1979 thundercraft Titan need help

[ThunderCraft1979]

Hi all! I just bOught a 79 thundercraft Titan 15' fiberglass boat tri hull.
I bought it with no steering wheel, remote control, cables, and engine.
What exactly will be needed to get the engine mounted with the remote steering for my exact boat?
I found a guy selling a force 35 hp outboard with all the remote controls and cables.
Will it work for me? Is it a good choice for $450.00?
Thx

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

Hi all! I just bOught a 79 thundercraft Titan 15' fiberglass boat tri hull.
I bought it with no steering wheel, remote control, cables, and engine.
What exactly will be needed to get the engine mounted with the remote steering for my exact boat?
I found a guy selling a force 35 hp outboard with all the remote controls and cables.
Will it work for me? Is it a good choice for $450.00?
Thx

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,....

It's All in the Length of the Cables....

If the Cables are the right Length for yer hull,...

They'll Work....

 

[mr 88]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

What do you plan on doing ? Fish ski tube....If so I would be looking for 55HP and up.Also long or short shaft motor/transom info is needed.

 

[ThunderCraft1979]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

How do you measure the cables to get the correct length?
What about the force 35 outboard motor? Good or bad choice?
What is my best route to get a remote steering sytem and engine that will fit and work adiquitly for my boat?

 

[ThunderCraft1979]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

Another thought of mine is my boat being a 1979 fiberglass w/a fiberglass deck, how would I know if my wood underneath is still considered safe to be investing into this boat?
I stumbled upon this boat and the owner claimed that someone had stole the engine, steering wheel and controls.
So, we go to look at it to find the boat SUPER clean! No soft floor spots, no cracks or chips and even the paint still looks good. But NO engine. The trailer is really nice and has the tilt function built into the trailer. Very little rust at all on trailer.
The price was more than fair because I tool it on trade.
Now I have a sweet boat but I need engine and controls/cables.
Also is the wood good under the floor/deck?
Thank you

 

[mr 88]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

You already bought boat,so your investment is already a done deal.You have to check condition of transom as well.If floor is solid, stringers probably are,exploratory drill holes may be a option as well.Us the search icon for more detailed info......Do not buy that engine,it is not big enough and you are better off sticking with Merc/JohnsonEvinrude,parts and history of these are a big plus.Search craigs in nearby cities as well as yours for a 55 to 85hp.Post up before buying motor so you can be informed as to what to look for.What is the transom height of your new boat/15" or 20"?Used motors are usually sold with controls and most boats that use those engines are 15-18' so the controls should be close enough,maybe a bit long but you can route them so they still work.If motor does not come with then search ebay/craigs for used controls.

 

[southkogs]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

Welcome to the forum!

How do you measure the cables to get the correct length?

Teleflex has a good "how to" here. They also have videos and such on their site. Good place to start - and a good company too.

What about the force 35 outboard motor? Good or bad choice?

If you can find something else, I would suggest that. Force motors are not favorites out there, and parts are not as readily available. You need more HP on that boat anyway. Find out what HP you're rated for and go from there. Depending on your budget for an OB, you can start looking from there. If your boat will take up to 100HP, the old 3cyl 70HP Johnsons and Evinrudes are nice motors ... but there are others out there too.

What is my best route to get a remote steering sytem and engine that will fit and work adiquitly for my boat?

See Teleflex. I think iBoats sells their steering systems online too.

how would I know if my wood underneath is still considered safe to be investing into this boat?

Your boat is going to have wood in three places you need to pay attention too - floor (sometimes), stringers and transom. If you aren't familiar with boats enough to ascertain how solid any of those are, I would suggest paying a marine shop a fee to tell you. From there you can decide how much money you want to put into the boat. Remember that this boat will not have a value on the market of more than about $1,500 - $2,500 (as a guess) no matter how much restoration you do to it. Lotsa' guys restore old boats because they like them. I've got an old boat because I like it, and don't mind working on it. I got mine cheap, and don't have a fortune into it, so it works out.

You can spend a LOT of money on boats (Break Out Another Thousand), but you can't always get that much back out of 'em. Spend money on something (the boat for example) you and your family will enjoy, and decide how much you can spend on that enjoyment.

Have some fun too.

 

[ThunderCraft1979]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

I just found a 1973 evinrude 50 hp with controls, steering wheel, and gas tank.
Compression tests good. Seller says low hours.
Is this a good engine for $550?
What should I look out for?
Seller says accelerator cable is rusty and will need replaced.
What is the price and part number for the acc cable?

 

[southkogs]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

It's worth a look. I've owned one of those before and it was a great outboard. $550 is a good price if the motor is in good shape.

I'm a little concerned with the state of the controls. That outboard is probably an electric shift (not necessarily, but there's a good chance). If so, the control set will be harder to find. shop.evinrude.com has most parts and details for the OB, but I don't know about that old.

What is your boat rated for (HP)? And how much do you have to spend on an outboard? If you could find a mid-80's Evinrude/Johnson 70HP, and your boat was rated for that HP - I'd be tellin' you to go after one of those.

 

[ThunderCraft1979]

The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

1979 Thundercraft Titan! Picked it up on trade on a home surround sound system that was something I was NOT using.
According to this link:
http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Thunder_Craft__Titan__1979/bp/34br1503s5454y
My boat is a 150C or a 150SS. Which model do I have? I can say that the SS sounds cool. haha I'm a car guy too!
If Everyone could keep there eyes and ears open for me I need a 60 to 80 hp engine with controls. If you know of anything at all PM me. I'm trying to keep all avenues open on the motor for this boat. It is rated at 80 HP. The boat is 14' 10" long.

Here she is. When I saw this boat for the first time, It made me think of good times.

 

[Stachi]

Re: The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

Re: The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

Welcome to iBoats. In what part of the world are you looking for help finding an engine ? We have no idea where you live. You can add it to your profile. Welcome again and Happy Holidays.

1979 Thundercraft Titan! Picked it up on trade on a home surround sound system that was something I was NOT using.
According to this link:
http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Thunder_Craft__Titan__1979/bp/34br1503s5454y
My boat is a 150C or a 150SS. Which model do I have? I can say that the SS sounds cool. haha I'm a car guy too!
If Everyone could keep there eyes and ears open for me I need a 60 to 80 hp engine with controls. If you know of anything at all PM me. I'm trying to keep all avenues open on the motor for this boat. It is rated at 80 HP. The boat is 14' 10" long.

Here she is. When I saw this boat for the first time, It made me think of good times.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

Re: The NEW boat with PICS!!! L@@K

Congrats on the new boat!

Those patches on the transom may be of some concern. You should drill test holes and check the wood for wetness and rot.

 

[ThunderCraft1979]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

Where exactly do I drill the test holes?
If there is some wood rot underneath what are the concerns? I talked with a boat expert that has owned over 1000 boats and he said "even if it is rotted, the older 15' boats were made out of MORE good strong fiberglass compared to newer fiberglass boats nowadays that are made more out of wood and less fiberglass, because its cheaper to make that way"
Is this true? And is this boat worth fixing then?

So, based on the two thundercraft titan 15' restorations on these iboats forums, one being a 1977 titan and the other a 1980 titan. Both, had wood rot and they both addressed the structure. I would love to do that myself and I am handy with my hands but the task seems so daunting. I honestly haven't worked with fiberglass, wood, or boats at all for that matter, ever.

I just want to take my dog and I fishing out on the lake.

I'm in Cleveland. Where we set RAIN records haha

 

[mr 88]

Re: 1979 thundercraft Titan need help

Craigs in Cleveland will be your starting point for a engine.There is a boat with 85hp and trailer listed for 100 on Nov 29th.It probably has all the steering and hardware intact,strip it and sell trailer for 150 then junk boat or sell both trailer and hull for 150 in the spring.Now you have a motor and all the controls you need..It is up to you to search and follow up with make of motors and any other info you can come up with..Then report back here with all info.It looks like you need a long shaft which is 20'' from that era.So before you buy a motor you will need to make sure it is the proper length for your transom. I would stick to Merc and John/Evinrude....Take a pick and probe around in the holes that are already drilled in the transom.If it is dry wood that you are scrapping out you should be good to go,if it is all mushy then you probably need to drill some fresh holes and see if it is any better,if not then a transom resto is in your future.Stringers can be checked the same way as in many cases the seats are screwed into the stringers through the floor.Pull some seat screws and see what you have.You may have a reasonably solid boat that will only need a motor and controls.