Our the first trip out this year on the May long weekend the old Johnson Faststrike packed it in. Turned out to be carb issues and finding new carbs for it would be like winning the lottery so we began the search for a used motor. After a few weeks we found a 20" Etec 150. The mechanic that I use was 3 weeks out and the seller said they could have change-out done with in a week so on June 12 I made the 3 hour drive and dropped it off. Right away 1 week turned into 2 and after 2 weeks I started calling. Left several messages but no return and finally got a reply that they had started. I wait a few days and call to see If I'm going to have my boat for the July long weekend. No return calls and with a week of holidays starting on the 8th I was starting to panic so on the 4th I took the afternoon off and took a drive. Turns out when it came time to install the Etec they discovered that they did not have the lifting lug that wedges into the top of the flywheel to lift it. They had the part ordered but had no idea when they were going to see it. At this point the salesman that I made the deal with, service mgr and the owner were involved and I left them with the understanding that I would be there on the 8th to pick up my boat. Wednesday afternoon I get a text from the salesman that the part had not arrived. Thursday a photo of the motor hanging on my boat. Turns out the salesman made a few calls and went for a 3 hour round trip drive to borrow the tool from a buddy. I'm really happy with the motor but not very happy with the dealer. In the end the salesguy came through but the nuts mounting the controls were loose, the control cables were routed right through where the but of a rod goes on one of the rod holders and they ignored the fact that I had requested they set it up to run the XD100 and it looks like I need a new ignition switch because it keeps spitting the kill switch off when you turn the key off. You can run these things with out the kill switch but when I'm out solo I like to used it. Will never deal with these guys again.
Monday night I looked at the kicker. We run an EZ-Steer and had a bracket that was installed about a foot above the anti-cav plate on both motors for the quick couplers. That was not going to work out based on the shape of the Etec. To solve that I made up a couple brackets to extend the steering arm on the Evinrude and the swivel head on the Merc and mounted the quick couplers to them. Everything looked great until I tried to steer all the way left. I didn't extend the steering arm far enough on the Etec and the EZ-Steer linkage came into contact with the front corner of the motor before we hit the steering stop. I quickly bolted another piece of flatbar to the top of the extension that I had made to move the coupler out enough and all works well now. No interference with tilt or trim on either motor and hope to test it out this weekend chasing some walleye on Erie. Now my biggest problem is deciding whether to go out of Maitland or Burwell.
Monday night I looked at the kicker. We run an EZ-Steer and had a bracket that was installed about a foot above the anti-cav plate on both motors for the quick couplers. That was not going to work out based on the shape of the Etec. To solve that I made up a couple brackets to extend the steering arm on the Evinrude and the swivel head on the Merc and mounted the quick couplers to them. Everything looked great until I tried to steer all the way left. I didn't extend the steering arm far enough on the Etec and the EZ-Steer linkage came into contact with the front corner of the motor before we hit the steering stop. I quickly bolted another piece of flatbar to the top of the extension that I had made to move the coupler out enough and all works well now. No interference with tilt or trim on either motor and hope to test it out this weekend chasing some walleye on Erie. Now my biggest problem is deciding whether to go out of Maitland or Burwell.
