Can anyone "date" my boat?

[adamtwentyone]

First of all I would like to say great forum, found it very helpful so far.
I'm relatively new to boats, done some RIB'ing.
Got myself a project for over winter, a Chris Craft Scorpion 186, basically a bare hull, bought a Volvo Penta Aquamatic 200 leg to go with it and power-wise, so far I'm thinking a 200HP Nissan V6 (cheap, reliable and compact), thoughts on this welcome.
My first question is - can anyone date my boat from this picture?
Browsing the web I haven't found anything like it.
And before anyone answers, no, I'm not looking for someone to take her out for a slap-up meal and drinks!

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Look on your stern and find your Hull ID#. Using that you should be able to look it up.

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

appears to be a 1984 model
not so sure a Nissan motor would work with a Volvo penta drive.

any ways welcome to iboats- i am sure you will find your answers.

 

[adamtwentyone]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Thanks guys. The boats at a mates house for the time-being so I'll have a look tomorrow, do a check on it and post an update. How do you mean the Nissan engine won't work? I know I'll need some sort of adapter making up to mate the bell-housing to the drives input, I'm ready for that because I'm not keen on forking out for, or maintaining, a proper marine engine. Or do you mean the RPM, torque, etc won't match up?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Welcome to iboats

If (and you should) you have the Hull Identification number which is stamped or casted into the transom on the outside near the upper corner....

The first three letters should be CCB or CIT and the last two digits are the year of manufacture.

I would consider only marine engines that have been previously used. I was not (am not) aware if Nissan made any engines for marine use other than outboards. Now a nice 5.0 Liter Ford motor was used at one time with that volvo drive and I know parts are available

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Unless you are a fabricator by trade and work with stainless steel a lot, I don't know where you would get marine manifolds for a Nissan engine...

with enough money and time, anything is possible.

whether or not any insurance company would cover a boat with a car engine is another thing

 

[adamtwentyone]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Bear in mind guys that I'm in England, performance marine parts are scarce, and/or ridiculously expensive and I don't have a great deal of money to spend on this project. I have cosidered the BMW 4.4V8 but I'm a bit worried about over-stressing the old drive! There aren't many lakes left without a 10MPH limit, private ones are costly so I'm planning on using it at sea where you don't need insurance etc. (I'm 2mins away from a public slipway)
I've looked into the safety concerns in marinising a car engine, mainly eliminating possible causes of sparks, flame arrestors and bilge blowers.
As for exhaust cooling, as you say, I'm sure it can be overcome. My first thought is lots of copper water pipe wrapped around the manifolds and plumbed into a very good cooling system, closed loop of course, and heat shielded. no doubt it will take some experimenting but hey, thats half the fun.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

My first thought is lots of copper water pipe wrapped around the manifolds and plumbed into a very good cooling system, closed loop of course, and heat shielded. no doubt it will take some experimenting but hey, thats half the fun.

fun to me is hitting waves, but hopefully your second and third thoughts will be based on the experience of others... hang around and do a lot of reading.... you will start to understand better what can be done, and what makes sense to do.

probably the best thread for you to read if you have access to a complete fabrication shop:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=369819

I'm planning on using it at sea where you don't need insurance

sounds like a BP exec., but ok...

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Hey Adam- do not be discouraged. The people on this site are a wealth of info and are trying to point you in the right direction.
B=break
O= out
A= another
T= thousand

not original but true. Good Luck
-Joe

 

[adamtwentyone]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

Well I won't be letting it out to any foreign subsidiaries thats for sure!
Very helpful thread, thanks for the link. Its going to be a project and a half I know, there is alot of thinking to be done before this thing lands on my driveway. By the way, I'm not a fabricator, I'm a plumber, so you see my train of thought! Found a couple of well regarded fab' shops nearby though, one familiar with marine.
Anyhow, got my HIN, seems abit strange to me, what do you guys think?
VBCVR124M83B-183
The boat is a 183 not 186 like I first said so I guess thats the last part part and the other 83 must be the year.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Can anyone "date" my boat?

First of all I would like to say great forum, found it very helpful so far.
I'm relatively new to boats, done some RIB'ing.
Got myself a project for over winter, a Chris Craft Scorpion 186, basically a bare hull, bought a Volvo Penta Aquamatic 200 leg to go with it and power-wise, so far I'm thinking a 200HP Nissan V6 (cheap, reliable and compact), thoughts on this welcome.
My first question is - can anyone date my boat from this picture?
Browsing the web I haven't found anything like it.
And before anyone answers, no, I'm not looking for someone to take her out for a slap-up meal and drinks!

She looks a little old and worn out for my tastes, but if she puts out I might consider dating it!