I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Hey I changed out a motor on a Volkswagen bug once....

I've seen the engine pulling stands at Harbor Freight, but they're not tall enough to lift an engine out of a trailered Islander are they? When I'm standing at the stern, the top of the transom is nearly six feet off the ground, so the top of the hoist will have to be 9 or 10 feet high!

 

[nowback]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Geeze I guess I tempted fate by even suggesting that I put that thing in the boat.

The motor guy just called and said the motor is so locked up with rust it's not worth fixing, and he's got me a "great deal" on a complete, fresh, rebuilt long block for $3500 installed.

Tell me there's a cheaper way....

Do some searching around there must be a rebuilder / machine shop around
that could rebuild it for less than that!
the guy you have just doesnt want to spend the time to try to knock it apart
which can be a bit of a job.
if it still had water in the cyl the rust might not be that bad once you get
the piston pounded out. my motor had water in it for a long time then
dried, then more water, then dry again many times and it was
solid rust, broke the piston getting it out, and the cylinder really wasnt that bad.
you really dont know until its all apart!

My offer still stands. if you delivered it part way i would even pay for gas.
edit,,, thought you were on the west coast, your to far away
matt

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

I'm currently leaning towards parking the boat and waiting for the right used drive train to come along. Prolly the donor boat route. While waiting for the right donor boat, I can work on the interior slowly.

I may have another house lined up where I can work on this thing. There's woods in the backyard, so there may actually be two "stout trees" into which I could bolt a pair of 2x12's for my own gantry.

The main disappointment is that the interior, though far from perfect, is good enough that if I had a running power train, I'd get that thing in the water right away. Going with the above plan probably means the boat doesn't get wet until next summer at the earliest.

I could actually drop the money for the rebuilt engine and be on the water by July, but that's the end of the project budget right then and there and there are other things that rightfully should be fixed ASAP. I need a cover. Good covers ain't cheep. I need to rebuild the wood at the helm. I need to fix the wiring, I need to... I need to.... I need to....

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

so I finished that last post, went to google and typed in "homemade gantry" and...

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/bighoist01.html

 

[pete s]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

I am in green bay, here is an add from craigs list here.

http://greenbay.craigslist.org/boa/1772549552.html

I love your boat, big enough to handle what you want but light enough to tow still. I had an 85 starccraft 18.5' with a mercruiser 120 that had the cyl. filled from a cracked manifold, I was able to break it loose and had 120 psi compression across the board. This was only rust from one year I don't know how long yours sat, but if it isn't too bad I would think that it can be broke free and rebuilt. I am excited to see your progress.

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Hey and before you start feeling too bad for me, tomorrow I have an appointment setting up network and telephone services at a new customer of ours and that customer happens to be a strip joint

so....

 

[nowback]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

took me just over an hour to pull my motor, never pulled a motor from a boat
before, it was easier than pulling one from a car.
then about a hour to put it back in, the machine shop in my town (a guy i know)
did the boring for me as well as ordered all the parts at a fair price all was done
within 2 weeks, then it took me about 8 hours to put it all back together
which i could have done faster but i was dragging my feet.
the inline engines are easy to work on, not sure if i would have done it myself
if it were a v6. I hate piston engines, i am a rotary guy
I gave serious thought to putting in a mazda two rotor but the cost of the
exhaust and intake was more than rebuilding the old 4...
hope you get it figured out
I know a guy who had a inline 6 for sale will have to look up the add
where i seen it.
matt

 

[nowback]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Hey and before you start feeling too bad for me, tomorrow I have an appointment setting up network and telephone services at a new customer of ours and that customer happens to be a strip joint

so....

good luck with the network guessing it will take a little longer than normal. lol

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Yeah, I don't have the "stout trees" that Jas has in his yard. I don't have a way to lift motors in and out of the boat. The "alignment" thing worries me too.

Let's not forget about the green seeping fluid from the lower unit, I might need to spend a gazillion dollars getting a working lower unit.

Then I see this:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/1777394884.html

I feel like I need to be creative about this thing.

This is in my back yard! no more than 15min from my house. I live in the little town called stanwood right before camano island. I coulp get it for you can deliver for $2.00 a mile!

 

[pete s]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

another one

http://greenbay.craigslist.org/boa/1702073637.html

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Yah baby! Oh wait, that is in Seattle, rats!

Camino Island where the 165 is only 20 miles from my door Wow 750 you could buy this and have it shipped a lot less than 3500. Want me to take a look at it???? Puget Sound

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Hey and before you start feeling too bad for me, tomorrow I have an appointment setting up network and telephone services at a new customer of ours and that customer happens to be a strip joint

so....

So can you earn enough stripping after hours to buy a new engine. That boat motor may not be the only thing that quits working LOL

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Yeah! I'd be destitute and living in my boat within a month.

I emailed those two sellers in Green Bay (thanks Pete!). I'm always looking for an excuse to go to Green Bay. I think we have tickets to the Detroit game this year, but that's not till October.

GO PACK!

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Man, I just can't catch a break. The order for the strip joint (and thus, my appointment) just got pushed out to July.

Dang.

 

[pete s]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

PAPA did you get my PM?

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

I've never aligned a boat engine before. They make an alignment tool for it and it doesn't look too hard. There is even a print on this site for making your own tool. If you have access to a lathe.

You'll have to get creative to pull the engine out. it is a long ways up into the boat, I agree. I was thinking of pulling mine into the garage and then using the rafters. I'll pull the boat out once I get the engine lifted up.

That Islander might not fit into a garage though. I like that gantry idea, I saw someone in the restorations use one to pull his motor. It wasn't one of the Starcraft gang. It was on a Baja or Mastercraft, I forget. It's somewhere in the resto threads though.

Pull it out, find a replacement, then bolt it back in. Ask a zillion questions as needed. It doesn't look too hard. The tricky part is the wiring harness, which might not plug into the new engine. 1975, they don't make a replacement for that cannon plug anymore. Mine has eight pins going form the dash/gages/ignition into the engine.

 

[paparoof]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Okay, some decisions have been made.

I locked in outdoor storage/work space through the end of boating season. There are trees, but I'll have to go stare at them for an evening to figure out which ones will become the gantry.

I'm gonna pull this motor and work slowly on the interior and wiring, maybe even do the transom, floors and cabin bulkheads while looking for the perfect deal on a replacement motor. I'm thinking a donor boat/used motor at this point, but depending on finances, I could see myself going with a fully rebuilt motor in the end too.

So I called the motor guy today and gave him the bad news (for now). I'm gonna go get the boat Thursday after work and drag it to its new home.

I have a tarp and bungees big enough to cover it for now, but I think a "real" cover should come first. I'm not finding any pre-made custom-fit covers for a boat this age, so I'm wondering if it'd be cheaper to buy the fabric and sew it together myself. The snaps are all intact on the boat, so I'd just have to find that same size to crimp into the fabric, the rest is just sewing - right?

Where would you look online for fabric and snap hardware? Guess I should look here at iboats first eh?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Sounds like a great plan my friend! Check Menards for a cover, warranty plus cheap!

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. There is an enormous amount of knowledge on this website. People share freely and can talk you through most things. You've got a great support group. A safety net of sorts.

I think you made a real good decision. It will be some work but that is an awesome boat! Well worth the effort. I feel a resto thread coming on here.

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: I'm an owner! 1975 Islander 22

Sounds like a great plan my friend! Check Menards for a cover, warranty plus cheap!

Website please. I really need a cover too.