Surfdancer
09-07-2008, 09:18 PM
After picking up a project boat (an old fiberglass Starcraft American 18 1976 model), and rounding up various intact bits and pieces, I finally got her in the water today for her maiden voyage.
The boat has an older Mercruiser 888 (A Ford 302, with big valve 351 heads, cam, and a 2 bbl carb). The previous owner had neglected to completely drain the engine and some water was still up in one of the heads - it heaved a freeze plug and cracked. The other head and the block are okay, but I couldn't find a deal on the right head so it sat a while.
I got a very good deal on a rebuilt engine. The previous engine owner decided not to repower his boat after extensive structural damage was found. The engine had sat in his garage, sealed on a pallet, for almost a year and a half until his daughter put it on Ebay for him. Since shipping an 800 lb engine is so costly, they dropped the reserve, sent me a second chance notice and offered it to me for $350. A buddy of mine lived nearby and was moving to Charleston, so I sent him a Paypal for $100 to haul it up here. By the time I bought a few items, I basically repowered this project boat for about $500.
I cleaned and painted the engine exterior and bolted my good parts (carb, distributor, exhaust, valve covers, bell housing, etc) onto it, dropped it in the hull, got her all hooked up, primed and timed, etc.
The wiring was a rats nest when I got the boat. I took care of that, starting with rewiring the hydraulic trim / tilt motor relays to the controls on the throttle / shift control handle, adding an oil pressure gauge, and tying the remaining wires together into a harness which wouldn't self destruct from chafing! I took care of that while the engine was out, as well as a good cleaning (and painting) of the bilge area.
I've been messing with this boat for nearly 6 months (between work hours, riding, and honey do's, I haven't had much time to work on it).
So, she finally got splashed today. I took her to lake Moultrie and dodged stumps in the low water until I finally got into the deep water.
After burning some engine paint off the exhaust, she ran sorta rough. She would stall shortly after planing off. I let her cool a bit, then opened up and reset the carb float height and that took care of that. I guess the jets in the rear of the fuel bowl would suck air when the bow dropped on plane.
One of the valve covers leaked a little, so I snugged up the bolts, and it seemed to take care of the burnt oil smell very quickly. Check!
So, after about a half hour of varying the throttle between 700 and 2800 rpm, I felt she was ready to run a touch faster.
I pushed the throttle forward and she took off. I wasn't measuring speed, but she seemed to be skimming along effortlessly around 40+ mph. I backed her off when the engine water temperature started climbing (I sold when she hit about 170 F - 145 to 150 is normal for this engine and drive).
Prior to the sea trial, I had taken apart the drive leg and checked the water pump. The impeller and housing appeared okay - the rubber impeller was not worn or cracked, so I put her back in and pumped the drive up with fresh lower unit lube. I guess I was wrong and will pull the drive and rebuild the pickup water pump.
Anyway, I need to get a few bugs out, but so far so good.
This is an el cheapo project boat - I have under $1500 invested in her, including the initial purchase, a new battery and lightweight gear reduction starter, a remanufactured engine, taxes and registration.
It's a relatively ugly hull design - the windshield is so far forward it looks a bit goofy for a bowrider. The boat is very stable, the sides are pretty high (good for child safety and a low CG), handles chop well, and has lots of room in the cockpit. It's actually pretty good sized for an 18 footer - it has seating for 10 (as long as some of them are kids). The boat handles pretty good, but needs some final adjustments (trim tab on the skeg, steering damper friction, etc).
So the project continues... She's a runner right now, but she'll be right next Spring!
No pics, yet...
The boat has an older Mercruiser 888 (A Ford 302, with big valve 351 heads, cam, and a 2 bbl carb). The previous owner had neglected to completely drain the engine and some water was still up in one of the heads - it heaved a freeze plug and cracked. The other head and the block are okay, but I couldn't find a deal on the right head so it sat a while.
I got a very good deal on a rebuilt engine. The previous engine owner decided not to repower his boat after extensive structural damage was found. The engine had sat in his garage, sealed on a pallet, for almost a year and a half until his daughter put it on Ebay for him. Since shipping an 800 lb engine is so costly, they dropped the reserve, sent me a second chance notice and offered it to me for $350. A buddy of mine lived nearby and was moving to Charleston, so I sent him a Paypal for $100 to haul it up here. By the time I bought a few items, I basically repowered this project boat for about $500.
I cleaned and painted the engine exterior and bolted my good parts (carb, distributor, exhaust, valve covers, bell housing, etc) onto it, dropped it in the hull, got her all hooked up, primed and timed, etc.
The wiring was a rats nest when I got the boat. I took care of that, starting with rewiring the hydraulic trim / tilt motor relays to the controls on the throttle / shift control handle, adding an oil pressure gauge, and tying the remaining wires together into a harness which wouldn't self destruct from chafing! I took care of that while the engine was out, as well as a good cleaning (and painting) of the bilge area.
I've been messing with this boat for nearly 6 months (between work hours, riding, and honey do's, I haven't had much time to work on it).
So, she finally got splashed today. I took her to lake Moultrie and dodged stumps in the low water until I finally got into the deep water.
After burning some engine paint off the exhaust, she ran sorta rough. She would stall shortly after planing off. I let her cool a bit, then opened up and reset the carb float height and that took care of that. I guess the jets in the rear of the fuel bowl would suck air when the bow dropped on plane.
One of the valve covers leaked a little, so I snugged up the bolts, and it seemed to take care of the burnt oil smell very quickly. Check!
So, after about a half hour of varying the throttle between 700 and 2800 rpm, I felt she was ready to run a touch faster.
I pushed the throttle forward and she took off. I wasn't measuring speed, but she seemed to be skimming along effortlessly around 40+ mph. I backed her off when the engine water temperature started climbing (I sold when she hit about 170 F - 145 to 150 is normal for this engine and drive).
Prior to the sea trial, I had taken apart the drive leg and checked the water pump. The impeller and housing appeared okay - the rubber impeller was not worn or cracked, so I put her back in and pumped the drive up with fresh lower unit lube. I guess I was wrong and will pull the drive and rebuild the pickup water pump.
Anyway, I need to get a few bugs out, but so far so good.
This is an el cheapo project boat - I have under $1500 invested in her, including the initial purchase, a new battery and lightweight gear reduction starter, a remanufactured engine, taxes and registration.
It's a relatively ugly hull design - the windshield is so far forward it looks a bit goofy for a bowrider. The boat is very stable, the sides are pretty high (good for child safety and a low CG), handles chop well, and has lots of room in the cockpit. It's actually pretty good sized for an 18 footer - it has seating for 10 (as long as some of them are kids). The boat handles pretty good, but needs some final adjustments (trim tab on the skeg, steering damper friction, etc).
So the project continues... She's a runner right now, but she'll be right next Spring!
No pics, yet...