My first boat! Free of course!

[Sparksman]

moving along nicely spark, reviving an old outboard is always a great feeling.

W the model # of your GameFisher OB, you should be able to find a parts manual for it. That will tell you the prop you need, and any substitute/replacement props that should work. You may want to pull it off before you order a new one, IIRC, there may be a plastic or rubber 'hub' inside the prop that may or may not come w/ or fit a replacement prop.

I recently bought a replacement prop for a 2.5hp Johnson and the new prop didn't have the hub, but did fit the hub of the old prop. So be sure it's in good shape (if it has one) esp if the new prop doesn't show it's included.

There are likely parts diagrams available online too, and that should allow you to figure out if it has an impeller or not.....

Nice shot of Mount Hood.

Thanks, from what I found searching is it is both air and water cooled. Im not sure, I made it over today where the engine is at. I have it on my cars engine stand, cleaned it up while looking for some kind of markings. Im going to repaint the covers white, and the lower black. Its not pretty, but the old green is coming off amazingly easy. The teeth on the throttle grip are sheared.. The prop isnt seriously damaged is it? Would it work or is it a lost cause? All I can find is whats in the pic, other then whats in the pic --v its a Sears Gamefisher "Solid State" 7.5hp 2-stroke.

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So my in-stock gel coat I ordered was out-of-stock somehow so gel coat is now delayed for a bit. I still have a bit of fiberglass work and bed liner to roll to keep me busy.













These are the oars, cleaned up and ready to be sanded. Going to restain and coat. Also hit the metal pieces with a wire brush and paint black.

 

[MTboatguy]

You must be working on Hayden Island, I grew up across the river in Vancouver, nice area to own a boat, spent a lot of time on the Columbia fishing and playing.

 

[GA_Boater]

She is air-cooled and has an impeller according to the Sears diagrams. Some of these oldies are hybrids, air-cooled motor with water cooled exhaust. http://www.searspartsdirect.com/craftsman-craftsman-parts/model-217585890/0247/1305320.html See if you can find the Sears/Craftsman model number.

Found a throttle gear for $30. the part number is 66168. Scroll down to the detail pics. http://www.ebay.com/itm/sears-craft...del-217-585932-view-description-/291041037162 You may find a better price using the part number.

Sears carries a water pump kit, kinda pricey - http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part-number/26431/0006/217.html

Again see if you can find a model number to verify if the links are for your Gamefisher. From this link she comes up as a 1977. http://discount-marine-parts.com/ob_eska_sears.html

 

[Mikeopsycho]

I'd be concerned the dinged up prop would be out of balance and may cause stress to seals and moving parts of the leg. There should be propeller shops in your area that could give you a price to rebuild your old prop. May be worth looking into this. Cheers.

 

[GA_Boater]

I forgot the prop! Sears PN 46042, superseded by 46058. i found some using Google. Or a local prop shop like Mike said.

 

[Sparksman]

I'd be concerned the dinged up prop would be out of balance and may cause stress to seals and moving parts of the leg. There should be propeller shops in your area that could give you a price to rebuild your old prop. May be worth looking into this. Cheers.

I wasnt sure if enough of it was missing to be of concern or not. I see props on craigslist from time to time, Il have to keep a eye out for one that fits now. Thanks!

You must be working on Hayden Island, I grew up across the river in Vancouver, nice area to own a boat, spent a lot of time on the Columbia fishing and playing.

Nice! Ya I live in Vancouver myself, and commute to the island for work. Its cool to see fellow NW people on here! Any suggestions for this stretch of river? Is it better more west by the rail-road bridge? Or east by the I-205 bridge? Im thinking of launching in Camas, and using the the boat-home area/ boat launch off Lower River Road as my "float to" if engines fail. That should give me about 20 miles of river to fish between launch and last landing point. Then the island is about 2/3rds of the way down if I need to stop for anything. I plan to dock up mid day, walk across the street order some actual hot food, then be back fishing mid river 10 minutes later lol. I cant wait for summer!

She is air-cooled and has an impeller according to the Sears diagrams. Some of these oldies are hybrids, air-cooled motor with water cooled exhaust. http://www.searspartsdirect.com/craf...7/1305320.html See if you can find the Sears/Craftsman model number.

Found a throttle gear for $30. the part number is 66168. Scroll down to the detail pics. http://www.ebay.com/itm/sears-crafts...-/291041037162 You may find a better price using the part number.

Sears carries a water pump kit, kinda pricey - http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part.../0006/217.html

Again see if you can find a model number to verify if the links are for your Gamefisher. From this link she comes up as a 1977. http://discount-marine-parts.com/ob_eska_sears.html

Model number is 217.585890

Thanks for all of the help GA! So i was told the boast and motor were bought new at same time, but if the engine is a 77' that cant be. Maybe bought used with the new boat, so its a tad older then I had thought. I think I will pop off the prop, and take a look at the impeller to see the condition. If I dont need to replace that would be AMAZING! Old rubber i know... But $40 for a prop, $30 for gear, $80 for new impeller thats $150 just right there.

This gas engine will be fixed, but will have to be set on the back burner for the moment. I need a electric trolling motor and my paddles for the lakes, I dont see me taking on the Columbia for awhile. But I will still take apart and post pics so I know what Im dealing with. I still will tinker with it until I have the money. Im still thinking about converting it to a more powerful engine, but either way the bottom end needs to be in decent shape to take more hp then it was intended. Or I do have a 4 stroke 6.75HP briggs and stratton small engine laying around from a pressure washer thats broke from non-engine reasons. That would be more reliable then the old clunker.


Maybe tuesday I will be able to work on it some more, I havent even checked to see if it has oil... Figured out I was to do that before starting... But to my credit I was thinking engine when I read that. I have a 2-stroke, but i guess the bottom ends have oil as well. Newbie mistake I guess, I was just excited to see if it would turn over at all, didnt even think of the bottom end.

 

[Sparksman]

So after much thought and deliberation I cant justify dumping $150+ into parts, when for another $100 on top I could just buy a newer engine then this in working order. So as much as I really wanted to make this one work, and raise it from the dead. I think buying a motor I want and rebuilt that would ultimately be the better rout. This is 40yrs. old with unknown hours, and I really want a 10-15hp for the big river. Why dump money into a motor I already want to replace.. I dont believe I would get much for it being broke and needing a bit of work anyways as far as selling it goes, so why not keep and use as is.

Since it starts and runs, I may just use as is until I come across something else. Il just keep my oars on hand for the day it doesnt work lol... It is air cooled, and the impeller is moving water as of now. Since the twist throttle gear is broke, I'l have to leave the engine cover off. Not only will it aid in overall cooling, but allows easy access to throttle bracket for manual adjustment.

The important thing to remember is I got it free. If I get a few days use out of it, it was worth my invested effort. The new plug $3,can of paint $7, Im about $10 into it altogether. Ive seen newer 7.5 gamefishers for $150 on my local craigslist. My cousin said he thought it was seized and it was going in the scrap pile. There are a few used boat motor recycler guys on CL, If I can source the parts cheap enough I will fix.

I have been kicking the idea around of mounting a electric lawn-mower 60amp AC motor to the outboard. You can find electric mowers easy on CL, and you will need a inverter, 1500watts constant for 60amps. But I think on the small lakes were its electric motors only, being able to zip around would be badass! I did find a cordless 24v mower motor, which would be cool if you drove a diesel. Just swap it out for one of the trucks 2 batteries to charge on way to fish lol. I dont own a diesel though... So 12v inverter rout is best for me.



---- I took off the prop and found a mini nest of line





---- I found one of the upper bolts was loose.... Obviously water got in.. I cleaned it out, put some marine grease on the gears, cleaned the matting surfaces and used gasketmaker to seal when I tightened back up. I topped of with fresh oil, and Im hoping it was the loose screw that let water in.



ya ya I made a mess... I was surprised that much was left in it after I tried to drain..





----- Its lipstick on a pig... But I like me some bacon haha...

 

[GA_Boater]

Don't the free boats get expensive? Every time I saw a price, it was yikes.

If she runs for a week or 10 more years, take some oars. :smile:

Had a thought on the throttle gears. Noticed looking up parts that both are the same PN. Wonder if you could switch them and the good teeth would mesh? Or if the gears aren't keyed, rotate the chipped one on the shaft. The gears aren't rotated 360 degrees from idle to wide open, so you might find the sweet spot with good meshing. If that works, it's a free fix!

 

[Sparksman]

Don't the free boats get expensive? Every time I saw a price, it was yikes.

If she runs for a week or 10 more years, take some oars. :smile:

Had a thought on the throttle gears. Noticed looking up parts that both are the same PN. Wonder if you could switch them and the good teeth would mesh? Or if the gears aren't keyed, rotate the chipped one on the shaft. The gears aren't rotated 360 degrees from idle to wide open, so you might find the sweet spot with good meshing. If that works, it's a free fix!

Yes they do lol... thought I'd be $100 at most into this, as of now I will be $300 into boat restore, and countless hours of labor. Not counting regging the boat, a anchor for the lake, a electric trolling motor, live vests, ect.. Im hoping to be no more then $500, not counting future motor plans. I couldn't find as nice of a boat for $500 once Im finished, so I still feel like Im coming off on top, although its not about money. Im trying to figure out some way to get the twist throttle to work, be more convenient.

I have a bad habit of finding expensive hobbies....

Im just wrapping up a 3 year project on a car, Im about $6k into upgrades to that. I got out of RC's because I realized I had $800 into a toy truck... Firearms are expensive, I sold all mine but my last two. I wanted to get into fishing for a cheap hobby to do on the weekends. Now Im hundreds of dollars deep into a boat and still no fishing licence haha.... I still cant believe how much outboard motors cost!?!? That will be the biggest investment hands down.

I also wanted to make a correction in my last post since i cant edit: You need 1500watt constant inverter for a 13amp not 60amp. Most of the motors are 10-13amps. 60 amps would need 6600watts and that would require a generator lol.

 

[Sparksman]

I have a update for anyone who fallows this! As normal Ive changed my mind about something or another. Ive been talked out of gel coating the inside white by a few people for different reasons, so now thats out. I did however recently see a badass big block jet boat with a rootbeer scheme. Guess what Im going to do!? Im going to try and recreate the same essence of cool and style, just with a little fishing boat and 500hp less. I bought some fancy black primer, and some urathane drab tan in satin today. Where Im going to have bed liner, Im going to paint that dark brown. I found some Rootbeer colored gel coat that Im ordering next payday! With my little white engine this thing is going to look sharp! Im also going to order some cleats for the railing, 2 on each side. Im going out tomorrow to roll out some bed liner and paint the inside tan. Il update again soon!

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I know it really looks like i missed a spot up front but I swear its a reflection. I know I would have noticed a spot that big while spraying lol... But the pic does make me second guess myself, I didnt notice until I got home.



I just sprayed it, but it does seem quite glossy for primer?

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Nothing wrong with changing your mind. It'll be interesting to see how she comes out. Root beer, mmmmmm. :hungry:

 

[Sparksman]

Finished applying the bed liner on the inside. I masked it off but due to the texture of the boat I was expecting it to seep through with the roller. After it dries I will clean it up with acitone and some hand sanding. Next I plan to paint the black spots a light brown, a lighter brown then the bottom. Then I will mask that off, and apply the final coat of tan on the inside.

I think I settled on a color, its as close to a rootbeer as I could find. Color code- RAL 8007. Unless someone has a closer, or a actual "rootbeer" color code I can use. The site online i found to order custom colors needs the RAL.

http://www.fibreglast.com/product/ral-8007-fawn-brown-color-gel-coat/colorgelcoat

I have a question, I want to add some flake to the color on the bottom. Im a bit confused as what step to do next after sanding. Im not sure if I need to do anything to the gel coat before applying the clear and flake. I believe I would just sand, wipe down and clear/flake/clear. Is there anything Im missing?

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[Sparksman]

Update-
Im now finished with the inside, I hope to have the outside finished before too long. Im going to add some orange and silver pearl to the root-beer brown. Im also going to add 4 cleats on the railings. The color is a tan/khaki, it looks more grey/blue in the pics...