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  1. J

    basic beginner questions about boat trailers (specifically with aluminum boats)

    hello all, I am realizing that I need to start thinking about replacing some parts of my trailer, and I've never really thought about my trailer too much until now. So I have some basic questions, hopefully someone can get me pointed in the right direction! 1) just a general question about...
  2. J

    Avon Valves—what kind? Need an adapter

    Hello all, I recently bought an Avon Supersport S4-60 inflatable. It has a few valves on it, but I can't for the life of me figure out what kind of valves they are. I've bought 2 different foot pumps, and they both came with adapters that said that they fit Avons and neither of them seem to...
  3. J

    new to inboards—a few questions!

    Hello, I recently bought my first boat (1970 starcraft islander, i believe the motor is a pre-alpha mercruiser 165) and I have two questions about I/O engines. (okay, not super recently, but I've been fixing other stuff and haven't had it in the water yet :/) I've really only had outboards up...
  4. J

    Mercruiser MC-1 (pre-alpha): new shift cable? DIY job?

    Hello, I have a mercruiser 165 with a MC-1 (pre alpha) outdrive. I had a mechanic change the bellows, which he did, but then he needed to get a new shift cable. Now he says that the old shift cable was a slightly different style, and he needs to "drill and tap out" part of the outdrive to...
  5. J

    What to do about rusted trailer?

    So, my trailer is really, really rusty, apparently. There was a bunch of tape and cloth around this part of the trailer (P.O.... who knows) but I recently pulled it off and found.... this. The good news, if there is any, is that the trailer "frame" seems to be okay. It's hard to see from...
  6. J

    Need cover help. Mine keeps failing and I have questions!

    Hi all, I could really use some help with boat covers. I really think I'm doing something wrong. I keep buying boat covers, but they fail every single rainstorm. If there's anywhere that the water can accumulate, it will and it drags the whole cover down with it. For a while, I was buying...
  7. J

    Is changing the shifter cable (mercruiser 165) a DIY job?

    I have a mercruiser 165 with a pre-alpha MC1 outdrive. I bought a bellows kit and it came with new bellows and stuff but also a new shift cable. Apparently, these new style shift cables have threaded ends, and I would need to drill a new hole and tap it to accept this shift cable. Is this a...
  8. J

    Is there any good way to swap the trailers on two boats without water?

    I recently discovered that my boat trailer is rusting on the tongue, to the point that I think it needs to be replaced before I tow it at all, anywhere. I was able to just grab a chunk and rip it right out, it was so rusted. I have a pretty good trailer that my donor boat is sitting on, that...
  9. J

    mercruiser 165 closed cooling?putting together a kit from individual components!

    Hi All, I got inspired to add freshwater cooling to my 165 by another post here on iBoats. I looked at new kits, and they are expensive. However, after reading, it looks like the huge expense on these guys is the heat exchanger. I've managed to find a few used heat exchangers on locally...
  10. J

    Please help getting drive off of bell housing! Mercruiser 165/MC-1 drive

    Hi all, I have a mercruiser 165 with a MC-1 Drive. I'm trying to do my first maintenance run?bellows, gimbal bearing, etc. I have watched some videos of how to do it, and it seems like the drive either just comes off or they do this thing where they lift it and then drop it, and the pressure...
  11. J

    Trying to figure out which transom seal/bellows kit fits a Mercruiser 165/MC-1?

    Hi all, I have a Mercruiser 165... can't find the serial number, so I don't know exactly what year it is. I believe that this is the serial number: which I'm reading as 3850817 According to the charts, this puts it as a 1970-1978 Mercruiser GM 165. It's a GM165, so this seems...
  12. J

    Mercruiser 165 leaking... possibly out of outdrive?

    Hi all, I have a new-to-me Mercruiser 165. I've had it out the last few days trying to test things out, etc. Just been backing it into the water on the trailer to check everything! This morning, same deal. Had it backed into the water when I noticed that the bilge was filling up. I...
  13. J

    really stupid question.... got my first i/o and can't figure out how to start it!

    hey.... this is emberassing, but... I've always been an outboard guy, but i recently bought an i/o (1970 starcraft islander with a mercruiser 165 and a MC1 outdrive). The previous owner showed me how to start it, and I was pretty sure he just put the key in, turned on the battery, and turned...
  14. J

    Looking for information on Mercruiser 165 with MC1 outdrive

    Hi, I recently found out (thanks to iBoats) that I have a mercruiser 165 with a MC1 outdrive. I don't know anything about these motors, and was hoping for general information. In particular, I'm wondering: 1) are these reliable? I hear that mercruisers are great motors, but I usually hear...
  15. J

    what motor do I have?

    Hi all, Recently got a new boat (1970 starcraft islander) and I now realize that I have no idea what motor/outdrive is in it. Any help or information would be very much appreciated! Resources, pros/cons, things to do, look out for, etc. thanks!!
  16. J

    Looking for ideas on what to do with doghouse (for fishing!)

    Hi all, Just bought my first ever i/o boat (starcraft!). No photos yet, picking it up later this week. But this also means I'm going to have my first doghouse.... and fisherpeople with ideas on how to utilize that space, the flat surface on top of the doghouse? I've seen people put bait...
  17. J

    first i/o... what do I need to check before the first time in the water?

    Hi all! I just bought (well, in the process of buying.... pick it up next week!) my first boat with an i/o powerplant (1970 starcraft islander). Would like to take it in the lake and just test drive it, get the hang of the controls, etc. However, as this is my first i/o, I have some...
  18. J

    what is the minimum HP I would need to power a 21 foot aluminum boat?

    I am thinking about buying a 21 foot starcraft chieftain, but it doesn't have an outboard and I don't know that I want to drop thousands on a new outboard. I spend most of my time in a bay where they chop only gets to like 1 foot max. I usually use a 17ft lone star riviera with a 20hp and...
  19. J

    stupid question... where does everyone get their rivets?

    Sorry for the dumb question (and I hope this is the right forum), but where do you all get your rivets? I am finding myself needing to replace some rivets, and I have a rivet gun, but I ordered some rivets and they just seem so.... small. That is, on my boat, the heads of the rivets are...
  20. J

    Pretty dumb question. Where do you all look for used boats?

    Title says it all! I really only check craigslist, but I'm not having luck looking for what I want. Part of the issue is that you can't really search in a wide area, the listings are all local. Is there some better place to look for used boats? Will take all the websites or whatever I can get...
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