'88 Alumacraft Phantom V170 restoration.

[oldphart120]

Hi All,
I'm new to the forum. Been reading some threads on restoring tin boats to get som idea of what I'm getting into. I just bought the boat in the title. It's got a 120 hp. Johnson on it. The motor runs fine, but the boat has issues. The transom and a good part of the plywood decking needs replacing. Also the electrical system is a mess. The motor electrical seems fine but the fish finder, nav lights, aireator pump and the trolling motor are inoperative. I put a new (old) stereo in and it works fine. What I need most is a wiring diagram for the boat. I got an owners manual and service manual for the motor already. The battery for the accseories is new. I'd like to get the electrical problems straightened out soon. This winter the boat comes into my shop for the restoaration. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[jbcurt00]

Not likely to find a wiring diagram specific to your boat.

But a generic one should suffice to get the wiring neat and tidy:

 

[oldphart120]

Thanks for the generic diagram. It will help. While Im good with wiring I need the color codes to tell which wires in the bundle from the stern and bow go to which acssesories. Like what wire goes to the areator pump and such. The bilge pump works, (good thing, the boat leaks) but most other things do not.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

I'm not saying they aren't out there but once you get beyond motor wiring I don't think I've ever seen a model specific diagram for a boat. Hence the the generic one JB posted.

May have to just get in there and chase wires or use a long jumper wire and the continuity setting on a multimeter.

 

[oldphart120]

I've thought about the jumper wire. The problem is the pumps and wiring are almost impossible to get at with out taking a lot of stuff out or apart. I was hoping to find a color coded schematic. I'll try calling the factory tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

 

[Teamster]

I doubt that the factory will have anything on file that old, You can try though.

I'd just take everything out and replace it from scratch,....

 

[Woodonglass]

An Ohm Meter should be able to tell you what wire is going where. I've never seen a "Boat Specific" wiring schematic.

 

[oldphart120]

I doubt that the factory will have anything on file that old, You can try though.

I'd just take everything out and replace it from scratch,....

Maybe they can give me just a color code standard for the accesories. Total replacement maybe an option for the winter resto, but I have about six weeks of fishing weather left. I want everything to work NOW!

 

[oldphart120]

An Ohm Meter should be able to tell you what wire is going where. I've never seen a "Boat Specific" wiring schematic.

The problem with that process is I need to get at both ends of the wire. Hard to do without taking everything apart. Someone at the factory had to have some kind of diagram to build the boat. Thanks for responding.

 

[jbcurt00]

Good luck, I doubt they'll have much info to share w you.

Google

ABYC marine wiring color code

It'll give you a bunch of the typical wire colors, but a bunch will fall under the accesories bundle.

 

[oldphart120]

Well, the fishing season is over for me. I've spent most of Oct in the hospital for a cancer treatment. Ill be out tomorrow or the next day, then a week or so of R&R to build up my blood counts. Then back to my shop to get busy on the boat. While I've been incarcerated I've done a lot of reading on the forum looking for info to help me in my restoration efforts. I kind of like the idea of a Seacast transom though the cost is rather daunting. Any opinions on whether the longevity and peace of mind is worth triple the cost of a marine plywood and fiberglass transom? It does seem like Seacast would be less work.

 

[Watermann]

I'd just take everything out and replace it from scratch,....

Welcome aboard OP120,

Exactly what Teamster advised is my advice as well.

Hope your bout with cancer goes good for you and becomes a bad memory.

Ply for the transom, sealed and properly taken care of in the future (covered when not in use) will last decades without failing.

 

[oldphart120]

Thanks for the well wishes. Lasting for decades is encouraging. I probably won't last for decades. Plywood and resin/cloth it is. I'll spend the saved money on a sideways looking sonar. As for teamsters advice I think he was refering to my electrical system. While I take out the cap and decking I'll be going over the wiring and repairing/replacing and up grading as the boat comes apart. Then after replacing decking and carpeting I'll be ready for final installation of accessories, console etc.

One other question, most of the people using Gluvit seem to be brushing it on. Has anyone tried applying it with a squeeze bottle with a small nozzle like a ketchup bottle. Just a thought I had while looking at a large syringe. I might be a lot faster and more precise and less wasteful than a brush.

Man, I can't wait to get home and get started on the boat.

 

[64osby]

Seacast is typically used in glass hulls, Watermann has hit it spot on.

You can also use ACX ply and seal it with products of your choice and budget. Fiberglass cloth and resin, epoxy resin, spar varnish, Woodonglass's old timers recipe, or porch paint. All with proper prep and application will yield a transom that will last a long time.

I slobbered on the Gluvit on my little tin hull, Has some runs, drips, and thick spots. I have a dry boat and there was some left over. I know jasoutside used a syringe for secondary seam work on one of his projects

Kick that C and go have fun.

 

[oldphart120]

The C should be kicked. I just had a stem cell transplant and my immune system is kaput. Going to the head tires me out. A few weeks of avoiding germs and building up my blood counts and I'll be at work on the boat.

I've got a few qts' of West system epoxy and some csm and cloth to get me started on the transom and decks. Also a bit of polyester resin, all left over from a Pearson sailboat project that I sold a couple of years ago. The sailboat wouldn't fit in my shop so work stopped short of completion.

I'll try to post a pic of the boat. Mmmm file to big. I'll do some research to figger out how to shrink it and upload one later.

 

[64osby]

Polyester resin has a shelf life and may not be good. The epoxy might also but would be more inclined to test and try it. Typically do not use csm and cloth with epoxy.

Open a photobucket account, they are free and work well for posting pics.

 

[oldphart120]

WOW! Its been a while since I posted. Time sure flies when yer sick. I finally got a start on the boat. Have it almost gutted. Just the forward live well and deck below it left to come out. Weird thing, I found a lot of maple seeds (helicopters) under the deck. Also open spots in the foam were filled in with scraps of foam that were trimmed off of other areas that were overfilled.

Got the needed plywood from Menards and a 5 gallon kit of 635 epoxy from US composites along with 20 yards of 6 oz. cloth. I'm going to cover the wood decks top and bottom and the transom with epoxy and cloth. The transom was completely rotted. I'm surprised the big Johnson hung on there while I was going WOT last summer. Most of the rest of the wood had rotten spots also, everything will be replaced. The trans is kind of strange. The shape is not the same as the aluminum skin and it's 2" thick. I'll have to post a picture to see what I mean. Still working on the picture thing. I'm using a Windows laptop now so I may have some success with that soon.

 

[lmuss53]

Glad to see you back and at your project. I take my pics with my Galaxy 6S and post them to photobucket with the phone. I then open photobucket and iboats on my laptop, copy the "img" link for the picture on PB and paste it in the reply here.

 

[oldphart120]

Thanks for the info, Imuss. I'll try that. Photobucket seems to be a real PITA. Lots of adds popping up. I'll suffer though it again after supper.

 

[oldphart120]

Got my pics out of the camera into PB. Tried to post and got a message "You are not authorized to make this post." What's going on?