1987 CHRIS CRAFT AMEROSPORT 284

[Dylanwinter185]

Hello, I recently purchased a 1987 Chris Craft Amerosport 284. This Boat has 2 305 mercruisers in it. I am new to any boat like this so I am just looking for any info to better my experience during restoration. Some questions I want to start with are. How many hours do the engines usually last before needing rebuild? Where is a good site to find parts? Where can I find the weight capacity for the boat? is there any other info that I should be aware of?

 

[Scott Danforth]

first, welcome aboard

next, regarding the engines. with good maintenance, they will last about 5000 hours. however you are getting the boats with 35 years on them. if there was good maintenance, you would not be restoring anything.

so best you can do is a compression test and check the overall health of your motors. compression numbers would be about 150 psi for a new motor, and hopefully above 130 psi for yours. all the cylinders should be within 5-8 psi.

what kind of parts are you looking for? as for base GM parts, you have a 1987 truck motor with marine head gaskets, a marine cam, and a marine water pump in front of mercruiser drive with mercruiser ignition, manifolds, and accessories. for base engine parts, I get either GM parts or equivalent. for Mercruiser parts, I get thru on-line channels

if you are looking at boat parts. Chris Craft bought parts from many vendors and pretty much only made the hull and upholstery

Many of those generic boat parts are available right here on iBoats

 

[QBhoy]

Hi. A friend had one of these with two 5.7 mercruiser. Was an incredibly quick machine with those in it. Would see into the 40’s at its best.
If the engines are currently in good health and condition, there is a good chance they will out last the owner usually, if they are kept well maintained. Consumable parts of note, would be exhaust manifolds and risers.
There are similar GM v8 engines around and still in service that will soon be clocking up near half a century for age. A more robust, successful and hugely utilised worldwide engine than a GM 3.0, 4.3, 5.0 or 5.7…there just simply won’t be.

 

[Dylanwinter185]

Thanks for the responses, Do you guys know where I could find the weight capacity/ person capacity? If there is any?

 

[QBhoy]

Might be a plate on it somewhere that tells you. Wee bit different where I am. We get a CE mark plate that tells you usually.
I’d say at a guess, your boat will be getting on for about 5 or so ton depending on gear. Maybe little more.

 

[Scott Danforth]

You're over 26 feet. May not have a capacity tag

 

[tank1949]

Thanks for the responses, Do you guys know where I could find the weight capacity/ person capacity? If there is any?

saltwater boat? replace motors and cooling risers and manifolds, now. Sound the transom for rot. If rot, expect a lot of money out of pocket, even if you can do work yourself. Trust me!

 

[Dylanwinter185]

saltwater boat? replace motors and cooling risers and manifolds, now. Sound the transom for rot. If rot, expect a lot of money out of pocket, even if you can do work yourself. Trust me!

Even if it was a freshwater boat its entire life?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Freshwater rots boat hulls faster. Check the stringers and transom. Salt kills bacteria, so it pickles wood. Freshwater promotes bacteria and rot

Salt water rots wiring, aluminum and engines faster than freshwater

Sunlight and Ozone destroyes plastics

 

[Dylanwinter185]

Freshwater rots boat hulls faster. Check the stringers and transom. Salt kills bacteria, so it pickles wood. Freshwater promotes bacteria and rot

Salt water rots wiring, aluminum and engines faster than freshwater

Sunlight and Ozone destroyes plastics

It is a fiberglass boat if that matters.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It is a fiberglass boat if that matters.

And all fiberglass boats of the 80s used wood and balsa as coring.

Your transom and stringers are wood, wrapped in fiberglass

 

[Dylanwinter185]

What would be an easy way to check those items?

 

[Scott Danforth]

What would be an easy way to check those items?

Test drills.

From inside the bilge, about 2" up from the hull, drill a hole or two thru the inner transom skin into the wood

If the shavings are light-colored, dry and smell like fresh cut wood, fill the holes with epoxy and you're good

If the shavings are dark, wet and smell of rotten wood....

 

[tank1949]

Test drills.

From inside the bilge, about 2" up from the hull, drill a hole or two thru the inner transom skin into the wood

If the shavings are light-colored, dry and smell like fresh cut wood, fill the holes with epoxy and you're good

If the shavings are dark, wet and smell of rotten wood....

UR SOL! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[dubs283]

Hello, I recently purchased a 1987 Chris Craft Amerosport 284. This Boat has 2 305 mercruisers in it.

Gonna guess these are sterndrives

If so, your initial interest should focus on the drive/transom assy. Once sound you can acclimate yourself to engines, house systems and specifications

 

[tank1949]

Even if it was a freshwater boat its entire life?

YES! Just less iron to rust out.

 

[Dylanwinter185]

Now that the weather is warming up I have started to pick away on some projects. This pass weekend I added trailer brakes and lights to the trailer and now its time to start picking away at the boat. On a boat like this, Is there somewhat of a easy wat to fix the gas gauges. I have drained all the old gas out of the tanks, one reads half and the other reads empty. This next weekend I am installing carb seals, putting fresh gas in, spark plugs, plug wires, oil change, fuel filters, oil filters. Hopefully I will have it running good by the end of the weekend. Any tips?

 

[Bondo]

Now that the weather is warming up I have started to pick away on some projects. This pass weekend I added trailer brakes and lights to the trailer and now its time to start picking away at the boat. On a boat like this, Is there somewhat of a easy wat to fix the gas gauges. I have drained all the old gas out of the tanks, one reads half and the other reads empty. This next weekend I am installing carb seals, putting fresh gas in, spark plugs, plug wires, oil change, fuel filters, oil filters. Hopefully I will have it running good by the end of the weekend. Any tips?

Ayuh,.... Can you get to the tank sender,..??
Open circuit is empty, grounded out is full,.....
It's usually a pink wire from the gauge to the sender,.....
The sender relies on it's own ground (black)wire, 'n the tank should be bonded to the fill fitting, 'n motor block, with a green wire,.....

 

[todhunter]

If you can pull the senders out of the tanks, you can manipulate the float manually and check the resistance on the output - should be around 30 ohm for full, 240 ohm for empty (if it is a standard sender). If you don't get a change in resistance or if there are dead spots, the sender is bad. If you do get a smooth change in resistance with no dead spots, it could be bad wiring, bad connections, or a bad gauge. Another issue could be a saturated float on the sender, causing the float to not float.

Kus-USA makes a nice modern sender which is available in several lengths - just measure the depth of your tank and order a sender that is 1/2 to 1 inch shorter.

 

[dubs283]

Any tips?

Agree with the afore mentioned tests by others regarding the fuel sender/guage system. You test the sender, wiring and guage output. Most often the culprit of a faulty fuel gauge reading is the sender, however it could be wiring or the guage itself

I would add a cap/rotor and points set (if equipped but based on vitage would guess you have a t bolt ignition) and fuel filters/fuel supply inspection. Belts, hoses, etc...

Still unknown if this setup is sterndrive. If so it's in your best interest to pull the drives, inspect/replace any suspect maintenence items in the transom assembly, e.g. ujoint bellows, shift bellows, etc... Recommend replacing sea water pumps in the drives along with base assys, pressure test and fill with fresh gear lube.

A faulty component in the transom assembly will sink the boat much faster than a poorly running engine or faulty fuel gauge