1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

[VE8EV]

I hope it doesn't turn into a full restoration, for now we'll call it a renewal.

This cabin cruiser followed me home from my father's place last fall. Its had a long life of adventure and storage, mostly the latter. OMC 235hp electric shift stringer with only 350 hours on the clock. Always carefully prepared for use and before storage but it spent the last 20 years hiding under a tarp. I used to do the work on this boat when I was a young man so this is a trip down memory lane for me.

The Admiral says she wants it running before any big money goes into it but chances are pretty good that everything will come back to life ok, just have to be careful to go through absolutely everything before it hits the water. Boating season on the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories is insanely short (4-6 nice warm sunny weekends is about the best that can be expected) so I need to get moving on it.

Here are the before pics:


John

 

[madman960]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Your link does not work for me.

Bill

 

[VE8EV]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Pictures should work now.

I snuck under the tarp a month ago, pulled off the carb and rebuilt it. Also got a new fuel pump, impeller, and the "liquid-gold" Type-C oil for the lower unit. Despite the scarcity of Type-C (BRP Premium Blend is now gone and so is the Canadian Tire stuff) most of the old stringer parts seem easier to get now than they were 25 years ago!

 

[VE8EV]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Tough to get out and work on the boat as the weather spent the last week alternating between summer (70 and sunny on Monday) and winter (30 and snowing! mid-week) but I did spend what time I could cleaning and doing a full inspection and engine prep.

Since I know the engine ran fine the last time it was used, my guiding principle was to disturb as little as possible until it was running. I pulled the plugs and put a squirt of oil in each cylinder, let it soak in for a few days and turned it over with a wrench on the crank. Siphoned the 20-year old "what-used-to-be-gas" out of the tank and put in fresh stuff, new oil (engine and drive), filters, and a battery, then cranked it for a while with the plugs out to get the pressure up and push some oil around the block. New plugs in, a shot of gas down the carb, and it fired right up.

All the gauges work and the electrical seems fine, even the old analog depth sounder still works. I replaced the bilge blower and was going to change out the bilge pump but the original one was like new so I left it.

Weather is nice today so once I get the new ropes and safety gear on board we'll go for a test splash with the engine covers off to see how it runs and watch for leaks. I'll probably pull it out again after 10 minutes or so to check the gearcases for water intrusion. Old stringer drives are just fine as long as you have a healthy paranoia level, tools, a service manual, and lots of spare parts...
:scared:

Pictures to follow...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Considering where you live and the short boating season I'm sure that boat has very low hours on it... what, maybe 7?

If you'll ship that boat down to Alabama after ice up in August I'll keep it running and in tip top shape for you during the 9 months of winter you have up there.:lol:

That is a very nice old boat, and the total hours on her can be many.

 

[VE8EV]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Considering where you live and the short boating season I'm sure that boat has very low hours on it... what, maybe 7?

If you'll ship that boat down to Alabama after ice up in August I'll keep it running and in tip top shape for you during the 9 months of winter you have up there.:lol:

That is a very nice old boat, and the total hours on her can be many.

Only 350 hours on the engine. The first 200 hours was when my crazy parents bought it in 1975, trailered it as far as Great Slave Lake, loaded it with supplies and their two little kids, and set off on a 1000-mile trip down the Mackenzie River to Inuvik It took 3 weeks but we made it all the way without incident. Six jerry cans on deck and 30 gallons in the tank was just enough to get from one little town along the river to the next. Wow.

 

[VE8EV]

Re: 1975 21.5 Fiberform Sportsman 'Renewal'

Splash!! Put her in the water today for a quick half-hour cruise up and down the river to check things out. I decided against the '10-minutes' plan but still stayed pretty close to the boat launch. Engine ran fair but needs a tune-up for sure (tune-up kit arrived on Friday but one of Sierra's factory slaves forgot to put the metal part on the rotor so gonna be another three weeks until a replacement arrives). Float bowl levels on the carb were too high (checked when I got back) so need to address that, could be the cause of the intermittent rough running. Engine didn't get much over 100 degrees so I'm assuming the thermostat is stuck open. Upper and lower gear oil was ok after 30 minutes so looks like we're good there but will always have that OMC paranoia...

Other than those few things looks like we're good to go with the balance of the work which will be to replace the floor and upholstery on the walls and ceilings and then build a salon-style hardtop and sides.

A few more pictures from today:



Here is the plan for the hardtop. Comments?

 

[VE8EV]

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I almost forgot I started this thread a couple of years ago and I hate leaving an unfinished project online. I was so busy with other things last summer that the tarp didn't even come off the boat once but this year I blocked out all of July and spent as much time as I could spare and weather would permit. I lost a week waiting for it to warm up enough to glass the deck and another for a business trip but eventually got most everything done and splashed it first weekend in August.

I gave up on the hardtop idea and went with an awning and a lightweight tented enclosure for camping and bad weather.

 

[VE8EV]

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Here's some more of the end result...

 

[VE8EV]

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June and July is boating season up here so any worthwhile boating days in August are just a bonus. Hoping to splash it at least a few more times before winter arrives.