Furst boat and first restoration project, have some questions.

[Dylan Beaudry]

"didn't like my joke"

First off, R.I.P your joke

On the floor, do i understand you want to put down wood with fake wood planks over it? Moisture and added weight.

Second, I should elaborate on the floor. The current floor is becoming soft and rotted after 50 years. I'm going to take it out and replace it with new marine ply and seal it with marine paint. The fake plank I'm talking about is the popular EVA foam plank rolls which do not soak up water and weight less than carpet.

I'm expecting a slight decrease in weight from this repair as the current floor has retained much moisture. Either way, the decrease or increase in weight will be negligible, no more than 2-4lbs

 

[redneck joe]

Ok, that is diff

wood should not be waterlogged unless it is raining.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Ok, that is diff

wood should not be waterlogged unless it is raining.

The boat has been in the elements for over 20 years, in and out of a garage, without a hint of having a cover on it. And, being in Minnesota in the spring when the many feet of snow starts melting, every year off and on including rain and the intense humidity lent by over 14,000 lakes, and you tend to get wet wood. Plus sometimes circumstances means giving up the garage space every now and then and recently I had to leave it out during a flurry last weekend to bring in my car for some maintenance.

Wet wood is never good, but it happens.

The original owner took care of it. but the second one who I bought it from didn't care in the slightest. letting the rubber, wood, drain plugs, paint and windshield all degrade. and also lost the registration. This is why it's a restoration.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Didn't have towing wiring in my rav4, so the trusty mazda 5 launched the boat by half submerging itself in the launch. Mazda makes them pretty dang water tight, gotta say.

Anywho, got it on the water. The engine was showing its age, at a top speed of 14mph, it could be bad spark plugs, still waiting for the delivery on those.
But thats a $200 boat for you. Either way, it starts easy, planes easy, and is good on gas the homemade steering setup is also working perfectly and has more than enough movement.

Also, swapped out the seat bases for 2x4s that i made into a box. Works great, still a bit of storage. My pop came along too, he wanted to tune the engine while we drove since there was no way a 50 year old engine was just gonna run perfect off the bat. It was reliable at least. You can see him in the pictures dead set on figuring something out.

We rode around coon lake in Minnesota for about 3 hours, looking for the pirate ship some guy built around a bunch of welded together pontoon boats, didn't seem to be launched yet. And we also completely failed in finding the access to the second half of the lake.

Everything went off without a hitch and ive got a better understanding of what all could use work. The bilge remained bone dry the whole time, and with 550lb of dudes on it (friend also there but didn't want to be in photos) it still floated well and remained very stable even when crossing parallel wakes.
The engine is lacking the power it used to have, and the rollers on the trailer are all but split in half after pulling the stunt with the Mazda. They were old and ive already had replacements on order. Windshield visibility is fine but leaves some to be desired.

All in all, for $200 and less that a grand budget, its perfectly satisfactory as is and i enjoyed the hell out of just cruising at a crawling pace of 10-14, sometimes 15 mph. Im taking it out both Saturday and Sunday this week too.

Things i feel should be done soon-ish:

-split the inside of the bow into storage and leg space.


-replace the throttle cable and shift cable with correct length new ones

-do minor service to the engine and get some of its power back. Likely the spark plugs, fuel filter, carb or a combination of the three.

-replace trailer rollers.

-replace windscreen

-wash boat

-replace floor and carpe

-wrap steering wheel, the rubber in it seems to be returning to its original form... Primordial soup.

 

[matt167]

If you’re getting 14 mph out of that. You’re not firing both cylinders. Your number one should be putting in the required safety items including PFDs. And then get the engine sorted before you worry about anything else.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

If you’re getting 14 mph out of that. You’re not firing both cylinders. Your number one should be putting in the required safety items including PFDs. And then get the engine sorted before you worry about anything else.

Likely a spark issue. Compression was 135 and 145 psi. Getting spark on cyl 1 but coil wire 2 is jumping to my hand before the plug. Did that just now

 

[airshot]

Also check your prop for damage and correct pitch. Mabey borrow a portable tachometer to see if motor is running at its peak. I would guess you should get around 22-25 mph when everything is up and running

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Also check your prop for damage and correct pitch. Mabey borrow a portable tachometer to see if motor is running at its peak. I would guess you should get around 22-25 mph when everything is up and running

I l fixed it today. The spark wires are old and were jumping ground. All thats left is a somewhat shoddy carb. Prop is original and undamaged. A bit cold blooded and doesn't like to idle without a little throttle. But a ton better and more reliable than the first launch. As far as a tach goes, it can hit its limiter in neutral it seems. Definitely hitting over 25, closer to 39 now. Im getting there, wish me luck

Heres the video of it running now.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Boat running decently fast now. Carb is still gonked and its a little cold blooded but Boat goes good.

 

[airshot]

Hitting the rev limiter in neutral will shorten the engine life for sure, not a wise thing to do !!

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Hitting the rev limiter in neutral will shorten the engine life for sure, not a wise thing to do !!

It was when i was working on the engine, the throttle cable was messed with in the past and I couldn't get it to go all they way. At the time after some fiddling i started it and was testing the throttle, I didn't expect or intend to go all they way to the limiter. But it did, i backed off right away anyway. Im not a professional engine guy but ive been around them enough to at least know 12,000rpm isn't sustainable heheh. Glad you're looking out for me though.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

3D printed parts wont survive the forces or the UV

I probably missed this reply but i thought i should address it in case anyone finds this thread in the future.

This is not entirely correct. It is true that some filaments are susceptible to UV. PLA lasting around 2-5 years before breaking down (if the heat doesn't get to it first)

ABS fixes the heat issue, but is still weak to UV and may not last more than a few years.

PETG and ASA are both stronger physically, and are very resistant to UV and exposure to the elements.

But no matter the filament choice, a lick of automotive paint and clear would fix the UV issue immediately and cheaply.

So to future readers: 3d printing is never out of the question, if you need a weird part that isn't sold anywhere there are tons of services offering additive manufacturing solutions. Even metal sintering 3d printing has become quite affordable as of late and you can have custom stainless parts made for you withing a week and shipped to your door. You can have reinforced nylon. Completely clear parts. Even extremely strong and light continuous carbon prints.

Its a big 3d printing world out there, dont let the sun stop you from exploring it

 

[Scott Danforth]

Z axis strength of 3D plastic parts is low. Even the CF reinforced stuff.

With 3D printing of aluminum and stainless, things are getting better