1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

[Trident]

Hi,
I recently purchased a 1992 Spectrum 1906. No documentation came with the boat and I'm not getting much help from the previous owner. Does anyone have a manual for this boat or a similiar model?

I have a couple of things of immediate concern. First, I installed a swing away hitch. To do this I jacked the tongue up near its full height. When I did this about eight to 10 gallons of water poured out of one of the three drain holes at the bottom of the transom. On the floor of the boat I found a drain plug but I could not find where it is supposed to go. I figure that if eight to 10 gallons can come out, that much and more could go in if the boat is put into the water. I figure that two of the drains are for the live well and ice chest. My last boat was a 14 foot Starcraft. That boat had a drain hole that you plugged from the inside of the boat. Could it be that the Spectrum is plugged from the outside?

Also, the EZ Loader trailer has a replacement axle. Right now there is 7" between the top of the tire and the fender. I know this is way off from pictures I've seen on the net. EZ has a square tube axle with the spindle welded on top of the tube offseting the center of the tire and making the distance less. If anyone has a 1906 on an EZ Loader is the Axle straight or does it have a drop center? Is the axle mounted above or below the spring?

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

First - a BIG WELCOME!!!!

The manual that you will need is the one for your power plant. The best are the OEM manuals. If your OEM has both a shop or service manual and a parts diagram/list get all. Usually the "owners" manual dosen't tell you much. I don't think much of the after market manuals as they tend to be very general and cover a variety of models. If I want to work on my 110 hp engine I don't want to wade through pages and pages of stuff for the 70 or the 140.

Boat manufacturers don't produce useful manuals as they don't know what kind or size power plant the buyer will choose. Most accessories are dealer installed and may or may not have a manual.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

post pictures of your boat, i have an 89 spectrum.

 

[Trident]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

Here are a couple of photos. The one of the boat was taken before I bought it. I haven't taken any photos since the purchase. Its been raining here the last few days so I can't add any right now. The second photo shows the drains I talked about in the original post.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

There are no manuals to be had. bottom left is the bilge drain that is plugged from outside, the other are the inlet for the livewell pump, and the drain. these boats can hold a lot of water, in the hull. the foam is in the outer sections of the bottom with a large void, down the center, it looks like it was done this way to make building dual console, center consoles, built in tanks, etc, all from the same base hull, just by finishing the interior which ever way. in the picutre, you can see the foam and center cavity, built in tank.

the floor is plywood riveted to the aluminum stringers, and cross members. here's a couple of pics of mine, i bought a distressed hull and stripped it.

 

[Trident]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

Solittle

Thanks. Actually the first thing I did was order the owners manual from Mercury. I'm going to watch for the OEM service manual on ebay, etc. Mercury's prices are high. I paid $28 for the owners manual and then found it on ebay for $12 Buy-it-now.

tashasdaddy

Thanks for the info. I thought it unusual to plug from the outside. I also received an email today from a Spectrum owner I contacted on another site. He said the same thing you did. In my early search for Spectrum info I ran across a couple of your photos somehow, somewhere. I never heard of Spectrum prior to buying this boat. With Spectrum disappearing nearly ten years ago, finding info was difficult. By the way, nice job on rebuilding your boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

the blue fin spectrum, was built in the mid 80' to mid 90's, by a subsiduary of Brunswick (Mercury). they were sold as a complete package, a lot with the Force outboard. mine had the original 50 hp force, which i immediately parted out, only checking compression.

mine now has a 90 Johnson, 45 mph.

 

[Trident]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

My search on the internet found many Spectrum boats with either Chrysler or Force motors. When I bought mine there were two to choose from. The one I bought has a Mariner 125. The other was a year newer but with a Force engine. All of these motors are made within a very short drive from where I am, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chrysler bought a company that made West Bend outboards, located in West Bend, Wisconsin. If I remember right Sears sold West Bend outboards. Brunswick seems to have bought everything in outboards, inboards and boats that they could get their hands on. So West Bend became Chrysler became Force. I have not yet researched the Mariner brand.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

mariner is mercury's most are suppose to be almost identical, as the old johnson/evinrudes. you can get parts for your an mercurypartsexpress.com

 

[Shakin97]

Re: 1992 Spectrum 1906 Need Manual

I thought of looking for the owners manual as well, but to no avail. I also have a 1991 Spectrum 1906. Mine has riveted cross members and I do have 3 leaky rivets that is annoying at most. I get ~ 2-3 gallons of water in an hour in the bilge. To suppress that over the summer I used life caulk around the 3 loose rivets. I too have foam on the outboard areas of the deck with an installed fuel tank amidships. We live outside of Portland, Oregon and frequently take river cruises on it. It cuts through bumpy water (2'-3') chop very nicely. Mine has a 4.3 Liter V6 Mercruiser with an Alpha II outdrive. I think it is propped a little haevy since I can't turn more than 4200 RPMs at WOT. At this RPM I can get the boat up to ~ 42 MPH properly trimmed with 2 adults and 2 kids in the boat. Beyond having to tear the deck up, cutting out the foam and replacing the 3 loose rivets, the boat is a charm to drive and tow. I was reading a bit about some blind rivets that are waterproof, but I heard they are not strong enough. Has anyone tried these before??

Here's some pics of my boat: