1978 River Ox Restoration Project

[jigngrub]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Doing the motor first makes good sense, and should give you inspiration to do the hull.

... again, was that a warm motor (started and let it run for a few minutes) compression check, or a cold compression check? A warm compression check will be the most accurate.

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Jig,
No, it was not a warm compression check. Read a few mixed opinions on the matter and just decided to do a cold test. Could always go back tomorrow and do another after I run it for a few minutes.
I am looking forward to this whole thing... but I just hope my motivation is not wrongly placed. I truly would love to have a sea-worthy boat next season, as this one is coming to an end.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Yeah, do a warm comp. test and compare the numbers.

Not only will your boat be seaworthy, it'll be like brand new with years of worry free boating ahead of you.

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Jig,
I did the warm comp test this evening. The numbers were all higher than yesterday, but still lead to the same end result. Here are the numbers from 1-6: 138-138-131-131-131-113. So it is obvious that there are some powerhead issues. Also, when I was pulling out the plugs, there were drips of oil on the tip and what also looked like metal shavings, but when I rubbed them in my fingers I couldn't feel them and they disappeared. I'm thinking they may have been tiny air pockets... is that a possibility? Anyhow... let me know what you think about the compression. Thanks for all,

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Yeah, that # 6 looks weak. Ya never know what it's going to be though, could be rings, head gasket, or a small hole in the piston.

Not sure about the oil on the plugs, has your motor been setting up unused for a while?

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Lets hope its nothing too drastic. I'm looking forward to having it off the boat and it being easier to work on. I did notice that the #6 cylinder plug had almost no oil on it and it was the cleanest of all the plugs... not sure what that could mean though. The boat has only been sitting up for about a week and a half.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Hi GF,

If this is the type of inline 6 Mercury O/B, 90HP...you have a cousin to my 140 HP...While it isn't Impossible to rebuild this engine yourself...do some research and see the cost of acquiring the correct set of piston ring compressors you would need, to re-install the piston/rod/crank assembly, plus any other specialty tools you might need...I am making the assumption that it is an inline 6 because of the year you posted as 1982...another suggestion is to post up your findings in the Mercury engine forum, and let the gurus there give you some advice

GT1M

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Lets hope its nothing too drastic. I'm looking forward to having it off the boat and it being easier to work on. I did notice that the #6 cylinder plug had almost no oil on it and it was the cleanest of all the plugs... not sure what that could mean though. The boat has only been sitting up for about a week and a half.

sounds like #6 was running lean. I would suggest looking at the carbs.

 

[69starcraft]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

I'm a little late coming in...but I think you said you had $4k saved?

Plus your about to start down the Baby Adventure (you stated you have time now cause she's only 5 weeks...watch how fast that time disappears )

Unless your boat is extremely sentimental (like my tinny is) I would probably suggest cleaning up and selling your current boat to some other dreamer who isn't about to have a baby

See, when we had our 1st and only son, I got the bright idea to drag home an old 1950's fiberglass boat about a month before he was born...I figured it was a good idea to "have a project" to keep me busy since I would be around the house much more now.....BUT it kinda backfired when the boat became an obsession....My wife does not have fond memories of that boat, as I kept saying "just a few minutes, I'll be right in" while she was holding the screaming spawn....


I was just down in Florida a few weeks ago (a buddy and me went to look/buy sailboat) and while searching CL we saw LOTS of boats similar (center console, ocean fishing) to yours in the $4- $5k range with much newer motors and few issues....

Not trying to be a party pooper Just remembering my combo of baby/boat and the disaster it became....


Cheers

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

the motor sounds like you have some moisture in the gas or carbs which is common in florida. thats what looks like metal bubbles on the spark plugs or you have a week head gasket and no #6 is getting pressure washed. the boat hull can be restored for about 2k like you read so that gives you a guide on the cost but heres the kicker. with your wife being pregnant .....(grats by the way) then personally i would not have fresh poly resin any where near her. if your workshop is joined to the house so the fumes can get into the house then you will need to find another place to do the rebuild and during the wet season working outside is not a real option. i think you have to ask yourself if i bought a boat would i want a cc and what size do i want. then i would go look at new boats and consider what a new boat would sell for in 5 years after warranty runs out and see that as a running cost. check all your options first because when you start the grinding etc you may regret not looking at all the options first. most of the people who rebuild boat are the type of people who enjoy rebuilding things. if i wasnt working on the boat then i would proberly be restoring a car or something else. if you think it would be fun to restore something then cost etc becomes secondary. im looking at your pics of the boat wishing i had been given that for free......its an addiction

 

[emoney]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Hey, Gator. Congrats on the upcoming addition. Nothing, I mean nothing, beats being a father. 'Nuff said.

Not that you even asked for my opinion, but I'm throwing my $.02 in anyway, I reckon. Were it me, and I'm lucky enough to have hindsight (course that means unlucky enough to be old I guess) in similar situation such as this, I'd sell the old boat AND motor and take that $4k and buy a "new-to-me" boat. There are TONS on the market down here. If you haven't looked lately, check you P'cola Craigslist and if they don't have it, search down my ways Tampa or even Ocala (closer to you of course). Lots and lots of guys still out of work, and as depressing as that is, it makes for a good time to be a buyer. That way, you and your wife will be able to enjoy the water that surrounds us before she gets to the point that it's just to uncomfortable to go out. Buy a boat with higher gunwhales and take the baby out next year (both my kids were in a boatseat in infant life jackets, on the water, only months after they came into this world).

Living in Florida and being around boats, you know that ALL OF THEM are projects, so you'll still be able to satisfy that "restoration itch" (should you have it) by prettying up the next one. If you have to rebuild the motor and the hull all the way down to the stringers, at some point it's no longer financially logical unless, of course, this boat has a HUGE sentimental value and then all bets are off. Whatever you decide, of course, is the right decision and I look forward to watching whatever direction that is develop. Good luck.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Well Mr. Gator - From the pictures my take is that you could be in the water yet this afternoon by putting some Marine Tex in the gouges in the bow. Unless you have some hjidden damage the rest is cosmetic - - fuss with or leave alone for now.

As to the engine - - wow! suggestions run from rebuilding the carb to a complete rebuild - - were it mine I would drop the boat in the water and run the heck out of it pretty musch as is and get it well up to operating temp. Then do a decarb to see if that brings up the compression in #6. Post the results back here.

 

[OHfishing]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Thats a geat florida boat, I say go for it

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Well... as of now that 4K is down to 2K... but I have a little breathing room if necessary. We decided to put money into this boat and be confident on the water. The other money has gone to baby. My wife has been really supportive of the whole restoration prep thus far... as she would love a boat as much as I and this one is not the safest on the water. I had thought about just trying to sell this one off and put it towards another boat, but I did not want to buy another boat for 4-5k and end up inheriting someone else's issues that I would have to fix as well. At this point I am excited and motivated about the resto, just anxious about doing it all right. Thanks for the input Dave!

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

I first want to thank all of you for the congrats on our soon-to-be addition! We are extremely excited and can't wait! I have made the decision to start the resto on this River Ox. It is something that I want to do, and feel that I will not regret doing it. Today I started disassembly on the console itself. Was able to remove the throttle, guages, steering wheel, and now just have the steering box, trim switches and other electronics to remove and I can remove the console so it will fit under my garage. I have a friend who is going to be over at the house in the morning to help me out. I hope to have the motor removed and on the stand I built, thanks to dh4winn79 and his instructional thread here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=266008. Hoping it all works out... as I have never removed an outboard though. My plan, if it works out, is to rent an engine hoist or try and borrow one from my wrench heads across the street. I think that would be the best option.
On a side note, the console itself has seen way better days. With something like this, with stress cracks, random drill holes, etc.. is it a situation where I should look for another console, or try and repair this one... I would rather repair it, but I guess that is something I will determine after I get it off of the boat and have a better look at it. Thanks again guys!

If I get the outboard off tomorrow I will be sure and post some pics! Have a great Friday night all, the wife and I are layin up in the bed!

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

consoles are always on cl cheap so once its off you will be able to make a better decision on that. hope the outboard comes off easy tommorow and yes the steering cable can be a pain coming out of the motor

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Well, this was a productive weekend, but was cut short in thanks to hurricane Isaac... Looks like we are going to get a bunch of rain this week so I had to prep the house...
So I had a good friend of mine come over and help me with getting the console off of the boat. Proved priceless after the hours of fighting rusted nuts and bolts and sorting through rotted wiring. Anyways, I will post some pics here after this post. There were a few pics I were able to get of the inside of the hull. Had to stick the camera down in that obnoxious hole of the middle of the console. You can tell how rotted the floor is. The picture is from the middle of the boat facing the bow underneath. To my amazement, it seemed as there is only a bit of foam.. kind of curious if this was a degradation issue or just how it was applied initially.
I wasn't able to get the motor off just yet, as the engine hoist was 70$ for the day... Plus it will be some extra weight to anchor the boat down during this hurricane...

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l140/lonniea1c/Boat Resto 2012/100_2793.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l140/lonniea1c/Boat Resto 2012/100_2799.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l140/lonniea1c/Boat Resto 2012/100_2805.jpg

 

[gatorfan6908]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

In case you were wondering... Just a photo of my dog, Remi. He's a good friend and has been great company during this resto so far.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Re: Staring at this vessel in my yard... Is she worth fixing?

Hi GF,
Just dropping by to send good thoughts and keep you all in our prayers.

Hopefully Isaac is as kind to you guys as he was to us...

Hunker down and be safe.