Boat Operation Guide -- 6 HSP Johnson Motor (trouble shooting below)
- Outfit proper size lifejackets for ALL people and at least 1 throwable (seat cushion), see woodshed on west side of the lodge for all lifejacket needs. (All children 10 yrs and younger must wear a flotation vest according to Minnesota)
- Make sure your motorized boat has at least 1 oar, 1 anchor tied to bow of boat, 4 mooring lines –(2 starboard {right} and 2 port {left} both fore & aft)
- Some type of bilging device to remove rain or wave water should be in boat at all times. (1 gal. plastic bottle, sponge, or both)
- Check fuel , (note: this boat is equipped with a 3.3 gal tank & should be filled to 3 gal mark with oil/gas mixture to prevent spillage due to waves)
- Fuel cap should be vented or cracked, and both ends of fuel lines should be secured to tank & motor. Squeeze the primer bulb on the fuel line to make sure it is firm & full of fuel.
- Before starting, double check motor is not buried in lake weeds or mud. (Lower left black tab has a pic of boat with tilted motor on 1 side, and locked down motor on reverse side. Warning : Locked position should be chosen before engaging motor to full throttle or motor may porpoise.
- To Start: Make sure black shift lever is in neutral position,(pushed back is reverse, middle position is neutral, and pulled toward you is forward) . Pull Choke, turn handle ¼ turn, and pull cord. If engine is firing on its own, push the choke in to prevent flooding the engine and let engine warm up for 2 minutes at medium idle speed. Note: If air temperature is above 80 deg. F , choking the engine will not be necessary, and may actually flood engine. Engine should always start within the first 3 pulls. If not – see troubleshooting guide.
- With engine running, make sure water is “peeing” from starboard rear of engine. If not, push red kill switch immediately, and find a CWC employee to help you.
- Before engaging transmission, make sure the 2 mooring lines are disengaged and engine path is free of weeds. If not; you may have to push or row the boat away from the dock until a clear path is available before engaging motor. Throttle must be at the lowest position before attempting to reverse or forward gears!
- Slowly back boat away from dock and turn to engage forward motion as soon as possible. (Propellers are not designed to go quickly in reverse and will easily tangle in weeds.)
- When motor is clear of weeds, engage tilt lock (pic of boat with lowered motor) and engage throttle to desired level of thrust.
- When returning to dock, make sure motor will not be dragging through the mud and weeds, slowly edge up to one side of dock or other and tie (moor) 2 lines from boat to dock. Note: Please do not moor boat to the top of either T – dock to let people fish and to prevent damage to the boat from quickly arising winds or storms. If stormy weather is predicted, make sure to have boat facing toward lake, (motor toward shore) to prevent waves from swamping and sinking the boat.
Troubleshooting Motor Guide
Engine won’t start –
- Check both fuel connections, fuel primer should be hard
- Make sure red lanyard cord is attached to the red button (kill switch)
- If you smell gas or see it in the water behind the motor, the engine is flooded. Push in choke, turn throttle to lowest idle, & continue pulling start cord until excess fuel has been evacuated from carb. (Extreme cases may have to let motor set for 10 minutes before reattempting to start)
Engine sputters –
- Make sure choke is pushed in
- Make sure fuel lines are connected
Engine runs at full throttle but boat doesn’t move-
- Is anchor still in water?
- Stop engine, lift, and check for weeds.
When all else fails, contact resort at 218-652-3111, or Ryan's text/cell is 218-252-7769
