Check your pee-hole!
Valeted the toon this morning for an outing on the lake with family and friends.
Everyone seated and I start the Yamaha 150 and immediately check the pee-hole to make sure it’s running and no pee stream...hmmm...shut it down and waited a few seconds and still no pee. Okay...trimmed the motor up and I could feel the hole and it was dry with some mud-like material around it. Trimmed down and still no stream. Two of the marinas boys were watching and asked if there was a problem so I said motor not peeing. One went to get the service Mgr. Bob who promptly came with a paper clip and tried inserting it in the hole...still nothing. Long story short, everyone off the boat so Bob could put the toon on the sling and lift it out. As I was pushing the boat from the finger dock across to where the sling was I lost my balance and took a morning dip! No problem...nice warm water but my prescription glasses went flying into the water. Okay only neck deep here should be easy to spot glasses on the bottom...not. Foot long weeds covered the bottom and each step I took caused major silt to float up. A half hour of searching and no glasses. Meanwhile I hear Bob say “problem solved” over at the sling. Well, that’s good news! Gave up the search on the glasses and and had a nice (but squinty) day on the lake! Luckily, my eyes aren’t that bad. Left me wondering, however, how often that system may get clogged? I never went shallow enough anywhere to draw in muck so I guess my advice is to ALWAYS CHECK THAT PEE-HOLE! Side note: motor has 210 hours on it and this is the first time that happened. And...major thanks to Bob at Winnisquam on Winnipesaukee for the great service with no charge! |
Good that you noticed that.
So at first you could see but not pee? And then you could pee but not see?:D |
It might have been mud dauber wasps making a nest.
If there is enough metal on your glasses frame it may be worth a try with a BF magnet. I have one you can borrow if needed. |
Never thought of wasps...thanks for the magnet offer but I think they’ve gone to Davy Jones Locker! Been 3 years since a checkup anyway so it’s time for new glasses!
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I had the discharge hole plugged once on my Honda... cleared it out and have never had a problem since. Not sure if it was minerals or mud. Fortunately I didn't enjoy the other curriculum you did!:)
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I never had that issue with my motor, but did lose my glasses when I fell off an SUP. I guess a glasses strap would be an appropriate preventive measure when enjoying any watercraft.
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Bingo! I used to use a strap for outdoors...thanks for the reminder!
When I go get new glasses on Monday, I will have another couple of straps! Cheap glasses insurance... |
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After losing my $5-sunglasses while stand up paddle boarding, I drilled a hole, lengthwise, through a wine bottle cork and threaded the sun glass keeper strap through the cork, so my sun glasses will float.
It works just like a foam noodle except it is cork and it actually works pretty good. |
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As for mud and wasps: this area has a small, black, and very nervous wasp called a Spider Wasp. (Small—about ⅝" long). Her job is to find spiders, numb them with a sting, find a hole, lay an egg on the numbed spider, and seal the hole with mud. The numbed spider later becomes a fresh meal for a freshly-hatched baby wasp. :eek2: I watched one trying to lure a spider out onto her web. The wasp's trick was to pluck the web rapidly, to imitate a caught bug. While this trick wasn't working for this particular spider, I was impressed! :look: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ne_2013-2a.jpg > |
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However a little harder to spot and have had this happen once before was a little piece of rotten wood got caught up in one of the (2) the passage ways on its way to the water pump. |
Thanks for the suggestions and wasp info...freakin’ pests!
Found a couple of mice nesting under the hood of my Kubota the other day. Leaving the hood open from now on (tractor under cover)...no privacy for meeses! My wife though if we put a little tape over the peehole, it would deter wasps. Have to remember to pull the tape off before starting though... |
A little off topic now.
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Our local lawnmower repair guy teasingly claims to breed them, claims also that after starting breeding program sales for plug wires and coils have skyrocketed allowing for an early retirement. |
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I was very relieved to read that this wasn't a medical warning of some sort or another!
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likely was those mud wasps.. i've had that happen several times. just poke it outta there and you're good to go.
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On a side note to the peehole incident...Went for my eye exam, which I may not have bothered with for an extended period of time had I not lost my glasses, and the doctor found I have an early onset of eye disease/syndrome.
It’s called Fuch’s (no jokes please :D) Dystrophy and it has to do with cells dying on a tiny layer of the cornea and causing fluid buildup which in turn causes blurred vision. So, they say things happen for a reason...maybe this is one of these examples? Worst case is irreversible damage and best case is a surgical procedure that is usually, successful. Making an appointment with an ophthalmologist soon! Thank you, peehole! |
Getting the toon ready for an evening fishing trip Wednesday afternoon, started the Yamaha and no pee AGAIN!
Definitely, mud wasps doing the dirty deed and had to have the tech come out and pull the shroud to clear the stuff from the rubber pee tube. At least now I know what to do should it happen again. I wonder if spraying a shot of RAID in the tube would deter them? Went out yesterday at 4:30 AM (left the boat docked overnight) and no mud wasp action. There has to be a nest or nests in the building where the toon is stored for valet. When we came in from fishing at noon yesterday the only thing we could muster was a bandaid over the pee hole. That may or may not deter the pesky insects. On a side note, the tech said that the outboard is pumping water even though the pee tube is blocked and that seeing the stream coming out is more of a “piece of mind” thing than the motor not functioning but I still want to see that stream pissing from the motor before I head out. Going to have to devise some sort of plug for that pee hole to insert each time we leave the toon...perhaps with a bright red or orange “flag” attached to act as a reminder to “remove before operating” |
Those are Yamaha Bees, a rare insect that subsists entirely on Yamaha pee holes.
Shoulda bought a Merc--there's currently no natural predator for them. Quote:
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How about a golf tee? Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app |
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Most hardware stores have an assortment of different sized tapered rubber plugs. I needed one for my trim pump and went to the hardware store in the Alton traffic circle and was extremely surprised to find they had the exact same size I dropped in the bilge! If you plug up that hole when not in use, put something on your key ring as a reminder to remove the plug before starting. One of my annual rituals that I do with an outboard motor I have is every spring when I break it out from storage, before I start it up for the first time, is I take a blow gun and pump compressed air through the pee hole for a few seconds to clear it out of anything that might of gotten in there over the winter. Works great for anything you can't reach with a tool, and (IMHO), provides a little more peace of mind...
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Some new wire is soy based, turns out mice love to eat it.
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That brings up another small issue though...our boat is always in the water when we arrive to go out. Even when it’s in its valet rack it’s up near the top of the building so we can’t just go and work on it. We’ll have to wait around for the forklift to pick it up and have them wait a couple minutes while we take a look at the hole from ground level. We could look at it in the water if we went to a sand bar...that’s what I might do this week... |
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Somewhat related but not on a boat, I had purchased some brake lines for a truck a few years back and did not use it all. I had it in a (clean but often used) garage for a few years. Went to see if what I had left over would cover a recent repair, was getting ready to bend it and use it up as it looked fine visually on the outside. Just by chance I took a look to see if it was clean on the inside diameter before installing. Blocked up solid with mud. Had to use a coat hanger and 120 psi of compressed air to get it out. Ended up throwing it away, did not want to take a chance that it could contaminate the brake system with dirt. I was really surprised at just how tight it was packed in there. |
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The rubber tube could never be blown out...I watched the tech as he worked on it and he had to flex the tube with his hands a few times before he could get water to come through. Mud was hard and dry inside the tube. I think the best route right now is to block the hole. |
I wonder if a squirt of wd40 inside the pee hole would help keep them out. When I store my boat (and snowmobiles), I spray the ENTIRE engine compartment down with wd40, and I have NEVER had a problem with mice or any other critters so far... (fingers crossed), and I have been doing it for 30 plus years. I would definitely plug up that hole when not in use. Maybe do both, wd40 and plug up the pee hole.
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Don’t stress
It’s not really a major issue since, as your mechanic said, it’s only a telltale that the water pump is working ok. I’ve had my Honda blocked many times and just use a small steel wire inserted in the hole while the engine is running. Easily clears. It is the wasps. They like all small holes and several times have blocked the opening in my fire extinguisher! Not sure whether or not it would have enough pressure to work in an emergency or not, but best to keep it clear anyway.
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Thanks for the tip.
My 'toon is right there at WoW with ya. Have not noticed a pee problem, but I will keep an eye out.
FWIW, exact same thing happens with small 2 stroke engines. The exhaust port is the size of a pen/pencil and the exact size those wasps like. I had 2 weed whackers die on my one season and before I went out and bought a 3rd I brought mine to the shop and learned $40 later that the ports were plugged. |
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On another note, the little buggers made some mud pies in tiny areas on the metal supports on our pop up canopies we had on the deck this summer. When taking them down yesterday, I noticed the pies and in my haste to put them away, didn’t scrape the mud out...I guess there will be a new crop of the little bastiges next summer when they hatch out of the mud pies. :( |
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