questions, so many questions...

[alamantia]

So I bought this boat

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=526644

Feel free to answer my questions , direct me where to find the info or yell at me for asking the wrong question in the wrong section, at the end of the day i just need your expert advice...

1) What pitch prop came stock on my boat? (1987 wellcraft elite XL 260/350 mercruiser)

2) If I take the boat in the hudson river does it need insurance?

3) I have chevrolet 350 parts like a brand new delco starter, 90 amp altenator, 160 thermostat and distributor and water pump. Can I use any of these on a mercruiser?

4) Do I use regular grease or waterproof grease on the outdrive and trailer bearings?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: questions, so many questions...

1) what came stock on the boat is anyones guess -- because there is no such thing as a stock prop. Besides, the previous owner probably changed it because the one that was installed didn't perform well. So go to the prop forum and read the sticky at the very top of the page that says "Read this first" when inquiring about props.

2) You can take the boat anywhere without insurance. The question is what happens if you hit someone, damage their property, or damage your own boat, or heaven forbid, kill someone? If you own a house, a car, investments, and other "stuff:" it could very well belong to someone else when the lawyers finish with you. It is absolutely irresponsible to operate a boat without insurance unless you can write a check to cover damages.

3) Fumes in the engine bay of an I/O require use of "marine" rated electrical components. That means none of the stuff you just mentioned belongs on or in your boat.

4) You use the grease specified for your particular outdrive and waterproof or wheel bearing grease on trailer bearings. My preference for wheel bearings is a grease with a high molydisulfide content.

 

[alamantia]

Re: questions, so many questions...

all good info, what is the difference between an auto and marine waterpump and thermostat? I will have to see what grease an alpha 1 takes, I dont have any literature on the boat. Thanks.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: questions, so many questions...

marine water pump will have a stainless impeller.... automotive will be just steel and will rust away to nothing

the thermostat in a marine engine will usually be 140 deg and often it totally different to work with a bypass system.

as stated none of those items belong in a boat

for grease, any blue marine grease will work.... unless you are talking about the gear lube for the drive. Best thing you can do is buy a decent shop manual for your year and model engine/drive.

 

[dan t.]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Actualy the automotive water pump and thermostst will be just fine if you have fresh water cooling,if it is raw water it is as Smoke said

 

[H20Rat]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Actualy the automotive water pump and thermostst will be just fine if you have fresh water cooling,if it is raw water it is as Smoke said

I'm assuming you mean closed loop, not fresh water. An automotive water pump will rust away in a season of freshwater use.

Just to give the OP a little more insight into why using an automotive starter/alternator is a really bad idea... Boats will always have trace amounts of gasoline fumes in the engine bay. If you have a carbed engine, it is 100% impossible to seal a carb to atmosphere, there is always going to be a small port somewhere in there where raw fuel has a direct path to the atmosphere. In a car, that isn't an issue, but in a boat, your bilge compartment is relatively sealed.

Boats have a bilge blower that needs to be run to clear out fumes, but sometimes people are in a hurry, or don't run it long enough, or the blower just doesn't work. That is when the secondary line of defense comes in, which is the marine rated parts. They are designed to be sealed &/or not emit sparks. A typical automotive alternator and starter have LOTS of ways to ignite gas fumes.

 

[Don S]

Re: questions, so many questions...

You will also find that if you post specific problems in the proper forums, you will get better answers. For instance:
Your prop question would go the the Prop Questions and Toopics forum.
Your engine, sterndrive problems would be asked in the Mercruiser I/O & Inboard Engines & Outdrives forum.
Trailer questions in the Trailers and Towing forum.

Here is the index as you can see there is a forum for about anything you need. Also check out the stickies at the top of the forums, they many times contain a lot of info you need.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: questions, so many questions...

So I bought this boat

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=526644

Feel free to answer my questions , direct me where to find the info or yell at me for asking the wrong question in the wrong section, at the end of the day i just need your expert advice...

1) What pitch prop came stock on my boat? (1987 wellcraft elite XL 260/350 mercruiser)

2) If I take the boat in the hudson river does it need insurance?

3) I have chevrolet 350 parts like a brand new delco starter, 90 amp altenator, 160 thermostat and distributor and water pump. Can I use any of these on a mercruiser?

4) Do I use regular grease or waterproof grease on the outdrive and trailer bearings?

1) You may be able to get that info about the prop from Wellcraft. Go to their web site and do the 'contact us' sort of thing.

2) Why wouldn't you need insurance on the Hudson river? Is that body of water exempt from liability now or something?

3) Take those Chevy parts and find a Chevy to use them on. They are not USCG approved as they will cause an explosion hazard.

4) Water proof (i.e. marine grease is what I use). Others will chime in about specific greases for specific bearings, etc., when it comes to a 24 year old boat, grease is grease.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Actualy the automotive water pump and thermostat will be just fine if you have (CLOSED) cooling

Not necessarily true. The thermostat is still hotter than it should be and they do come in various styles. The pump may or may not be right as they come on clockwise and counter clockwise.
The best bet is to stick with marine parts.

 

[alamantia]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Cool deal guys, I have a lot to learn before the summer and you all seem to have good advice for me. I found an alpha 1 manual in the cuddy with some other paperwork. This thing look unbelivably complex in the diagrams.

Its freshwater cooling, I have to find a good place online to order some engine parts from when the need arises, and I am sure it will.

 

[NYBo]

Re: questions, so many questions...

I'm assuming you mean closed loop, not fresh water. An automotive water pump will rust away in a season of freshwater use.

Actually, freshwater cooling IS closed loop, as opposed to raw water cooling, which uses whatever you're floating in. Confusing, no?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: questions, so many questions...

I have to find a good place online to order some engine parts from when the need arises, and I am sure it will.

how 'bout IBOATS.COM?

 

[dan t.]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Well I don't know where you get your thermostat specs but my fresh water cooled (closed loop) merc 350 magnum uses an ordinary 160 degree automotive thermostat, I could buy a marine one for twice the money and have 2 identical pieces.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: questions, so many questions...

Well I don't know where you get your thermostat specs but my fresh water cooled (closed loop) merc 350 magnum uses an ordinary 160 degree automotive thermostat, I could buy a marine one for twice the money and have 2 identical pieces.

If you'll refer to my first post on the subject I said "marine thermostats will USUALLY be 140 deg. I DID forget to say usually the second time, please forgive me..... I have two closed loop cooled mercruiser 260 engines and they use two different 140' thermostats. On one of them, aside from the temp difference which would not hurt anything except power output, it would be fine... On the other, which has a different thermostat housing, it would be a real problem and possibly cost me an engine.

I have no doubt that the automotive stat works fine in your engine but unless you are ready to write a letter guaranteeing that you will be covering any damage to anyone's engine who does so, it is irresponsible to make a blanket statement that closed loop cooling systems can use automotive thermostats. A better statement would be that you MIGHT be able to but that the decision to do so requires a fair bit of knowledge and experience. There is no shortage of damaged engines directly caused by assumptions that what works on one must carry over to all others.

Of course since the O/P doesn't have a closed loop system this is all irrelevant.