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  1. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Launching was successful today. Ran the boat about 50 miles (per the GPS odometer) up and down the river. Docking was trouble as I'm a noob. Did smack the dock kinda hard due to some mental flatulence and scraped the aluminum rub rail channel enough that I'll need to deburr it later...
  2. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Was successful at launching. Extension and using the right part of the ramp made it more or less easy. Docking was an issue, but that's for my other thread. That said, while it drove around town and up the hill no problem with the extension (did not go down hill with it!), it did make yard...
  3. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Go figure... went ahead and removed the extension tonight when I got home from an afternoon/evening trip. May leave it attached on the way home from the ramp tomorrow since there is a hill I can go up that isn't fast. See how that does.
  4. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    ... and likewise, I found more things in research showing that the extra tongue weight is the issue. No good for long distances, and while I'm geographically close to the ramp, that requires descending a winding hill that BBQ'd my brakes the one time I tried it with the boat. May have to find...
  5. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Yesterday, I tried to dip the boat and failed. (see that thread for details). Part of it was filling up with gas on my way there... and per checks during and after the failed dipping, no more gas leak! Likewise, the gauge does read a full tank as a full tank. So far, so good.
  6. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    I thought fishtailing was more of an issue with tongue weight distribution of the trailer itself... which didn't change since the trailer itself is unchanged. In all the reading I did on extenders, I saw no mention of such being a hazard. If anything, the weight is increased as the lever arm of...
  7. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Well, a trip to a few places in town later, we have this: I went with a 12" extension as I figured that's what my chains (when fully extended) would allow. But it does look a bit loose... I can always choke the chains up with some quick links I grabbed while I was at it. My bunks are longer...
  8. ratdude747

    Will a mercruiser 120 prop fit on an 888 (302)?

    Which is a no-deal since it's not THAT great of a deal. But, the seller now knows what prop he actually has so hopefully one of the many other boaters around here will be interested.
  9. ratdude747

    Will a mercruiser 120 prop fit on an 888 (302)?

    Found a local deal on a recently rebuilt and apparently decent condition mercruiser 120 prop (48-78120-19). Other than having a bit less pitch (19 vs 21), being a bit smaller (14" instead of 14.5"), and having a solid hub (instead of rubber), it's pretty close to what the original (not usable)...
  10. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    I'm a bit weery on hitch extensions due to my and (especially) my wife's lack of trailer driving skill- doesn't that make backing up way harder? That said, I did "accidentally" make my wire lead way too long (a bunch of it is folded in the trailer tube), so it would probably work with such (I...
  11. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    I'm a bit weery on hitch extensions due to my and (especially) my wife's lack of trailer driving skill- doesn't that make backing up way harder? That said, I did "accidentally" make my wire lead way too long (a bunch of it is folded in the trailer tube), so it would probably work with such (I...
  12. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Nix that trailer... they painted over the VIN tag (sticker)... so cannot be titled in Indiana without applying for a new VIN (if that's even doable since the old tag may still be visible if not legible). Forget that. May have found another in Ohio (cheaper but covered in surface rust- still has...
  13. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    The truck's been a project since July 2019... lots of threads about it on another forum. 300 straight 6, but has a shallow 3.08 rear end and AOD transmission (great for fuel economy, but does limit towing capacity a bit). Was a cheap find ($750) that has been a worthwhile project... but boat...
  14. ratdude747

    Process for changing boat trailers?

    Today I tried dipping my boat in the Ohio river... and I found out the city ramp is in fact very shallow at the bottom. So much so, that without pushing my truck (RWD 1984 F150, open diff) too far (past the concrete 4' from the water's edge) I couldn't get enough buoyancy to leave the bunks...
  15. ratdude747

    Bilge pump wiring backwards?

    Unless it's something really old like my 1976 Starcraft where brown is negative and "color" or white is positive. Already ran into this when splicing in a new fuel tank sending unit with the "industry standard" brown positive blue negative wire colors- not a problem for me, but perhaps for...
  16. ratdude747

    Best way to improve a short vintage swim ladder

    On my last outing, we had a bit of a situation where one of our passengers wanted to swim but was unable to get back into the boat due to the woefully short factory swim ladder (1976 Starcraft Montego): I'd like to mitigate this on future outings but would also like to preserve the vintage...
  17. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Got the new sending unit installed. Works great... supposedly there's 1 red sensor every 10mm in this size. I was getting roughly 1/8 increments... so 8 reeds (since empty is no reed). Currently says 1/4 tank... I think it was down to 1/3rd, which in 1/8 increments (plus likely a higher...
  18. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    Was able to finagle the tank forward by loosening the tank straps: Yep, gasket badly failed due to a really poor installation: In addition, the upper range of the sending unit isn't working (stops at 64Ω about 3/4 way up)... so I'm replacing it. Found a deal on a new 5" reed switch...
  19. ratdude747

    1976 888 Fuel Questions

    Per my other thread the lake test was mostly successful. No overheating (maybe got a hair past 150?) and had plenty of power (we didn't go all the way to the redline, too much traffic). I did run some Motor Medic Lead Substitute just to be safe. That said, fuel wise, I'm in a pickle. Bringing...
  20. ratdude747

    1976 Montego 16- The "Free" Puppy

    There was a loose bit of RTV on top of the sending unit that was plugging a disused screw hole. Something I think I messed with like an idiot while pumping the tank out a couple months ago. Wondering if that's the leak? Trying to find a way to get it fixed (or at least improved) for the rest of...
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