Aluminum 1977 Crestliner Rebuild Finally Underway

[Patfromny]

Thanks for the prop guard suggestion, I'll take a look. I was thinking smart tabs but I think Watermann has suggested raising the motor a bit. I was thumbing through the etec shop manual and they even said that these engines seem to work better an inch or so above the bottom of the hull. I have it set even with the hull now so it is something to try. I did have a prop reworked so the next time I'm up I will try that first. I figure if I can get the engine closer to the recommended rpm then I can start playing with engine height and then, if all else fails, smart tabs. I still can't understand why this boat can't be dialed in better with a prop. It only weighs 800 pounds. Doesn't seem to me that the 40 is way underpowered it. We shall see I guess. Thanks for wiping the dust off my thread. I had nothing new to report and it was slipping into oblivion until I got the boat back home. Stay tuned for the winter err, early spring work (I'm a wimp with the cold and seem to cram all the work in starting in the spring).

 

[Patfromny]

Well, now that Micky walked into my boat shop and woke me up I figured it was time for a list of things I need/want to do this winter.
1. rewire the boat. There are too many splices throughout the run and I also want to install a cig lighter as well as replace the old bilge pump.
2. replace all or most hardware on the trailer and install new bunks. The trailer was used in salt water in a previous life and all the bolts are rusting or at the rotting stage. I noticed this while rewiring it last year.
3. add some keel rollers. The boat doesn't fit perfectly on the trailer and I will need to reconfigure the bunks and probably raise the boat if possible. When the trailer isn't deep enough in the water I can and have scratched the hull on the sides of the trailer. The bunks hold the boat off of the sides when sitting but when loading, the bunks are out of play because they are lower in the water and the front is raised. I thought the keel rollers would help when in this position.
4. paint scratches in the hull. Just for me really as they aren't visible when the boat is floating and barely visible when it is on the trailer.
5. cut down my seat bases. One of my brothers bought these new back to backs years agoand they were used for a year before the boat was dry docked. They are at least 6 inches too high.




The seats were originally an inch at most above the gunnel. So I need to cut them down. Was thinking of using my table saw with a trex blade. Anyone disagree? Thought the trex blade would be good to use on plastic. I also will have to cut down the leg for when it is layed out as a lounger.
6. Clean up the controller and wire harness install. The lake gave me a great price on the engine and even the install was cheap but it isn't really done neatly. The wire harness is visible all down the gunnel and the controller is to far forward. When at wot, the trim button on the handle is blocked by the steering wheel. I will play with it trying to move it back and maybe up and down to find the right spot.
7. Replace gas tank senders. I have the old metal tanks and one of the bayonets is stuck open. It works fine when plugged in but it leaks when not. This means I must leave the top open when not in use. I toyed with the idea of buying plastic and bookmarked Watermann's suggestion but decided to stick with the metal. I know they work fine and they won't distort. They are in great shape with no rust inside so I will install two new senders.

That is the punch list for this year. We'll see how much I get done before the cold hits. Hoping to get up there soon one last time this year and bring it home.

 

[mickyryan]

ahh yes the ole punch lists , glad I don't have winter here in florida

 

[Patfromny]

I say winter...but the truth is, once it's in the low 40's I hibernate and wait till spring. I'll probably winterize the motor, wash the boat, and call it a winter. Lol. My garage is under my house which makes heating it an expensive endeavor. No kero heater because of fumes and it is almost 3 cars big so a small space heater only works for about a foot. I have toyed with the idea of running another zone of base board but then I would have to fill the entire system with antifreeze or always leave it on. I also thpught about a used wood burning stove but then i would have a chimney running up the middle of the side of my house next to my fireplace chimney which is above one of the bays. Any other large heater is in the thousand dollar range and that is a bit much for me to do just so I can work on a boat for a few years. Instead, I thrash in the spring and put off till next year whatever I don't get done.

 

[mickyryan]

hmm ever look into radiant heating ? put some copper pipe on floor pour like 2 " of concrete to hold it or hardwood flooring over it then circulate it through chimney of existing house grabbing excess heat that escapes and take it to the floor now that is a good project

 

[Patfromny]

Their using pecs for radiant now too. Copper for the chimney coil I would imagine. Sounds great but once again, not super cheap. I was thinking of getting a propane job site heater and leaving a window open. Just not the biggest fan of propane in my house. Wood stove would be perfect if I had somewhere to hide the chimney. I honestly could bore up through my fireplace and use that chimney. It has never been used by us. Or just get a propane heater and keep my fingers crossed. Probably going to do propane. Lol

 

[WIMUSKY]

I use a propane Hot Dawg heater that's mounted on the ceiling in a corner. Mines 45000BTU and will heat the garage to 60 in heartbeat when it's really cold..... Think WI....... Everyone in my neck of the woods has a pig in their yard......

 

[Patfromny]

Now that is funny right there Wimusky. I looked at the big Dawgs and I don't think it would work for a few reasons. The first and most glaring being that my garage is under my dining room and kitchen so the ceilings are only about 7 ft high. The heater would be about 5 ft off the floor. Also, The way the garage is layed out with shelving and where the doors are doesn't leave a real good place for it. I would also have to pay a plumber to install it. Gas is the only thing we as homeowners aren't aloud to play with. Not that I'd want to. I think if I get up enough gumption I'll just run a new baseboard zone into my garage. It will only be about a 20 ft run from my furnace and my basement ceilings aren't finished. 2, 8 ft sections should do the trick, I'm not looking for 80 degrees. Maybe I can put in a shut off valve and a drain so I can leave it empty when not in use. Anyone ever hear of something like this being done? I'll have to ask around and see if this is doable. It will certainly be the cheapest solution. Cheap is good, especially when trying to get a heated garage approved by the boss. Otherwise I will be in the yard. Lol

 

[mickyryan]

or you could heat whole house from basement then as heat rised it would keep rest of house warm as well

 

[Patfromny]

Good selling point there mick. I'll tell her it's a new kind of radiant heat for the dining room and kitchen. Lol. I used to work on cars all year round in the garage and never remember the garage being that cold. I then realized that I drove the cars in and they were warm. I guess I could heat the garage with my Firebird in the next bay but that would mean I would have to get her running again....Maybe I'll just work in the cold

 

[mickyryan]

used to build cars myself before I got married and had children lol this is a lot cleaner hobby , and I don't suffer quite as many monetary setbacks do to misunderstandings with law enforcement clearly I wasn't doing a California stop ... I was drifting officer and your radar gun is wrong clearly I was going much faster then 130 in a 55 can we do it over?
but ya its all in the sales pitch with the missus ... my sales is strong don't forget to mention the faster hair drying and nail drying benefits of basement heating and warm feet and even throw in the bad health problems the family pet endures because of her lack of floor heating go with guilt only when you see she isn't budgin never ever mention why it would help you , it seems more selfless when you leave yourself out of the beneficiary factor lol

 

[Patfromny]

All good points Mick. All good points. I am redoing my main bathroom and powder room in the next month or so and was thinking of doing radiant. I wanted to do it in the master two years ago when I redid that but cheaped out in the end. I def. Regret it. I'll tell her heat for me, heat for you. Lol. Then I'll be buying a new set of pots and living in the cold garage when not redoing the bathroom and installing the radiant.:lol:
I bought my mothers house and have used this garage to restore cars and some street race stuff since I was 14. I still have my last build and never finished it. It was a frame off that gave me many problems when I started it. I was young and foolish and just pushed it in the garage and forgot about it. Now that I want to use it I can't afford to finish it. Taxes, bills, kid, you know the drill. I should have finished it when I was living at home and making good money with no bills. Might get it running and sell to fund a new kitchen. Just a waste of space right now.

 

[mickyryan]

naah it holds memory's its not wasted and one day you will look over and go hmm I'm going to finish that and it will be fun!

 

[Patfromny]

One day when I win the lottery. Or one day when I have ten thousand sitting around with nothing to do with. One day :cold:. It actually does well as a shelf to hold spare moldings and my softball stuff fits nicely in the trunk. My wife never minded it until she found out how much it's worth. I had a buddy fly up from NC to take a look at it. She started asking why he would come all the way here to look at an old piece of junk car, I told her it wasn't junk and all the hard work is done. Pretty much needs to be put together and painted. The paint is the expensive part though. Plus a few parts still need to be purchased. If I were to ever finish it, I would probably put it all together and let someone else paint it. The thing that stopped me in the first place was that I need to pull the brand new engine and put a new pan on it as well as the correct throw out bearing. They sold me the wrong one in the right box. Easy? Yes, but frustrating to have to pull the motor when it only has a half hour on it. I didn't have the patience back then and it has cost me a nice convertible. I'm surprisingly not really interested in cars anymore. I have restored a few for myself and many for spare cash. I was the engine, interior, electrical, and getting it correct and original guy. Never learned body work and paint. Never had to. Paint used to be pretty cheap. Now, I'd get more joy from a new kitchen. The boat turned my resto gene back on and it is alot cheaper than these old pony cars.

 

[mickyryan]

No Title

I feel ya pat I too used to love restoring cars racing cars and all that but man boat is sooo much more enjoyable this was my 64 and a 77 grand prix we dropped a 421 with 3 duices into lol then a sd 455 it wqsnt the fastest but man it never lost control

 

[Patfromny]

Nice mick. I'm a Pontiac guy too. My unfinished project is a 69 Firebird convertible 4spd. It was a rare car, HO350, but the motor was gone when I got it so I put my 69 400 in it and changed it to a 400 car with the hood, grille chrome, and 400 bumper. It was optioned pretty nice with discs, 3.55 posi, rally gauges, and the quick ratio power steering box complete with the trans am cooler. I added an original power seat, rear fold down seat, tilt wheel, as well as an original 4spd console into it so she is almost fully optioned. The motor was out of my street race car and it went fine until these fox body mustangs came out. I think i went 12.80 on nine inch slicks in my old hard top. No power adders. Like I said, it was plenty until the mustangs came out and with an under drive pulley kit alone would do just about that. Ahh the good old days. I traveled the country, mostly the east, with a buddy who had a car in that hot rod fastest street car shootout thing. We did well and he won the championship in a couple of classes before he packed it in. He had an s10 pickup in the pro street class the last few years that was in the sixes. Lots of fun. But now, as I've said, I would be pumped with a new kitchen. How pathetic have I become. Lol

 

[mickyryan]

Is ok we have learned iver the years ,quality sustinence=everythin else lol

 

[Patfromny]

Well, she's home again. We went up to close up for the winter and drag the boat home. I did get one more ride in her on the way to the ramp and she went 25.3 with about 500 plus pounds of us on board.(3 of us). That was with the prop I had the cup taken out of. promising? Not sure but I'll take it. I still have to winterize the motor and change the LU fluid but I did get her washed up quick.




I then put on my "CUSTOM" cover. I was browsing a cover companies website and was having no luck finding a cover to fit my boat. They all sell covers for a 16 foot boat with a 96 inch beam. my beam is 76. Up pops a conversation window from a sales rep so I bite. Big mistake. I told her I couldn't find a cover for my 77 Crestliner. BOOM, up pops a window that says 77 Crestliner 16 foot V hull bow rider cover. Well, I guess I was drunk or half asleep because I bought it. here is the precise fit it offers. keep in mind that the poles under the cover had to be extended to about 5 feet to make it fit this nice.



it is a real nice cover. I like the motor cover sewn on feature but it goes below the water line. it also has pockets on each side in the front for a trihull I imagine. Custom my butt. if you own a 16 to 18 ft trihull I would highly recommend this cover. PM me for the maufacturer. I was going to return it but a buddy of mine does upholstery and said he can fit it to the boat and add snaps. That should help out tremendously when covering her in the water at the dock. We have been running bungees underneath the boat from side strap to side strap to hold the old cover on. This means you have to be in the water to cover her. not much fun in the spring or fall. Not much fun in the summer either to be honest with you.

 

[Watermann]

Cover looks like it'll fit a cuddy cabin boat :lol:

 

[Patfromny]

It is a little higher on the other side. it was dark and starting to rain when I covered it so I didn't get it centered but still. Look at how high I had to make it. the triangle in between the two poles is the windshield. I bet if I took the poles out the cover would meet or even overlap at the bottom. lol