Bought a Larson Have No Idea What it's about

dawgdaydrama

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Apr 7, 2020
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I can imagine you probably regularly get guys like me that join the club because we have a need for an answer and I'm sure it happens often. Let me say I am sorry, I have come here for answers. I am a boat enthusiast, my problem I am a car enthusiast too... cant' stand to see an old boat or car sit there looking old and tired, I often need to make them mine and then learn as I go, well nothing new here, I find myself in that all to familiar place..... Understand all of my description that I am about to give you can from a very old man who's best friend just died and he inherited this boat and he placed it for sale right away. He has ridden in this boat and took it out once so he has some information but not good information. I will post a picture of the boat to go with my cry for help as well. I am told this boat is a 1991 Larson Legacy 180, I noted in the description of other Legacys there were letters that followed the name of Legacy Sport, they talked a lot about MerCruiser motors and other stuff. on this Larson Legacy I am told it has a Volvo Penta engine, he wasnt sure of the size of the engine and he thought the Horsepower was 205. There is no manuals or information on the buttons and knobs and I have not been able to find such as when I enter what I know about the boat, it doesn't seem to be enough to get any leads. I would appreciate any help in finding information on this boat and hopefully an owners manual. Thank you. My name is Joe I am a Navy Vet and I am from Eugene, Oregon
 

tpenfield

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Welcome to iBoats :welcome:

Boats typically do not have owner's manuals (for some reason), but if you can get a model number & serial number off of the engine, then you can get a manual for the engine. Most of the boat's controls are about the engine and outdrive.

You say you are a boat enthusiast . . . does that mean experience or merely desire?

See what you can Google . . . as far as info, etc. I believe there is a Larson Owner forum somewhere on the web. Boats are not all that different among brands, once you get to know about the engine and its controls, but just based on the pictures, I'd say the pointy end is the front (bow) :D
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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first, welcome aboard

next, unlike cars, which can sit un-used for 70 years, and be brought back to life, boats usually do not show signs of damage and rot until the whole thing falls apart. A bit of caution as the average life expectancy for a boat is about 15 years with proper maintenance, then systems need to be repaired, rebuilt, or replaced.

boat controls are basic. the round thing you grab and turn is the wheel, then there is the binnacle control that gives you throttle and gear selection as well as engine tilt/trim. from there there is a key start, a horn button/switch, a blower button/switch, a bilge button/switch, and a dual light switch for bow/stern lights

beyond that, the pointy end is the bow, the end with the propeller is the stern.

your engine and drive manual will be the most important, especially on a 30 year old boat that may have both structural issues as well as mechanical issues.

start by reading the stickies at the top of every forum

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...68-must-have-technical-information-for-diyers

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information
 

dawgdaydrama

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Apr 7, 2020
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Ted and Scott, thank you for your responses. I am pretty well oriented with the pointy end of the boat, thank you. I am a retired Surface Warfare Designated Naval Officer with just under 30 years of Naval Service, getting up in age and probably forgot a lot of what I've learned but orientation aboard a waterborne vessel still resignates pretty well, thank you.

My pleasure craft background is more with sailboats, not remembering the exact models, I had a Jensen Marine and a Mirage Yachts sail boat at one time, one was 23 foot long the other 31. I also owned a 1987 Campion a number of years back that we enjoyed using for fishing and crabbing out of Anacortes, Washington. So my questions are not so much orientation aboard the boat but wanted to know if there may be a place or website to go to to find a manual on this boat I just acquired. I can't say it has been well cared for, as the previous owners, 1. could hardly walk from one end of his home and 2. acquired the boat with the intent to sell, so the boat sat for awhile. The engine starts right up and runs very well and I have undressed the boat down to a shell and handing over to a detail friend of mine today. There are a few parts I want to replace but not really knowing what the boat is that I have has made it difficult to find what I need. It was my hope that I might find in this forum a Larson Boat enthusiast that could tell by what I provided and the picture what my boat was and point me in a direction of discovery so that I can move alone smartly with restoring this sea gem to it's original beauty.

Again, thank you for your inputs, I will try to use the bits you have provided to piece together more information and hopefully be successful in obtaining the few parts I need to complete this project.

Jor Richter
 

Bondo

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Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... From yer description, 'n pictures, you've got a 4.3l Chevy motor, 'n 4bbl carb(205hp),.....

Yer drive is obviously a dual-prop, but I'm not up enough on Volvos to tell ya which one,......

LouC will probably be along soon, 'n he's My go-to Volvo guy,......

For shop manuals, in the Adults Only section, there should links to 'em,....
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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unlike cars, boats dont have manuals. what you get when you shell out $150k these years is a boat, and a stack of paperwork. you get the stereo manual, the motor and drive quick-start guide, the motor and controls operations manual, the trailer parts breakdown manual, and a 4-page brochure on the boat indicating that the pointy end is the bow, the prop is in the back, and a list of certifying dealer.

for your 30 year old Larson, feel free to call them. However keep in mind the company has been bought and sold a few times in the past 30 years. 3 times in the past 5 years. Current owner is Polaris Industries. Prior to that was Marquis Yachts, prior to that was Wabash International.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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by the way, the drive is an AQ DP A or a DP B, a variant of the AQ290 DP. being a 1991, leaning toward the DP B

would need to look up here on teh iboats hosted volvopentastore.com website.
 

dawgdaydrama

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Apr 7, 2020
Messages
7
Bondo and Scott, thank you for your input, I really feel progress is being made. Bondo, you have confused me, but I'm thinking my confusion was already there, you have just confirmed it, that said, you said you thought I had 4.31L Chevy engine, then where does the Volvo come from, I was thinking it was a volvo engine? Enlighten me please, when you ended with 205hp, that was in line with what the person I bought it from said, so perhaps the disconnect is my own.

Scott, the info you provided sounds really good. I will certainly follow up with it and see what is available for information. I was standing in the boat this morning looking at knobs and labels, knobs all worked and labels sounded familiar but need just a little bit more. Like do this before you do that and if this is happening then do this, etc. A lot of that will come later as my detail guy just picked up the boat and is doing a pre-paint prep and when I get it back will have the boat repainted. The paint wasn't terrible but there were some peeling vinyl and some scratches that were obvious and I would like it to look better. At least that way if it breaks down, people can still have something positive to say about it as it's being towed by them.

I want to thank the few of you that have taken the time to help calibrate me a bit, I want to get this right and to be able to enjoy this boat for at least a few years. I'm a busy body and know that I will get bored with this in the not too distant future but will also be seeking another boat when this one departs. Hopefully my knowledge lever will be better and I will know what to look for. In the meantime, I will enjoy this one to the fullest possible. I will check in from time to time for help and progress reports if anyone interested. Cheers, Joe
 

Bondo

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Bondo, you have confused me, but I'm thinking my confusion was already there, you have just confirmed it, that said, you said you thought I had 4.31L Chevy engine, then where does the Volvo come from, I was thinking it was a volvo engine? Enlighten me please, when you ended with 205hp, that was in line with what the person I bought it from said, so perhaps the disconnect is my own.

Ayuh,..... Volvo, Merc, 'n formally OMC, 'n Yamaha buy/ bought long block motors from GM, 'n then marinize 'em with their own accessories,.....

The 4.3l of that time, with a 4bbl. carb, were rated at 205 hp,.....

Very few I/O motors were built by the name on 'em, exceptions bein', Volvo used to use their own B20 motors, 'n Merc used to build their 470s, 'n now their 4,5l motors,.....

The most common I/O motors are, 'n have always been the SBChevy,.....
 

dawgdaydrama

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Apr 7, 2020
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Wits End with My Larson Boat

I had an opportunity to buy a boat that was old but had been cared for and so I did. 1991 Larson Legacy and I have almost completely restored the boat and soon to take it to the water, only one problem; it did not come with owners manual and I am not familiar with the instruments on the boat, etc. People have been telling me that the engine in this boat is a Chevy 305 small block V8, so I purchased the tune up items to do the tune up only to find it has a 6 cylinder engine. All the engine markings are indistinguishable and nobody local has a clue what this boat is or the engine in it. They can replace my spark plugs but that's it. I have written Larson headquarters and because of this virus situation, to my understanding, they are not answering their mail as good, or they should have just said they are not answering their mail. I give a final plea, does anyone know what the V6 engine is in my 1991 Larson Legacy, I would really like to finish up with this boat and get if floating for awhile. Thank you.
 

GA_Boater

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May 24, 2011
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Look down by the starter for a plate with the serial number. Also we have to know who married the GM motor to the stern drive. Got any idea? Mercruiser, Volvo-Penta or OMC are a few suspects. Take a few pictures for us.

Larson is probably closed as being non-essential or laid off since BRP discontinued the Larson line during the pandemic.
 

GA_Boater

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Just merged both threads after seeing this thread in the Larson section.

Sorry I said BRP closed Larson, it was Polaris who bought BRP a few years ago. So Polaris shut them down.
 

dawgdaydrama

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Apr 7, 2020
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JBCurt00 I am new to the forum, I remember asking a similar question, not knowing I had a V6 at the time, when I came back to the forum I could not find the thread where I was at, I figured it may have been deleted so I started with a similar question, a little bit different, perhaps not much. I am getting more familiar at how to get back at my threads now, yes, a little embarassed for asking the same thing twice but honest mistake, won't happen again. I took the chance of a duplicate question rather than not get the answer I received back, again, thank you for your patience, I think I am getting the hang of how to get around here now.
 

QBhoy

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Hi. If it’s a 4.3 and you assume 205hp, it’s either an AQ205 or 431 spec. Thinking at that age it will be the later 431. Same engine. 4 barrel carb and 205hp.
the drive will be a DPA/DPB....of which most will have it under the banner of a 290DP. I’ll admit to being recently enlightened about this on here.
good engines and great drives...as long as you take care of that drive. They are brilliantly engineered but not without their perks. Like wanting to take water in through the gear oil drain plug. Seal it up with silicone after each oil change...or be extra careful not to nip the o ring seal. Extremely common to do so. You’ll want a GL5 75/90 spec gear oil for it. About 2.8-3l of it from memory.
 
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