havingfun2
Cadet
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2009
- Messages
- 29
A bit of back ground history.
Over the years I have had at least one boat kicking around.Many years ago I had a smaller boat rigged up for fishing Erie. In those days pickerel fishing in Erie was second to none.
The hull was to short at 15 ft but several friends and I had a lot of fun. Even the lady that saw fit to marry me went out a few times.
Family and kids and bigger boats came to be.
Boating then migrated to Lake St Clair.
Great times that migrated towards boat cruising & swimming days.
Yes some fishing in St Clair..but it is not Rondeau and Erie!
Last year the ?family? tried a seasonal camper on a lot at Summer Plave in Rondeau Ontario.
The camper thing seemed to be of more interest so the cruiser sat in the laneway most of the summer.
Rondeau and Lake Erie have vast fishing potentials.
I?m more than happy with that!
I did launch the cruiser once for a few hour run and I would have kept it there but the channel was just too shallow?or it would have been the lake fishing boat!
So..to supplement the 16ft aluminum& 15hp and my little go fast boat that I like to play with http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/overview.jpg
I thought a bigger hull to be able to carry several people out into Rondeau Bay (shallow channel) and Lake Erie to fish was in order.
Mrs and I both like the option of a camper top (sun gets hot) and she likes at least a small cuddy and head for female issues.
The Starcraft Islander seemed to pull all of the ?new? requirements together.
I showed her a new one in a dealer's show room.
We both agreed that 45k for a fishing boat was too much.
I started searching for used ones.
In some ways this is where my screw up started.
If I would just have spent the 10 to 15k for a very good used one, I would not be where I?m at now.
On the other hand I?ve had several i/o?s. They are good for many things and a huge pain and expense for others.
Then I found this sleeping beauty.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/islander.jpg
The Mrs laughed at me..thought I skipped a beat. Even the 13 year old said it was ugly.
It was..I knew that.
On our maiden voyage, just the 13 year old and I, his mind changed when he got to fish from it.
He drove it back to the dock and on the way said Dad I like this boat the best.
The Mrs mind changed when I loaded 6 of her relatives in it and took them fishing for a weekend.
The hull and equipment worked wonders. One could not have asked for anything more.
It was so ?ugly and warn? that all the hooks and worms and fish guts did not matter at all!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/interior-2.jpgThe problem started about 5 trips across the bay. Maybe 30 miles worth.
To back up again.
I knew those old omc series drives where trouble.
The guy I bought it from said the motor was just redone a few years ago and the drive last year.
He said he had all the receipts. ( which at that time I did not look at, but did receive)
In fact the day I called he said come by tomorrow, as he?s out in the boat fishing!
I did check over the basics..as in it did look like all the things he was saying could very well be true.
It started and ran on the muffs.
It was used, it was old and yes buyer beware.
I thought..what the hay..if and when the motor or drive blows I?ll convert it to an outboard.
(the brand new one the mrs and I looked at was an outboard!)
After the maiden voyage across the bay, I grab a beer and go back to the boat and check some things over.
First issue is I see some oil on top of the value cover..that was not there before..hmm. I had heard an almost knock when underway. The boat tach I thought was off at running speed. Motor did not seem to be getting up to running rpm. Budy comes over to see the new rig. We chat..look it over again..then start it up. At the dock there is a ?new? sound.
We mess around, keep checking..came to the conclusion that by sound it was not major, but something odd was making a noise.
We fished for 3 days.. all was well.. motor seemed off.. I was going to pull it after the week end and check it over.
We did not make it fishing the last day.
What was to be the last trip for that weekend.. I started it at the dock while letting it warm up.. all the kids jump in with 2 more adults.
Just as I?m getting ready to put it in gear..a large mechanical clunk and the motor stopped.
Motor would not turn back over.
I thought.hmm..it stuck..long before I wanted it to!
Best part was it happened at the dock!
It got towed back to the trailer.
Once back at the shop I started to go through things.
Turns out (allow the compression was down and the timing was off) it was not the old iron duke that stopped..it was that %%^&* omc upper drive. Locked up tight.
It came apart.
A marine mechanic friend started checking and found that the upper gear set never got shimmed right. Even I could see the wear pattern.
Back to the receipts!
I started going through them.
yes the motor got a rebuild.. 10 years prior.
Yes the drive got a rebiuld..8 years prior.
Yes used and yes buyer beware..but it seems time passes for a seller ?very quickly?. There just seemed to be some after the fact snake oil there.
The part that really cheezed me was the oil leak. Although not the final problem, I don?t think he had been fishing the day before. The engine was clean when I saw it. He either cleaned it quickly..or had washed it down prior to selling.
Ok..
Now I?m on to my plan.
I could not even be bothered to try and sell this for parts to anyone. I did not want the call backs or anything to do this that drive system.
A marine dealer said he would give me $500 for it.
I said fine..I dropped it off and he pulled it.
I did not even collect the money..I said I?ll be back and use up that money on something I buy.
Motor/drive is out. YES!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/Picture003.jpg
Hull is now at a shop to have a new piece of sheet aluminum installed over the transom.
We thought rather than try and fill in all the holes a new sheet will give a nice new surface and all the holes will provide weld points for the new sheet.
Sorry for the looong one!
Over the years I have had at least one boat kicking around.Many years ago I had a smaller boat rigged up for fishing Erie. In those days pickerel fishing in Erie was second to none.
The hull was to short at 15 ft but several friends and I had a lot of fun. Even the lady that saw fit to marry me went out a few times.
Family and kids and bigger boats came to be.
Boating then migrated to Lake St Clair.
Great times that migrated towards boat cruising & swimming days.
Yes some fishing in St Clair..but it is not Rondeau and Erie!
Last year the ?family? tried a seasonal camper on a lot at Summer Plave in Rondeau Ontario.
The camper thing seemed to be of more interest so the cruiser sat in the laneway most of the summer.
Rondeau and Lake Erie have vast fishing potentials.
I?m more than happy with that!
I did launch the cruiser once for a few hour run and I would have kept it there but the channel was just too shallow?or it would have been the lake fishing boat!
So..to supplement the 16ft aluminum& 15hp and my little go fast boat that I like to play with http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/overview.jpg
I thought a bigger hull to be able to carry several people out into Rondeau Bay (shallow channel) and Lake Erie to fish was in order.
Mrs and I both like the option of a camper top (sun gets hot) and she likes at least a small cuddy and head for female issues.
The Starcraft Islander seemed to pull all of the ?new? requirements together.
I showed her a new one in a dealer's show room.
We both agreed that 45k for a fishing boat was too much.
I started searching for used ones.
In some ways this is where my screw up started.
If I would just have spent the 10 to 15k for a very good used one, I would not be where I?m at now.
On the other hand I?ve had several i/o?s. They are good for many things and a huge pain and expense for others.
Then I found this sleeping beauty.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/islander.jpg
The Mrs laughed at me..thought I skipped a beat. Even the 13 year old said it was ugly.
It was..I knew that.
On our maiden voyage, just the 13 year old and I, his mind changed when he got to fish from it.
He drove it back to the dock and on the way said Dad I like this boat the best.
The Mrs mind changed when I loaded 6 of her relatives in it and took them fishing for a weekend.
The hull and equipment worked wonders. One could not have asked for anything more.
It was so ?ugly and warn? that all the hooks and worms and fish guts did not matter at all!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/interior-2.jpgThe problem started about 5 trips across the bay. Maybe 30 miles worth.
To back up again.
I knew those old omc series drives where trouble.
The guy I bought it from said the motor was just redone a few years ago and the drive last year.
He said he had all the receipts. ( which at that time I did not look at, but did receive)
In fact the day I called he said come by tomorrow, as he?s out in the boat fishing!
I did check over the basics..as in it did look like all the things he was saying could very well be true.
It started and ran on the muffs.
It was used, it was old and yes buyer beware.
I thought..what the hay..if and when the motor or drive blows I?ll convert it to an outboard.
(the brand new one the mrs and I looked at was an outboard!)
After the maiden voyage across the bay, I grab a beer and go back to the boat and check some things over.
First issue is I see some oil on top of the value cover..that was not there before..hmm. I had heard an almost knock when underway. The boat tach I thought was off at running speed. Motor did not seem to be getting up to running rpm. Budy comes over to see the new rig. We chat..look it over again..then start it up. At the dock there is a ?new? sound.
We mess around, keep checking..came to the conclusion that by sound it was not major, but something odd was making a noise.
We fished for 3 days.. all was well.. motor seemed off.. I was going to pull it after the week end and check it over.
We did not make it fishing the last day.
What was to be the last trip for that weekend.. I started it at the dock while letting it warm up.. all the kids jump in with 2 more adults.
Just as I?m getting ready to put it in gear..a large mechanical clunk and the motor stopped.
Motor would not turn back over.
I thought.hmm..it stuck..long before I wanted it to!
Best part was it happened at the dock!
It got towed back to the trailer.
Once back at the shop I started to go through things.
Turns out (allow the compression was down and the timing was off) it was not the old iron duke that stopped..it was that %%^&* omc upper drive. Locked up tight.
It came apart.
A marine mechanic friend started checking and found that the upper gear set never got shimmed right. Even I could see the wear pattern.
Back to the receipts!
I started going through them.
yes the motor got a rebuild.. 10 years prior.
Yes the drive got a rebiuld..8 years prior.
Yes used and yes buyer beware..but it seems time passes for a seller ?very quickly?. There just seemed to be some after the fact snake oil there.
The part that really cheezed me was the oil leak. Although not the final problem, I don?t think he had been fishing the day before. The engine was clean when I saw it. He either cleaned it quickly..or had washed it down prior to selling.
Ok..
Now I?m on to my plan.
I could not even be bothered to try and sell this for parts to anyone. I did not want the call backs or anything to do this that drive system.
A marine dealer said he would give me $500 for it.
I said fine..I dropped it off and he pulled it.
I did not even collect the money..I said I?ll be back and use up that money on something I buy.
Motor/drive is out. YES!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/havingfun2/Picture003.jpg
Hull is now at a shop to have a new piece of sheet aluminum installed over the transom.
We thought rather than try and fill in all the holes a new sheet will give a nice new surface and all the holes will provide weld points for the new sheet.
Sorry for the looong one!
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