1968 18' Offshore Rebuild Project

[pntbtrjllytme]

Hey guys!

Thought Id post up my newest addition The title says 1968 and the plate in the boat says Offshore but if I check online theres no offshore until 1969 so Im not 100% sure of year. But, got this for free from a family member. Needs a complete rebuild. Motor is a Mercruiser 120 supposed to be running fine except the lower unit may be bad. Last time they took it out it would not go into gear but I have yet to confirm that.

Im planning on keeping this pretty much stock but will probably just add a belly tank and possibly a livewell. Will be adding a trolling motor up front and a kicker on the back as well. Looking to turn this into a boat I can use for walleye fishing but also run down riggers off the back for big lake fishing as well. The goal for this year is to get her gutted out and flipped for paint. Have a baby boy on the way due here early October so trying to get on this sooner than later. Looking forward to the build though! The wife wont let me have 2 boats lol so Ill end up selling my 77 16ft SS by the end of this year to fund this project for the most part. Working too much during the week so will only be able to work on this on the weekends but will upload plenty of pics as I go. Happy to have you guys along for the ride!

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Started gutting her out. Have to work this weekend but may try to pull the engine tomorrow after work so Ill be ready to flip and paint. Ran my hand under my gunnel to loosen a bolt that was holding the topper up.. pulled hand out and thought "why is it yellow and moving".. Glad I had gloves on because I had a couple hundred baby spiders on it lol. Ripped glove off and did a quick body check.. Didnt have any on my body otherwise I would have done a little streaking today! You cant really see the spiders in the pic that well because for one, they were very tiny. And also, I sure as heck wasnt getting any closer than I had to for a better pic lol I had gotten close enough once already!

Did find a small area with some cracks.. Already talked to WM about that though so Ill have to patch that up before I paint it. Trailer is also in desperate need of repairs so Ill probably strip and paint that when I do the boat.

Other than that made some good progress! I enjoyed my last build but I think Im more excited for this one considering I have 1 build under my belt so I have a better idea of what to do and how to do it. This boat I feel is better suited for my needs so very excited to get her going.

 

[classiccat]

Congrats!

Oh yeah, i was going to say, check those rib ends when I saw this pic...the entire port outer-chine is creased & pushed down.

^^^ I also Spy a BFH... nice touch! :thumb:

My 18' SS was in the same condition...we're crack brothers! :lol:

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Lol classiccat I wish it werent under such bad conditions! But that BFH was actually in there when I got it. Mine is on the right side But really it wasnt needed because the floors were in such bad shape. 99% of the stuff you see was already in there. This was the easiest (so far) floor removal Ive had to do yet spiders and all.... Carpet literally pulled right up and the floor came up in small chunks without having to remove the rivets (still have to do that).

Done with work had to come in for a 3rd shift weekend :sleeping: So, Im off for a little shut eye then off to pull the engine. MAY try removing the transom today also just to have it out of the way. Borrowing an engine lift from work so figured I could use it to pull the transom as well. Will post pics after!

 

[Watermann]

Ah yeah there she is, glad to see your thread here, those FB goofs irritate me to no end. :lol:

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

:lol::lol: Watermann you gotta admit though it is slightly amusing to see all of the stuff they come up with lol.

But meant to post this sooner just been a rough couple of days. Blew the engine in my Envoy.. Cylinder 6 had 0 compression but brought that to a mechanic will have that done in a couple weeks.. 1800$ :facepalm: Not too bad but that just eats into my boat money. Our baby is due here end of September so I was like there goes my boat paint the wife would never let me do it now.. But she said I can still paint the boat this year so we are still on track!

Anyways, here is the motor removed. Went pretty smooth with the engine hoist I stole from work. As you can see I have a bit of cleaning to do yet.. Planning on removing the transom this weekend hopefully. Never had the time to do it.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah there's always something that comes up when you start to climb out of the hole :lol:

A new baby, man there's some tough work ahead!

 

[bchaney]

Nice work so far. Get as much done as early as possible with the baby on the way. I wish I got more of my projects done before ours came, she's 11 months old now and it's hard to find time to work on the boat with her and other projects/ tasks that come up and are higher priority (house, vehicles, etc). When they are newborns they sleep a lot so you have more time than when they get older but the clock is ticking. Not trying to scare you, having a kid is amazing, so amazing that you'll wish you were done with your projects so you can hang out with them.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Yeah, this is our 2nd one another boy God help us :lol::lol:

But the boat is actually at a buddies house who has 2 other boys. Im thinking that I will probably bring my oldest over there to play and still be able to work on the boat this year yet. I only want to get the transom out and get the bottom painted. The rest will have to wait for next year or MAYBE be able to do a little over this winter but nothing crazy. Whats nice about this boat is Im going to keep it pretty stock. I measured out the bottom I will be putting a belly tank in and putting a trolling motor up front which will be funded by the sale of my other boat. So, very straight forward build and all costs paid for. Even found someone to redo the topper for 100$.

Quick question though I just though of. Should I keep the rotting transom in while I flip it to paint? Dont want to damage the aluminum flipping it with nothing to hold it together. BUT now my engine needs to be fixed itll probably be a few weeks til I can paint now :grumpy:

 

[Watermann]

If you still have your gunnels on the boat then you can flip it without that rotten wood transom in there.

 

[bchaney]

Ah your second? I should be taking advice from you then - you already know the drill. Play date for the kiddo while you work on the boat sounds awesome.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

bchaney well it sounds like a good idea at the moment we will see how that plan actually goes when its time lol.

Watermann I know you put that 4.3 in your chieftain. I found a "donor boat" thats actually in great condition thats listed as having a 3.0. But looking at it Im certain its actually a 1987 4.3 190hp motor along with a working outdrive. Wondering if you see any problems with this working in my boat? Wouldnt mind a little extra power. The weight is roughly 100lbs more than my current motor. May have to mod my stringers a bit in the back to fit it possibly as its wider being a V6 but Im just not sure. Also not sure if the hole in the transom for the outdrive would be any different (moved up or down?) or are they all pretty much the same? If this will work I will be picking it up this Saturday out of Wisconsin.

 

[Watermann]

It's some extra work converting from a 4cyl MC to a V6 in A1, yes new motor mounts and the keyhole just needs to be reshaped at the bottom along with 2 bolt holes moved up. I love the 4.3 L, never want for more grunt in an 18' AL boat. :lol:

Fuel is everyone's big concern but mine gets decent economy since the boat is so light as long as I stay out of the 4bbl that is.

Yeah that's a 4.3 L

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Sweet! Well I just signed papers for it. Picking it up this weekend It is a 1987 19ft Sea Ray Seville. Old motor is going in it and then its going to my buddy. He currently has no boat and just wants to get out on the water and I have no need for a sports boat I just want to fish. The boat actually looks gorgeous and since its fiberglass and 19ft Id assume the trailer will work for my Offshore so may be swapping those as well. Coming from a dealership Id have to assume they bought this for pennies in trade and are trying to make a small profit.. Will have to mod the seville a little but we will make it work for him. Free boat for him and I only paid 700$ for the entire thing which is on HECK of a steal. Will be making the 11 hour round trip this Saturday to pick her up =) The horsepower is one thing but Im also excited to have a motor thats almost 20 years newer than my current one lol.

 

[Watermann]

Nice, you won't regret that upgrade. :thumb: Bet it even has power steering like mine.

I have info in a pdf on the 4.3 I can email you, every dimension measurement there is in a schematic to include the transom assembly.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Yes it does have power steering and yes absolutely that would be very helpful. Ill PM you my info really appreciate that!! I was excited before but this is huge cant wait to get this going!

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Did a little digging into the motor and found out this is actually a Mercruiser 4.3 175HP motor. It has a 2bbl on it not a 4. BUT seeing that it needs a rebuild Im probably just going to buy a new 4bbl intake and carb which should boost it up another 20hp. Looking around online this should cost roughly 500$ I figured I could still rebuild the 2bbl and then sell. I figure if Im going to do this Id like to get a little more power out of it =) But Watermann saw on your post that you may need a different prop and you were possibly looking for a 4 blade prop. Did you get the 4 blade and did it help? Also what pitch?

 

[Watermann]

I've been thinking about doing some upgrades to my 4.3L with an Edelbrock performer AL manifold and AL exhaust manifolds.

Oh hey check your email, I sent you that PDF on the 4.3L.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Been a while since Ive posted any update on this so I thought Id do just that. Found a crack in the cylinder wall from the boat I picked up from Wisconsin but for the price I paid for it I wasnt too surprised. Still got a better trailer, complete outdrive, some parts on the inside I can move to my boat, and also some parts to throw onto a new long block I picked up

I currently have both motors out and have everything Im moving over wiped down and brushed off, dumped in rust remover or cleaner, then hit with a fresh coat of paint. Carb was rebuilt and calibrated, all new gaskets and sealant, grease, and also a new flywheel going on tomorrow as the one from the original motor was chewed up a bit. Tomorrow Ill be putting the new flywheel on and running the motor for the 1st time :joyous:

The plan is to put this motor in the searay I picked up from Wisonsin to run it and complete the break in process and to also work out any bugs I might find. While we do all of this the Offshore will be flipped, stripped, and painted. Come this winter or shortly after the Offshore is painted (along with the trailer) Ill be moving the motor over to it. The searay will be getting my old 1969 motor and Ill just be giving that to my buddy who has been helping me with the build and also with storage. Thats about it for now will post some pics or maybe even a vid of the motor once I get it going! Havent really worked on the Offshore body Ive been too busy with the motor so no progress with that as of yet.

 

[Watermann]

Amazing how so many people neglect to drain their motor before freezing weather and ruin the block because they didn't have an extra half hour in a day to get it done. It seems ambition is not evenly spread among the people :lol:

Sounds like you have a busy boat work schedule ahead, next year though you'll be enjoying all that fruit of of your labor.