Re: New to boating just purchased a 1976 16' Super Sport
Got the Evinrude carbs rebuilt, hoisted the motor up on a homemade stand (which tipped over with the motor attached!), I then bolted into the header of the garage and used the come along attached to the garage header. Worked much better.
Got the motor back on put it on muffs and attempted a start. No luck. Inspected it some more and found one of the wires going to the coils had been pinched and cut clean through when the motor fell. I soldered it back together and was able to get it started. No water from the pee hole but after fishing a small stick in the hole found it was just clogged a bit. Put in a new steering cable and box, the old one was rusted solid.
Took the boat out on Wednesday after rebuilding the carbs and putting in a new steering cable. The 85hp evinrude ran awesome except for the first time I tried to crank it over on the water and the key twisted right off!?
I just used my car key to push the broken bit in and turn the cylinder. Cranked then started up just fine. Went faster then I imagined. In fact too fast for comfort. We were skipping across the water.
I dont have a kicker bracket yet and am wondering if I can get away without one? What is the purpose of the bracket? I think there is enough space if I use a piece of ply that extends a little above the transom cutout. Here is a pic of the two motors. I straighted out the kicker and moved it to the left a bit and up.
View attachment 154415
The stern was very low in the water with the weight of the two gas tanks, battery, 85hp evinrude and 8hp honda 4 stroke.
I was able to tilt the kicker up and going WOT it only slightly dragged.
What can I do to get weight forward? I drilled out the rivets on the front bow piece and put the anchors in there.
Has anyone hinged the bow seats so you can lift the lid for storage? I'm in need of storage with my 3 kids and all the gear.
On Saturday we took the boat out again in real windy conditions (gusting to 30mph), Water was coming in through the drain tubes and sometimes over the transom with the waves. Had to run the bilge a lot. It was not pleasant but we ended up going through the full tank of gas on the 85hp just cruising around . Definitely not as economical as the 8hp.
I ordered a new ignition switch since the old one was really needing to be replaced. The new one arrived Saturday but its a 6 terminal push to choke while the old ignition switch is a 5 terminal with a separate switch to choke. Is it possible to just bypass the switch and use the 6 terminal? I'm still trying to figure how to wire it.
So some questions I need guidance on....
1. How do I move weight forward or reduce weight at the back? See question 4. When I was the only one in the boat and waiting at the dock the skeg ended up touching the ground.
2. Can I replace the 5 terminal switch with a 6 terminal push to choke ignition.
3. Do I need a kicker bracket?
4. Hinged Bow Seats for Storage? ( I like the ski locker idea for storage as well ) U shaped opening is just too difficult to get big heavy things in and out.
