Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

[Urge2GP]

I’m just about to purchase an Autocoast Marauder, circa 1970, with twin Merc 165 I/Os (inline 6s). Very clean boat except for the engines that look as though they’ve seen better days (and probably have), but still run well (okay). Since this is a project boat and I’m not mechanically inclined (engine-wise), I’m wondering what the pros and cons are of having the motors and sterndrives rebuilt or rebuilding the engines (only) myself.<br /><br />Does anyone have any pointers as to which way to go, given these motors and drives are no longer made? Are they relatively simple for a complete (engine) amateur to rebuild, or would I be better off paying to have them rebuilt by a pro? Are there manuals available, parts availability, etc.?<br /><br />Thanks in advance for all constructive comments.

 

[Mumblerone]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

I would not attempt it...too many specialized tools. This is not a good canidate for a first time project.

 

[Urge2GP]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

Thanks, Mumblerone, guess I’ll look into having the engines and drives re-worked by a pro… Probably better off that way even though the expense is likely to be heavier. But then again, doing it myself could turn out to be expensive as well in terms of lost time and hassles.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

If it's indeed a project boat and you don't have a lot of money tied up in it, you might try working on the engines as a learning experience. If rebuilding is beyond your skills (beyond my skills as well), you can still learn a lot from tinkering enough to keep them running -- and can probably sell the boat for about what you have into it when you move on to something else. The downside of tinkering is that you end up tinkering and not boating. So if boating is an immediate goal and you distrust your tinkering skills, it's probably better to get something a little more trustworthy. Before spending hefty sums on a professional rebuild (an option for making the boat more trustworthy), I think I would want to be sure that particular rig is what I wanted.<br /><br />It all depends....

 

[Urge2GP]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

Oldboat1:<br />You know I thought about the tinkering aspect to maintain the engines. However, this boat is vintage at over 30 years old so (as you’ve mentioned) tinkering will probably keep it out of the water more than not. I have checked on pro rebuilding and, for those interested, the cost to rebuild both engines is about $7 grand. Not bad considering the price tag of new engines and the fact they may not fit (the hull is rather slim at only 8 feet).<br /><br />As far as getting my money out of the boat, I’m not looking forward to that. What’s the old boating maxim..? A boat is a hole in the water one dumps money into?’ Realistically, if the boat is ever sold (which I don’t intend to anytime now or in the far distant future) I’ll lose money so its bound to become a family heirloom. Now that sounds ridiculous (albeit I’ll put a cap on costs), yet here’s my justification…<br /><br />The boat was originally designed by the Richard Hunts (father & son), Ernest Kansler and William Crealock as an affordable high performance offshore fisher/racer/cruiser. For this reason the hulls are ultra-strong and with a beam of eight feet by 24.5 length; powered by the 165s… Well, let’s just say they have a tendency to (literally) “fly” over rougher water and straight to one’s favorite fishing spot. Essentially when rigged right a Marauder is a blast to pilot, and can STILL out perform many newer boats ranging towards $50k.<br /><br />Bottom-line is that I can either spend $50 to $75k on a new boat, or a bit (actually lots) less restoring a Marauder as an optimum high performance offshore fisher. In essence, while there is a limit to the investment I’m willing to incur; that’s a far cry from the money I’d be spending otherwise for a comparable boat.

 

[Hooty]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

If it was Hooty, he would do some basic testing on the engines just to see what shape they're in. Check compression, which iz easy enough to do, examine the plugs, scope the top of the pistons,etc.<br />How do they run? Ya know, they may look like h*ll and run like scalded rats.<br />Just a thought.<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[hltenterprises]

Re: Pros & Cons Of Do-it-myself Engine Work?

If had twins I would follow Hotty's advice first. Since the inbord side is a cousin to an automotive engine and want to rebuild the inboard side I would look for a technical school that offered the prefered marine repair classes if not avialable I would go for an automotive class. Most tech schools offer night classes. I would look for a state or county run school as tution would be a lot less than private. The instruvtor may let one be done as a project thus gaining the knowledge and having one complete.

 

[73Marauder]

Just wondering if this boat ever got done and on the water as I recently purchased a 73 marauder with the same engine combo.

 

[GA_Boater]

12 years is an awfully long time. This topic was sleeping for a good reason - The OP has not updated in all that time. Please let it go back to sleep. You can start a new topic with questions. Thanks.