I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[BWR1953]

Made more progress today guys!

Got that LU cleaned up and ready for reassembly. Just waiting on parts now. :joyous:

Also bought transom plywood, clamps and ingredients for Old Timers Formula! Gave up on the epoxy/glass idea. Actually did that weeks ago but I have been remiss on keeping everyone updated. Sorry about that. :redface:

The whole point of this fixup is to be frugal. And I was really struggling with the costs as projected earlier for transom and deck repair/replacement, not to mention engine work and improvement expenses. It wasn't looking like it was going to be frugal. :apologetic:

So I reviewed and reconsidered. And got it figured out. Functional and frugal it will be!

I simply don't need this boat to be perfect and to last another 20 or 30 years. I won't be here 30 years from now! :lol:

We'll probably sell the boat next spring, so having it functional and somewhat improved is the new goal, while remaining frugal during the process. And I do have a plan! All will be revealed in time. :biggrin-new:


Got that lower water pump housing cleaned up and put in place to protect the seals during cleanup. Worked fine.





Better! It's even cleaner now. Kept working after I took the pix.





Definitely better.





Found this rubber washer/gasket buried under the gunk. This one's not included in the water pump kit, so I'll have to order it after the holiday.




The boy got the plywood loaded in the truck, no problemo!





Plywood and goodies! Gonna start cutting the transom tomorrow.





Classic sealing stuff!





Tool purchases have been ongoing. Got this torque wrench a couple days so that I can correctly snug things down in the LU and elsewhere.

 

[BWR1953]

Hey Buddy - I've been outa the loop for a while: Just finished catching up on your (SC?) blog-to-date. Hope you guys are all well and that you don't have to see the dr ANY time soon!! Looks like you're winning battle after battle with the Merc. I KNOW you shall prevail

I've flunked retirement YET AGAIN, so went back to driving for Microsoft. I have had very little time between driving (professionally), commuting to our ops center twice a day (UNprofessionally!). Oh yeah - forgot about eating and sleeping (my ACTUAL favorite things to do). Anyway - enough about me

Thanks for swinging by the ol' dry dock! Definitely keeping busy here, in spite of being retired! :lol:

 

[BWR1953]

How's the wiring look on the Merc? Take into consideration my Merc woes lately. I wish I would've replaced all the fuel related items sooner. First thing I did was order a water pump kit

The wiring looks to be pretty good. I'll be cleaning it all thoroughly and making sure that all the connections are good and tight.

 

[BWR1953]

Plywood - I decided to skip the marine grade and went with BCX as several on here have recommended. Much cheaper than the marine grade and more frugal overall. It should be fine for my use and will last plenty long once treated. There will be more of it to come!

Tomorrow we'll get out there and sand it down a bit prior to marking and cutting the transom. Then I'll glue the parts together and while they're clamped and drying I can move on to other things on the project. Like more motor stuff! :laugh:

 

[Watermann]

I can see some wire connections that need some attention and redone. Those ground wire connections on the coils that don't look like the others, one has a blue connector the other is yellow or rusty. I would redo those and use shrink tube. Also that ground at the top left of the switch box has been moved by someone and is in a bad position sticking straight up towards the flywheel and kinked. Grounds are VERY important to have right and need a good connection.

You're lucky that the wire coating is not falling off the wires, things get very spendy when you have to replace it all.

 

[BWR1953]

I can see some wire connections that need some attention and redone. Those ground wire connections on the coils that don't look like the others, one has a blue connector the other is yellow or rusty. I would redo those and use shrink tube. Also that ground at the top left of the switch box has been moved by someone and is in a bad position sticking straight up towards the flywheel and kinked. Grounds are VERY important to have right and need a good connection.

You're lucky that the wire coating is not falling off the wires, things get very spendy when you have to replace it all.

Yah, the plan is to clean all those up, redirect as necessary and secure everything. I hear ya about the wire insulation. I had an old 50HP Johnson once and the wires were all flaking apart. I worked with it some, had a pro mechanic look at it and he didn't want any part of it either so I just traded it for something (non-boating) much nicer. :lol:

 

[mbroughton02]

Anyone else notice the piece of THWN wire? Typically found inside conduit in commercial buildings. Not typically found in an outboard lol. Although it seems to be holding up...

 

[BWR1953]

Anyone else notice the piece of THWN wire? Typically found inside conduit in commercial buildings. Not typically found in an outboard lol. Although it seems to be holding up...

I was wondering what that was. Just now zoomed in on it in the original large pic and yep, it's marked THWN. At least it's wet rated! :lol:

Should I replace it or let it be?

 

[Watermann]

That's one of the coil ground wires I mentioned that doesn't look like the rest that has the yellow or rusty connector. That should be redone.

Don't trust the work anyone else has does especially when they use carp like that to rewire a coil and then tighten that switch box to coil ground to where it spins around and kinks the wire.

 

[BWR1953]

That's one of the coil ground wires I mentioned that doesn't look like the rest that has the yellow or rusty connector. That should be redone.

Don't trust the work anyone else has does especially when they use carp like that to rewire a coil and then tighten that switch box to coil ground to where it spins around and kinks the wire.

Copy that.

 

[BWR1953]

Am out in the garage now. The boy is almost done sanding the plywood. Will start on the transom when he's finished.

I'm going to use some of the plywood to make a couple shelves to mount above the garage windows.

 

[BWR1953]

Guys, I suck at this. Seriously. I really do.

Woodworking in any form just isn't my thing. I truly am bad at it and it shows. In spite of many careful measurements.

Went out this morning and cut the first piece for the transom. Crooked. Missed the marked line and went diagonal from there. And that's with a laser sight on the circular saw!

Man, I suck. :blue:

 

[BWR1953]

Success!

I called for backup! Texted my young buddy this evening and sent him pix of the mess I made. Asked him if he knew how to operate a circular saw and told him how much I sucked.

A short while later he came cruising down the driveway and I asked if he was coming over to laugh at me. :lol:

He just smiled and took my disfigured piece of plywood and went to the stern of the boat. He requested a level and was given same. He then leveled the boat, placed the circular saw with the blade on the transom and leveled the saw blade, matching the bevel of the transom skin. At that point he tightened down the bevel adjustment on the circular saw and headed back to the plywood on the sawhorses.

Next, he took the piece of transom plywood up to the sawhorses and clamped it on top of the rest of the sheet. Then he started cutting off the messed up places that I made. I saw that he was cutting while the top piece was in place but thought that he was using the main sheet as a cutting board. NOT!

He had clamped the first piece of transom to the main plywood sheet and was simultaneously cutting the second piece while he was cleaning up my mess! When he was finished, the transom cutting was done!

Parts are cut and have been dry fit in place and look good. Only took him about 15 minutes total. Sure is nice to have friends who know what they're doing!

His advice is to glue the two pieces together, then do final fitting.


My less than stellar efforts.








And after my bud got done.






​

 

[Watermann]

Yeah we all make some mistakes along the way and the only way to learn to to try doing.

So your pics didn't come through on my end.

 

[Patfromny]

I had to make a second transom myself. Because of my OCD mainly. I wanted the wood to fit in the angled bottom ledge as well as the angle on top. I made transom #1 larger so I could cut the angle until it was perfect. When it was perfect on the bottom...it was an inch short on top. I feel your pain as I'm sure many others here do as well.

 

[Watermann]

I had to make a second transom myself. Because of my OCD mainly. I wanted the wood to fit in the angled bottom ledge as well as the angle on top. I made transom #1 larger so I could cut the angle until it was perfect. When it was perfect on the bottom...it was an inch short on top. I feel your pain as I'm sure many others here do as well.

Oh jeez Pat don't go getting him all confused now :lol: There's no angle on the bottom, just a 15 degree on top but only on the sides of an OB transom that goes under the caps.

 

[BWR1953]

Yeah, I'd figured out it's 90 degrees at the base and the bevel was on top. I just can't cut straight! :lol:

"The boy" and I got the transom sides sanded this morning. That is, he sanded and I inspected.

When it came time to start gluing, it became obvious to me that I don't have enough clamps. And I can't justify spending another $80 on top of the $35 I've already spent for clamps that I'll only use twice. So I'm gonna clamp the ends with the long bar clamps so that the wood pieces can't shift, then I'm gonna pile a bunch of cinder blocks on top of the glued wood while they're on the concrete floor. That should work!

While the boy was working I was dealing with a WiFi issue inside the garage. Bugged me a lot. Still unresolved. :rant:

I took too much time with it and it was after lunch time and plenty hot, so we just called it a morning. Will be going out later to glue the transom wood and clean up the shop.

It's our summertime work pattern. Go out early and work as long as we can, then take a shower, lunch break (and nap! :lol to cool off. Returning in the evening as it cools a bit more, although another shower is sometimes necessary. Or so says my wife! ainkiller: :highly_amused:

 

[BWR1953]

Transom is glued and clamped!




Needs more clamps! :lol:


I sure hope that's enough weight! :biggrin-new:

 

[BWR1953]

Hey guys, what rollers do I need for the roll & roll painting technique?

 

[Furrylittleotter]

Looking good! Bonding going on in more ways than one.

Neil