My first boat

[Jesse Holbert]

Hello! New to the forum and hope I can put all this information to good use. I’m picking up my first boat in a couple days...it’s a 1983 Starcraft Mariner 180 in minty condition. It almost looks new. I work with the guy I’m buying it from and he has owned it since new. It’s hardly been used and it’s never been stored outdoors. I fished with him once back in 2007 and he’s only had it out once since then. That when he discovered the 75 hp Evinrude didn’t have to power to get the boat on plane so he’s selling it and buying a new one lol. For his retirement I guess so I hope he actually uses it. Sounds like it needs gone through and cleaned up. I paid $1000 for it. I’ll post pictures after I get it home.

 

[racerone]

The 75 hp Evinrude in good condition is plenty of power for that boat.------Motor needs some attention.----Simple trouble shooting needs to be done.

 

[SHSU]

Sounds like fun and we love Pictures!!!!

Agree with racerone, 75 HP should get you on plane. Do you have the model number of the engine?

 

[Jesse Holbert]

I’ll put the info on here after I pick it up. He says it’s misfiring on one cylinder but it has spark. I figure (I’m hoping) it’s from all the time sitting unused and it just needs cleaned up.

 

[DLNorth]

I'm going to disagree, 75 hp is way under powered for an 18 ft boat.
The SS18's are rated somewhere in the 120-125 hp.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: aboard Jesse,

The Mariner is very light compared to some other 18' models and a 75 running on all 3 cylinders should get the boat up out of the hole with a light load. Although it is about half the max HP, the boat would do best with a 115 HP motor.

Looking forward to some pics of your first boat.

 

[Watermann]

I'm going to disagree, 75 hp is way under powered for an 18 ft boat.
The SS18's are rated somewhere in the 120-125 hp.

An 18' SS is rated at 140 HP so yeah it is under powered for sure.

 

[bchaney]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the boat. Underpowered is relative - it depends on how fast you want to go. I have a 90hp on my 22'er and I can get up to 35mph at WOT which is plenty for me. I rarely go over 25. 75hp should definitely get you on plane, no problem.

 

[roscoe]

I have an '81 Mariner 180, very light, 750#.

Have seen a few with a little as 50 hp. on plane.

My plan is to repower this year with an etec 60 HO or a Merc 75 4 stroke.

 

[Jesse Holbert]

[No message]

 

[Jesse Holbert]

[No message]

 

[Jesse Holbert]

[No message]

 

[SHSU]

Whoa!!! That is a clean looking boat!!

Are you doing a restore or just clean the carbs on the engine and see if you can get her to plane?

SHSU

 

[Jesse Holbert]

I don’t see anything that needs restoration. Yeah the plan is to just go ahead and rebuild all three carburetors, flush the tanks, and see what happens. This boat has spent more time sitting than being on the water. It starts up and runs and idles fine. It’s just when you throttle up to get on plane is when you notice the engine struggling and lack of power. I’m guessing it’s from all the years of sitting. Either way, as nice as this boat is, even if the motor is shot it would still be worth putting a new motor on.

 

[Watermann]

Those 3cy Johnnyrude motors are really one of the best as far as reliability and ease to work on. They have good power and a large gear case.Parts are readily available and inexpensive. I bet you'll get an easy 30 MPH with it on that Mariner.

Drain lower to make sure there was no water inside the gear housing. You'll also need to replace the water pump with a full kit, I'd also replace the T stat too. New spark plugs, inspect wiring for bad wires and like you said carb cleaning. I usually just use a gasket kit, gallon of chem dip and just clean them taking care not to screw up the float height setting. I also always rebuild the fuel pump with a kit.

All this is done after a compression check to verify you have good cylinders. 120 Lbs and up with cylinders being within 10% of each other.

Wow that is one well cared for Mariner someone loved that boat. I put my SS inside a heated garage with a cover on it through the winter :lol:

 

[roscoe]

Looks to me like someone has already restored/modified it.

Upholstery and carpet.
Storage hatch covers in front deck.
Storage hatch covers under rear splash well. They were originally filled with flotation foam on mine.
Wood pad on transom removed.
Rear light socket might be newer style.
Carpet did not go up the sides on mine either.
Exterior paint looks new, stripes are different.
Helm seat wood was not painted, believe it was teak, unfinished.

But... whoever worked on this boat sure did a fine job with it.

Looks like you got the benefit of someone else's hard work.

 

[classiccat]

What?!! No rotten deck and transom? hornet's nests? clouds of aluminum oxide / corrosion? Stress cracks? missing rivets? worn keel? busted knee brace? peeling/faded paint? rusted out trailer? seized wheel bearings?

"Oh man, I gotta clean 3 whole carbs"

You make me sick Jesse Holbert !

:lol:

Just kidding...gorgeous boat! thanks for sharing!

 

[Watermann]

Yeah CC it almost makes me feel sorry for Jesse :lol:

 

[Jesse Holbert]

I got around to starting it in the driveway with the boot on it. I did put three new spark plugs in and flushed the fuel tanks and lines before doing so. It started right up but ran terrible. I pulled the spark plugs and the top and bottom were wet and the center was bone dry. I pulled the carbs and all had bad/dirty gas in them but the middle one was absolutely filthy. Cleaned and rebuilt all three then reinstalled. I was a little more difficult to get started after-I’m assuming it took a bit to get gas back in the lines and carburetors-after that it ran pretty decent. It does have some stuttering issues under hard acceleration (still in the driveway with the boot on so not under load) which leads me to another issue the previous owner mentioned but never attempted to fix...
Apparently there was a service bulletin on this particular motor for a low intermediate lean condition from the factory which causes hesitation under acceleration. In my service manual this is explained but not with enough detail-for me at least and I was hoping someone here could shed a little light for me. I’ll attach pictures of the bulletin and parts diagram as the bulletin doesn’t give enough detail for a shade tree mechanic to comprehend. I want to make sure I’m removing the correct orifice when I do it. My carburetor part numbers indicate that the bulletin does apply to them.
Thank you!

 

[SHSU]

Dont rev your engine on the muffler. Mufflers don't provide enough water and with no resistance the engine can run away.

As for the stuttering, you have any video on it? You said you cleaned the carbs, did you do a rebuild with new parts and unscrewing/removing everything or just sprayed some carb cleaner in them?

Seems weird that after cleaning it was harder to start, but as you pointed out may have been getting fresh fuel in the lines.

Either way, always a confidence booster when the engine starts up on a new boat.

SHSU