1974 Ebbtide Restoration - SPLASHED

[mercurymang]

Sand your teak with R/O Sander and capture the dust in the bag. Mix the dust with some of this spackling thinned with just a bit of water so it's like catsup...

and then fill the cracks with the putty. When it dries the next day sand it smooth and stain it with Natural teak oil. You won't be able to tell the cracks were there!! Then apply the Epoxy and Marine varnish.

Allright. I'll give it a shot.

 

[mercurymang]

Do you have the choke button or a push to choke starter switch? I see the switches on Ebay all the time - push to choke and the plain switches.

I have a choke button.

 

[mercurymang]

When I re-installed my outboard, I bought new carriage bolts. I couldn't find any Stainless carriage bolts so i just bough a couple of zinc ones that I expect to rust out in short order. I have been to multiple stores and haven't been able to find any SS ones yet. I'm curious what kinds of bolts others use and is it possible to find SS carriage bolts.

 

[nurseman]

Fastenal.com has a nice selection of SS carriage bolts.

 

[Tnstratofam]

I replaced mine with new ones from Fastenal as well. My local store had them in stock. They have helped me with several hard to find bolts, nuts, and even stainless screws. I also got my aluminum plates I used to reinforce my stern eyes there when I redid my transom.

 

[Woodonglass]

I get mine @ Ace Hardware

 

[mercurymang]

MM - Before you get a new solenoid, check the key switch and wiring with a meter. These old Merc wiring harnesses, boat side and internal, like to fall apart over time. And the key switches can fail after a few decades.

The old Ebbtide is looking good!

GA, what are the symptoms of a bad switch. I thought I had fixed this with the new solenoid but it did the same thing again at the boat ramp tonight. My symptom is that the starter is engaging but not fully. Not enough to throw out the starter gear. I'm thinking a bad switch either would work fully or not work but not halfway work. Just curious what the symptoms are for a bad switch.

 

[GA_Boater]

Sometimes the switch gets gunked up inside and just like battery posts, the voltage won't pass. Have you tried bypassing the switch and jumping from the battery connection on the solenoid to the connection from the switch? It's a white wire on my oldie.

I don't know if you can open the switch and clean the contacts, it might be possible. But if the solenoid is engaging, maybe it's the starter or the wiring. The old Merc wiring likes to crumble.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm NOT a mek-nek by any means, but...MY BIL is a Master Mechanic and he rebuilt my Old Evinrude for me. I contacted him with your symptoms and he thinks your starter needs to be torn down and cleaned. I trust his opinion 100%!!!

 

[mercurymang]

Wood, you nailed it and that's where I was leaning as well. I went and bought some brushes this morning and was about to replace them but figured I would steal the starter from my donor motor first. It appears to be in better shape. I installed it and the thing started right up. Now i should say, this happened before. It would start at home and them not start on the ramp - go figure. I'm pretty sure this time it was a done deal and I think it was the issue. I plan to do an outing tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

Thanks guys.

 

[GA_Boater]

MM - They always start on the hose in the driveway. :doh:

 

[Woodonglass]

MM - They always start on the hose in the driveway. :doh:

 

[mercurymang]

MM - They always start on the hose in the driveway. :doh:

It's uncanny.

So maybe i spoke too soon or maybe I didn't, wont know till i take it out today. I decided to tear down the old starter and replace the brushes. When I got it apart, I found the brushes to be in almost perfect shape. There was a little slop in the shaft but I would think that most of the problem would come from the brushes. The new starter seemed to work like a champ but I've already been fooled a couple of times now.

 

[mercurymang]

Well, I guess it was the starter. I took to the lake this evening and had no issues. Started perfect every time. I borrowed my daughters go-pro and to a video of our trip from the ramp to our favorite little restaurant on the lake. Enjoy

 

[nurseman]

purring nicely!

 

[GA_Boater]

I had a similar prob with my starter, it acted like the battery or connections. I finally put a meter on it and the starter was getting full voltage. I did the clean-up and brush thing to no avail. After I got a new starter, I really ripped into the old one and it turned out the shellac on the windings had broken down in spots and some of the windings were shorting. I guess in my case, 48 years was asking a lot out of it. I bet the new one doesn't last that long. :blue:

 

[Woodonglass]

MM, Check your PM

 

[mercurymang]

MM, Check your PM

Let me know if you don't see my response.

 

[Woodonglass]

Got it!!! Thanks!!! Keep and eye out in a couple of weeks!!!

 

[GM1977]

I just stumbled upon your Ebbtide thread today MM. I'm working on a '76 Lakemaster as well and it has similar or worse damage. Good to see that I'm approaching the project in about the same manner as you did. Everything is disassembled and most of my grinding work is finished, I'm trying to get money around to start getting materials. Thanks for the great pics and documentation. Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have my Lakemaster on the water as well!