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  1. ratdude747

    Inherited boat, how bad is this?

    On the flip side, is it worth $60k used after repairs? Probably not. The judgement point should be what a used "working in good condition" used one goes for. What that value is, I couldn't say and will leave to those who have a lot more knowledge. Also, if one doesn't have $10k to spend/hock...
  2. ratdude747

    18ft Boat Launch with RWD Suburban

    For what it's worth (and to hopefully end this hijacking of a thread), I went ahead and installed the disable switch this evening.
  3. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    This weekend was a bust... Saturday was rain and storms, Sunday was a repeat of two Sunday's before (and I didn't feel like getting beat up by white caps!). But this weekend (Memorial day) is nothing but rain F-M from what I'm seeing. Just can't catch a break...
  4. ratdude747

    18ft Boat Launch with RWD Suburban

    Not really. The way it's set up the pedal has to hit the switch first then push the brake booster rod. Thus, the switch has to be tripped for any truck braking action to occur.
  5. ratdude747

    18ft Boat Launch with RWD Suburban

    Funny enough the binding complaint came from my best friend. He grew up with the boat (it belonged to his aunt and uncle; the uncle and his dad ran it together since it was bought in 77)... but it also didn't have brakes then. My wife never had an issue. But she also never backed it up. My...
  6. ratdude747

    Inherited boat, how bad is this?

    Same here.
  7. ratdude747

    18ft Boat Launch with RWD Suburban

    Simple. The brakes tend to bind up the trailer when the boat's off said trailer (caused issues, especially when backing in to retrieve the boat) and from experience, they're not needed at ramp lot speeds, so it's easier to turn them off beforehand and turn them back on once I'm leaving the lot...
  8. ratdude747

    18ft Boat Launch with RWD Suburban

    I currently run an RWD 1984 F-150 for towing my 16': Never have had an issue with the truck itself. I am in Indiana (no salt water!) That said, to help my chances, I did make a few mods last spring after a season with the boat: -Swapped from road tires to AT tires -Upgraded the rear end to a...
  9. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Nice. This thread comes up in google searches for the subject, so at least this information is out there now (although Gemini still gets it wrong :D ) Also interesting that the 233 uses a rare ratio. And I thought my 1.50 ratio was a needle in a haystack... good thing I don't have that! Sounds...
  10. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    That's what I thought I remembered but when I looked it up again, I kept seeing 4000-4500. Maybe 19 is too shallow then... oh well. In any case, if the "new" blades don't come in, I may just leave the 21 on there and see what happens on calmer water.
  11. ratdude747

    best muffs to use on mercruisers?

    Agreed on the first point but I had the opposite experience with my MC-1 on the latter. I received a rectangular one from a buddy but bombed a new impeller using it. The bravo-style (with the center wire and a sheet metal clip) one works a lot better (just had to drill a hole in the water intake...
  12. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Maybe none of the above. Poking around eBay, I found a new open box Piranha 3-blade A (same as my 21P I recently bought) with 14.5x19 RH blades (5 of them) for a steal (well, well under what Piranha charges for blades). Put in an offer but I may just nab it since it's cheap. The core's code...
  13. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Got home and looked at the Michigan Wheel prop. It's an SMC378. Discovered some dry rot starting under the grease: Maybe not so good after all... The Solas prop actually is a 19 pitch 4 bladed prop. Specifically a 1513-143-19. A bit smaller in diameter though (14.25) but being 4 bladed makes...
  14. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Nothing personal but I don't care for stainless. Too likely to blow my drive in the event of an impact (one of the lakes I semi-frequent has a bad spot that's eaten several Piranha blades!) and unnecessary at my power level.
  15. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    In any case, it sounds like 21 pitch is no good now, regardless on what it was then. I'm thinking of trying the 19 pitch Michigan wheel to see how we do. "Free" is free. Even if it feels like false advertising since I threw a vintage Piranha sticker on the stern (came with the NOS four-bladed...
  16. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Technically, the boat (with the stock 2-barrel setup) was advertised by Starcraft as being capable of "over 50mph" in the catalog (and was the fastest offering they had in 1976). And the 888 (302) was the biggest engine they offered for the 16'; the 18' could have a 233 (351) but I'm told it was...
  17. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Been playing with prop geometries this season and getting some unexpected results. The boat is a 1976 Starcraft Montego with a Mercruiser 888. Engine is mostly stock but has been upgraded with an Edelbrock performer 289 intake, a Holley Marine 4160 4-barrel (originally off a Mercruiser 5.0) and...
  18. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    Today would have been a good day to boat... as was yesterday. But the weather reports looked like poo poo earlier in the week (and I usually don't boat more often than every other weekend). This coming Saturday is a stormy mess but the Sunday after looks promising. But that's subject to change...
  19. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    That's what I did, remembering what a pain they were to seat. The O-ring was in good shape. As was the grease that was in there... the only signs of moisture I found were on the snap ring itself. The grease still looked nice and dry (no water blobs or the like) and still had a good consistency...
  20. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    Mine took some heavy whacks from a 4lb dead blow to seat. Granted, that was on brand new brake drum/hub units... The plastic off-brand ones it had when I was gifted the boat were a much lighter fit and leaked grease. Yes. "Bra" is the term that Bearing Buddy prints on the covers: --- I...
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