i have a 16 hp vanguard longtail on a 14 ft flat. At full speed i'm only traveling walking speed. Should i be going any faster than this? and what would cause my motor to lose power?

God I would hope so!

Not a lot of info here, but my first guess would be one dead cylinder.

Gonna have to give us more info.

Sent by carrier pigeon.

i also notice at times it smokes alot but other times it dont smoke at all. ive ordered new coils for it. will this help? what else would cause it to run on only one cylinder?

The smoke is white but it doesn't always smoke. i have a new air fliter and Ive change the plugs but one keeps fouling out while the other one is fine. i also have a brand new prop. Is there any chance new coils will help?

Do you have a tach? If so what are the rpm's, does it bog out on the bottom or just not make any power? What does it do in/out of the water? Have you tried fresh non ethenol gas?

You're not mixing oil with your gas are you?

No tack and i'm not mixing oil with the gas. new coil should be in monday hopefully that will help.

IF I PULL THE WIRE OFF THE FOULED PARK PLUG THE ENGINE DIES. IF I PULL THE OTHER PLUG OFF THE ENGINE KEEPS RUNNING.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ITS RUNNING ON ONLY ONE CYLINDER AND THATS WHATS CAUSING THE PLUG TO FOUL OUT?

Disconnect the small wire that connects the coils together & see if it still does it.

OK ILL TRY IT. WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN IF IT DOES? BAD COILS ?

That's the diodes. If it's burnt, it kills one cylinder. I need to warn you, with the diodes disconnected, the kill switch & key will not shut off motor. You'll have to either let it run out of fuel or put your hand over the carb & smother it.

Why don't ya try it & let us know how it turns out.

Sent by carrier pigeon.

U can put a zip tie around the sparkplug boot so you have a tether to pull on, thatll kill the motor and not your hand.

Ok i'll try it and thanks

I have a 16hp go devil lt on a weld built 14x42. I weigh 220 and empty with me by myself i gps 17.5. With my 11 yo son with guns ice chest loaded down 15 on gps. Im turning 3400 rpm's


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OK NOW I'VE CHANGED THE COILS AND THE MOTOR RUNS SMOOTH BUT IT STILL DONT HAVE ANY POWER / SPEED. WHEN I PUT THE PROP IN THE WATER IT SOUND LIKE THE MOTOR IS BOGGING DOWN. ANY IDEAS?

OK NOW I'VE CHANGED THE COILS AND THE MOTOR RUNS SMOOTH BUT IT STILL DONT HAVE ANY POWER / SPEED. WHEN I PUT THE PROP IN THE WATER IT SOUND LIKE THE MOTOR IS BOGGING DOWN. ANY IDEAS?

If the motor runs great out of the water, but boggs under a load, it's time to adjust the governor. Very easy. I just did one the other day on a Vanguard vertical motor.

Do all of this with the engine off.
Loosen the 10mm nut on the governor shaft. It may be easier to have a third hand to tighten the nut back up. With the throttle in the idle position, push the governor arm all the way forward, or towards the carburetor, and get a very short flathead, or a flat head apex driver, and turn the governor shaft counter clockwise as far as it will go.

The reason you need help, is cause you're gonna have your right hand pushing on the governor arm, and your left hand turning the governor shaft. Don't expect them to stay put. You need to apply constant pressure on the arm AND the shaft until the nut is tight. Your buddy can tighten the nut back up on the governor shaft. The manual says torque is 70 in-lb on the nut, but I say just tighten it to the point where there's NO way its coming loose. If it does, the motor will scream to redline, and will probably throw a rod. Better make sure your kill switch works.

Good luck. Please write back once you figure out the problem, or at least let me know if the above helped the situation.