Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

[Paintufast]

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum after searching around it for the last week.

I have been using a little 10 foot jon boat to fish for the last few years and I just happened upon what I believe is a pretty good deal. I have a friend who has a 1986 procraft 1750 F, with a Yamaha prov 150. The boat was last used two summers ago (Summer of 2010). He has a lot going on and hasn't been able to keep up with boat and wants someone to have it who will actually use it (i.e. me!). So I am inheriting this boat, hopefully this weekend. I am trying to get all of my ducks in a row as I prepare for the restore. I am having trouble finding good general information about this boat. I would like to get all of the specs together, weight, length, etc, And start finding schematics and other useful details of that sort. But that information seems to be nowhere to be found on the internet so far.

Does anyone know where I can find this information?

I will be posting pics of the boat as soon as it is in my possession which will hopefully be Saturday.

As far as work to be done:
Good overall cleaning, it has 2 years of dirt on it
I have some soft spots in the deck that need replaced.
The seats need some work.
The engine ran as of the last time it was in the water. But he did point out that the starter has apparently broken loose, so he welded his own bracket to hold it in place, which is starting to wear out now...so I will be looking into that.
The other engine issue mentioned was overheating when they tried to troll with it. He said it works great at speed, but when trying to just troll around it will overheat.

Any initial advice, or if anyone can point to better information I will take it. I am surprised how difficult it is to find this information, nothing like searching for information on a car!

My other question I have, that maybe someone will know. I am planning to tow this bad boy with my truck. A v8, 2wd, 1991 Dodge Dakota. It has a trailer hitch built into the bumper. I am debating on whether I need to have an actual hitch installed or if the current hitch will work, any thoughts?

Thanks all!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Soft spots in the deck could mean a lot more work than you are anticipating, this is usually a sign of water intrusion and means that you have rot and probable saturated flotation foam below deck.

Engine overheating at idle usually means it's time for an impeller replacement (water pump).

Your truck should tow the boat fine as is.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Soft spots in the deck could mean a lot more work than you are anticipating, this is usually a sign of water intrusion and means that you have rot and probable saturated flotation foam below deck.

Engine overheating at idle usually means it's time for an impeller replacement (water pump).

Your truck should tow the boat fine as is.

Thanks for the advice. As for the soft spots I have seen from reading on here that it can lead to a lot of work. Stringers and floats, etc. But the price for the boat was unbeatable, and I have a lot of time with the way my work schedule is. So I am more than willing to put the work in to get her on the water. I do have the very realistic expectation that it will easily be weeks if not months till I am fishing from her.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

I do have the very realistic expectation that it will easily be weeks if not months till I am fishing from her.

Well, at least you're being honest with yourself. Yes, soft spots are real bad - almost certainly there's more going on that you can't see. I've rebuilt 2 boats now and for some stupid reason I actually enjoy the work (there's just something special about crawling around in fiberglass dust ).

You're not going to find any real information on the boat itself. If you want a wiring diagram you're just going to have to trace it out yourself (it's not rocket science, and well worth the effort just so you understand how everything works). As far as any available information your best bet is to find a factory service manual for the engine.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Well I got the boat and have spent two days scrubbing and digging into it. It was stored in a barn, uncovered, underneath a hayloft. It has quite a bit of mouse droppings and nests in it, an overall pungent odor really, lol. But it is a beaut in my opinion, I just have to polish her up a little.

We started working on the motor, replaced some fuel lines that were leaking, and replaced the motor cranking battery. I am spreading out the costs and will replace the other two batteries in the coming weeks. I fixed the starter issue, at least temporarily. What had happened is the block, where the bolts that hold the starter to it, actually broke off half of the threads. So you can only secure the starter with 2 of the 3 bolts that typically secure it. This was enough to allow the starter to push away from the flywheel and not start. We created a backet with Angle-iron and got it engaging the flywheel consistently again. After much work and sweat over the weekend we got her to crank over and idle last night. As my buddy stated, at idle it set off an overheat alarm after about 10 minutes.

Is there any way to diagnose for sure if this is my water impeller thats causing the problem? Or what else could be causing the overheat issue?

As for the interior she got a few good rinsings, then I started tearing stuff out. I have a few salvageable seats, and a few wrecked seats. The carpet is all trashed, and the back 4 feet of the interior floor are rotten down to the fiberglass. So I will be searching the forums for advice on rebuilding all of this. I already bought a 4x8 sheet of treated plywood, and some treated 1x6's which is what was used previously it appear. I will need to find a replacement for the foam. I think I am actually not going to recarpet the floor, but instead paint the floor with rhinoliner. I have a friend who used a white rhinoliner paint on the entire interior of his boat and it turned out great, and is easily rinsed clean.

As soon as I figure out how to post pictures on here I will get that done so you can see the progress.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Is there any way to diagnose for sure if this is my water impeller thats causing the problem?

If you don't know how long it's been since the impeller has been replaced it's time to replace it. That's pretty much the starting point for solving cooling problems. You can of course T in a pressure gauge to the tell-tale outlet to see what it's doing, or better yet install a water pressure gauge in the dash.

I already bought a 4x8 sheet of treated plywood, and some treated 1x6's which is what was used previously it appear.

Treated wood has no place in a boat. When you replace the transom (notice I said when, not if) you'll need to use marine plywood, which is made with zero voids and is therefore of a known strength. You can get away with using AB exterior plywood for the deck, though the "right" way to do it is to use marine plywood for that as well. For the stringers you can glue the marine plywood together to match the thickness of the original.

I will need to find a replacement for the foam.

You'll want to use 2 part pour foam for that. I get it from US Composites.

I think I am actually not going to recarpet the floor, but instead paint the floor with rhinoliner.

The rhinoliner sounds like a good idea. When you're fiberglassing the deck you'll want to take your time to do a neat job, as any uneven areas in the glass will show through.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Next issue I have discovered. The steering seems to be locked up. I have gotten ahold of a manual for the boat and I don't see anything about a "lock" to hold the motor centered. Any thoughts on what to do to diagnose why I cannot get the motor to turn?

I have motor details finally:
Yamaha PROV 150F
6J9 L

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

This is after carpet and first layers of glass were ripped out. Interior already stripped, a few seats are salvageable, some are not...

After digging down in and removed foam. Most foam was suprisingly dry except for the very bottom 1/2" of it. Most however was totally dry. The stringers that are glassed in place however are rotten in sections and need replaced. As shown in the next picture. What is the best way to do this? Should I try to dig them out of the old glass that held them in? Or cut that glass out somehow? I wasn't sure how to cut this extra glass out, being so close to the hull of the boat.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

After a little cleaning:

And this is the motor idling after we finally got her fired up!

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

....The stringers that are glassed in place however are rotten in sections and need replaced. As shown in the next picture. What is the best way to do this? Should I try to dig them out of the old glass that held them in? Or cut that glass out somehow? I wasn't sure how to cut this extra glass out, being so close to the hull of the boat.

Get a grinder and put a diamond cut-off wheel on it. Cut out the old fiberglass as close to the hull as you safely can. Then put a sanding wheel on your grinder and take off the rest of the fiberglass from the old stringer.

Any thoughts on what to do to diagnose why I cannot get the motor to turn?

Most likely cause would be the steering cable, second would be the helm, with a slim chance there's a problem at the engine itself. Start off by disconnecting the cable end from the engine and see if you can manually turn the engine now. If the engine turns ok (chances are it will) you've now got to figure out if it's the helm or steering cable (chances are it's the cable). You'll need to determine what type of steering system you have and if you can even find a new cable for it.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

I bought an angle grinder today. Soon as I saw one when at the store I was ashamed I hadn't thought of it sooner. I will be attacking the glass this afternoon.

I also removed the bolt connecting the steering to the engine itself, the engine turns just fine. From the research I did on this forum I realized this is a pretty common problem, so sorry for bringing it up yet again. I disconnected the steering cable from the steering wheel and the wheel moves fine, so its between the beginning of the cable and the engine. I will be investigating further tonight. Thanks all for the help. I appreciate all advice and input, I know my budget (and time/patience budget) may not allow the "perfect" rebuild some of you have suggested, but your advice is certainly guiding me. Thanks again. I will continue to update as the project continues!

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

Working on the steering.

I unscrewed the nut that holds the steering cable to the back of the steering wheel, which if I understand it all correctly is a rotary system. The wheel will move freely, and "push" the cable now. But the cable is still attached somewhere inside of the steering wheel assembly? How do I access this?

Also, when I disconnected the same nut from the engine, I found that I could now turn the wheel, and the steering cable would "pull" out of the engine. See video here if it doesn't show up below (http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk65/Paintufast/Mobile Uploads/?action=view&current=IMG_0527.mp4


Does this mean that my steering cable is the actual problem, since the rod going through the motor does move?

And finally, how do I get this steering cable disconnected from both ends? I have unscrewed the large nut on each end, so the "hose" is free. But the internal cable remains attached somewhere...

Pictures of my setup

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

It's difficult (or impossible) to diagnose some problems from a distance. You're going to have to figure out what's causing resistance in your steering system, whether it's the helm, cable, or engine itself. It's also possible you've freed up whatever was sticking.

 

[Paintufast]

Re: Starting a Restore of 1986 Procraft 1750 F

I have made some minor progress with the steering. I am certain that the problem is where the cable enters one side of the motor mount then comes out on the other. Everything upstream of where it enters the motor mount moves fine including the cable itself, so deductive reasoning says downstream is my problem. The solid metal tube on the end of my steering cable moves freely into and out of the motor mount, that is the last moving part.

I am at a loss after this? How can I free up or diagnose any further, the parts on the actual motor mount?

This is the part that is NOT moving, (it is currently disconnected form the steering arm of the motor which is why it seems to be hanging free). I tried tapping it with a hammer, and it does move in slightly, but I cannot push/pull it like all of the other steering parts.

I believe my problem is actually in here:

How/what do I take apart here to diagnose this further? I am at a loss here. I have been sifting through other peoples steering issues trying to get answers but it seems every problem is unique.