ok, what next.....

[whiskeyRichard]

We recently purchased this (pics) 38 year old boat. She's well looked after, but still old.

I just finished replacing all bellows (exhaust tube this time), gimbal bearing, trim sender and trim limit, lower shift cable, upper half of outdrive, water pump in lower half of outdrive, changed oil and filter and changed fuel filter.

The boat has a complete closed cooling system on it and it was installed about halfway through the boats life.

The boat runs great and temps are just what they should be and hold steady.

I am looking for what should be my next project on this thing....was thinking I should check exhaust risers and elbows as well as remove and inspect the heat exchanger.

Am I being a busy body, or am I on the right path here? I like to do preventative work, and we plan on taking this boat from Los Angeles to Catalina island in the late spring, so I want to deal with potential problems now.


The boat is a 1980 with a mercruiser 260.

Thanks,
wR

 

[wahlejim]

Nice Find! I would add a carb re-build, if it doesn't have an external style fuel filter/water separator, add one or change that out. Check accessibility to the tank, specifically, the pickup tube with anti-siphon valve. If it is easily accessible, carry a spare one with you in a waterproof tool box dedicated for the boat with a variety of tools to use.

 

[whiskeyRichard]

Thanks, we bought her from the original owner. Paid more than I should have, but I wanted something different and nice and figured like a horse (which we have a few of), the purchase price will probably pale in comparison to the costs of maintenance use and repairs over the time we have it.

The boat runs great, but could use some tuning for smoother low RPM running. The previous owner had mentioned that I might want to have the carb rebuilt. I have researched to death the option of rebuilding vs purchasing new vs replacing with Edelbrock. We plan to use to boat at both low and high elevations and the Edelbrock seems to be easier to tune along those lines.

The boat does have a external style fuel/water separator and I changes the filter on it.

Both tanks are very accessible, so I will look into what you suggested. One of the tanks needs a new sending unit so I will be doing some work in there soon anyways.

Thanks,
wR

 

[achris]

Pulling exhaust elbows and checking them should be done routinely anyway... You should drain the cooling system and have the heat exchanger cleaned also.

Changing to an Edlebrock (1409) is a good idea, but not because of its ease for rejetting... Merc recommends just a prop change for higher altitude... Don't go messing with jetting, unnecessary....

Chris....

 

[wahlejim]

With that information about smoothing out a low idle, carb work is definitely in order. Your choice on which way you want to proceed. I don't think anyone would think changing to an Edelbrock is a terrible idea. Also, make sure your timing is dialed in and advancing properly with a shop tach, don't rely solely on the boat's tach. Now would be a good time to do a compression test as well. It does not sound like anything is amiss, but it is good to know a baseline of where you are at right now in case issues do arise. It is also a good gauge on the health of a lot of your motors components.