1982 Sea Sprite 1789 VEE

[Jimmy7756]

Good evening to you all. I just joined today but have been scrolling the forums for about a week. First I would like to say thanks to everyone for providing such detailed information. My family (6 of us total) have just purchased the boat listed in the title for 400 bucks. It has a good motor but all the wood is shot. We are planning a total rebuild. Transom, stringers, deck, paint, vinyl, etc... Basically everything in the boat is getting redone with the exception of power train and hull (well hull will get paint ). Before anyone says it.... We know the boat will never be worth what we will put I into it. But the memories and bonding time as a family and the pride we will have taking her out will far out weigh all that. I will get pictures posted soon of her current state. We are first time boat owners and have never tackled a restoration. However I am an avid skilled wood worker and pretty much jack of all trades master of none. So i don't have any huge concerns learning new skills I will need for this project. If we get stumped you guys will be the ones we turn to, so we would like to thank you in advance.

 

[Jimmy7756]

[No message]

 

[kcassells]

Welcome aboard! Perfect family boat. Lots to do and lots of nasty fun.

 

[sheboyganjohn]

Looks like you have a good starting point. Did you water test it at all or just buy it as is? If you bought it as is I would start at the drive. Check for water in the gear oil, pull the drive and check for water intrusion and the u-joint for rust. Check engine oil to make sure you don't have a milkshake. If you get that far with-out any issues, you are getting close to a 'good power plant'. Bought mine because it had good power plants and ended up replacing both blocks.

 

[Jimmy7756]

Haven't actually taken delivery as of yet. I'm buying it from a trusted mechanic friend. It had a cracked block in the motor that was in it. The out drive is currently off so i have inspected it well. He is in the process of installing the reman engine. I won't accept it from him until its back together and running. The boat will come with extras parts.... Used complete out drive, used upper drive, starter, 2 alternator, and 2 distributors

 

[sheboyganjohn]

If that's the case and everything is as described, you have a good deal going there.

 

[Jimmy7756]

That's what we're hoping. As soon as it's all back together I'm going to drop it in the lake do a float test, take it out for a spin, make sure everything's working as far as Cooling and the carburetor and then put her in the garage and start working on her

 

[Jimmy7756]

OK, so this project is cancelled. He got the new motor in and running but there is a tick coming from the bell housing area. The only way to trouble shoot is to tear motor back out. Not willing to gamble on motor with all the other work that needs to be done

 

[kcassells]

Huh? Dats it..over.. kaput?

 

[Jimmy7756]

Yeah, i can spend way less looking for another project

 

[kcassells]

There ya go. Keep at it.

 

[Jimmy7756]

Ok, so not playing with everyone's emotions here I swear.... This build IS going to take place. I went over and took a look at the boat in person. The "tick" that my friend said it had turns out to be he used the wrong bell housing and it's not a tick rather then a "rub". The bolts are rubbing against the bell housing making the noise. The engine runs EXCELLENT!! I will be picking the boat up this coming weekend and taking it for water trials just to be sure that there are no hull areas I need to fix and the boat doesn't overheat. We ran it for about 30 minutes on muffs last night but that will not be a true heat test. All the electronics work as they should with the exception of the trim gauge. The gauge itself is working but the little sensors on the outdrive have dry rotted wires, so I will have to replace those. So sorry for bouncing back and forth with the post. Hope to keep everyone updated on the project.

 

[kcassells]

Keep on truckin! I mean boating. Sounds like a bunch of cosmetic and minor repairs is where you want to be. Hats Off...
They are few and far between.

 

[Jimmy7756]

Well from what I can gather so far it's going to need a new deck, new stringer's, possibly new transom , it's going to get repainted , and the entire interior is getting redone . I just wanted to make sure that I had a good engine , and good outdrive

 

[kcassells]

Very Good, looking forward to your project and at least you know what you are getting into. Let the fun begin.

 

[sheboyganjohn]

Good to hear. I have a "tick" issue with my port engine somewhere around the bell housing. I thought I had it isolated to a rubbing flywheel cover, but that turned out to be incorrect. I had a spare engine coupler that looked better then the one that was on it that I put on which may be part of the issue. In any event I am running mine and monitoring. If it gets louder I will pull it back apart and find the source, which should be well marked by that point.

 

[Jimmy7756]

yeah that's what I told my friend. The tell all will be the wear marks when it comes back apart. Quick question on fiberglass.... where is everyone ordering their supplies from? I've been looking around the internet but I want to get the best deal from a reputable dealer...

 

[sheboyganjohn]

For my epoxy work I was ordering from Areomarine https://www.aeromarineproducts.com/ I now get everything except glass from compositenvisions out of Wausau https://compositeenvisions.com/ mainly because they are semi-local for me so I can pick-up if I want to road trip, or the shipping is not too bad since it is close. Prices are not bad with them either. Otherwise I have been E-baying a lot of it.

 

[dezmond]

Hey Jimmy!!! Nice little project you are going to work on.. I will be tagging along for the ride for sure.. I'm in the same boat (no pun intended) as you are with my restore it is a lot of fun for sure..

Good Luck

Dezi

 

[mickyryan]

remember sometimes the tick is exaust shutters , put a 1" conduit against the areas and listen , check the lower exaust the tick is probebly coming from a shutter.