Any info would be greatly appreciated on an 16' 1987 seanymph tournament boat

[Gardengal]

Hi all, Boy do I need help. I talked my husband into this fishing boat because I always wanted one like this, and of course the seller "embellished" the condition of the boat. Even threw in a new cover that didn't fit when we tried it on, after we bought it of course. Gee, go figure. And of course, we missed stuff we should have noticed. I've got no power to the running lights or the live wells. That's probably an easy fix. There are no rings or eyes or whatever you would call them, to tie up to the dock anywhere. And of course I don't know what should be there and what's missing because I don't have the foggiest what it looked like new. The deck and carpet is actually pretty new looking although I suspect they are original. Overall, the condition is pretty good, the 70hp Merc runs, don't know how well yet. The trolling motor seems to work okay. The wiring is not in places that will be easy for us to get to because my husband and I are old farts, but we'll find somebody who can. Has anybody got a picture of what this boat should look like? Or a description from somewhere of what equipment it's meant to have? I'm getting "the look" because I got us into this, but I like this little boat. I think it would be fun to fix it up. I think Hubby's biggest gripe is that he's 6'2" and the seat is too close to, and too high for the steering wheel to be a comfortable fit. All I can find on the transom is a plate with the serial number. Isn't there supposed to be a model number, engine size and weight capacity there? I'm only saying tournament because it has that emblem on the side. Thanks for any help, Alicia the garden gal

 

[Gardengal]

Re: Any info would be greatly appreciated on an 16' 1987 seanymph tournament boat

Well, my husband has all the electrical working, lights, bilge pump etc. I got a good work out with Meguire's compound on the paint. The old paint shined up real well, except for the scratches and scrapes, of course. Now we get to go test it out on the nearest lake. The Merc outboard seems to run. It's real rough, and seems prone to vapor lock for some reason. I guess it will have to go somewhere for a going over. sigh. Thought we'd go see how bad it is before we took it in. We can always get back to the dock with the trolling motor. ha ha. Or I could just hook my dog's leash to the bow and throw her tennis ball.... Actually, I think I will work on trading this outboard to somebody for a smaller one. Well, wish me luck, Lake Ho!

 

[Gardengal]

Re: Any info would be greatly appreciated on an 16' 1987 seanymph tournament boat

Wonder of wonders, the motor works pretty well. For whatever reason it has a fuel pickup problem at slower speeds so we have to pump the in-line bulb when it starts to starve. That seems to fix it and it runs like a startled deer at high speeds at which point it seems to get all the fuel it needs. I don't understand that, but we can deal with it until we get everything else done and decide if there is anything else a mechanic needs to know about. For a 1987 outboard it is totally new looking inside the cowl. I'm missing a cowl cover hinge pin, which they no longer make, but it looks like something we can make a version of. All it is, is a flat plate with an "L" shaped pin welded to it and a rubber washer/spacer/grommet sort of thing on the pin to cushion it in the receiver hole. I matched the serial number to the model year. It is a 1987. We've added a bimini because of the sun out here in Arizona, and we are currently looking for a seat pole that is slightly higher than the little short one that came with the boat. Hubby is over 6 feet and he can't work the trolling motor comfortably on such a short seat. Need all new seats. The ones it came with are cheapy seats and the backer boards are broken. The bass seat has no back and it isn't one that is designed with no back, it's just missing. All in all this is a really cool little boat, apparently taken really good care of and everything is coming along nicely. All I need now is to learn how to "catch". Anybody can "fish", it's that "catching" thing that takes talent. . Garden Gal

 

[Gardengal]

Re: Any info would be greatly appreciated on an 16' 1987 seanymph tournament boat

Thanks to the quality of old Sea Nymphs, I think I'm all done with my repairs and the little Sea Nymph is looking good. The motor problem turned out to be carburetor linkage. The boat guy found a home made linkage that someone had put in there and the holes were in the wrong place to sync the carburetors properly. Had to send off for the part because of the motor's age, but we had them rebuild the carburetor's and with the linkage fix it should purr along pretty well. We're still looking for a taller pole for the bass seat but my husband rebuilt the old driver's seat with a steel re-enforced back frame and mounted the pole receiver to it off the broken fishing seat. We got new seats at a reasonable price from Bass Pro, the bimini shade is on, I still need to polish out the paint on the inside of the boat, but the outside looks presentable. We got it registered with fish and game and it now has Arizona boat numbers on it. I still need to add straps to hold the seats in the folded position when towing and one for the forward facing compartment lid above the gas tank which currently flies up when towing. Just minor stuff. Mostly I got lucky. If I'd had to rebuild from the ground up like some of you folks on here I would have been seriously out of my depth, handy husband or not. As it is, the carpet and compartments that make up the decking are all good. I need a better pump for the live well, but this one works although weak. Everything is water tight and it's such a cool looking little boat. Happy boating all, Alicia the GardenGal