No worries.... Yet.
It's been slow all year both work and my business, my main customer at work is switching from making 2005 to making the 2006 model boats. Of coarse I can't do anything until our prototypers get through making the patterns for them. So that I can correct them... LOL

 

My new bass boat:

This guy didnt know what he had!

 

That guy was on to something...looks like the first ever pontoon boat

 

Hey, laugh if you want but it floats and he probably has less trouble than we do with it. If he does have trouble the most expensive part is the trolling motor. So $300 and it's fixed.

Wish me luck this weekend. I am taking the family camping this weekend and we will be on the water pretty much all day everyday starting late tomarrow afternoon until Sunday, hopefully it will be running all that time too.

 

Have fun man, wish I was going!! did you get the timing and points set? Hope the specs helped..

 

Here is my '74 KONA. Well the hull is a '74 KONA, the rest is all new. I did all the work except spraying the paint and sewing the upholstery. Every wire, screw, washer is replaced. The big Merc is a 2000 model, but still only has 18 hours on it. Just don't get the time. Yes, it goes very fast. Note the uncanny resemblance to my S'Crew!
So what do you think?

 

^^Looks like fun^^

Well we just got back a little bit ago and now unpacked. Have I got some stories sure to entertain most everyone... LOL

Well we got down there late Friday evening. By the time we found a campsite that we liked with beach frontage, etc. and we got camp set up. Then it was to late to put the boat in on Friday. Pretty much I built a fire in the dark by the time it got going and we ate supper, roasted marshmellows, made S'Mores etc. then it was time for bed. We woke up early Saturday morning to get on the lake but it was to cool to have the kids out on it yet.

So we waited... Ho Hum... About 11:30 my wife decides that it's warmed up enough, so we go to put the boat in. We put it in the water and the darn thing won't hit a lick! So I work on it for several minutes checking points setting etc. and just CAN NOT get the stupid thing to fire. People were backed up waiting for the ramp. So I decided to pull back up and let them go while I work on it. 1/2 an hour later the ramp is empty again so I put it back in. Still won't fire!! So I decide to set the points by eye instead of the feeler gauge (I always had better luck with that on my old 69 F-100 that had points when I was a kid).. Turn the key and it fires right up!

So I idle across the cove to our campsite "No Wake Zone" and wait for my wife to bring the truck and trailer around and get in. She makes it, gets in and we idle towards the lake. I can't hardly wait to hit the throttle the "no wake bouy" seems to be 1/2 mile out there seemed like it took us forever to get there before I could open her up... I know this thing is going to run like a raped ape... We finally reach the bouy and dang it there is a lot of traffic coming from both directions. So I continue ideling until a hole opens up. Then I nail it! LOL It starts coughing and sputtering and just falls on it's face... Well atleast that an improvement... LOL So I pull it back down and figure I'll fine tune it later and get it all worked out. So I go to give it some gas and just cruise for now. Except now it's missing through out the RPM range??? WTH.. That's worse than it was before. Before it only cut out above 1/2 throttle unless I got the RPM's up first... So I try it a couple more time to no avail. So I work on it on the lake. "luckily I had brought my tool box just incase." So I idle back to the ramp to try and figure this SOB/POS out!

Then just as fast as it started starting then it quit starting for an unknown reason. Then suddenly several minutes later it starts cranking really really slow and starter is grinding??? Then I hear a small pop/crack sound from the starter side of the engine. CRAP! I think to myself. Either the stinking starter just gave out on me or the battery is dead and I didn't bring my charger! So I reach to see if the starter is hot and it is not (???) then I notice that the (+) cable is off of the battery. (???) So I pick it up and it is REALLY REALLY HOT! So I drop it imeadietly! While letting it cool I notice that the Terminal bolt had melted plum off of the battery top and was still atached to the cable. (???)

Now I'm not a mechanic BUT I've had more than my fair share of junker cars. Which means that I've had my fair share of troubles. BUT this is a new one on me. I would think a short BUT why didn't the breaker blow before the battery melted?

 

So I flag down a boat that is camped out just down the cove from us and ask them to take me to our camp site so that I can get my truck and trailer. I pull it out of the lake and take the wife and kids to a near by beach to swim while I try to figure this thing out. I end up having to drive 10 miles to find a stinking adapter to use the car terminal that is luckily still left on the brand new battery. Then I get the voltmeter out and start looking for shorts. I can not find any anywhere.

It'll be dark in about 2-2.5 hours now, I've spent the whole day cussing this boat and not making any progress and have no real direction to start looking anymore at this point. So I decided we just dont get to use the boat this weekend, that I drug it all the way over here for nothing.

So I go swim with the kids for a little while then go back to camp. It's about an hour or so before dark now. I go to get something out of the glove box of the truck and notice that I for some reason had put the old points and rotor bug in there. I think about it for a little bit, and decide since that is the only thing that has changed since it ran last.. What have I got to loose? So I put them in, turn the key, WOW it cranks normal and starts again! I immediatly shut it off and I drag it back to the ramp. The wife "hopeing it runs but lacking faith" stays at the camp site with the kids. I put it in start it up and give it a few revs of the throttle. SMOOTH AS SILK! (ROCK ON!!) So I pull it off the trailer, park the truck and take it out torwards the lake again. While working on it I had retarded the timeing just a little and seemed smooth. I open it up and it jumps out of the water then runs out very very nice. We ran it about an hour Saturday and all day today on the old points and rotor bug. It never missed a beat and all hesitation is gone! So I guess the hesitation was just the timeing...

Later I am going to put the new rotor bug back on and see if it was that or the points that shorted or made it mis. (9 to 1 says it is the points) Then I will take which ever one back. I'd like to through a fit about it burning up my new battery but I don't even know how to explain what might have happened. Maybe it was a coincidence and it was something else that will appear again later. Lord I hope not...

Thats the story of PSS-MAG's luck...
Phew... Now that it's all over.
I need a beer! LOL

 

Matt...you made me laugh my friend. I have a question for you...what the heck is a rotor bug???LOL I've never heard anyone call it that, thats funny. As far as the terminal melting on the battery..well, im not sure I can explain that one, but Ive seen it happen ALOT, and as recent as this past week at work we had one. Guys couldnt get the engine to start and found the terminal had melted off the battery. The one thing thats possible, is the POS. wire was loose. If you are useing wing nuts on the battery, throw them away and use nuts and washers. Theres so much vibration in a boat, that those wing nuts loosen up all the time. As for the points, sometimes getting to technical with those old Mercs isnt the best thing to do..get out the matchbook and set them with that..LOL just kidden. If they keep giving you a problem, I would suggest going to an electronic setup like shown in the picture here. For about $100 or less you can get a set and it will solve all your headaches with the points.


Im glad to hear you finally got to use it and did have some fun with it. Did you ever get a new prop for it? If so, is your RPM where you need it now?

 

PSS...Here's a little about props that I've learned...take it for what its worth.

I used to work with a guy that designs and builds winning outboard racing hydroplanes. When I had boat questions, this was the guy I went to. He has a friend that owns a company called 'Air Marine', in Chicago. Supposedly they are among the best when it comes to repairing props. When they weld, block and grind a prop, it's better than a new one. Here's what my buddy said;

*Never run with a damaged prop. If it's bent or broken, it's probably out of balance and could damage the lower unit.
*Keep a spare prop in the boat. This way you're not stuck if you bend it, plus you can have a ski and a top-end prop for when you need either.
*Grease the shaft every time you reinstall one.
*Stainless props are more accurate, in that they don't flex like aluminum and retain their stated pitch.
*Don't run a stainless prop in a river or anywhere else where you chance hitting something. An aluminum prop is the weak link in the drive system...if you hit something, it bends or breaks. With stainless...something in the drive unit could break.

The last boat I had was a '61 Century Corsair, mahogany inboard, 170hp 272 Y block with two side draft Carter YH carbs. Man that thing was fun! Nothing sounds like those dual exhausts at the waterline. The Velvet Drive finally puked, and my son was moving out of the house, so I sold it. BIG mistake.

MR

 

It'll be a little while until I can afford a new prop. I was going to get one before the engine coupler went out. But since that happened there went that money and now I'm laid off so not much money to squeze out of me right now. I'll have to go back to work full time again, it should be another week maybe 2. Then get bills caught back up then buy a prop. Probably wont be out on it much between now and then any way. Since I can't afford the gas to pull it to the lake either. LOL
RPM's are currently pretty constant at about 4100 wether it's just me or the wife and 2 kids too.

Yea elctronic ignition upgrade is already in the plans... Prop. first though! I reinstalled and set the old points the same manner that I installed and set the "new" ones... So apparently my lack of skill did not play apart in it not running...
This time anyway. LOL

Rotor Bug= Fire Fly (AKA Rotor) LOL

 

getting off the topics at hand here of late, but still on the boat topic for the thread- gotta battery question. i have a 19 foot bayliner with a 305 in it. the current battery needs a charging about every time out, and has the numbers 875 and 205 i believe. i found one at wal mart that is a 625 and 500. i was told the first number is cranking amps???? and that it is probably a little small. can anyone deciper what each number is, and not just the label, but what each one is actually meaning please! any help at all before i purchase is appreciated. thanx in advance.

also, the foam under the motor cover is coming off like crazy. will it hurt anything for me to just rub that off?? i figure that it would be better not to have any thing on the board than to have that stuff getting down in the carb and motor.

 

As far as the battery..It's just like a car... the first number is your main cranking amps. Thats how many amps the battery is cabable of putting out when it's warm out, ideal conditions, peak performance, etc. etc.
The second number is the Cold cranking amps. Thats how many amps the battery is will put out when it is cold outside. Thats the minimum that the battery will beable to produce under not so ideal circumstances. The bigger these 2 numbers the better the battery is.

As far as the foam.. I would say that it is an insulation to keep the engine from melting your interior. If it is the spray in foam, then you could get some foam in a can and reapply a new layer over the old. (It might take 2, 3, cans or more)

 

As far as the battery is concerned, PSS is correct. However, you need to see if the numbers are CCA(cold cranking amps) or MCA (marine cranking amps) Marine engine batteries are always rated in MCA. MCA is determined at a different temperature than regular CCA. They figure since boats are used in warm weather, theres no real need to put a regular cranking amp # on it. Not that it will hurt, you just want to make sure you get the correct size Batt. MCA is measured at 32 degrees while CCA is measured at 0 degrees. Sometimes I can get ahead of myself when trying to explain things and assume that guys just know stuff...follow this link, it will give you a litte better understanding of batteries and their use. Theres also Deep cycle and Cranking batteries.Again, follow the link, I think it will help out.http://www.pkys.com/batteries.htm

For the insulation on the hatch, I would try to get it off if possible. The more it flakes off, the more its gonna get in the carb and start to cause trouble. As PSS said, if its the foam, just spray over it. If you can get it all off (which I suggest) go get some engine hatch insulation, its usually 1/2 to 1" thick foam covered in a silver foil. Get the 3M spray adhesive and glue that stuff in there. It will help keep the noise level down alot, as well as keeping the engine hatch from getting to hot.

BREW

 

Mine has both listed on it.. The first listed is the marine and the second listed is the cold.
You never know I might have the boat out when it's below 32*, if the lake isn't froze over...
LOL
Just kidding