im a new owner and have a few questions???

[momosmoomba]

first off im so glad there are these forums for people when there is help needed and a place for guys and gals to have a sense of comradery . i have a 99 boomerang that i came in to this weekend. its a really good looking boat with barely any flaws the 350 indmar and only 297 hours on it. i took it out for the first time yesterday and while im running on the water at a sensible speed the oil pressure is at about 40#'s. a little bit after being ran i noticed that at idle it was running about 1 needle hand over 0#'s. is this normal because the distance the oil has to travel through the sending line to the gauge??? when i got the boat from the guy he took me out in it and the gas hand was on empty. so i figured he was just trying to beat me out of a full tank of gas. so i took it to the gas station before the trip to the lake and filled her up. it only took about 20$ to fill it right almost to the top. i thought the tank would have been bigger cause it said it was only about 7 gallons on the pump. when i got to the lake and lunched it in, i looked down and the fuel only said half a tank... is this normal, could my gauge be going bad?, sending unit bad?, how big are the gas tanks on a 99 boomer???? i was only out for about 2 hours and by the time we loaded up it was on empty. also, when i put the boat in reverse its make a fairly loud whining screaming sound... is that normal?????????? thanks for all the help i receive from the moomba community.

[maxpower220]

The gauges on these boats are known for being all that accurate. I would suggest that you get a mechanical gauge for the oil and test it one day. That way you will know how much pressure there really is. Since the boat is older, you should check all of the electrical connections to see if there is corrosion or loose wires. That could also cause it.
Then, you can live with your gauge and know that it off, or try replacing parts.
I have a 2008 Outback, my boat's gas gauge is not accurate, in fact I have never had a boat (out of 5 inboards) that had a truly accurate gas gauge. Now mine isn't as off as yours, but it doesn't register the last 10 gallons or on E, I have over 10gallons left in the tank. Not sure the size of your tank, probably between 22-31 gallons.

[Razzman]

If i remember the thread correctly on that topic Moomba did that on purpose with the late model boats/gas gauges. This came up last year and it was found out it's a built in "safety margin" that way nobody is left stranded without gas. Mine is exactly the same way as are many others.

[momosmoomba]

i appreciate all the help with my new and hopefully long time toy... the whining noise i was referring to wasnt a noise from the belts... i thinks it is coming from the trans, is this typical. it may be coming from somewhere else but this is the first inboard ive ever owned and i may be over cautious. it only does it in reverse, so im not sure. and im trying to make sure the owner told me correctly but does the inner belly of the boat require it t o have water in it at all times??? he said it was to keep the prop cool, like i said im new so all help is greatly appreciated. thanks.

[maxpower220]

All inboards (that I have driven) whine in the transmission when in reverse. The pitch should get higher/louder the more power you give in reverse. It is pretty normal. If you hear that sound while going forward, you should check your fluid level.

You boat is not required to have water in the bilge (belly). The prop shaft may leak a little (that is considered normal by the manual), but only several (10 or so) drops per minute. Remember, there is a lot of water on the other side of the shaft (on the outside of the boat) that can provide cooling.

[momosmoomba]

thanks so much maxpower. i didnt know if the guy knew what he was talking about or not about the water in the belly. thanks for the answer to the reverse issue and for all you guys helpn on the fuel issue. and thanks moomba.com