New here

[MichaelSlade]

Howdy everyone. I'm not only new to the forum, but also to boats. I have never owned a boat before so I am learning everything from the ground up. I was given a 1980 Arrow Glass Cheetah and it needs quite a bit of work. I was told it doesn't run and it will need most if not all of the vinyl replaced. From what I can tell, it has been setting since 2005. I tried to start it yesterday and it tried to turn over. Added a tad of gas to the carb and it turned over but just long enough to burn the gas I poured in. Just a fuel problem I am thinking.
This is going to be a weekend project when my wife lets me have the free time to work on it. I'm sure I will have questions, just remember I don't quite yet speak the lingo. Thanks for the great forum.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: New here

Howdy everyone. I'm not only new to the forum, but also to boats. I have never owned a boat before so I am learning everything from the ground up. I was given a 1980 Arrow Glass Cheetah and it needs quite a bit of work. I was told it doesn't run and it will need most if not all of the vinyl replaced. From what I can tell, it has been setting since 2005. I tried to start it yesterday and it tried to turn over. Added a tad of gas to the carb and it turned over but just long enough to burn the gas I poured in. Just a fuel problem I am thinking.
This is going to be a weekend project when my wife lets me have the free time to work on it. I'm sure I will have questions, just remember I don't quite yet speak the lingo. Thanks for the great forum.

Welcome to iboats.
Post some photos of your outfit for all to see. Give everyone as much detail as you can as to what motor you have. Look for model and serial numbers on it. Once we all know what make and model it is you will get all the help you need.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: New here

Kenmyfam pretty much covered it!! Welcome to Iboats, can't wait to see the pics, you'll be glad you took them, what she looks like now and when you are done, will help others in the future too and for you to be able to look back on all that you accomplished. Just for yourself keep a dated log book of the things that you have done Tune-ups, Maintenance,new batteries, Etc...... It helps. I log everything I do and when.

 

[Bard1]

Re: New here

Welcome!

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: New here

A big welcome here too.......

 

[jt185]

Re: New here

Welcome! I'm brand new and learning too. I see you're from where there isn't any water. You live in Iowa too?

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: New here

Welcome

One of the biggest self help items I have is a repair manual for my outboard.

 

[MichaelSlade]

Re: New here

Thanks for all the welcomes...

kenmyfam, I will get some pictures hopefully this week. Can I use photobucket for uploading to this site? I'll also get all the numbers I can find. The engine is I believe a mercruiser 165 stern drive inline 6 cylinder.

wavenbye2, I will get a notebook tomorrow. I had actually not thought about keeping a log.

bernomad, I live in West Texas in the desert. Our nearest lake is 2 hours away. Not much here but pump jacks and football.... Home of Permian High and Friday Night Lights. I have been out here 8 years and still think it's funny that we don't have any lakes near us, yet there is a boat at just about every other house here.

puddle jumper, thanks, I got one yesterday. Its a shop manual by clymer. So far it reads pretty much like the old chiltons for cars. Looks like I might be able to do alot of the engine work myself. This may not be as hard as I was thinking it was going to be at first. Just time consuming. But I have always liked stuff like this.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Adjuster]

Re: New here

In case you don't already know this. Make sure you always have a water source hooked up to the engine even if only turning it over for a couple seconds.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New here

another welcome ms.....

agreed on the service manual being the best tool in the tool box. if ya can, get the original service manual for whatever engine/drive, or o/b ya got. the clymers manuals are not as good as the oem ones.

hang on iboats for a long time. there's much education and info available here too.

since yer new to boats. ya should consider taking a boating safety class. imho, preferably through the uscg aux. or the us power sqadron. both have web sites. check them out and see if ya can find some classes near you. you'll also meet some fine folks at them classes along with what the facts are in boating. boating can be a most dangerous sport, ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UEETjztLqI ) hobby, whatever ya wanna call it. boating can be deadly so learn all you can about boating.. another good resource is chapmans piloting and seamanship book. it's very thick, and has more info in it regarding boating that the average fella can digest.. anyways, it's a great resource.. check it out at the library even. it's kinda pricey too..

congrats on your new boat man... enjoy.

 

[nlain]

Re: New here

Welcome aboard, Photobucket will work fine for photos on this site.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: New here

Looking forward to the photos.
When you post questions specific to your boat, trailer or motor make sure you post them in the correct section. That way you will get best results.

 

[MichaelSlade]

Re: New here

Here are some pics of my boat...

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: New here

Yep thats a project, gets addicting Once I start working on her I don't want to stop till it's all done!! Iboats is a great source for help, info, etc...Glad you found yourway here, Got a feeling you'll be here quite a bit, But so are we. Boat will look nice once your done with her. good pics!!