New Project Boat Rebuild

I'm weird like that Peter. I can't install an ugly part, so most get cleaned, burnished, painted, etc., before being tossed back on.

Oh, that's not weird. Normally I would do that too. But I left it that way to remind me to replace the riser. For now I just want to get it done. The rainy season has started and so I will only get a few chances to put it in the water before the weather gets too crappy to even think about going out on the water.

It's Alive, It's Alive! (appropriate for halloween)

Ran the engine yesterday for about 15 minutes. All appears well. No water leaks. Did not overheat. But I'll have to wait for some decent weather before putting it back on the water.

I hope everything is ok with those of you on the East Coast.

Unless you have a hurricane brewing off the coast, any day is a good day, so long as the water's still in a liquid state. Put on a rain coat and have fun.

Been through three hurricanes at sea, and several on land, not fun at all.

Rain is ok, it's the wind that's keeping me off the water. Too windy. Typical October here, rainy, windy and 60 degrees, but occasional sun breaks, unfortunately they only last a few minutes.

Well the decent weather came and went. Last Friday I was going to drop it in the lake so I started checking out everything, and the blower died. I think the brushes finally gave out. So I've ordered a new one. At the same time I'll install a new switch. I had to order a duplicate of the blower that was installed. That way I don't have to engineer a new way to mount the blower, but it won't be here for a few more days.

So. I hope we get a few more good days before winter sets in.

It's Spring. Hauled the boat out of storage. Replaced the blower. Put in a new blower switch on the dash. Had to make some repairs to the ventilation collector. Did some other minor electrical stuff. Everything seems to be working.

Took it out and it ran for a few minutes and died. Water in the gas. I used a hand pump to remove a gallon from the bottom of the tank. Now it runs fine.

Ran the engine for about ten minutes with ear muffs and a hose. Did not over heat. Dropped it in the water, fired it up, cruised around at 1000-1100 rpm for about ten minutes and it started getting too hot. Not as bad as last fall, but still way too hot.

So. why does it not overheat on the hose, but does in the water? The only change other than replacing all the cooling system, was the shutter. There was no shutter in the exhaust. But the service manual shows a shutter so I put one in. Could that be restricting water flow?

I have also ordered a new riser, but I honestly think that that is not the problem.

Any thoughts from your mercruiser gurus?

check your timing, if it is too far advanced the engine will overheat when it is put under a large load, but be fine when you are just idling or putting around.

Here's the latest. I took the thermostat out and dropped it into a pot of water and let it heat. It opened at precisely 140 deg. So nothing wrong with that. I have ordered a new riser (was scheduled to do that anyway) so I removed the riser and removed the flexible exhaust tube and the water shutter is gone. All the pieces of it are down inside the exhaust tube. Here's a pic. So I need to do some cleaning. before I do anything else.

After sleeping on it and re reading the service manual I came to the same conclusion that's its simply reduced water flow. So something is causing a restriction. So today I stuck a vacuum hose down the exhaust and sucked out a lot of debris. I took the prop off and lo and behold there was a big chunk of the water shutter. So I have decided to go back to ground zero and check everything. It means I have to take it all apart again but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I have a new riser to put on. That old one doesn't look clogged but the passages could be reduced enough to cause reduced flow.

Here's what I found behind the prop. It's part of the shutter.

Re-assembled cooling system with new riser. Took it to Commencement Bay Marine to rework the stern drive.



Two weeks later: Boat is back after repair. They took off the stern drive. Cleaned out all water passages. Replaced impeller. Replaced a seal, Adjusted shift. They ran it for about 20 minutes and it ran cool. I took it out for a test . Engine runs cool. We were out for about one hour. Did not run it over 1500 rpm though. Engine runs a little rough. It started right away when cold, but it was hard to start when hot. The boat takes on water at about one gallon per hour. It is easily handled by the bilge pump.

Good news! I have been taking the boat out fishing for about two weeks now. Two days ago it started running rough. I checked the plugs, all were carbon fouled. One of the spark plugs had cracked insulation. Replaced all of them, checked timing and dwell. Everything was right on. It runs smoother now but still not at specified rpm. I have ordered an electronic ignition module for the distributor, a new coil (never replaced), and a new ignition wiring set (Lord only knows what is on it now. It has no markings at all) But overall it is running ok. It has stopped leaking water. There is no leaking at the sterndrive. It takes maybe a cup of water a day from somewhere. Who knows? Anyway overall everything is good. It has been sitting at the dock for a week with no problems. I even put the trailer in storage.

And besides that fishing has been good. Lots of rainbows in this lake.

Bad news and good news.....

Just about one month ago (just after my last post) I injured a vertebrae in my neck and have been unable to do much. It pretty much disabled my left arm, back and shoulder. I couldn't even drive more that few miles due to the pain. So the boat has been just sitting at the dock. They had me on pain killers as well which make me woozy. My Blood pressure shot out of sight as well. My wife and I checked on it every day but nothing was getting done.

Good news. I haven't had to take any pain killers in at least three days and my blood pressure is almost back to normal. A few days ago I finally got some work done on it. I had not done anything with the old rear seat backs. They were rotten and needed replacement. So I figured that was something I could do while convalescing. It was just some 1/4 ply with a 4" foam glued to it and then covered in marine vinyl, stapled on the back. They look good. I'll get a pic.

Plus I had an alternator problem even before I hurt myself. It wasn't charging. While taking time off from the boat I researched the correct wiring diagram on the web (nothing in the owner's manual, and Mallory was no help at all.) I found a schematic for a Delco type alternator, what was originally on the engine, and today I hooked it up. Then I gave it the smoke test and it works. The ammeter is showing about 10 amps, but I suspect that is lower than what it is actually putting out. I will have to get out my multimeter and test it under load.

So, I will give my neck some more time before I take it out on the lake. The bouncing and vibration would probably put me back in the emergency room. But at least I can get some small thing done.

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