Help identifying my 1987 Sylvan 14ft boat.

[mikeyk101]

I just bought this boat last year and it is the first boat I have ever owned. It is the perfect size for our local lake. I am having a hard time identifying the model. I have researched like crazy all over the internet and have come up empty. Like the title says, it's a 1987 14ft and it has a 1987 Johnson 48 SPL outboard but that is about all I know. I have seen pictures of Sylvan Sportsters and it appears to be very similar but that model doesnt seem to have been made in 14ft. All the info I have been able to find for 14ft have been fishing or jon boats but nothing for open bows like this. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[roscoe]

According to the NADA site, they did make a 14' sportster in 1987




https://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/1987/Sylvan-Ind

 

[mikeyk101]

Aha! That must be it then. Thanks. Would you agree with me that it looks just like a sportster?

 

[roscoe]

yes, just like a Starcraft SS

The 14' and 15' models were low production models and only made them a few years.

The model number should also be on the USCG capacity plate

 

[roffey]

Do you have a serial number for the hull?

 

[mikeyk101]

yes, just like a Starcraft SS

The 14' and 15' models were low production models and only made them a few years.

The model number should also be on the USCG capacity plate

I do remember seeing that plate but dont remember it mentioning a model. IIRC, it only mentioned capacity and that a max motor size of 60hp. The boat is not accessible right now but I may be able to take a look at it next weekend. Thanks.

 

[mikeyk101]

Do you have a serial number for the hull?

Yes I do. Not sure if it's ok to post it on a public forum though. I dont mind doing that via PM's if that would help.

 

[jbcurt00]

The HIN will confirm its a 1987, which then helps narrow the search for 14ft open bows.....

If it is an 87, it has a HIN, not a serial#

Run the HIN thru the search:

www.hindecoder.com

 

[mikeyk101]

I ran it through Hindecoder. It came up as a good HIN number. It is definitely a 1987 Sylvan made in March of 87 and a certification date of 7.

 

[ahicks]

If you haven't already, I would need to measure that boat to make sure its not a 16'.

 

[roffey]

I ran it through Hindecoder. It came up as a good HIN number. It is definitely a 1987 Sylvan made in March of 87 and a certification date of 7.

So your good to go. Enjoy, sounds like a nice fishing boat. 48hp motor should make it clip right along. I bet it will be fun boat. FYI a 16 foot boat is better than 14, size maters, lol. The boat will be more stable and will plane out better with the 48hp motor.

 

[mikeyk101]

I will remeasure it but it was sold to me as a 14ft and had current Wisconsin registration listing it as a 14 footer that I transferred to my name.

It so far has been a fun little boat. It runs great both with a little throttle as well as WOT. I have had it running along at around 33mph shown by both the speedo and GPS. I just have to sort out the idle. It doesnt idle well at all and keeps dying out. I have the factory service manual and did try the link and sync last summer. I will give that a shot again when the weather gets better and have 2 carb rebuild kits that I think will help make a difference. At least with having the factory service manual, I will have a pretty good handle on solving it. I have a tach that I am adding to the dash and that should help diagnising the idle as well. I picked up the extra wiring harness to do this so it should be a breeze. I have also read that rebulding the water pump is a good preventive maintenance item and have the rebuild kit for that as well. It will also give me more experience in servicing this outboard. I have a lot of experience working on cars and motorcycles so I dont expect to run into any serious issues I can't work through. Thanks for the help!

 

[roffey]

Make sure you run with high test gas. Regular gas will make it idle rough if at all. Motors like you have don't like ethanol or at least the Canadian blend of regular gas. When I mentioned the 14 vs. 16 foot I was not saying you boat is 16 just that 16 would be preferable but it is what it is and a measuring tape will be the final fact, lol.

 

[mikeyk101]

Did you do a compression test? One low cylinder can make for hard starting and poor idling. I don't buy a 2-stroke anything without doing a compression test.

I have a compression tester and that was going to be one of the first things I did when I get started. Thanks for bringing that up. It was a good deal and I didnt want to pass it up. And I love to tinker. From what I have seen and read so far, the 48 SPL are supposed to be easy to work on. We will see...