So the long and short is this will hopefully be a simple floor replacement project... but we all know how that goes. I know of some damage areas under the floor I discovered in the back but don't know the extent of it and won't until the floor comes up.
The good? The floor is only really soft right in the back where you land climbing over the transom... the spots that always get wet. The cockpit vinyl was replaced 20 years ago but the rest of the upholstery is original to the boat, carpet, cabin, ect. It recently started showing its age the 2 years so it is time... the goal is memorial day weekend. The reality is it'll most likely be 4th of July weekend.
My job does rotating shifts so I pretty much always have either 3 or 5 days a week to work on it. I don't have much else going on in my life right this second so I can dedicate most of that time to it... so my goal is plausible. Also, the boat is in a heated garage... so no excuses as I would say.
And now the short history of the boat:
It was dad's. I'll forever be blamed for him having to sell his favorite boat because I was born. It's a running joke but it did hurt him a bit. Between that boat and this one he had some 10 other boats. Figure that was late 1996 to early 1998. When he was a mechanic and saw this model hit the market he really did love the styling. He also really liked the liberators of the time as well. I don't disagree, it's a pretty good looking boat in my opinion but not of the popular one I'm sure.
So from 98 until now... this has been my life of boating. In 2010 he got the 33' and this was pulled from water storage which it was kept in from about 2002 until then. It was back in for another season or two since by me. I officially took ownership in 2013.
We did a repower in 2003 as the original 140 rotted internally on the block somewhere. Head was fine deck was good etc. During that era in the 80s he remembered a lot of 140s having a similar issue when run and stored in salt. Not super common but it did happen. So she got a fresh 3.0l and ran better than ever up until last year.
Last year I decided enough was enough with the 3.0l and did a 4.3l swap. (Short summary here) basically this is what this boat should've always come with in my opinion. The 3.0l worked but you were pushing it to get the boat moving. Cruise was 3300 rpms otherwise you'd be falling off plane and that was a measly 23-25 mph GPS. Not bad with one person on board but you throw 4 guys and a cooler or two (a common occurrence) and you were full send just to get the thing to plane.
Boat always did 36-37 up top with the 3.0l and in the crisp spring/fall air you could squeeze 38 mph flat at 4700 with a full tank and driver. I've only gotten it there twice and that was with "mineshaft" air as you'd call it in racing. For the most part 34mph wide open was the norm. But it did it. You can also imagine how loud a 3.0l running all the time like that was and how it developed some blow by near the end of life. Compression and leak down were still decent so I sold the engine to recoup money from the 4.3l swap.
Some other fun facts, the gen 1 (well R drive as the serial number falls in the 83 range) on the boat was actually a mix match of parts. The upper was build by dad from parts he had at the shop that were, and I quote: "never to be used in a customer's boat, but for free I'd give it a shot in something of mine" and included the housing as well well (boat had no drive when he bought it) 800 hours later or so I'd say that it had worked out well for him. The upper now was obtained with the 4.3l is isn't in as good of shape as the one it replaced. But we no longer have the tools to swap the parts from one to the other so it'll have to work.
The lower was the same thing but is an older MC-1 (rounded AV plate) which is actually off of his original 1977 boat. The lower was not sketch, and built with quote "good parts." I have no issue keeping it as the case is pretty much new looking but it is obviously a preload pin lower. So something to keep in mind.
Other than that, the goal is to put it back how it was. If everything lasted 40 years as it is there is no reason to go reinventing the wheel. Hopefully I get another 40 from this work and it'll all be worth it. A lot of memories, friends and good times were had aboard. And I want to continue with that tradition.
This is day one, getting it in the garage last night. The plan is to run the heaters for a few days as I pull the interior apart. Then cut and assess what I'm really working on sometime next week. Obligatory day 1 picture in the garage on blocks. Note the front block is off center. It is actually the second set of front blocks. The ones behind it are centered on the hull.
She has a couple small battle scars but overall is a clean boat. Hope to pull apart the interior Wednesday when I am off again.
The good? The floor is only really soft right in the back where you land climbing over the transom... the spots that always get wet. The cockpit vinyl was replaced 20 years ago but the rest of the upholstery is original to the boat, carpet, cabin, ect. It recently started showing its age the 2 years so it is time... the goal is memorial day weekend. The reality is it'll most likely be 4th of July weekend.
My job does rotating shifts so I pretty much always have either 3 or 5 days a week to work on it. I don't have much else going on in my life right this second so I can dedicate most of that time to it... so my goal is plausible. Also, the boat is in a heated garage... so no excuses as I would say.
And now the short history of the boat:
It was dad's. I'll forever be blamed for him having to sell his favorite boat because I was born. It's a running joke but it did hurt him a bit. Between that boat and this one he had some 10 other boats. Figure that was late 1996 to early 1998. When he was a mechanic and saw this model hit the market he really did love the styling. He also really liked the liberators of the time as well. I don't disagree, it's a pretty good looking boat in my opinion but not of the popular one I'm sure.
So from 98 until now... this has been my life of boating. In 2010 he got the 33' and this was pulled from water storage which it was kept in from about 2002 until then. It was back in for another season or two since by me. I officially took ownership in 2013.
We did a repower in 2003 as the original 140 rotted internally on the block somewhere. Head was fine deck was good etc. During that era in the 80s he remembered a lot of 140s having a similar issue when run and stored in salt. Not super common but it did happen. So she got a fresh 3.0l and ran better than ever up until last year.
Last year I decided enough was enough with the 3.0l and did a 4.3l swap. (Short summary here) basically this is what this boat should've always come with in my opinion. The 3.0l worked but you were pushing it to get the boat moving. Cruise was 3300 rpms otherwise you'd be falling off plane and that was a measly 23-25 mph GPS. Not bad with one person on board but you throw 4 guys and a cooler or two (a common occurrence) and you were full send just to get the thing to plane.
Boat always did 36-37 up top with the 3.0l and in the crisp spring/fall air you could squeeze 38 mph flat at 4700 with a full tank and driver. I've only gotten it there twice and that was with "mineshaft" air as you'd call it in racing. For the most part 34mph wide open was the norm. But it did it. You can also imagine how loud a 3.0l running all the time like that was and how it developed some blow by near the end of life. Compression and leak down were still decent so I sold the engine to recoup money from the 4.3l swap.
Some other fun facts, the gen 1 (well R drive as the serial number falls in the 83 range) on the boat was actually a mix match of parts. The upper was build by dad from parts he had at the shop that were, and I quote: "never to be used in a customer's boat, but for free I'd give it a shot in something of mine" and included the housing as well well (boat had no drive when he bought it) 800 hours later or so I'd say that it had worked out well for him. The upper now was obtained with the 4.3l is isn't in as good of shape as the one it replaced. But we no longer have the tools to swap the parts from one to the other so it'll have to work.
The lower was the same thing but is an older MC-1 (rounded AV plate) which is actually off of his original 1977 boat. The lower was not sketch, and built with quote "good parts." I have no issue keeping it as the case is pretty much new looking but it is obviously a preload pin lower. So something to keep in mind.
Other than that, the goal is to put it back how it was. If everything lasted 40 years as it is there is no reason to go reinventing the wheel. Hopefully I get another 40 from this work and it'll all be worth it. A lot of memories, friends and good times were had aboard. And I want to continue with that tradition.
This is day one, getting it in the garage last night. The plan is to run the heaters for a few days as I pull the interior apart. Then cut and assess what I'm really working on sometime next week. Obligatory day 1 picture in the garage on blocks. Note the front block is off center. It is actually the second set of front blocks. The ones behind it are centered on the hull.
She has a couple small battle scars but overall is a clean boat. Hope to pull apart the interior Wednesday when I am off again.
![20240226_213410[1].jpg](https://forums.iboats.com/data/attachments/394/394856-3269d0434f03da6965ec8fdf213c6018.jpg "20240226_213410[1].jpg")
![20240226_213416[1].jpg](https://forums.iboats.com/data/attachments/394/394857-bf3d602d2c468053ae0e3d90f4d4731d.jpg "20240226_213416[1].jpg")
