Recent content by mr 88

  1. M

    Mid 2000's Sea Ray 320 Ride

    Your in the 1 mpg club ,not to be confused with the mile high club , regardless of tab position. Stuffing the bow in rough water may actually improve your "fuel milage ", by fractions on the dollar at the pump . It's something you don't dwell on when you're in the " club " .
  2. M

    Mid 2000's Sea Ray 320 Ride

    Pretty sure with the V drive , all your weight( engines ) is in the stern . A straight inboard will have engines more midship . So in your case the boat will be stern heavy and bow light . Trim tabs , which are on that boat , will trim the bow down . So we don't know in the video you watched how...
  3. M

    2002 Four Winns 348 Vista

    Have you ever used a moisture meter ? Have you ever taken a hammer and tapped a transom or stringers ? Have you ever removed screws from a transom or stringers and used a pick to see if you have dry shavings . If the boat cost more than 10-15 K , I highly recommend a survey , after you've taken...
  4. M

    2002 Four Winns 348 Vista

    Yes , punched in your info , and a bunch of info came up. Just looked at one " site " and a layout along with the hull lay-up info were shown . Moisture meters for a boat are a crap shoot , unless you absolutely know how to use them . Example, boat recently pulled and bottom paint will affect...
  5. M

    2002 Four Winns 348 Vista

    Googling it , shows bed more of a side berth than V berth . Head ,feet and one side are touching something . Enter from one side that is also shorter than the length of the bed . Hull is cored and bottom is solid , so it will be worth it to have it surveyed for a host of reasons , if insuring...
  6. M

    Considering a 22-25ft cabin cruiser. thoughts?

    Grady Whites are over rated , seems like every one built into the mid to early 2000's has bad stringers/ transom and or fuel tank . None of that is cheap to fix . I/Os are terrible for trolling and more importantly they are the weak link in the drive system , always needing attention $$. A...
  7. M

    Building a fishing boat.

    The prop should be matched to the maximum rated RPMs of the motor. Ex , motor rated for 5,000 rpm and all you get is 4,400 which means the motor is working hard , using more fuel and shortening its life . The prop has too much pitch in this instance. You can buy a cheap tach online that'll do...
  8. M

    Building a fishing boat.

    I'd be looking for a 30-40 mid to late 60's Johnson/Evinrude, easy to work on and parts are available. I have not heard one good thing about a Force engine and 50 is too much for a 14' aluminum hull to begin with , unless you've re-enforced the transom with angle braces .
  9. M

    Should I use a kicker when trolling in a 4.3L Mercruiser?

    Not a problem with using the 4.3 all the time . I can't think of one Charter boat on Lake Ontario, USA side , that uses one , I'm sure there's a few . 95% are 305 ,350 ,454 and 502's . And as noted above by Scott D , 5,000 hours is not uncommon on a motor that is serviced on a regular basis ...
  10. M

    Towing friends boat damage

    Last thing I would do if he offered to pay out of pocket, is go through the Insurance company. They don't care who is at fault, at least in NY , and your premiums will go up
  11. M

    Where are the shutoff valves?

    I have never seen a fresh water shut off valve , in-line or elsewhere . Boats I have worked on ,owned or looked at include , Hatteras ,Tiara , Boston Whaler , Pursuit , Luhrs , Wellcraft ,Stamas ,Sea Ray ,Chris Craft , Albermarle , Carolina Classic and even a Bayliner Motor Yacht . No reason...
  12. M

    Where are the shutoff valves?

    Supposed to be self priming , I've had one that wouldn't draw , was never used for a decade , and putting some water in the top got it to work.
  13. M

    Planning for spring tune up

    Personally I would drop a electronic distributor in vs a Petronix set up , which also means a different coil . This will not fail you like a Petronix might ( I've had one let go ,coil ) or the points crapping out . Yes , I know you can adjust the points or put new ones in while at sea . Just the...
  14. M

    Where are the shutoff valves?

    The head may have a macerator pump , which will have a through hull valve , only open when discharging holding tank into the Ocean . AC will have the same set up , basically leave that on , all the time . It's there in case inlet hose lets go , shut it off . Odds are fresh water pump is bone dry...
  15. M

    28' Pontoon with 3.0 Mercruiser Prop

    Cost was not mentioned , and a few hundred more in the boating world is pocket change . Pontoon slipped next to me does 55 mph. Not bad for a " barge " is it ? Yep , he runs a SS prop , told me he gained a few mph over aluminum as the mfg can do more tweaking with a SS prop over aluminum . And...
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