Speedometer

Nerner

Recruit
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
3
New boat owner today. Purchased a 2004 Regal 1800 bowrider with a 4.3 Merc. The outside has a very small hairline crack with some gear oil leaking. I wanted the previous owner to fix before we purchased. He had a local professional aluminum welding company fix it yesterday. Did a great job and looks like it will last a long time. Unfortunately I took it out today for my maiden voyage and now the speedometer doesn't work. After looking on the internet, I discover the new weld is covering the speedometer hole. Do I just look at the dash of my new boat with a broken speedometer? Do I drill out the hole? Thank you
 

Nerner

Recruit
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
3
Ok. I'll have to google how this works. Thanks for doing this and taking the time. I'm a rookie and barely know the parts of a boat let alone finer points. Thanks, I'll check this out
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Speedos are what's known as 'pitot' gauges. They work on pressure. That hole that was in the front of the drive (that got welded over) is just a passage up the the tube that runs to the speedo. The pickup I linked to is just the same. Disconnect the speedo tube from the fitting on the transom plate (inside the boat, behind the engine) and connect it to the new pickup.

As the boat travels faster, the pressure in the tube increases, and pushed the speedo pointer up higher. Just be aware, at low speeds, say less than about 12 knots, those pitot gauges are pretty much useless. And even at higher speeds, their accuracy isn't great.

Chris......
 

Nerner

Recruit
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
3
Hi Chris, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I appreciate it. I'm going to see if I can locate that tube. See if I can make sense of it. If I can, I will order that kit and see what I can do.
if you have time for another question...the boat is in great shape. However I think it can be cleaned and waxed some. I boat Maguiars boat wash and washed it tonight with a pressure washer. I don't see how it did anything to clean it. In fact it almost looks like there's water"lines" or stains. Any advice on cleaning before I wax? I have Maguiars premiums boat wax but I want to make sure it's clean before I apply
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Phosphoric acid it the best to clean fibreglass with, then a new coat of polish. Phosphoric acid comes in a bottle called 'fibreglass restorer', for $tupid dollars. Find some rust converter, I use Ranex. https://www.bondall.com/ranex-rustbuster/ about 1/4 of the price of 'fibreglass restorer', and it's the same thing.

Chris......
 
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