the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

[thatguy]

The weather broke just a touch here in Boston for a day, now the temps are falling back into the mid to low 20s. Teens by tonight. I did however have a chance to spend a few minutes on the pursuit project that I recently undertook. It has been sitting for about 4 years.

I decided to see what would happen if I put some power to it. I took a fully charged battery out to it and hooked it up to see what I have to work with. With the battery hooked up I simply start hitting switches and see what happens...........NOTHING! Not one circuit works...... well, not 100% true. The drive trim seems to get a "click" at the transom when I try to lift or lower the drive. Thats it! a click, 23 circuits, and all I get is a click!

I folded down the the dash(really nice option on the pursuit) to look at the wiring. The fuse panel has some corrosion nothing too scary though . There are a number of plugs for the wiring under the dash, all of them have some corrosion on pins inside of them.

The motor will be coming out of the boat in the next few weeks, that will ease in the diagnosing/repair of the wiring that is not motor related. Im sure that I will have my work cutout for me on this one.


Here is a link to the pics of the boat
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f112/yjguy94/pursuit 2150 express/

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

No cover! ouch. I would forget about the little stuff and go right now today and buy at least a cheap plastic tarp and try to get the bow a little higher, or you may end up with more problems come spring.

 

[thatguy]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

there is a cover over it now. The pics are from when I got the boat home. It has been covered since the second day I have had it.

The bow does look low in the pics, I have fixed that problem too. I made a block to sit under the tongue jack that lifts the bow up about 8 more inches.

Now that I have it covered and set to drain, I can look at the little stuff.

Tom

 

[Bondo]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Ayuh,... That's a Fine lookin' barge to start with,....

Doesn't look to be in too Bad a shape, at All...

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Clean every connection and apply a little insulgrease or dielectic to prevent corrosion in the future. This cold damp weather we've been having is terrible on corrosion, but at least there's no salt in the air where I'm at.

 

[jennis9]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Went to the Cleve Boat show last weekend and saw a Pursuit for the first time. Nice boats! Not many up north but we have a dealer that just started repping them. NICE fishing vessel - and yours looks cool.

Good luck with your project -- keep thinking THAW!

 

[kaferhaus]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

What's wrong with it other than where the tree hit the bow rail? from the fact that it has bottom paint I assume at one point is was being kept in the water?

Glad you got the bow pointing up.... certainly would have caused some major headaches.

Pursuits are great boats and you'd see a lot of them down here. The fit and finish on mine along with all the small but important details are first rate.

It's the first power boat that I've owned that the girls like as it has a standing room head with a flushing toilet.... girls.

 

[jonesg]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

I fixed a bent rail with a car jack under it.

With so many deadcircuits it makes sense to look at the main power buss and the 12v feed cable .

Engine "looks" good, no rust all over the pulleys.
Hows the condition of the oil?
Have you tried a socket wrench on the crankshaft, it might turn easy.

I'm in Boston too, it was 4 degsF this am.
I saw a dog frozen to a fire hydrant...honest!

 

[thatguy]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

yeah its colder than I dont know what, it was probably my dog you saw!

The motor is no good. She is jamed solid, and it had ingested water. I am going to start by cleaning all connections and see what that gets me. I think that I can get it all working with out ripping out the wiring and rewiring the boat.

Tom

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Here's something you could try, get a long piece of wire and attach it to batterys ground, from there carry it up to your buss with continuity tester in hand and see if there's continuity between that ground wire and the buss ground? After you establish that you can start probing for 12V this should give you some direction.
The ignition switch would be a good place to start probing for 12V

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Every wire.....and EVERY connection must be cleaned and checked. Get yourself some fine sandpaper and go to work. Liquid electrical tape, crimp on GEL filled connectors.

When I had a cuddy cabin this was almost an annual ritual.

One other suggestion for you..... get about 4 cement blocks and get that bow up in the air a bit more. You really need the winter drainage.

 

[rtpassini]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

One other suggestion for you..... get about 4 cement blocks and get that bow up in the air a bit more. You really need the winter drainage.

mine sits similar to his (different boat though). im afraid to lift mine up any more than it is now because its so heavy in the rear.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

Consider this.... you want any condensation, rain.... etc to drain out as quickly as possible and not to sit in the boat.

Many people need to make sure that the drain is open and clear. Leaves and debris always block it up!

 

[thatguy]

Re: the joys of a project boat.... sigh...

I will start the wiring issues when the weather breaks, its sunny but freezing outside!

As far as the bow in the air, it is. The pics are from the day after I got it home. I have since made a wooden block that lifts the bow up more than 8".

the condition of the boat is great! I have to admit, I was lucky with the deal I got on her! Now she will make me work for her to get it back to a safe and running state.

As far as the wiring, I know the task at hand and how to fix it, I was just hoping that I would have had at least 1 circuit that worked properly. Nothing working kind of left me feeling defeated. I feel a bit better today, I know I will have it ready to use this summer.

History of the boat-
It was purchased new in 1992, up in New Hampshire and spent its first 10 years of life on lake Winnipesaukee. I was kept on the trailer, never bottom painted. It was also kept in a garage when not in use. In 2002, the original owner sold it to a the guy I picked it up from. He was the first to botom paint it and the boat saw its first salt water. Again, kept on the trailer and launched for occasional use. Mid 04, the guy went to launch the boat with out the garbor plug installed. He launched the boat and put it on the dock. He was alone, and walked away to park his truck and trailer. This was a monday morning and there was no one at the ramp. He was telling me that he came back to the boat about 10 or 15 mins later, and the transom was really low in the water. In a panic, he ran to the boat, started it and tried to drive it to shore, in the process, it ingested water into the motor. Shortly after that someone came by and helped the him out with installing the plug, and getting the boat pumped out, and back up on the trailer. All in all, the boat was flooded with water but still floating for less than an hour. He took the boat home, and hosed everything out with the garden hose. That fall, he had the boat shrink wrapped. That was all he ever did to the boat after that. The shrink wrap finally came apart this past summer/fall. Late fall, the bow railing got damaged from a falling limb, and the bimini top and frame got pulled from the boat in a storm. This past Jan, he decided to let it go. He put an ad up on craigslist. An hour later, I was there. I made an offer, he took it and I dragged that beast home.
I have pulled about 20 core samples from the transom, the stringers, ect. Looks to be no rot or wet spots. No evidence of water damage anywhere. I was told that water never made it to the cabin, I have a tendency to believe that due to how clean the cabin is. The pics don't look so hot, my camera has some odd issues lately. A quick hit with the shop vac and the cabin is now looking clean and new inside. No scrubbing or anything needed inside.

I rebuilt the bimini frame, and it looks really good. and the top is out being restitched. None of the hydraulic systems have water in them. Oil in the motor looks clean, but there was evidence of water in cylinders when I pulled the spark plugs. I figure when I pull the motor in a few weeks, this will ease in the repair work of the wiring. Motor wise, I am not sure if I will stick with the 4.3 V6 or step up to a V8 power pack. Ill make that decision later.

Tom