Phase 1: Please help with engine!

[stant1man]

My boat is a Fletcher GTO 160 and the shell is absolutely pristine for by a couple of inconspicuous scuffs that i will repair with some gelcoat paste.

This is my second boat and I am soooo excited but would love to know if the engine will run. I’m confident that it will and once I get it running I am going to carry out a full service on her!

There are several things that I will tackle over the next month, the first of which is the engine. (Cant wait to hear her run!!!) The next is the floor and then the interior.

So onto the problem -

I have a 1970's "Blue Band" Mercury 115 straight 6 cylinder that I have to wire to a quicksilver control set. I have wires everywhere where someone has attempted to carry out a repair and made a complete mess of it. There appears to be a plug coming from the Quicksilver control and running to behind the dashboard and the wires that otherwise would have run to the engine have been completely chopped. There is another ignition barrel which has been vandalised and has wiring straight to the engine forby 2 wires which are not connected??? I have a battery but nowhere to connect it!......Can you feel my pain!

Where on earth do I begin? I have ordered the manual from Amazon and am hoping to see that within the next couple of weeks but I am sure with some help from you guys you can tell me what wires go where!

The tilt and trim mechanism also seems to have bare wires hanging out of it!

Any help with sorting this wiring maze would be appreciated. I can take pics if that would help in deciphering the mess.

Many, many thanks in advance.

Stan

[Corpus Skipper]

I have ordered the manual from Amazon

That's probably your best bet. Also check out the ABYC wiring color code. Not sure if that old "tower of power" complied with it or not. Good luck.

[stant1man]

Thanks for the prompt reply Corpus, im so glad that there are people that are willing to give advice on things like this!

You mention "Tower of Power". Is that like the nick name for my engine? Could you also tell me what "ABYC wiring color code" is.

Many Thanks Again

Stan

[Corpus Skipper]

You mention "Tower of Power". Is that like the nick name for my engine?

Yes, the old Merc inline sixes got that name. ABYC= American Boat and Yacht Council. Engine manufacturers go by their wiring color code to simplify installation/repair. Not sure of the URL, but a search for ABYC should bring it right up.

[PAR]

With some experience wiring up an engine and related gear, a person should be able to muddle through the harness, finding out what each item is and how it's routed. A test light and this experience will be all they need. I redo electrical systems all the time and they all follow patterns according to the manufactures methods and codes if they apply or where adhered to.

Getting it to run should be reasonably simple, getting all the bells and whistles to work may take some time.

Without the reasonable knowledge of this type of work, you should wait for the manual. The Mercury web site may have something you can down load to get you started.

It takes power at a few locations to get them running. Do yourself a favor and replace the contact points with a breakerless type of distributor guts or the whole unit. It's the only real way to go for marine applications, not subject to judges' frowns at shows, not to mention reliability, durability, advance, consistently hot sparks, etc.

These were good engines and served Mercury well for many years. Ski boats preferred this setup for the torque they laid down to the shaft.

If your understanding of these type of systems can't get you through finding the battery hookup locations (try looking around the starter, it's relay, alternator, etc.) then you may be best off letting a pro do the work.

[stant1man]

I got confirmation that my manual has now been dispatched! I do a lot of car mechanics and understand very well how a 4 stroke engine works. Im afraid that my knowledge on 2 stroke is very little but i learned about cars through reading and tinkering so im very confident that i'll get her running!

At the moment we have pulled up the original floor and we are now left with just the support beams which thankfully are still very strong! I know cause i had a 17st man walking on them and there still intact! ;-)

Were now going to fit a new floor into the boat. What should I be coating the floor with, we will be using approximately 12mm thick marine ply(same as before). When we pulled the original floor up the sides were coated with fibre glass and some yellow plastic coating stuff. This effectively blended the plywood floor into the fibreglass shell. Should the wood be treated before fitting to the boat and if so, what with? Should I use screws or nails to fix to the beams?

For some reason it was "only" the sides of the original ply that were coated with this plastic and fibre glass. Should i coat the new floor completely? I also noticed that the underside of the floor had no coating what so ever, even though this is the part that will be exposed to the keel?

Looking for some good advice on these problems as i want to be finnished with a very professional job.

Many thanks in advance

Stan

[stant1man]

is no one able to help with my floor questions?

[Corpus Skipper]

What should I be coating the floor with, we will be using approximately 12mm thick marine ply(same as before).

For the best, longest lasting repair, I would use epoxy resin and mat, 2 layers on both sides of the wood, and wrapped around the edges. Bed the deck onto the stringers with a polyurethane adhesive (such as 3M 4000, you want one that remains flexible), then tab the deck to the hull with about 4 layers of alternating mat and cloth. Make each layer wider than the previous so each gets it's own bite on the hull and deck. Then fair it out if you so choose with thickened epoxy, sand, and finish. Polyester resin will do the job and give good results, but if she's a keeper use epoxy. Good luck.

[stant1man]

Thanks again Corpus. The information I recieve from you is by no doubt priceless, having access to this knowledge is fantastic! You use lots of terms I dont understand and mention materials that im unsure of. This leaves me with six questions which I hope will make things much clearer and alow me to go material collecting.....

Does epoxy resin come in a tin like paint?
Could you tell me what mat & cloth is?
Am i right to presume the stringers are the beams underneath the old floor?
What is tabbing the deck to the hull?
What does fairing it out mean?
Should I be using screws or nails to fix the floor to the beams or 'just' the polyurethane adhesive that you mention?

Im sorry for the list but i suppose we all got to start somewhere!

Cheers

Stan

[Corpus Skipper]

Does epoxy resin come in a tin like paint?

West System epoxy comes in a 1 gallon can, like a solvent can. I haven't used any others, so I can't say how they're packaged.

Could you tell me what mat & cloth is?

Mat is fiberglass material consisting of random strands of glass fibers held together with a chemical binder which is soluable in resin. Cloth is woven glass strands, woven at 90 degrees and resembling the checkerboard pattern. There are also rovings, one being a very heavy version of the cloth, single strand roving (the strands only run in one direction), biaxial roving (the strands run at 45 degree angles), and triaxial roving (same as bi, with one more layer). All you need use is mat or cloth, the others being structural, and unneccessary for your deck job, best used by professionals, or someone with a lot of experience.

Am i right to presume the stringers are the beams underneath the old floor?

Yes. Stringers are the longitudinal beams (lengthwise), the transverse (widthwise) members are called frames.

What is tabbing the deck to the hull?

Tabbing is using strips of fiberglass (referred to as fiberglass tape, available in various widths) to "tape" the deck to the hull, half the width on deck, the other half on the hull.

What does fairing it out mean?

Fairing is using a paste or putty of filled resin, bondo, or other body filler to smooth out the surfaces.

Should I be using screws or nails to fix the floor to the beams or 'just' the polyurethane adhesive that you mention?

You can, but between the adhesive and fiberglass, you shouldn't need them. If you have a curve or crown in the deck, then you'll need fasteners to hold the plywood to that shape, either temporary or they can be left in place and 'glassed over.

Im sorry for the list but i suppose we all got to start somewhere!

No problem A good idea would be to buy a book on the subject.The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual by Allan Vaitses is a very good book, and gives very clear directions on how to do this and other repairs you may be faced with. (it also has a good glossary for all these technical terms ) Good luck!

[stant1man]

Corpus, you are the man! Your help has been very good. I will post the results of the floor replacement and start a new thread for the next phase. Its funny, i started this thread about the engine but decided it would be better to have a floor to walk on first so next step will be the engine. Hopefully my manual will help me resolve that!

Thanks again

Stan

[TheFisher]

Most mat has a chemical binder which is only soluable in a STRYENE based resin.
Epoxy will not dissolve the binder and the mat will not wet out properly.
Be sure you get a mat that is made to work with epoxy.