Hello guys...Iv been coming to the iboats forum for over a year now. Have recieved lots of great information. However this is my first time posting. Looking forward to being involved in the "process" for once!
Well, I am basically new to boats. What i know is basically what i have picked up off of countless hours of reading on here.
What i have..Purchased a mid 70's something Monark Mcfast 5. The boat is in my opinion great shape. Very solid flooring( not sure if original, most likelynot), carpet is good but just dont like it so that will be replaced.(which i have done already on a different boat). Body appears to have no hole fixes, big scrathes etc..Im assuming something happened to the transom at some point and was fixed..very solid but tons and tons and tons of fiberglass mat was used placed over a stainless steel plate that runs across the transom.Problems later??? Heavily oxidized paint!!!
none of the instruments work expcept the volt/ammeter which is the only one i really cared to see work which is a plus.Guages will be replaced in the rebuild. Livewells and aerator also works. (awesome!) THE MOTOR. I believe its a 1971 but to be honest i am not 100 percent sure where to look for the serial number. Found a seven digit number on the mounting/trim,tilt bracket but unsure if that is for the motor or the bracket? But it is a 1970's something Mercury thunderbolt 800. Distrib and 4 cylinder. Love that it has a distributer,(again this could be a bad thing?). The motor was not running when I bought it. Really long story i recieved from the guy but short story was it would drain a battery just trying to start so he sent it in to get fixed. 2 months and 500 plus dollars later still not fixed so he gave the guy the money and took his boat back, and put it up for sale. Took the boat home and started fixing everything the previous owner and the guy he took it too screwed up. You do NOT want to know how messed up this motor was. I was def feeling i dug myself in a hole and lost some hard earned cash. Fixed everything that was broke. Learned what caused the owner to sell the boat (choke not connected..haha)and learned that the other guy installed a new wiring harness and carbs.(sweet). Engine starts after 5-10 seconds cold and 1/2 second warm. Runs like a top.
Also came with a pretty nice trailer. Oh, almost forgot...came with a spare lower end..actually it came with a spare (everything from engine down, second half of the whole outboard) I paid 800.00. to be honest im already happy with the purchase. I have a boat that so far is reliable and more than anything i have a really boat for fishing. Not a makeshift fishing boat.
I do need all your help on several things. Again, i have done tons of reading but i still have a few un answered questions.
1. the paint is an eye sore. At first i figured i was just going to repaint the whole thing cause i figured it was too exidized to do anything with. But then i learned on here that gel coat isnt like paint (much thicker) so i have hope that i can polish the heck out of it. My question is if there is a tell tale way to know if your paint is too far gone (and how do i know if i have gel coat)?
2. I know i need to post this on the engine section but my throttle linkage is all messed up. When i want to accelerate i have to move both throttles together... Whats the easy way to adjust so i dont have to use the "start up" throttle?
I will try and take some pictures for everyone. Appologize for the long post and look forward to your guys input and advice.
Well, I am basically new to boats. What i know is basically what i have picked up off of countless hours of reading on here.
What i have..Purchased a mid 70's something Monark Mcfast 5. The boat is in my opinion great shape. Very solid flooring( not sure if original, most likelynot), carpet is good but just dont like it so that will be replaced.(which i have done already on a different boat). Body appears to have no hole fixes, big scrathes etc..Im assuming something happened to the transom at some point and was fixed..very solid but tons and tons and tons of fiberglass mat was used placed over a stainless steel plate that runs across the transom.Problems later??? Heavily oxidized paint!!!
none of the instruments work expcept the volt/ammeter which is the only one i really cared to see work which is a plus.Guages will be replaced in the rebuild. Livewells and aerator also works. (awesome!) THE MOTOR. I believe its a 1971 but to be honest i am not 100 percent sure where to look for the serial number. Found a seven digit number on the mounting/trim,tilt bracket but unsure if that is for the motor or the bracket? But it is a 1970's something Mercury thunderbolt 800. Distrib and 4 cylinder. Love that it has a distributer,(again this could be a bad thing?). The motor was not running when I bought it. Really long story i recieved from the guy but short story was it would drain a battery just trying to start so he sent it in to get fixed. 2 months and 500 plus dollars later still not fixed so he gave the guy the money and took his boat back, and put it up for sale. Took the boat home and started fixing everything the previous owner and the guy he took it too screwed up. You do NOT want to know how messed up this motor was. I was def feeling i dug myself in a hole and lost some hard earned cash. Fixed everything that was broke. Learned what caused the owner to sell the boat (choke not connected..haha)and learned that the other guy installed a new wiring harness and carbs.(sweet). Engine starts after 5-10 seconds cold and 1/2 second warm. Runs like a top.Also came with a pretty nice trailer. Oh, almost forgot...came with a spare lower end..actually it came with a spare (everything from engine down, second half of the whole outboard) I paid 800.00. to be honest im already happy with the purchase. I have a boat that so far is reliable and more than anything i have a really boat for fishing. Not a makeshift fishing boat.
I do need all your help on several things. Again, i have done tons of reading but i still have a few un answered questions.
1. the paint is an eye sore. At first i figured i was just going to repaint the whole thing cause i figured it was too exidized to do anything with. But then i learned on here that gel coat isnt like paint (much thicker) so i have hope that i can polish the heck out of it. My question is if there is a tell tale way to know if your paint is too far gone (and how do i know if i have gel coat)?
2. I know i need to post this on the engine section but my throttle linkage is all messed up. When i want to accelerate i have to move both throttles together... Whats the easy way to adjust so i dont have to use the "start up" throttle?
I will try and take some pictures for everyone. Appologize for the long post and look forward to your guys input and advice.