New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

[JSpann]

As usual, I've jumped off into a boat that looked pretty good sitting in the other guy's yard only to find out it has LOTS of issues.

The gas cap has a broken latch, so I ordered a replacement gas filler/cap unit for it only to discover that the old one was installed before the top half of the boat was put on. Can't get to the hose clamps under the deck in the back corner to get the old one out. I've tried groping a screwdriver to the clamps and can touch them, but not turn them.

All three batteries were dead, so upon replacing them I found that the aerator switches on the panel are lit up whether they're on or off. One pump for the live well was wired direct to the battery, so it ran full time. No wonder the batteries were dead.

So far I haven't gotten the trolling motor to run, may just be a matter of figuring out how the batteries need to be hooked up.

The bilge pump may or may not work, assuming it has a float switch, so it may need water in the bilge to run.

The only things that seem to work as they should are the bow light and instrument lights. Stern light doesn't work.

On the good side of the ledger, I took my compression tester with me and tested the engine before buying it. Three cylinders were 110, one was 120. I also took a good battery with me and started the engine with muffs, and it started and ran fine.

Looks like my fishing won't start until well into June if then. :blue:

 

[carribbean soul]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

welcome to the sickness that is boating.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

The easiest way around those delemas is to just buy a New boat, but what fun would there be in that?

Hope you got a good deal on that one. Wait, is there ever such a thing as a "good deal" when buying a boat?

 

[Bondo]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

As usual, I've jumped off into a boat that looked pretty good sitting in the other guy's yard only to find out it has LOTS of issues.

The gas cap has a broken latch, so I ordered a replacement gas filler/cap unit for it only to discover that the old one was installed before the top half of the boat was put on. Can't get to the hose clamps under the deck in the back corner to get the old one out. I've tried groping a screwdriver to the clamps and can touch them, but not turn them.

All three batteries were dead, so upon replacing them I found that the aerator switches on the panel are lit up whether they're on or off. One pump for the live well was wired direct to the battery, so it ran full time. No wonder the batteries were dead.

So far I haven't gotten the trolling motor to run, may just be a matter of figuring out how the batteries need to be hooked up.

The bilge pump may or may not work, assuming it has a float switch, so it may need water in the bilge to run.

The only things that seem to work as they should are the bow light and instrument lights. Stern light doesn't work.

On the good side of the ledger, I took my compression tester with me and tested the engine before buying it. Three cylinders were 110, one was 120. I also took a good battery with me and started the engine with muffs, and it started and ran fine.

Looks like my fishing won't start until well into June if then. :blue:

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Use a 5/16" Nut driver, insteada a screw driver,....

 

[JSpann]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

More tinkering today, so far I've found loose ends on both aerator hoses, nothing that looks like an aerator to be found. Guess I can disconnect the power to the aerator switches and eliminate that current draw.

I also tried a nut driver on the hose clamps, but I can't get it aligned with the screw heads to get a grip on them. Thinking about loosening the bottom end of the fuel filler and vent hoses and see if I can twist the hoses enough to get the hose clamp screws around where I can get to them.

As for the "good deal" on the boat, I thought so at the time. It's about 10 years newer than others I had looked at in the same price range.

 

[JSpann]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

Good news! By pushing down the top of the gas tank with my elbow, I was able to get my hand far enough back to loosen the hose clamps on the gas filler/cap assembly, and I was able to pry it out with a prybar and big screwdriver. The new one went back in pretty easily after I deburred both tube ends and spread oil on both tubes.

Next up is the live wells. I'm new to this whole live well scene, so I had no idea how they were supposed to work until I dug through the archives here. OK, so the pump pushes water into the tank, where it overflows into an overflow tube of some sort to keep from overfilling. Except on this boat the only way for water to get out is through the drain at the bottom or out around the lid of the tank. (See photos)

There's a small hole in the deck at the left side, which is the only way I can figure for the water to get out of the tank without pulling the drain plug.



This is how it looks with the lid closed. The hole is in a recessed pocket where water would naturally collect, so I'm wondering if that's how the water's supposed to overflow while the pump is running.

 

[JSpann]

Re: New to Me 1998 Tidecraft Bass Boat With Issues

I seem to be having quite a few "DUH!" moments lately. In the above photos, that hole drains back into the live well. I had missed the pump inlet ABOVE the white PVC pipe that apparently is the overflow. Maybe a good washing tomorrow with a pressure washer will remove enough dirt and grime for me to see more clearly what goes where.