1983 Procraft 1750V Boat Restoration

[eggs712]

When I looked more carefully under my dash, it looks like the wiring has been redone not long ago, but the switches look original and pretty corroded. Should be an easy job.

I'm also going to take my trim/tilt hoses to a hydraulic shop to see if they can replace them cheaper than the $200+ for the Sierra parts. This is all pending a couple paychecks, so it may be a few weeks.

In the meantime, my teleflex steering cable is frozen pretty bad. I've loosened many others by just tapping the end with a hammer, but this one is stubborn. I can hammer it in, but it refuses to come back out. I took the cable partially out of the motor tilt tube, and got out a lot of caked grease. The sliding rod in the cable also had some rust, so I cleaned up what I could see with emery cloth. The cable will twist now, but still doesn't want to slide. Hopefully penetrating oil will slowly help it work free. If not, I may try using a hand winch to pull the cable out.

 

[spybot]

Have you tried atf fluid in the cable ?
get a freezer bag/or zip loc bag. Hang this from workbench or similar. Cut a small hole in a bottom corner just big enough to get the head of the cable into then cablety the cable to the bag. You will be filling the bag with ATF some make sure it will hold and not leak. Now pour some ATF in to the bag it will slowly work its way through the cable ( With the help of gravity) Leave it for a day or two. Might want to have something rigged up to catch the fluid at the other end. This should free your cable up.

 

[spybot]

This is how i was trying to explain it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j2xD_8k5yo

 

[eggs712]

Spybot, I'll give that a go. Thanks for the tip!

 

[spybot]

It may take a while but if nothing else has worked, Why not try you have nothing to lose

 

[eggs712]

Yup exactly, and I already have a few quarts of ATF. I spent 20 minutes working the cable back to where I could screw the nut onto the tilt tube. I'll rig up the fluid after supper.

 

[eggs712]

The ATF has been soaking gravity fed for a few days now, but the cable is still stuck. When I took the cable back off, most of the ATF was gone, and some black oil came out. So I think it's working, just slowly.

I went to Home Depot and bought a couple of fittings to hook up the cable to my air compressor. Attached that today, so I'll see if that will force the crud out of the cable.

 

[chevymaher]

PB Blaster has things in it that actually dissolve rust and free things. That is what it is for.

 

[eggs712]

I've never had much luck with PB Blaster. Liquid wrench & this brand called Zep from my neighbors has worked well. I used a lot of Liquid Wrench on the cable, squirting it on multiple times for a few days.

I worry that a solvent might dissolve the plastic on the cable. Many folks on the web claim to have good success with the ATF, but the large cables often take several days, even at high pressure. If it doesn't work after a week, I'll give penetrating oil a shot.

 

[spybot]

I've never had much luck with PB Blaster. Liquid wrench & this brand called Zep from my neighbors has worked well.

I have used Zep before. It eats aluminium never thought about using it for the cable. You need to dilute it with something.
Keep trying. How did the air line work out ?
Andy

 

[eggs712]

It's potent stuff! Yeah, cutting it with something would be better. A lot of folks like using 50/50 acetone & ATF for penetrating oil, but I'll hold off for a few days. I'm more patient about boating stuff when it's cold, lol.

I don't know how it's working yet. I hooked it up and went out of town, so I'll see this evening.

 

[spybot]

Yeah the cold is a bit of a damper on things.
Keep us updated
Andy

 

[eggs712]

Yesterday, I finally got a few ounces of nasty looking oil to come out the helm end of the cable. I added 5 more ounces of ATF to the other end and hooked the air back up. The air tank lost a few PSI today but the oil is still working its way through. This thing may take several flushes to get all the gunk out.

I got the itch to do something, so I added carpet over the fore seat cushions. I already had the foam glued to the new wood, so it just needed a few staples.

 

[eggs712]

I FINALLY got the damn steering cable free. It's been two weeks of soaking, and got a second round of ATF through the cable. The cable still didn't move by hand though, so I hooked it back through the tilt tube, and got it to move out with a mallet and long bolt through the open end. Once it was all the way extended, I pushed the cable through the tilt tube and cleaned the exposed metal with a wire wheel. It now moves easily and is all hooked back up.

I'm still missing new hydraulic cables for the trim/tilt. But I may test the boat before those are replaced, just depends on the weather.

 

[oldrem]

Have to love it when you're able to salvage original parts. Glad it worked out.

 

[eggs712]

Have to love it when you're able to salvage original parts. Glad it worked out.

Thank ya sir. I think the moral of the story is to never use grease on a Teleflex cable!

 

[LJackson61]

Did you find a hydraulic shop that would put new hose on the fitting for the T/T lines? I need to replace the cracked lines if I buy this old boat.

 

[eggs712]

Not yet! I'm gonna try some places this week. I only have my lunch hour to look, so it's hard to swing by other places only open 8-5.

 

[boedekerj]

Greetings, eggs! I'm in the middle of a similar project. Similar story. (Thought I got it for a steal, floor, stringers, transom shot.)
Mine (a 1989 Bayliner Capri 1650 w/85hp OMC) is currently stripped to the keel and split (top from bottom), waiting for the snow to melt to pick back up. Unfortunately, my entire floor, bow to stern, was shot, and all of the seating and fixtures were shot, due to saturated foam holding water under the hull, so I've had to essentially start from scratch on most of the interior glassing. Hopefully, come March or April, I'll be able to start from the floor up.

I think I'm going to go your route with seats on posts, rather than glassed seats w/ cushions.

I'm hoping you might share some wisdom?
How did your sand/gelcoat mix turnout? Any modifications, hindsight being 20/20?
Did you have to do anything with the fuel tank, or was it good to go?
Also, out of curiosity, what kind of poly are you using to get that green color?

Anyway, great project. Great progress. I'll be stealing some of your ideas. Thanks!

 

[eggs712]

I used Rustoleum non-skid additive. When I sprinkled it on (first coat), it was so fine that it all sunk and you couldn't tell it was even there. It didn't work much better mixed in, either. My deck may end up being too slick when wet, but I'll have to see. I wouldn't recommend the Rustoleum additive with gelcoat; go with something more coarse.

I believe my fuel tank is good to go now after using the vinegar. I'll also run some Startron enzyme cleaner to finish cleaning it out.

I wouldn't do my sub-structure any different; I think it's better than factory now. I would probably use 1/2" ply instead of 3/4" for the deck though. The bigger ply made the deck sit a little higher to the casting decks, so I had to work harder to fill up the height gap.

The green resin is 435 polyester resin from US Composites. When that ran out, I found a local supplier with pink poly resin that dried clear.

Feel free to make a new thread in the Restoration section here, and post pics! Lots of experienced folks will be happy to help you with questions specific to your boat.