new life in a run down boat

[smittyplugs]

First a proper HELLO is in order.....

I got this boat off Craig's list in the 1st week of July of this year bought the boat with out knowing if the motor was any good the owner said he thinks it had some carb issues..
well i told him if he could start it i will buy it he did not so i offered him less $400 cash as is...He took the offer and home i went with the boat motor and trailer.

the boats a 1988 renkin bow rider in ok shape but in need of a good amount of TLC..


pictures of the boat when i first got her

the motor as my luck would have it was not going to start with out a fight...
took a look in the carbs as a starting point and found a little problem lol....

got the carbs cleaned out and put them back on primed the fuel and she started up first shot..
Video of the event..click picture..

Well thats good news that the motor is not shot now i can really focus on getting the boat running good and looking good....

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

started to clean the boat up and fast forward a few weeks this is what i have with very little money put out other then water pump and some carpet and seats....

video of the motor running after new water pump and service to lower unit
click picture....

 

[reddogg]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Dang nice job man, she's looking and sounding great. Just goes to show ya what a bit of cash and allot of elbow greese can do. Hope you enjoy her for years to come. Only thing I can recomend is judging by the look of the carbs originally you may want to consider a fuel pump rebuild as well. If nothing else I recomend installing a clear glass fuel filter with replaceable elements in a horizontal position under your cowling. This is a great way to let you actually see how well your pumps are pumping and lets you see if any crap is getting past your main fuel/water sepperator/filter. Again, job well dobe

Red

 

[produceguy]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Very nice.

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Dang nice job man, she's looking and sounding great. Just goes to show ya what a bit of cash and allot of elbow greese can do. Hope you enjoy her for years to come. Only thing I can recomend is judging by the look of the carbs originally you may want to consider a fuel pump rebuild as well. If nothing else I recomend installing a clear glass fuel filter with replaceable elements in a horizontal position under your cowling. This is a great way to let you actually see how well your pumps are pumping and lets you see if any crap is getting past your main fuel/water sepperator/filter. Again, job well dobe

Red

Thanks for the kind words...yes i was just thinking today about adding some in-line glass filters and will do so this week...I have yet to take her out yet still trying to get the trailer in order but hope to have it ready this week...

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

some other things i have done to her to make her more dependable....

The water pump was in bad shape and i had to replace everything.....

a little friend in the lower unit

also removed every wire in the boat since the 1st owner had made many many repairs over the years cutting and splicing is never a good fix......

 

[cpubud]

Re: new life in a run down boat

looks like your doing a good job of cleaning it up and checking everything good job so far ,nice looking boat.

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: new life in a run down boat

You did all that in the last 30 days? Somebody knows what he's doing!

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

just when i was thinking i was ready to float the boat i went over it one more time with a fine tooth comb and realized i never tested the motor really at hi rpm for more then a few seconds.Come to find out if i ran the motor more then idle speed the bulb would go soft and motor would bog down.I did some digging around and found a tiny little barb fitting with nothing on it so i started to look for its other end the hose and found it tucked away out of sight.This hose it what keeps the fuel flowing lol hooked it up and cleaned out the carbs one last time and she really runs great hi rpm and low rpm.....Its really mind blowing to me that this boat was a $400 purchase and only took a few dollars to get her ready and up to snuff.......

.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Glad you got her runnin'. It's always the little things. Also, cool to know that thanks to a little curiosity and tinkering you could probably double or triple your money today, if you wanted to. Now let's see her on the water! Congrats!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Its really mind blowing to me that this boat was a $400 purchase and only took a few dollars to get her ready and up to snuff........

That's the beauty of outboards

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Nice job Smitty ..

One question .. How did you fasten those seat bases down ? 4 bolts on such a tight pattern kinda makes me nervous with those peds.

YD.

 

[Outback Jack]

Re: new life in a run down boat

started to clean the boat up and fast forward a few weeks this is what i have with very little money put out other then water pump and some carpet and seats....

Great Job, just curious as to where you bought your carpet. I was thinking about going with snap in but am now leaning towards carpeting it all. What did you use to get the original name and stripe off? Did you repaint the white while you painted the bottom? Was it sprayed on or brushed on?

Cheers Jack

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Great Job, just curious as to where you bought your carpet. I was thinking about going with snap in but am now leaning towards carpeting it all. What did you use to get the original name and stripe off? Did you repaint the white while you painted the bottom? Was it sprayed on or brushed on?

Cheers Jack

Thanks Jack...to answer your questions the carpet i got from home depot indoor outdoor carpet it works well and holds up great in boats they sell it in dark green gray and brown think it was 51 cents a sq ft.
The name and stripes i got off with some carb cleaner on a rag blot it over the stickers let sit then do it again and rub it off works great....
no i did not paint the sides of the boat just the bottom and it was rolled on and brushed....

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Nice job Smitty ..

One question .. How did you fasten those seat bases down ? 4 bolts on such a tight pattern kinda makes me nervous with those peds.

YD.

not a big fan of them bolted like that my self any ideas on a better way?????

 

[Outback Jack]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Thanks Jack...to answer your questions the carpet i got from home depot indoor outdoor carpet it works well and holds up great in boats they sell it in dark green gray and brown think it was 51 cents a sq ft.
The name and stripes i got off with some carb cleaner on a rag blot it over the stickers let sit then do it again and rub it off works great....
no i did not paint the sides of the boat just the bottom and it was rolled on and brushed....

Well I am impressed with how your boat cleaned up. My plan is to do a barrier coat on the bottom then I was going to figure out what to do from there up. Someone resprayed a spot but not with gelcoat. I am hoping after I get at it I can sand off what they sprayed and there is enough gelcoat left to do it right. Then remove the old stripes etc and start off with something fresh for stripes.If that don't work out for me I will respray from water line up. Thanks for the info Smitty

Cheers Jack

 

[smittyplugs]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Happy to report the first trip was awesome not i single problem.......

Now does anyone know how i can remove this smile off my face its starting to hurt

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: new life in a run down boat

That's how we roll here in Jersey!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: new life in a run down boat

Well now you've jinxed the next trip for sure Glad her maiden voyage was a success. That's the best part about doing stuff yourself, you know it was done right. Congrats!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: new life in a run down boat

not a big fan of them bolted like that my self any ideas on a better way?????

Yep, here's how I recommend doing it...

(Click the pic to Enlarge)