Speed

 

A small problem occurred when we were traveling south, the speed readout went to zero. The goose has a speed meter that is mounted in the bottom of the boat and it uses a little paddle wheel to pick-up the movement of the water as it flows past the boat. Occasionally the wheel will pick up some debris and stick. (especially when your boat is stuck on a sand bar and you have to use full reverse to pull yourself off). When this happens it’s necessary to take the unit out of the bottom of the boat and clean it (spin it with your finger) then put it back. The only problem with doing this is it leaves a 1.5 inch hole in the bottom of your boat! (A LOT of water can come in a 1.5 inch hole). So, last year I bought a new type of paddle wheel that has a self closing “flapper” built into the housing. This limits the amount of water that flows into the boat. It made the chore of cleaning the wheel go from a harrowing, water spraying, “OMG were going to sink the boat!” experience into a routine job. Here’s how it’s done.

First you have to remove the rretaning pin that keeps the unit in place.

 

Then, as you pull the paddle wheel out, water starts to floww into the boat.

 

Here's the culprit, just spin the little wheen to clear it of what's got it stuck, Notice the water flowing into the boat?



Finally, push it back into the hole and re-pin it and your done!... What you don't see is that the boat is pitching and rolling a bit that's why I'm hanging on to the floor.