Boat complete Restoration

[Recelect]

So, after reading many of the posts on re-building boats, and seeing all the help everyone gives, I have decided to start my own post for my Rebuilding project.

This is a 1983 19' mercedes boat with a 120 horse Mercrusier engine. I bought it out of a field for pocket change and brought it home. The interior is junk The prop shaft is twisted, and the prop tried to eat a rock, but the rest of the boat is pretty solid.

The first week, I ordered plug wires, oil filter, plugs, fuel filter etc, and did a tune up on the engine. after turning it over for a while, It started and ran... Not well, but it was promising!

I ripped out the old interior and the old carpet and found all but one small section to be in great shape.

I ordered a carb kit, and when it arrived, I opened up the carb to start re-building it. Unfortunitly, I found bad news. inside the carb was alot of rust. The accelerator spring was deteriorating, and the power piston was seized inside of it's cylinder. after some wd-40 and pulling and prying, It finally let go, but I need a new one, and I can't find one. so if anyone knows where I can get a Power Piston let me know. I don't want to order a new carb. Sierra Marine does not have this part and I have had no luck finding it elsewhere.

I am also ready to start building my new seats but need some info on that. I want to do a captains seat on the right side and a bench on the left (I know there are boat terms for this, but I need to get educated on them as well!) will this setup pose some sort of balance issure if there are 3 people on one side and 1 on the other?
In the rear, I want the engine cover to be big enough to allow a small sun deck and on the right side ( same side as the captains chair) have a small step so it is easy to get to the sundeck and to the diving board (if that is what you call it?....) on the left side where the engine cover will meet the bench there will be a lot of open space that I would like to build a cooler into and possible a trash can... my concern here is that the engine will get too warm and cause issues. Will this be a problem? I am not sure how hot these engine really get since they consitantly have cold water flowing through them....

Electrically I am going to re-wire the entire boat. I own an automotive electrical company so this is not an issue. I want everything will be LED for less power draw and I will have a 2 battery system, 1 starting, and 1 auxilary. I have not had huge luck finding LED boat lights for the system so If anyone knows a good place for these, let me know.

Enjoy the pics, I will update more as soon as I get another section done. Right now, it is fiberglass repair epoxy and sand sand sand!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

have you done a compression check on the engine? that's a first thing, before spending another cent.

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

have you done a compression check on the engine? that's a first thing, before spending another cent.

I have not, but I will. I pulled a plug and plugged the hole with my finger on cylinder 1 and it had a good pressure to it, I just havn't checked it with a gauge.

Like I said too, The engine runs, but the carburator was really nasty inside and stuff was not moving correctly, I hope that is why the motor ras not running smooth...

 

[Ride The Lightning]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Hi,

what does power piston mean? I don't get it.

Lars

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

if your referring to the one in the carb it meters fuel. The ones I've seen are next to the power valve, vacuum holds it open. lower vacuum/opens more fuel.

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

if your referring to the one in the carb it meters fuel. The ones I've seen are next to the power valve, vacuum holds it open. lower vacuum/opens more fuel.

I am not sure exactly what it does, but that description sounds correct.... ON the carb re-build sheet it has a picture of it and that is the only reason I know what it is. I just can't find a part number or replacement....

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Electrically I am going to re-wire the entire boat. I own an automotive electrical company so this is not an issue. I want everything will be LED for less power draw and I will have a 2 battery system, 1 starting, and 1 auxilary. I have not had huge luck finding LED boat lights for the system so If anyone knows a good place for these, let me know.

Ayuh,.....
When I started reading that I was Hoping you might be the Answer man for that Question.....

The Best Idea I've come up with for Led lighting in the cockpit is Automotive "Undercar" kits.....
You usually get 2 long tubes,+ 2 short from what I've seen....

I can see stuffing a couple of long 1s along the inside of the gunnel for indirect light,+ a couple short 1s in my bimini for direct light....

Btw,...... Welcome Aboard..............

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Ayuh,.....
When I started reading that I was Hoping you might be the Answer man for that Question.....

The Best Idea I've come up with for Led lighting in the cockpit is Automotive "Undercar" kits.....
You usually get 2 long tubes,+ 2 short from what I've seen....

I can see stuffing a couple of long 1s along the inside of the gunnel for indirect light,+ a couple short 1s in my bimini for direct light....

Btw,...... Welcome Aboard..............

I have access to different lights that I could use for cockpit and cabin lights, and I did finally find navigation lights in LEDs.
There is a company called "On Scene Solutions" that has a pretty rugged strip light that is used in fire apparatus in the compartments and under the body, but they can get pricy. etrailerparts.com has some smoken deals on LED trailer light packages, best I have found thus far.....

 

[jonesg]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Recelect,

you're doing what I'm planning on doing, find something rebuildable .

On the carb piston, I'd talk to a small machine shop and let them have a look at the part, unless its highly specialized they could probably turn you a new peice for cheap.

Or track down the mfger of the carb and try direct.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

I have not, but I will. I pulled a plug and plugged the hole with my finger on cylinder 1 and it had a good pressure to it, I just havn't checked it with a gauge.

Like I said too, The engine runs, but the carburator was really nasty inside and stuff was not moving correctly, I hope that is why the motor ras not running smooth...

I learn something new every day... I will take my finger for the next time I re power one of my boats... LOL! Just kidding..

Dont do anything else with the boat until you know what it takes to fix the motor properly or have the motor running properly. That is the most expensive part of you boat and the part that requires the most maintenance. then you can move to the hull and anywhere else. Last thing you want is to have a restored boat that will need repower. That can be so expensive that it would be better to just buy another boat.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

have you done a compression check on the engine? that's a first thing, before spending another cent.

great advice............I learned the hard way

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

I learn something new every day... I will take my finger for the next time I re power one of my boats... LOL! Just kidding..

Dont do anything else with the boat until you know what it takes to fix the motor properly or have the motor running properly. That is the most expensive part of you boat and the part that requires the most maintenance. then you can move to the hull and anywhere else. Last thing you want is to have a restored boat that will need repower. That can be so expensive that it would be better to just buy another boat.

Ok, I will go get a compression gauge tommorow and check that; and I will take your advice and get the engine running before I do anything else. I will need to wait for another carb to come in. I found another one for $30 that hopefully I can take the parts I need out of. should be here next week. I will let you know how my compression tests and such go....

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Congratulations on your rebuild project, we're all in this together, and love to see others suffering, er, I mean enjoying, fixing up an old boat.

I completely agree with the others about checking the engine first. That can make you re-evaluate whether or not the whole project is worthwhile.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Your project is very similar to my Chris Craft Project. Mine is an 86 with the same engine, but 140 HP. I made sure the engine ran good before I started to tear it apart. I also had to replace the bellows (not fun for the first time).

From what I am finding, ensure your stringers are good, and make double sure your fuel tank does not leak! I found some pinholes in mine.

As for the rear sundeck, I included some photos of mine. You can make something similar to this for a larger deck. As for the ski configuration of the seats you are looking for, I seen many factory boats with it, but I don't know if a balance issue would happen with yours.

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Ok, so I did a compression check,
Cylinder 1 - 120 psi
#2 - 110 psi
#3 - 120 psi
#4 - 75 psi....

obviously # 4 is a problem, what about the rest?

 

[redfury]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

the rest are great, you may have a burnt valve on Number 4 if the piston was giving the previous owner fits from running lean. Do a vacuum gauge check on the engine, that will help pinpoint what is wrong with it based on the fluctuation of the needle on the gauge as far as the mechanical integrity of the motor is concerned. You can find a guide as to what to look for using the vacuum gauge in any Haynes repair manual in the first couple of sections dealing with general knowledge.

Hopefully it's just something with the head and not a scorched cylinder or a broken piston ring.

Oh, and you might have luck looking in your phone book under "carburators" getting help finding that part. Here in MN, we have a place called "the carb shop" and they can pretty much fix any carb out there...it's ALL they do.

 

[oops!]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

hey recelect

if you take thoes compression numbers to the mercruiser i/o forum you will have a gazillion answers to the engine question.....

pay very close attention to the guys that give short sweet answers....

hows the rest of the project comin?...what have you decided about seats?

and have you thought about a small ladder between the top deck and the swim grid?

cheers
oops

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

Hopefully it's just something with the head and not a scorched cylinder or a broken piston ring.

I would think that if it's blown rings, it would cause the compression to drop more than that.

 

[Recelect]

Re: Boat complete Restoration

hey recelect

if you take thoes compression numbers to the mercruiser i/o forum you will have a gazillion answers to the engine question.....

pay very close attention to the guys that give short sweet answers....

hows the rest of the project comin?...what have you decided about seats?

and have you thought about a small ladder between the top deck and the swim grid?

cheers
oops

For seats, I want to do a bench on the port side; I plan on upholstering it myself, but we will see how that goes....
on the starboard side, I want to have either a captains chair on a swival, and behind that, an upholstered top cooler. Above the engine, I want a small sun deck with a step up to it on the starboard side. integrated into the sun deck will be a lid that will lead to a trash can, and other storage on the port side. under the starboard side will be a 12volt electrical panel and batteries. This is my specialty and when it is done, I will post pictures of it.

The area with the wheel, guages, switches etc... is cut up like swiss cheese with holes for gauges, radios, cbs... etc.... I want to do a different setup with new gauges, square switches etc... so I am going to make an aluminum overlay for the entire console that will cover all the old holes and give me a fresh surface to work from. I will probably powdercoat it black to give a nice contrast between the bright white and red.
This is my plan so far, but things change everytime I get to work on it....

I have found that epoxing seems to never end. I do a ton of epoxy repair, think I am done, and a few days later I go back to sand, and find other areas that had something attached at one point and have holes that need to be patched. Hopefully I will do my last bit of epoxiing today and can sand this weekend. I Have interlux topside Boat paint sitting in my basement ready to go and I am so excited to paint it and see that transition! When it is done, it will be bright white and Fire engine Red!

Yesterday, I took apart the non-working tilt trim motor and found it seized up on the inside from gunk. I took it all apart, cleaned it back to a shiny finish, and today I will put it together and see if it works... I have a good feeling that it will.

I found an identical carb needing a re-build and bought it; hoping to pirate the powerpiston and some other parts from it. hopefully it will be here soon and I can get that done and fire up the motor.

as for now, that is all I have as an update. I will be working on it most of the weekend so I should have more to say later!

Keep the tips coming, they are more then helpfull!

 

[Recelect]

Tilt trim Motor

Tilt trim Motor

So the tilt trim motor I have that was not working, is now working. so if you have a tilt trim motor that is not working, you might do what I did before you replace it.

You can buy new brush sets for these, but I did not need one, so i did not buy one!

I opened up the motor and found that the motor was seized inside due to gunk, sand etc.... Once i was able to get everything apart, i cleaned and scrubed the grease and gunk off. i checked all the wires to insue they were in good condition and not shorting out to the motor body.

Once everything was clean, i put it back together, wired it up to a battery and wala! it worked! I didn't spend a dime to repair the issue and it works just as good as new.

of course after I hooked it up to the solinoids, I found a solinoid to be bad, (never ending!) It was clicking but not making a connection so I did the same thing to it as I did the motor. I opened it up and cleaned all the contacts. Problem solved! This was a very easy problem to fix and it saved me some money aswell!

Just thought you all might want to know so you can save some money!