starts on 20 degree mornings, but nothing colder than that. I do intend to carry extra plugs, it's cheap insurance.


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2010)

I have run 2-stroke out boards in a commercial fishing environment for 20+ years, my advice is do not skimp on the oil. We have run Chevron 2 stroke oil the last few years and have had no issues. It is about $6 cheaper per gallon compared to Quicksilver or Yamalube. If you are concerned about cold weather oil viscosity, request the specs on the oil, and check the "pour point" specification. The Chevron oil is something like -34 deg F, the only better oil I found was a Phillips Injex, and was in the -40 or better range.


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## hondodawg (Mar 13, 2013)

I have a 225efi Merc. I've used quicksilver and sierra brand with no issues. I would be more leary of the quality of gas than oil now days. I always will use quickleen, or ethonal treatment for fill ups. And look for pure gas if it's avaliable. I carry sparkplugs, fuel filter and a spare hub.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

hondodawg said:


> I have a 225efi Merc. I've used quicksilver and sierra brand with no issues. I would be more leary of the quality of gas than oil now days. I always will use quickleen, or ethonal treatment for fill ups. And look for pure gas if it's avaliable. I carry sparkplugs, fuel filter and a spare hub.


I plan to only run ethanol free, see this thread http://utahwildlife.net/forum/6-gen...e-anyone-else-wants-run-ethanol-free-gas.html


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## troller (Jun 27, 2013)

Maintaining Johnson/Evinrude 9.9 
& 15 hp 2 cycle outboards
1974 - 1992 (Information & normal repairs) 
go down to the bottom they talk about the Fuel to Oil Mix Ratio
http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Johnson%209.9_15.htm

where spark plugs have continually become fouled, I have been experimenting with using 2 gas tanks for the last eight years now and for me I am happy with the idea. One, a 3 gal. tank, mixed at 100-1 with full synthetic oil and it is used ONLY FOR TROLLING, the other is the 12 gal. main 50-1 tank also used for my 70hp outboard jet on the same boat. Again, I am using the 100-1 synthetic only for trolling with the 9.9
I have kept track of the run time at trolling with this 100-1 ratio with one particular motor over a four year period and can account for 43+ hours of only trolling,
with only one a sputter, all it took to clear that up was to speed the motor up until the spark plug became un-fouled


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