Just bought a 1985 Sea Nymph FM-161

[gsh]

It's been awhile since I could work on the boat, but I managed to get it out of storage and to my house. No pictures tonight. I spent the evening spraying the inside with a pressure washer getting the dirt and left over foam out of it. I found a LOT of crap in there that I didn't realize was there like the shafts of old rivets, pieces of plastic from various things and more than a couple things that were blocking drain areas. However, the mud is mostly gone and the foam is gone as well. A little more cleanup and I can start repairing the transom metal and get the new transom epoxied and installed.

 

[gsh]

I haven't posted here in a while, but I spent a bunch of time over the last year working on the boat on and off.

Right now it's at the shop. I'm having some experts look over the motor to make sure I reinstalled the wiring and controls correctly. I'd hate to get it out to the lake and find myself stranded because something isn't adjusted right.

As for the repairs, here's the rundown.

I got some 1/8" aluminum to cover the holes in the transom and sealed that up and put in solid rivets to hold it in place. It should last a long time, several years at least. By then I'll probably want a different boat anyway. I also coated the entire inside of the transom skin with Gluvit just to be safe.

I made a new transom using 2 layers of 3/4" marine grade plywood and sealed it all up using Total Boat Penetrating Epoxy before putting it back in the boat. I also made a new inner transom skin and had a local metal shop make me a new aluminum splash well and transom cap.

I made all the new floors and other wood pieces using 3/4" marine grade plywood and sealed all of them up, both top and bottom with more penetrating epoxy. I also made the wood steering wheel support to go under to console. At this time I also added a 6 position switch panel (2 switches unused right now) and a fuse block.

I made a forward battery box for my trolling motor battery and ran flexible rubber outdoor conduit to run the wires in up to the front panel where the trolling motor connection is.

I also ran more of that conduit in the boat for running the other wiring. I needed. It's all plastic and rubber so corrosion shouldn't be an issue.

I decided this was the perfect time to paint the boat. I washed it and then scuffed the sides with some 220 grit before wiping it all down with acetone.

I had decided on Rustoleum Satin Granite Gray for the inside and Rustoleum Satin Colonial Red on the outside down to the top of the chine.

I got the inside primered in gray and I decided I wanted some color inside the boat. So the console, rod locker and front locker as well as the front of the livewell all got painted in red rather than gray.

Once all the wires were run I started foaming the boat.

I wanted to make it easier to pour the 2 part foam into the boat, so what I did was mix a batch of foam, pour it in, then set down a 2' x 4' sheet of plywood with 6 mil poly on it. Then I sat on it. The foam expanded and when it hit the poly backed by the plywood, it went sideways. After a bit I could stand up and simply peel the poly off leaving the foam right at floor level. Doing this ensured I never poured in too much foam and risked popping the rivets and also let me go back and fill in any voids I missed. It also means that if I absolutely have to, I can remove the floor without trying to pry it off the foam.

With the foam in I could finally install the wood. I didn't want to use carpet, so I bought Total Tread boat floor paint in a light gray color. I painted the floors before installation then screwed them down once they were dry. I installed the console as well as all the hatches and latches plus lighting for the lockers. I also installed a master battery disconnect.

Some more work got all the miscellaneous stull like the nav lights, cleats and trolling motor bracket installed. I also lined the inside of the lockers with some floor padding material I got at Northern Tool. I stuck it in using 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive.

My brother helped me mount the motor and I ran the contol cables.

This brings me up to 2 weeks ago.

I called a local company that makes custom tarps and had a nice heavy duty cover made in a light gray color That alone cost me $775, but they say they have covers that have lasted 15 years, so I figure it's cheaper than replacing a cheap Walmart cover every year. I also didn't want the weather to destroy all the work I put into the boat.

The snow from the last storm melted this last weekend, so I took the boat to the shop for final adjustments.

Enough with the talking, here's the boat.

I also took some pictures of the boat with the locker lights on and the garage lights off.

Trust me when I tell you this is a VERY condensed version of the story of the rebuild.

 

[buxmj]

That looks great! Congrats on the finished product! Please share some splash pics!

 

[gsh]

That looks great! Congrats on the finished product! Please share some splash pics!

Will do. Probably going to do that this weekend.

 

[gsh]

Will do. Probably going to do that this weekend.

Well, I finally got the boat out this last Saturday. It was 75° and only a 8 mph wind, so it was absolutely beautiful.

The boat went in the water nice and rode nice and high with myself, my wife, my daughter nd my dog, so I know I didn't overload it while putting it together.

The motor started up nice and after letting it warm up a bit I started to accelerate.

What I got wasn't the nice smooth power I was expecting. Instead I got 1800 rpm and coughing. No power at all. I called the boat shop and they said it was likely dirty carbs since the motor sat so long.

So I decided to keep it on the lake for a couple hours and test everything I could. The livewell pump worked perfect and the overflow tube kept up with the pump when the water level got to the right height. No leaks and the trolling motor worked well.

After a couple hours we pulled it back out of the lake and took it to the mechanic so he could look at the carbs. I called him yesterday and he only had one carb kit for that motor on hand so he was only working on one of the carbs. He said it was gummed up pretty bad and the high speed jet was pretty much plugged.

The new kit should show up in a day or two and once he has it done, the mechanic says he'll ride with me to the lake to do the final test at speed.

I'll let you know what happens.

 

[gsh]

I haven't posted in awhile because the summer just got away with me.
Here's what's happened since I last posted.

The shop looked at the motor and said that the reed valves were bad and due to the way the valves are placed around the crank and not on a plate behind the carbs, it would cost too much to essentially rebuild the powerhead.

He had a decent powerhead and we swapped it in. It cost a lot and I was NOT happy with the price. But if it was cheaper than rebuilding the original, it was worth it to me.

The powerhead was swapped and they said it was ready to go.

Out to the lake again and it ran smoother, but bogged down until I got it running for awhile. Also, the motor would only stay running with the cowling off. If I put the cowl on it died immediately. The shop said it was bad gas and I knew that wasn't it since I had just bought the gas and I had bought it from the same place they bought theirs and I had made sure I mixed the oil into the gas properly.

I screwed around with the motor and tried adjusting the carbs. Nothing helped. I decided to take it to a new shop that just opened up in May and see if they could do anything.

By the end of the day he had called me back and told me he found two problems.

1. The fuel pump was bad. Somehow it was causing the lower two cylinders to flood. It would run bad until the lower cylinders were cleared out and then work well until I slowed down. Then it would stall out.

2. The exhaust manifold was leaking. That meant every time the cowl was put on the engine choked on it's own exhaust fumes and stalled out.

He ordered the new gaskets and rebuilt the fuel pump. When the new exhaust gaskets arrived he had them installed in just a couple hours.

Out to the lake again.

HOLY CRAP!!!

The motor started right up, ran like new and I hit 27 mph in no time! I've used the boat a bunch since then and every time it has run great. I even bought a tube and puled my daughter behind the boat.

I now have a new boat shop and the previous shop can kiss my butt. The old shop first worked on my motor in late March to do a tune-up and they worked on it several times and never got it running right. I took it to the new guy on July 1st and got it back a week later working perfectly.

 

[RBoyd1971]

Them old mercury's don't fare well sitting up, so run her as much as you can. I just reworked a homemade aluminum work boat that has been sitting up about 10 years. I got ahold of some cheaply priced 1/8" thick diamond plate and put in there for the floors and sides. Got a Johnson 90 hp V4 on it. Runs 42 mph and will pull the dock off the poles if needed, ha ha. Anyhow, enjoyed your thread and think you did a fantastic job on the boat man!

 

[SavinRaven]

You did everything on this remodel to a tee made sure engine was good and then started the work. It stinks the original shop couldn't diagnose your issues properly the first times... Sorry to hear that.