Paul Arden | Tuesday, 30 August 2022
The Chinese think it’s Year of the Tiger but they are wrong. I knew at the beginning of the year that I was going to have to start replacing my outboard motors. The Honda 4-Stroke 15 was definitely operating beyond its lifespan. I’ve been running it for 8 years and the chaps before me had had it for 10 I believe and they bought it secondhand! Of course I ran it far more in my 8 than in their 10. Finally in March this year it gave up and spat oil everywhere. I took it to my mechanic friend Tay (everyone needs a mechanic friend in life) and he told me to get rid of it and buy a new Yamaha 15, they’re only about 5.5K MYR and so I did. I ran it in just before Dirk arrived and it’s not only nice but important to have the guest’s boat running trouble-free.
Last month I had a real scare. It was Richard’s first day of his trip and we decided to look at some water to the far south of the lake. George and Declan were camping at “Millipede Island” and so we had parked up the Battleship close-by. The fishing was surprisingly unproductive in the South but the afternoon saw some heavy rain, and sandwiched between a couple of storms all afternoon, we were hoping it would clear before the 25km run back to camp. It didn’t.
And so, leaving it to the very last minute to get safely back before nightfall, we zipped tight our waterproofs and proceeded to drive back up the lake into the storm. We had gone no more than about 500 metres and the outboard unceremoniously cut out. Oh shit! The last time this happened down here I was with Chuan, five and a half years before, when the Honda 15 broke its gearbox. This occurred less than 200 metres from where we now floated, in the Bermuda Triangle of Lake Temenggor. At least Chuan and I had planned to camp down here and the next day it took us 12 hours of tows, paddling and more tows to eventually reach Banding Island. I’m sure Chuan still remembers our adventure fondly. And now here I was again, in the far south, without a working motor. But this time no camping gear, no food, and worst of all, no beer!
This wouldn’t do at all and so I took the carburettor apart, replaced the plugs and hit it with a hammer. 500 pulls and a few hits later and it started. Phew. And 100 metres further on it spluttered to a halt again. Some more poking and hammering, another 500 pulls on the chord, and we were heading back up the lake, but this time at 3/4 throttle. I swore that as soon as I had a free window, I would buy a replacement Yamaha 30 for the Rocket and run it in. It’s simply not worth having unreliable gear, especially when guests are counting on it. Sure, shit happens sometimes and it’s also about how you deal with that too, but I figure that the best way to deal with potential headaches is to replace suspect gear with new working gear.
I think I certainly got my money’s worth out of my old 30HP Enduro. Close to 2000 fishing days and many of those days burning 25 litres of fuel. It sunk a bunch of times in heavy storms. I did have a problem with it about 2 months in however. For some reason it wouldn’t run properly. After running it in, it fairly zipped along at 42kmh. And then suddenly top speed was only 17kmh and the boat wouldn’t plane.
I took it to my mechanic mate at the Gerik workshop who couldn’t find anything amiss (while driving it in a bucket in the road). Warranties don’t really apply here in Malaysia but I made some calls anyway and was sent to a marine service shop in Klang near KL. Quite a mission to get down there in my old Trooper. First I had to climb up the Staircase from Hell with the motor under my arms and then drive 5.5hrs through the night to be there at 8am when they opened. They had a look at it and told me I needed a different prop. WTF? I said, “WTF?” “Wrong pitch” apparently. I knew this was BS of course but he said he was right. So 5.5hrs back to Banding. Down the Staircase from Hell. 1 minute driving the boat around. Back up the Staircase from Hell and 5.5hrs back to Klang. “It’s not the prop”.
So they put a tachometer on the motor, which they should have done first time, and found yes I was right and there was a problem. However because someone had already looked at the motor it wasn’t under warranty and it was going to cost 850MYR for new gaskets plus an unknown amount for work but probably a lot. This was basically their way of saying FU. And so I said FU back to them and headed off back to Gerik. I rang my mate Tay the Mechanic and told him the story. Tay gave me the name of another back street mechanic in Kuala Kangsar whom he could recommend.
Now let me tell you something about backstreet mechanics in Malaysia. These guys know their shit! They fix things. They modify things. And believe me when I say I’ve had a lot of things fixed and modified here in Malaysia! One hour later, after working through the motor, they discovered that the timing was out. Two new spark plugs, one hour of work and I was charged 80MYR (17USD). I tried to pay more but they wouldn’t allow it. And for the next five years it ran and it ran and it ran. And then it stopped.
I’ll end up replacing the Battleship motor too at some point and preferably quite soon. It’s 85HP, loud and thirsty. I would like 115, 4-stroke, quiet and economical. That’s going to cost me a few bob I’m sure. But I figure we have about 5 more years here and so better to replace sooner rather than later to get maximum use out of it.
Please don’t, don’t, don’t get me started on thruster motors! But just one small question. Why is it not possible to make an electric thruster motor than runs for more that a year without problems? Is it really that difficult? Can they only last 12 months? Maybe trying to make them waterproof would be a good start!
OK busy week for me. Zoom casting lessons and Voice Overs. Finally this week the TV series will be complete. I’m not heading back to the UK this month. Flights are £2400 pp return. That’s ridiculous. If you fancy a trip out here then please get in touch. Fishing is looking good right now.
Cheers, Paul
Todays POD: the latest in throttle extensions (can also be used as a net handle).