New h260 owner with outboard issues

[rcaw]

Greetings,

New h260 owner here. A 99 model. w 9.8 tohatsu

First off thanks to everybody on this site and all the info available. It has been invaluable in our search for a boat.

We have had this boat out about 4 times now and i am having some issues with the outboard. Here are the ones that I can fix: high idle speed, reverse steering issues are real bad. (the boat did not come with a steering link and I will be ordering one this week.) The motor also pops out of reverse at random, (a linkage calibration issue?)

But a couple of questions;

1) Does this boat have an above normal prop walk issue in reverse or is it just me? We did a wonderful dock ramming this morning due to this and my second issue. I am new to this so I don't know what normal is, but, when i get the thing in reverse, the aft of the boat immediately goes to port.

2) On several occasions when I have put the motor in reverse (usually coming into or leaving a dock). I can hear the gear engage and i can see the prop engage but i get no propulsion at all. I seems that the prop is not "grabbing" the water. A whirlpool forms above the prop and I can hear air being sucked down. Some times i can get it to grab by taking it out of gear and putting it back in, but sometimes, like my dock ramming incident this morning, i could not get it "engaged" at all. What's going on here?? Is it me or something with the motor or what? This has happened when starting from a stand still and when moving forward.

Thanks for any help.
Rick C.

 

[Bill Jones]

I can't help you with the mechanical aspects of your problem, but my advice (for what it's worth) regarding backing your or any boat is as follows. The biggest problem I have seen people have is not giving themselves enough room to get steerage of their boat. All sailboats do not want to behave in reverse. Hunters do better than many due to not having full keels. Allow plenty of distance to get the water moving past the rudder and you should have control while backing. It isn't immedidate, you just have to give the boat time to get the speed it needs.

Bill Jones
s/v Wind Dancer

 

[Deucer]

Rick,

Check you cable linkages. I've had to replace both of mine. Made a huge difference. Also, make sure you're not binding up inside the motor. Again, I greased all my connections. Finally, I assume you have a flush out adapter. With the boat on the trailer, connect water to the motor and work through the idle/shifting issues. Much easier than in the water.

As for the cavitation issue, is you outboard a long shaft? The motor may be sitting too high to get a good grip on the water. Not much you can do about that.

I haven't noticed any prop walk on my boat (1998, 9.9 Honda long shaft), but since we have a tiller, I haven't been able to get a connecting rod figured out yet. In light winds, rudder alone is usually enough to maneuver, but add a little wind and it gets dicey. I have to control the tiller, motor and throttle all at the same time. Um...lacking one really long arm.

If it makes you feel any better, my biggest grip about the 260 is it's the hardest boat I've every docked. Rarely is it pretty.

 

[Dennis Kitchen]

With motor not running shift to reverse and observe wether your lock-down works.
Adjust if necessary. Slow down the idle speed. Shifting above idle power causes motor to begin tilting before the reverse hook can latch.
Prop walk is significant in these boats. beginning reverse with a little less power untill you get some way on will help. Prop cavitates especially when rudder is laid over against it.
Takes a lot of power to stop boat as prop is very small. Again, shift to reverse at low idle then crank it open. Practice out in open area untill you get linkage/technique tweaked.
Good luck!

 

[cephius (Dave)]

H260 under power

The H260 is a very difficult boat to maneuver under power. Correct all the known problems (shift link/cavitation) so you can focus on learning its characteristics.

Here are some tips.
1. The way the motor is mounted so far to starboard, being able to direct the thrust is critical. Do get the motor/rudder link installed. (Photo of the cheap one available from Cabela's.) I take it off when sailing, hence the line tied on it.
2. When backing, the wind wants to take the bow. Keep the fresh water tank full and stow your gear to press the bow down.
3. If you have the depth, always keep the center board down. It really aids in preventing the bow from being blown off course when going slow.

 

[Rick Webb]

Cavitation

The exhaust is through the prop and if you are trying to give it more power than necessary you may just be pumping air around the prop which will keep you from moving anywhere at all.

A good exercise will be to set a marker and practice maneuvering at different speeds around it in forward and reverse.

 

[Deucer]

You didn't say if you have a wheel or a tiller. Easy to get a linkage for the wheel...but not for a tiller. I haven't heard back from EZtiller after an initial contact.

Good info on keeping the fresh water tank full. I emptied mine (goodness knows how long the water was in there), but may refill it if the boat handles poorly.

Post what you find. This is a great knowledge base.

 

[soling42]

Actually I really dislike weight in the bow as the boat just plows while sailing. Yes, it'd create a more "solid" platform when docking but the 260/26 will sail(which is the goal) much better with movable rail meat instead of immobile canned meat. An interesting test is to unload EVERYTHING and see if you feel the difference. I assure you that it'll be a different boat under sail.

Docking tips? Keep the CB down, connect the rudder and motor and don't put yourself in a spot where you can't escape from a bad approach. Don't be shy about another attempt if it's going poorly. Nice and slow usually works but the boat will be harder to keep in line if there's any current or wind in which case you'll need to carry a little more speed.

Also be committed and know what the boat will do(so practice). It WILL blow around at slow speeds so allow for windage. When it's a challenging day I'm not shy about gently laying against a piling and using the rub rails until I can get a good line to the dock. Rammage is a whole different thing which should be avoided at all costs so anticipate your boats momentum.

Here's a pic of my earlier motor/rudder link. Cost=$0, project time 30min max. replacement= anytime. Newer version is 1/2"pvc about 24"

It'll come, just keep practicing.
Mike

 

[rcaw]

Thanks for all the feed back, its good to know that the some of the issues i am experiencing are more experience related than mechanicall issues. I am sure continued practice will help a lot.

Just a quick partial update here: I have ordered and started to install a steering link, need to make some adjustments on it but it is working at this point. I also purchased a hydrofoil to mount on the outboard. I have not run with this yet but will post a comment on performance once it gets some use.

The cable linkage for the gear situation has yet to be resolved but i found the problem. The boat has wheel steering, i opened up the top of the pedistal and found that when you shift to reverse, the arm inside is hitting the wheel mechanism and blocking it from shifting all the way into gear. I can shift into reverse solidly with the arm on the motor with no problems. So some adjustments to linkage are in order, i have just not had time yet.

So progress is being made, thanks for the help.
Rick.

 

[soling42]

Deaucers point about cables is right on. I'll add that if you're replacing a cable, do them both and DON'T buy the lower quality cable from west marine(for instance). I think it was Teleflex that sells a crappy production cable(which we all got) and another MUCH better version that you'll thank me for insisting it as the ONLY one to choose. You have to call the company and talk to somebody in parts/engineering to get a good part number for the premium cable.

The head of that pedestal is a witch that you don't want to tackle every year just because you saved $20 on a cheaper cable that'll end up being just that....cheap.

The better cable is like silk and has lasted 3yrs so far. No more shifting/throttle issues and no busted knuckles every year(at least not from that frittzen pedestal). Thank me later

Mike