Hello! And a 1990 Islander 221V

[flyingcow]

Greetings!

I've been lurking around these parts for a couple weeks as I've been narrowing my boat search. I got to take a 221V hardtop out on the water today, and I was very impressed. We will be finalizing the purchase in a day or two. My boating experience has been mostly in an 18.5' center console glass boat with an evinrude, and the ride and control of this Starcraft just blows that away. As with any 25 year old boat, there's some work to be done, but the boat is happy in the water as is, so I can keep it up slowly. There's a couple soft spots on the deck (all in the cockpit, cabin is rock solid), and the headliner of the cabin is getting pretty soft. The boat has a 350 in it (we think rated at 250 hp), and it runs very well.

I have a few questions for you more experienced Stacraft and hopefully sterndrive folks.

1) The original engine was a 4.3. When they changed it to a 350, I'm not sure if they changed the gearing on the outdrive. The thing I noticed was that the boat seemed to top out at about 4400 RPM. In the outboard world, that is pretty low and indicates incorrect prop. Is this true in a sterndrive? Is it prop, gearing, both, or is 4400 pretty good for a 350? Does about 33-34 mph at full throttle. The boat was far enough under our budget that an SEI outdrive wouldn't be too hard to swing.

2) The surveyor I worked with recommended changing the bellows every 5 years. We are at 5 years, and I can see some slight cracking on it, likely UV damage. I'm planning on changing it as soon as I can, but is this something a mechanically inclined person can do relatively easily, or is it best left to a shop? Since the bellows are quite critical in filling a big hole in the back of the boat, I'm inclined to pay someone to do it this time as I get to know the outdrive a little better.

Thanks in advance, and thanks already for the killer information you all have posted here! I'll post pictures once I officially own it.

-pete

 

[g0nef1sshn]

This mob is going to want pics even if they know exactly what you are talking about. Just a heads up. I dont have the answers you seek but still like pictures to help me think about what I dont know.

Welcome to the club also!

 

[flyingcow]

Oh alright alright. I'll take more once I have it home.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

man all i see is dry space! nice looking tin joining the family!

 

[laurentide]

That's a great boat. I'm not an I/O guy so I can't help you there, but those hardtops are excellent for northern lakes. What part of the country are you in?

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome to TinLand, FC.

Nice looking Islander with the rare hardtop. She should fly with the 350. After you make a few runs, post your questions in the Prop forum, they will get you set up right.

 

[flyingcow]

That's a great boat. I'm not an I/O guy so I can't help you there, but those hardtops are excellent for northern lakes. What part of the country are you in?

I'm up in Northern Vermont. I had the boat out on the inland sea of Champlain and through the Gut to the main lake today.

 

[SigSaurP229]

I believe 4500 is about max for an I/O Yes you can change the bellows yourself however it is my understanding there is an alignment tool that you need. You need to do those NOW as in before you put it on the water. Few things will sink a boat quicker than bad bellows. That is one of many reasons I am strictly an outboard guy.

Now for the unfortunate part soft spots on the floor mean rot has started you need to pull it, remove the waterlogged foam underneath replace with new foam and new ply (epoxy sealed). Also inspect the transom as well water intrusion in to bellows can rot a transom.

Good looking Islander.

 

[flyingcow]

I believe 4500 is about max for an I/O Yes you can change the bellows yourself however it is my understanding there is an alignment tool that you need. You need to do those NOW as in before you put it on the water. Few things will sink a boat quicker than bad bellows. That is one of many reasons I am strictly an outboard guy.

Now for the unfortunate part soft spots on the floor mean rot has started you need to pull it, remove the waterlogged foam underneath replace with new foam and new ply (epoxy sealed). Also inspect the transom as well water intrusion in to bellows can rot a transom.

Good looking Islander.

Yeah, I'm expecting to pull the deck in the near future. The transom was done 2 years ago and is sound (WOO!), so at least I don't have to worry about that out of the gate.

I'm going to replace the bellows before it goes back in the water. You're now the fourth person to tell me that, it must be true! I'll try to schedule something soon. Thanks!

 

[laurentide]

I'm up in Northern Vermont. I had the boat out on the inland sea of Champlain and through the Gut to the main lake today.

Awesome! I launch out of Burlington and fish Converse to Willsboro. That islander is perfect for Champlain. You'll get a lot more season out of it than a CC, as you already know

 

[g0nef1sshn]

what are bellows? exhaust at the waterline?

 

[flyingcow]

what are bellows? exhaust at the waterline?

It's the flexible cover around the input shaft to the outdrive. Basically, it keeps the water out from the back of the motor.

 

[dozerII]

Great looking Islander, and welcome to the Starmada. Bellows isn't a bad job, the first time can be a little intimidating. Order up an alignment tool kit from Ebay you will need it if your going to be an I/O owner. If you don't know the history on the lower unit change out the impeller as well it is cheap insurance.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to iboats flyingcow. I sure hope you get that sweet Islander home soon.

On the stern drive set up you'll need to take a look at the gear ratio stamped on the LU to see if it's the right one. At 4400 RPMs it's a bit on the low side but not much with 4800 being red line on a 350. It could be the tach and speedo or both aren't accurate, you'll need to GPS it. The 350 has a few different variations depending on the year and how the fuel is delivered for the HP. A 4bbl 350 of the 1990 era would most likely be 260HP.

Something isn't right on the bellows info, at 5 years old now but the transom was replaced 2 years ago? You have to tear down the whole stern drive and transom assembly to replace the transom wood so I can't imagine someone putting old bellows back on and normally they get ruined removing them. My guess would be that when they did the motor swap they replaced the transom and bellows.

With a few special tools it's a pretty straight forward job replacing the bellows.

 

[flyingcow]

:welcome: to iboats flyingcow. I sure hope you get that sweet Islander home soon.

On the stern drive set up you'll need to take a look at the gear ratio stamped on the LU to see if it's the right one. At 4400 RPMs it's a bit on the low side but not much with 4800 being red line on a 350. It could be the tach and speedo or both aren't accurate, you'll need to GPS it. The 350 has a few different variations depending on the year and how the fuel is delivered for the HP. A 4bbl 350 of the 1990 era would most likely be 260HP.

Something isn't right on the bellows info, at 5 years old now but the transom was replaced 2 years ago? You have to tear down the whole stern drive and transom assembly to replace the transom wood so I can't imagine someone putting old bellows back on and normally they get ruined removing them. My guess would be that when they did the motor swap they replaced the transom and bellows.

With a few special tools it's a pretty straight forward job replacing the bellows.

That's a good point. I'll talk to the seller and see. He remembers doing the bellows 5 years ago, but didn't mention it when they did the transom. Should I be concerned that there are small cracks developing in it? They look kind of like dry rot or UV damage.

 

[Watermann]

Sounds like they didn't seal up the wood very well which causes those surface cracks in the exposed outer ply. You might be able to seal it up and halt that process but it doesn't sound like it's rotten or compromised at this point but to know for sure some pics of it would help.

 

[dozerII]

If the boat has been stored with the outdrive up, as most unknowing I/O owners do, the sun can get at the bellows and cause them to dry and crack. As you say they are showing this kind of damage I wouldn't chance it.

 

[flyingcow]

Sounds like they didn't seal up the wood very well which causes those surface cracks in the exposed outer ply. You might be able to seal it up and halt that process but it doesn't sound like it's rotten or compromised at this point but to know for sure some pics of it would help.

I'm sorry, I didn't explain it well. The wood is looking great. Its the bellows that are showing some cracking. The outdrive was definitely stored in the up position. I saw it before it was dewinterized. I think we will change it out and re-start the clock on it. Thanks so much for all your help!

 

[flyingcow]

So I took delivery of the boat today. It's at a local shop to do the bellows and trailer work. I want to dive in to the outdrive, but I want to get a little more time learning the boat before I start disassembling. I noticed some things that might explain why it was running so slow. The outdrive is the 1.81 from the original 4.3. So the motor is spinning a bit faster than it needs to be. Once I get the boat back and in the water, I'll take a look at the throttle linkage to make sure I can get to WOT. I should have been on the high side of RPM's if the gearing was the only thing going on. Once I get this part figured out, I'll look deeper into the prop itself.

 

[flyingcow]

And I promised you more pictures now that we own it... so here we go.