The project boat in question...
Friday, August 3, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Success and Failure
It has been a while since I gave an update so here it is. This is probably the last post for this blog but I will be starting a new one that I will share.
So the boat was in the shop from March until sometime in May. The original engine gave the shop fits. They installed it and the starter wouldn't work so they had to pull the engine to fix that. Once they got it all working the clearance between the valves and pistons wasn't correct and a valve hit a piston. Engine had to be scrapped and had to pay for a 2nd engine.
Finally got the boat back and the ignition wasn't wired up. However, the boat wouldn't start after hours of messing with it so it went back to the shop. Needed another starter.
Got it back again and it was leaking oil from one of the valve covers so I had to fix that and wire up the ignition. And wire up the trim pump.
Took the boat out and ran it at the lake... everything was working fine. Got to the dock and the engine stalled. Wouldn't start in neutral so I put it in reverse to start it... POP! Throttle and shifter worked fine but the drive wouldn't do anything.
Got towed in and found that the gimbal ring snapped in half and the bell housing broke.
I bought second hand parts to fix it but my wife and I decided to stop sinking money into this project. So all that work and the boat is getting parted out!
We were concerned that there were chronic issues and the boat might be unsafe. We even found some holes in the side of the fiberglass that look like someone shot it with a BB gun or something. I also found some wiring the previous owner did behind the fridge that didn't look safe or correct.
I found that my biggest mistake was continuing forward at the advice of others. Everyone kept saying spend the money and get it going but there was just too many things wrong. I was going to have to replace almost every piece of that boat to make it usable and there are still concerns in my mind if that hull was sound or not finding small holes in it, etc.
So the boat was in the shop from March until sometime in May. The original engine gave the shop fits. They installed it and the starter wouldn't work so they had to pull the engine to fix that. Once they got it all working the clearance between the valves and pistons wasn't correct and a valve hit a piston. Engine had to be scrapped and had to pay for a 2nd engine.
Finally got the boat back and the ignition wasn't wired up. However, the boat wouldn't start after hours of messing with it so it went back to the shop. Needed another starter.
Got it back again and it was leaking oil from one of the valve covers so I had to fix that and wire up the ignition. And wire up the trim pump.
Took the boat out and ran it at the lake... everything was working fine. Got to the dock and the engine stalled. Wouldn't start in neutral so I put it in reverse to start it... POP! Throttle and shifter worked fine but the drive wouldn't do anything.
Got towed in and found that the gimbal ring snapped in half and the bell housing broke.
I bought second hand parts to fix it but my wife and I decided to stop sinking money into this project. So all that work and the boat is getting parted out!
We were concerned that there were chronic issues and the boat might be unsafe. We even found some holes in the side of the fiberglass that look like someone shot it with a BB gun or something. I also found some wiring the previous owner did behind the fridge that didn't look safe or correct.
I found that my biggest mistake was continuing forward at the advice of others. Everyone kept saying spend the money and get it going but there was just too many things wrong. I was going to have to replace almost every piece of that boat to make it usable and there are still concerns in my mind if that hull was sound or not finding small holes in it, etc.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Something soon!?
I dropped by the mechanic shop on Friday to drop off a check to pay for the engine work to get one. They thought it would be done before the end of this week. We shall see what happens.
I will be sure to post pictures when it comes back.
I will be sure to post pictures when it comes back.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Waiting Game
No word back from the shop about the Sea Ray. I was expecting a call on Wednesday to get an idea of price and timeline. The rough estimate was one week.
I'm going to wait until Monday to call if I don't hear anything before then. Trying not to be impatient but the appeal of having a boat that will actually run is quite exciting. Looking forward to the interior work with mixed emotions. Excited it will be usable but nervous about potential delays and problems.
I'm going to wait until Monday to call if I don't hear anything before then. Trying not to be impatient but the appeal of having a boat that will actually run is quite exciting. Looking forward to the interior work with mixed emotions. Excited it will be usable but nervous about potential delays and problems.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Engine Shop!
Been busy the last few months visiting family, Christmas, and a week long ski vacation. As it had months ago, reality set in that I wouldn't be able to devote the needed time to finish the boat motor in a reasonable time frame. The boat was purchased early 2009, the transom was rebuilt at the end of 2011, and the motor has been an on again off again project most of that time.
I loaded up all the parts and dropped the boat off with my marine mechanic. Can't remember if I mentioned him before or not but he did the rebuild on my ski boat motor which had some freeze damage like everyone had here recently. My guy said he did about 30 motors alone!
The prep work for loading up the trailer was very interesting and thought it might be worth sharing my insights. I literally took everything out nailed down in the boat and moved it to the garage. It is amazing how much stuff was sitting in there. With everything out the interior project looks much less dubious that it did previously. I will try to do a better job of photo/video documenting some of the work from here on out when possible. It seems like I get started on a project with that intention but get side tracked doing the actual project at hand.
In writing my notes for the finishing parts of the restoration I'm realizing some parts for these Sea Rays cannot be bought readily. Some I will fabricate and some I may need to find a boat junk yard to salvage some pieces for. I'm sure they have such places but no idea where.
Friday, December 2, 2011
November Update
Not a whole lot has happened on the boat recently. I have a guy lined up to do some work on it but trying to find a time when he is available has been tricky.
One thing I don't think I have touched on is the importance of documentation. Photos, notes, videos, etc.
When I first began disassembling the motor, thinking it was just the heads that needed replacement, I didn't do a good job of documenting. We took off the heads there were some bolts and an hold gasket. Those few things became a larger assortment of bolts. What went where? What is this? What is that? Trust me... document.
Luckily some items I put in a zip lock bag and labelled it. This has been helpful even on parts I intended to replace. Its not easy to find 30+ year old bolt kits so you find yourself hunting around for certain sized bolts at your local hardware store and its helpful to have a reference.
Even keeping old parts is helpful. I wrote down the part number of a few items but found myself looking at the parts and comparing them to online pictures to be sure I actually got the correct item. Some part numbers have different versions/revisions. Fuel pump is a good example.
Lastly, never underestimate what you should take a picture of. When I notice some rot on the helm seat I took it out to fix it and the rot was bad enough the seat fell apart. Since I didn't have good reference photos I couldn't figure out how to get the back seats to work like the original one did. Ultimately, I decided to buy a new helm seat rather than struggle with recreating the broken one.
One thing I don't think I have touched on is the importance of documentation. Photos, notes, videos, etc.
When I first began disassembling the motor, thinking it was just the heads that needed replacement, I didn't do a good job of documenting. We took off the heads there were some bolts and an hold gasket. Those few things became a larger assortment of bolts. What went where? What is this? What is that? Trust me... document.
Luckily some items I put in a zip lock bag and labelled it. This has been helpful even on parts I intended to replace. Its not easy to find 30+ year old bolt kits so you find yourself hunting around for certain sized bolts at your local hardware store and its helpful to have a reference.
Even keeping old parts is helpful. I wrote down the part number of a few items but found myself looking at the parts and comparing them to online pictures to be sure I actually got the correct item. Some part numbers have different versions/revisions. Fuel pump is a good example.
Lastly, never underestimate what you should take a picture of. When I notice some rot on the helm seat I took it out to fix it and the rot was bad enough the seat fell apart. Since I didn't have good reference photos I couldn't figure out how to get the back seats to work like the original one did. Ultimately, I decided to buy a new helm seat rather than struggle with recreating the broken one.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Engine Oil
The stamp on the valve cover of my engine says it uses SAE 30 oil. I found that its hard to find this weight oil locally and ended up ordering some from Summit Racing.
One key issue here is older engines that use flat tappet cams need a higher Zinc (ZDDP) content than modern engine oil. This is an anti-wear additive that is essential to keep your cam from being damaged. Newer engines use roller cams which allow them to use a lower ZDDP content in the oil which is important because ZDDP is hard on catalytic converters.
I've read several online discussions and posts which suggest that oils have come a long way since some of these older engines were designed and that while SAE 30 works it is recommended you user 25w-40 (the standard 4-cycle engine oil) in your 4-cycle instead. That is good news since 25w-40 is easier to find.
Bad news is you still need the ZDDP but there are products and additives that provide the extra Zinc which might be easier to procure than SAE 30.
While I wouldn't tell anyone to do this without doing their own research it is something I am going to try and look into more closely.
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