"Fat Bass" wrote in message
...
A friend has an older mercruiser outboard fitted with a jet drive. He
eventually gets weeds stuck in the intake causing bad performance,
bogging... yadda yadda... I've heard of weed rakes.. but cant find any
such
animal online.... any help is appreciated!


This is obviously a Merc Sportjet.

He should not up rev with a clogged intake
grate as the cavitation effect will overrev his
motor shortening its life and also put burn spots
on his impeller edges, shortening the impeller life
(if aluminum - this doesn't apply to stainless
impellers as much.)

All outboard jets will suck a intake full of weeds
if run at low rpm in a weedy environment for any
amount of time. The owner should clean his intake
grates ***before** applying hole shot throttle
or risk over rev and impeller damage. This is
just a fact of life with jet outboards. They don't
love weeds at low RPM. When on plane the
pad usually sweeps the weeds under the shoe
fast enough that I seldom pick up weed
running at speed even in shallows. If he is
pulling weeds when on plane then his intake
shoe is probably too deep (a common mistake
when dealers mount jet outboards). The shoe
toe should be even with or VERY slightly below
the bottom on the transom on a 8 Deg or less
deadrise hull. Where it goes on a deep V
bottom is anyones guess - I would use a
hydraulic jackplate on a deep V to optimize
performance.

I run the Kennebec River in Maine and use
a three pronged garden weeder installed on
a six foot pole. Raise the motor and rake the
crap off before you go. Vary rarely do I have
to get out to deweed.

Alternatively I use a kicker with rock guard
mounted on a Garelick lift or my electric troller
to move around at low speeds. This saves the
115 engine and also eliminates the weed pickup
problem. Just drop the jet in a relatively weed free
spot for your hole shot, fire it and immediately go.

Mudfish
Kennebecriverguide.com