Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

[guruatbol]

Ok, hi guys I'm new here. I hope to be a member and contribute as I can for a long while. thanks in advance for your help.

Ok, I went out to the boat to get it ready for a quick trip to the local lake on Friday. I lifted what was supposed to be a water proof cover and since I didn't remove the hull plug in the stern, it had about 6-8" of nasty water inside.

The battery is fryed and the alternator is fryed. I am not sure about the starter, will check that in the AM, what else should I look for?

Oh, it is a 91 Invader 190 with a 4.3L Mercruiser. I don't have much marine experience, I have always been the hot rod guy in the neighborhood.

I did check the fluids and saw no water in any of them. I guess I should check the fuel line, I haven't done that yet.

Boy do I feel stupid. Next winter it lives inside.

Mel

 

[danond]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

Before you put it in the lake, change the oil, get it running on muffs and let it idle for 15 mins. Shut it down, check the engine oil again. Make sure it's not milky/coffee colored.

 

[guruatbol]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

Is there a difference in the marine alternators and automotive? I see the starter looks different.

Mel

 

[danond]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

Yes, there's a difference.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

Was that water just in the bilge or up over the floor?

 

[guruatbol]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

The water was about 6" above the floor.

Mel

 

[RoadDick]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

The starter is most likely going to be toast if it isn't already. I had this happen (not as bad as yours) and my starter just got harder and harder for the battery to turn until it wouldn't work at all. I installed a automatic float for my bilge after that.

What other components did the water cover?.

 

[guruatbol]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

The alternator and the reservoir for the steering and the battery were all under water. I decided to get it checked out by the shop since I have almost no boat experience. They are pretty good at rebuilding stuff, so if the starter needs rebuilding they said they could. Also they were the only ones with an alternator in stock. They said they thought they could get it done today so we could be on the water tomorrow.

I hope this doesn't bite into the upholstery budget too badly.

Mel

 

[guruatbol]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

OK, here is the quandary. I have a 1991 Invader 155 HP 4.3L Mercruiser bow rider. Overall the hull is in good condition, the engine seems to rum well when it runs, the seats and vinyl needs replacing and there are lots of loose parts, like windscreen and such. Much of the glass is faded and needs rubbed out. The trailer needs paint. It has new tires, battery, starter, and alternator.

The shop says it needs to have the engine and outdrive pulled and have the cables, fuel system and wiring repaired/replaced. The blower needs new wires and maybe more, we don't know at this point. The Gimble bearing is out as well

It looks like my mistake was a big one!

So I am into this boat for $2900 already and I haven't even had her out on the water. The shop says that it could be 2-3k more to get her up and going. I would still have to recover the seats and other vinyl and tighten up stuff.

I have always been the hot rod guy and am not real boat savvy. Maybe I shouldn't be a boater. Is this adventure worth it? At what point is the money powered into this boat just flushing it down the drain?

I just wanted a good starter boat for the family to take out on the local lake when I am gone on tour. I drive a tour bus and am gone much of the time. I wanted to be able to hook onto this thing and take it for a ride or go fishing when I was off. Boats do much better around here fishing. Is there such a thing as a boat that will fit those desires? Is this the boat to suit those desires?

So far I have to pay the shop for the starter and alternator and bought a new battery for it. I have told them to dig into it to tell me the nasty details; they said they could tell me more Tuesday. All this diagnoses at $70/hr. I will be in South Dakota, Black Hills and Yellowstone during this.

Some advice here. Should I cut and run. Maybe I am making it sound worse than it is.??

Mel

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

Welcome the used boat buyers club! I did what you did, left the plug in and fortunately only got water 3" from the bottom of the pan, so I was lucky. Alot of those parts you can relace yourself, I wasn't a "boat guy" either before I got mine 3 years ago, but after 2 or 3 trips to the boat Dr. @ $100 an hour, I learned to fix stuff myself, in fact, just got done rebulding my 4.3 and it was actually pretty easy, and just had it out and it runs great and starts up all the time now. Just get a Merc (or OMC or Volvo) manual and you should be fine since you are a hot rod guy. A boat is just a hot rod on the water, but a little more finicky, you shouldn't use automotive parts. Oh, and there is no such thing as a waterproof boat cover, water always seems to find a way in!

 

[danond]

Re: Pass the doofus award, and Hi.

I had to come to understand that buying my first boat meant I would probably screw it up. I started with a 16' Lund fishing boat, tore the skag off and shredded the prop. Burnt the impeller and filled it with fuel a few times after leaving the gas cap off the portable gas tank. Mixed the oil wrong and stranded myself more than once.

With my second, I'd figured out how to dock, how to avoid lower-unit-eating stuff in the water and had learned a bit about boating. Did better but still struggled with a few things. Bought it and didn't know it needed carb rebuild, battery, all wiring, steering cables, shift cables, plugs, wires, etc etc. Did all that and had a pretty reliable boat.

Now on my third and am still learning. It's my first I/O. Until I decide to go into debt for $15K+ for a new boat with a warranty, I'll be fixing my own and taking a risk.

PS: Previous owners are idiots.

You don't have that much into your boat yet, do as much as you can yourself, and as a first step, get a repair manual for your engine and drive. You'll save thousands of dollars and have the confidence of knowing what you have vs. depending on others.