Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

[slydog75]

Well, I just bought my first boat and THEN I found this site. I probably should have done that the other way around, but hopefully I've made a good choice. I picked up a 19' 1987 Wellcraft Classic 190. It's in very good shape appearance wise, especially the upholstery for an older boat. It has a 165hp Mercruiser 3.7L 4 cylinder engine (this thing must have some massive clyinders to get 3.7Ls with only 4 cylinders). There seems to be a problem with the trim switch that I'll have to figure out more details on and fix promptly but otherwise electronics wise it's in fine condition. Any comments on this boat/engine would be appreciated.

Apparently this boat has a somewhat rare cooling system in that the lake/river/ocean water never enters the block. instead it has a closed cooling system that then runs through a sort of radiator that is then cooled by the lake/river/ocean water. The closed cooling side of this system has a small leak in it and the previous owner says he usually has to add a half gallon of water/coolant to it when he goes out. We plan on changing all the gaskets to see if we can fix this but, unless it gets worse, not until the end of this season (I live in Pa). Any comments on this cooling system and/or our plan to run it with the small leak for this season would be appreciated.

We plan on using this for a bit of everything; light fishing, water skiing/tubing/kneeboarding, and just runninng up the river to Pittsburgh for some boat tailgating at Steelers games.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Welcome to iBoats and good luck with your first boat. You will, unfortunately, not find much love here for the Merc 470 motor. I'm an outboard guy so I don't know too much about it but if I were you I'd put a post up in the I/O forum about it and hopefully those guys can give you some tips and tricks to keeping it running well and avoid experiencing some of it's known issues. On a more positive note, Wellcraft has always made a heck of a boat and it sounds like yours was very well maintained. Again good luck but do some research on the Merc 470.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Welcome to iboats.
The 470 (merc 3.7) uses Ford 460 pistons and the 460's head.
As ezmobee mentioned the 470 has a pretty bad reputation around here. You already bought it so dont sweat it, many people here run them and can help you keep it running.
Here is a link that has some info on them.http://www.sterndrives.com/470information/470coolantleakrepair.html

 

[slydog75]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Great, I wish I would have found this forum first! It sounds like a coolant leak is a very common problem on these engines. Well, at least I know what needs fixed now.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Yep. We would have told you to stay away from the Merc 470, Chrysler/Force outboards, and OMC I/O's. But enough of that lets see some pics of your new boat!

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Welcome to iboats! Even though that motor is not one of the most loved ones around here, hopefully you can keep it running good with all of the expert advice on here.

Don't forget to get some training on how to safely operate your boat too! Depending on your state and age you may be required to pass a boating safety class, buy even if you aren't I would highly recommend that you do!

Now, as ezombee said, lets see some pictures!

 

[slmiller1]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Just bought my first one 2 weeks ago and love it!!! It was used 1995 Glastron (19 foot SSV). 115 Evinrude O/B. I've done a few tweaks and have enjoyed it so far.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

I used to have a 1984 Wellcraft sunhatch 196 and it was one good old boat for me. It was an outboard though so no help on your 470, but the hull was a rock that could take a wave better than any 19.5 footer I have ever been on. I wish I still had that boat. Boat tailgating at a Steelers game is the coolest thing I have ever heard, combines my favorite pastime with my favorite football team all in one afternoonWOW. Good luck with your new boat..

 

[slydog75]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Thanks for the info guys. I'll post pics as soon as I actually pick it up and take some!

 

[slydog75]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

As promised here are some pics!

For a few more click here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ajhostetler75/Boat?feat=directlink

I do have another question. As I mentioned in my first post, the 'trim up' switch doesn't work, only the 'trim down', however the tilt switch isn't just a two position switch it will actually move the prop up and down in whatever incriment I want. The thing is, when I move either the trim or tilt switch down it seems to do the EXACT same thing. Is something not working right on here? If it is, it seems redundant to have a tilt and trim if they operate exactly the same. However, if that's how it is then that's good since there would be no reason to bother fixing the 'trim up' since 'tilt up' would do the same thing.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Wow, that boat is in great shape.

I'm not an I/O guy but I think the Tilt Up switch will allow you to moved the drive up all the way up to the trailer position. The trim up switch I think will only allow it to move up to a certain point wherein it would still be in the water. Therefore you'd be correct that you could not bother fixing the trim up switch just be careful when adjusting your trim while under way.

 

[slydog75]

Re: Just bought my first boat/Hello iBoats!

Wow, that boat is in great shape.

I'm not an I/O guy but I think the Tilt Up switch will allow you to moved the drive up all the way up to the trailer position. The trim up switch I think will only allow it to move up to a certain point wherein it would still be in the water. Therefore you'd be correct that you could not bother fixing the trim up switch just be careful when adjusting your trim while under way.

Ahh ok, so if it were working the trim up would cut out before the prop was raised too high.