New Old Boat

[thew4]

I recentely purchased a 1996 Bayliner with a 75hp Force outboard. I bought the boat from a friend and got a great deal on it. The only issue is that it was not well maintained through out its life...well it pretty much wasn't maintained at all. I am wondering what you guys think I should be doing to get the most out of this motor/boat setup and to help prevent breakdown. Below I will list out everything that I have done so far.

- Impeller Changed
- New Primer Ball(still having issues with ball staying firm at idle)
- New Spark Plugs/Plug Lines
- Installed Hyrdrofoil(not sure if its helping, been haivng issues with getting on plane and low top end - 28mph)
- 3 different props with pitches varying from 13 - 17

Right now full load and 2 people she does 28mph GPS. Friend swears it used to do 35mph with 4 people in it.

Wondering what advice anyone would be willing to offer up to a new to boating person. What can I do to increase speed? What PM's did I miss.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[jason32038]

Re: New Old Boat

You must first discover what the problem is to increase speed. What is the length and weight of the boat? Has the boat been covered during storage? If not you could have a sh*t load of water in it. I had a sh*t load of water in mine and I even had it covered with a boat cover with a tarp completely over it. If so...you should move the boat to a spot at your place that gets sun most of the day. Leave it uncovered unless the weather man says it's going to rain. You and a helper should tilt the boat up and put a block or a piece of wood near the hitch area to tip the bow up so the water will drain out of the plug. Remove the plug and stick a screwdriver in the hole to make sure it is free of debris. Keep checking for debris until the water is drained. Let dry for a good week in the sun. Try running some seafoam through the system with a seperate tank. What do you mean the primer ball isn't staying firm? Is it sucking in? Empty the main tank and clean it along with the pickup screen in the tank. Might be a good idea to service the fuel pump.

 

[thew4]

Re: New Old Boat

I should have been a little more specific. I've had the boat for a few months and had it on the water about 15 times already. It's a 17ft Bayliner. Weight unknown. When I first purchased it seemed to preform better. Then it sat for about a month while I had work done to a bad trailer hub and trailer lights redone.

Now it doesn't seem to have the power it used to. I am completely certain that the only 2 owners of the boat before me did Zero up-keep. It had the original spark plugs in it!

The friend who sold me the boat had it for about 6yrs and only used it about 6 times. He claims it ran great, and it did when I first got it.

And I also forgot to include in original post that I changed diaphragms and gaskets in fuel pump also.

The primer bulb will go empty after launching while in slow/no wake. Just need to squeeze a couple times and she fires right up.

Been running seafoam with every fill-up since I got it. Shouldn't say new to boating, i just haven't worked on one since my old 12' with a 10HP about 15yrs ago.

 

[further]

Re: New Old Boat

perform a compression test and spark test. these tests are the first step in any diagnosis. Did you replace the 3 check valves in the fuel pump? these may be sticking and causing an issue. Do the comp/spark tests and let us knowthe results.

 

[thew4]

Re: New Old Boat

OK, just downloaded manual for the motor. Never done a comp test before. Gonna pick up the necessary tools and do compression test this week. Will let you guys know the results.

In the mean time is there any other preventative maintenance that anyone can think of that I may have missed?

Entire Fuel Pump was rebuilt, check valves included.

Thanks for the advice already.

 

[further]

Re: New Old Boat

You may want to decarb if never done before. See the FAQ forum for instructions. As far as the manual goes, most on this forum recommend the clymers manual over the seloc. I use the clymers and a factory service manual and both are very good, you can find them on eBay. do you have a tach on the boat? It would help to know what rpm you have at WOt. Other Than that rebuild the carbs, lync and sync and timing are normal maintenance activities; however I wouldn't mess with the carbs too much unless necessary, maybe just Lync n sync, mixture screws set to 1 1/8 out from lightly seated and make sure throttle plates open fully.

 

[thew4]

Re: New Old Boat

Throttle plates open fully, and I looked inside the carb while open and it actually looked pretty damn clean. De carbonizing motor is something I have been considering lately. Thinking about doing it soon.

There is a tach on the boat, but I have suspected that it has been off since I bought the boat. Is there anyway to check the tach to make sure it's correct?

I am currently running 5200 WOT. I know that's right under red line and in WOT range, but all the research I have done shows that the boat should get better speed. Even tried clocking it on different gps's and got the same result.

With 4 people in the boat I can't even get on plane. Im just "plowing" water. Nose straight up and engine working double time.

Been in quite a few boats in my day and never seen a 75HP with such low speed.

Any HELP would be appreciated. Compression test will be completed this week.