my introduction i guess

hi everyone, new to boat ownership.

i recently acquired my wifes grandfathers boat. he blew the motor last week, cyl 4 has 30psi compression. he was gonna junk it, so i took it off his hands, and towed it 350 miles from Massachusetts to delaware.

im an auto technician as my day job. heres what i know about the boat.

i believe its a 73-75 mfg gypsy or super gypsy. engine is a mercury 115 hp straight 6 2 stroke
boat needs a new floor, motor needs a rebuild, all work will be done by me.
pic of the boat on its way home

Re: my introduction i guess

"boat needs a new floor...."....................Huge red flag there. Get ready for more work,,, a lot more. A rotten floor indicates the stringers and transom are also rotten as rot USUALLY starts low and works up. Good luck with her.

Re: my introduction i guess

:welcome:

Re: my introduction i guess

crabby captain john said:

"boat needs a new floor...."....................Huge red flag there. Get ready for more work,,, a lot more. A rotten floor indicates the stringers and transom are also rotten as rot USUALLY starts low and works up. Good luck with her.

Click to expand...

if its to bad then i will just junk the boat and get something newer. there is alot of sentimental value in the boat for her family, and i think her grandfather will be buying most of the materials. im gonna get the motor sorted out first and then pull the floor out

Re: my introduction i guess

get the floor sorted out first then you don't waste money on an antique motor that has no boat to go with it.

Re: my introduction i guess

Welcome to iboats..... I wish I could be more optimistic but I'm afraid your fil may have had the right idea

Sorry to say but the engine rebuild is probably a deal breaker too... You MIGHT find a used engine for parts but there are a lot of parts that just aren't available for those old tower of power's anymore and if you can find em the price may knock you off your feet....

I love those old mercs and I have one on a boat "free boat" in my sig) and I have a spare powerhead n a couple spare lower units but I personally wouldn't even consider trying do an overhaul on one due to difficulty obtaining parts and lack of value/ likely issues with other systems such as wiring, ign, etc

98% of the time the rotten floor starts with rotten stringers and include a rotten transom... the cost in supplies and time invested can be many times more than the value of the finished boat

If after considering all the facts you are still determined to push on then you have come to the right place.... there are folks here that can help you through the whole project.

Re: my introduction i guess

The Merc inline 6's are legendary motors, but you will definitely need a Clymer manual at least to acquaint yourself with its intricacies. It yours is older than 1980, you probably have the old distributor-type ignition. Count on the wiring being degraded and a new wiring harness. Due to today's gasolines, the timing should be set at no greater than 21 deg at max advance as they are prone to detonation otherwise. Make sure you have a tach and can make 5500 RPM at wide open throttle once you have it going again, and replace the impeller every year.

Nothing quite like they way they scream at higher RPMs though. You will find that that motor definitely has a following.

Smokeonthewater is right -- probably a trainwreck in getting it going again, but they are great runners when right.

The Merc forum will be your friend!

Re: my introduction i guess

the motor is a 1985 mercury 115hp elpt (just found all that out)
i found the parts im expecting to need, assuming there is no major damage to the block/etc, and if there is im not gonna waste time on it. it looks like alot of stuff was replaced in 2007, according to some stickers on the engine. all the wiring is great aside from 1 wire which is frayed. its a coilpack set up and that all looks like its been replaced at some point.
bearings, pistons and rings are listed as in stock on a few websites. and are decently priced. i would like to do the motor first as that is more up my alley being a mechanic. and if i fix it and the boat is trash, i can look for just a boat. i have a few co workers with boats who are trying to sell them or considering selling them, and i could most likely grab only the boat off them

Re: my introduction i guess

from what i gather, he maintained the motor religiously and took it in for service all the time. but never did a damn thing to the boat itself, when it blew we were cruising at 5k rpms according to the tach, and then it just shut off, it fired back up knocking for about 10 seconds and then we limped it back to the dock. dont know if the tach is very accurate as everytime the motor is shut off it never returns to 0. i was planning on replacing that though

Re: my introduction i guess

Well, that's great news that you have a 1985 as it has the ADI/modern ignition and integral tilt and trim as opposed to the old syle. Best power to weight ratio of any outboard ever made. A 1985 is worth fixing if you ask me as those motors are special and were the full evolution of the inline 6.

Re: my introduction i guess

If you're so inclined you could certainly do the work to properly repair the boat. It is kind of a neat looking boat, and since it has family value attached to it she might be worth saving. I'm currently doing my 3rd boat restoration right now, an 18 ft. bass boat and I'll probably have around $1500 into it when I'm done (I'm replacing the balsa core, transom, stringers, and deck just to give you a rough ballpark guesstimate of the costs involved).

Re: my introduction i guess

HOWEVER: That engine has an integral head cast into the block. IF it needs an overbore (it may not) then you must find a machine shop that can bore blind holes. And have fun working on the engine: Mercs. are notorious for being difficult to repair.