1966 Starcraft Holiday Engine Repower

[Watermann]

I had no idea they did a water sensor bilge pump, it's a very important piece of hardware so to me it seems strange they would trust it's ability to actually come on or go off as it should.

I had to go check that pump out, I have to ask if you read some of the question answers from the company and user reviews?

Was asked if it would come on by a separate switch.

The RM500A pump should only come on when 2" of water cover the sensor. This pump also has a back up feature to indicate if the sensors are dirty or covered with bilge slime.
If the sensors a fouled, the pump will cycle every 2.5 minutes for a second to indicate that the pump needs to be cleaned

First review.

This thing is a POS like others that reviewed it. Minus one day from order date a year ago and it started the cycling on and off! It will do one of two things, drain your battery (possibly leaving your stranded) or burn the pump up! Rule-Mate should be put out out of business! The problem is a simple fix, the test button on the back of the pump is faulty. For some reason it gets stuck and constantly cycles. I decided to cut the automatic sensing power wire and go with the manual power wire only. When my boat sinks due t0 the automatic part being by-passed, I think I will call "Ken Nugent" for compensation!

External floats are 100% bulletproof, here is my preferred method of installing a cartridge pump with float, this one is on a friends 1964 18' IO Holiday, it was in sad shape from a resto done by farm hands.

 

[66Holiday924]

:facepalm: I read around to see what brand was the best. All the opinions that I read, said Rule was the best brand, beyond that I just went with one that was rated for 500 GPH, which is practical for a boat my size, and one that had the auto function. I guess I'm going to use it. IF I decide to dock my boat, I'll replace it with one that has a float switch (tried and tested).

This is why my instinct tells me that for the way I'm using my boat, not even the bilge should be live while trailered. Ilike that set-up for installing the bilge. I was going to let the shop that is installing the engine, install it though. I don't want to have it in their way. How are you making those nice bends in the aluminum?

 

[66Holiday924]

Day 29:

The pictures speak for themselves. It's on its way to the dump in the morning.

 

[Watermann]

I'm sure it'll be fine but so you know. Even the North River work boat I ran in my last job, from the factory had an always on bilge float, from what I understand it's an industry standard. I run my boats with the hot float for the bilge pump and their all trailered as well.

 

[66Holiday924]

Day 30:

Today was a fun day, I took the Tombstone to the dump :violin:. I wish I had taken a video. It would have been the most dramatic video of a glasser meeting its end that I've seen. A machine about the size of a Zamboni pulled it off the trailer and then before I even knew what he was going to do, he just ran it over. It was like the boat wasn't even there. I must have laughed for 10 minutes. The pictures where you don't see a boat, look again, you can kind of make it out. Other than that, I spent a couple hours building primary wires for my dash.

I'm sure it'll be fine but so you know. Even the North River work boat I ran in my last job, from the factory had an always on bilge float, from what I understand it's an industry standard. I run my boats with the hot float for the bilge pump and their all trailered as well.

I've read a lot of places (Boat, U.S., Forums, West Marine, etc.) and I've heard it from the mechanic to do it that way. I'm pretty sure it is industry standard. I understand why it is standard too. In my case though, I know my boat is going to be stored an hour away, where it's not very easy to check on, and it will be stored for a month at a time (hopefully not more) without use. Then when it is used, it will usually be used for the day and put right back into storage. I just don't really see the need to have anything hot in that circumstance. If I end up docking it for the season or something, I will definitely have to have a away for the bilge to be on 100% of the time, for sure... AND it looks like I'll have to get a different bilge pump in that case too.

 

[Watermann]

Hey at least you got some pics of the before and after the glasser met it's doom. The loader that got my old glasser had big steel spiked wheels and I to laughed at the carnage! :lol:

 

[SHSU]

66Holiday924 I am glad you brought up the bilge pump, because I was going to run it all to my front batteries and have a kill switch. Now I think I will do that as well as have an always powered line to my starter battery just in case.

Also, loved the pic on the glasser. Looks like the bulldoze operator has done that a time or two

 

[66Holiday924]

My wife and I just went out to dinner with my parents. My dad was a charter captain for about 10 years he ran perch and walleye charters on Lake Erie. He ran a 27' Sportcraft for a while and then a 32' Baja. The charter boats stayed docked. He said he's had automated bilge pumps on them, and they work awesome. He prefers them. On a side note, something I didn't think about, he advised me to always remove the bilge pump in the winter.

 

[Watermann]

I could see removing the pump if standing water was going to be freezing in the bilge, it could certainly ruin the pump. All I do is disconnect my battery so it won't be hot any longer and of course make sure the boats are inside or covered from the elements so the bilge stays dry.

 

[italianstal27]

We have 2 bilge pumps. 1 is automatic, maybe 25 bucks? the other was the old manual bilge pump from the boat when we bought it. We have the automatic bilge always on, and both pumps can be manually turned on if we need.

In terms of what color wire goes where, your engine comes with a harness. Pull the manual for the engine off boatinfo.no

In the back pages it will have the color diagram for your engine. Use that.

Someone had cut our dash out of the boat while we were doing our rebuild, so we had to start over. Do you see how I terminated the cut portion into that 10 position terminal? I then took a generic mercruiser wire harness from a boat graveyard and ran it to the helm.

-John

 

[66Holiday924]

Day 31:

Installed my new dash. I am pleased with how it turned out! . I ended up going with 5 coats of Helmsman Poly. I got a start on the wiring but I definitely have more to do before it goes to Wisconsin for the engine install.

 

[italianstal27]

The wiring looks nice. Before you start moving the boat around the water, get some corrosion inhibitor and coat ALL your electrical connections Really any brand is fine, just something that will prevent water / salt from sitting on your leads

 

[FIGMO]

That looks nicely laid out 66, looks clean and organized.

 

[66Holiday924]

Did you guys use 5200 or anything when you installed your gas vent and bilge thru-fittings. I'm thinking 4000 might be the way to go for that. I don't know if it's really necessary though.

 

[Watermann]

I use 5200 for everything, it's not as evil as some people make it out to be but yeah not really needed on those thru the hull fittings being so high above the waterline.

 

[66Holiday924]

Days 32 & 33

Got to do some boating this weekend. For me that means work... I had fun anyway, and I got a lot done. I got my Smart tabs fully installed. I went with the Pro-Troller version. I saw a video and it sold me. So, I called Nauticus (the manufacturer) and asked them what I needed to do to upgrade. Long story short, they're based 25 minutes from where I live. I brought them the kit they mailed me, we went through the differences, they modified the parts I had to work for the pro-troller mounts and just charged me for the couple bracket pieces. The guy who helped me, designed them, really nice guy, and staff. So anyway, I have the pro-troller set-up now.

Besides that, I mounted my compass, wired my dash, ran a harness with all my senders and accessory wires in it, and got a start on the heavy wiring for my battery switch. I gutted my Navigation lights and put a new fixture with pigtails in there and got that wired in, I bought a new dome light for the area under my dash, and installed the hour meter from the donor boat.

This is the first thing I've ever wired. I am not an electrician, but I think I did alright. :chuncky:

I ordered the pull switch labels on eBay. It's a 15 year-old girl that sells them. They're for toggle switches but I think they fit my pull switches great.

 

[Watermann]

Hey that's some really nice work you've done. :thumb:

 

[mickyryan]

love the dash

 

[66Holiday924]

I'm thinking about a future project on the boat and I'm wondering exactly how my windshield is fastened. I see it is bolted down when I go under my dash. Is there anything else to it?

 

[Watermann]

The bolts are a T bolt that the head slides into a track on the underside of the WS frame.