I'll try to keep this short enough to prevent people losing the will to live.
In Aug, 2018, I saw a Craig's List ad for a 1984 4Winns Marquise 170 that contained "I told the kids that if it started to cost money, it would have to go, so here it is" and that it "had a slight overheat".
OK, I had worked for two boat dealers by that time and repaired lots of overheats, but not like this one- he redefined the word. I didn't even care that I couldn't run it before taking it home- it cost $500 and, while the trailer looks like crap, it actually functions very well when I tow it. The boat looked OK, interior was in good condition but as the son of an upholsterer, I hated it because it was a very low-budget design and execution.
Took it home and charged the battery and started the engine- ran like absolute crap. Put it in my garage and checked the compression- nothing in cyl 2. put air into each cylinder to check for leaking valve or gasket and 1/3/4 had air coming out of the intake or exhaust when appropriate but #2 had air coming out of the exhaust at all times. Looked at the time and thought "WTH, it's only 12:30PM", so I did what any curious boat owner would do- removed the top end of the engine to check for damage. The first photo shows the gap around the exhaust valve. OK, I have done this repair, so I kept going.
I had loosened the exhaust riser bellows to get it out of the way, but hadn't removed them, so that was next- the shutter valve was, well, half missing. The O-ring was a crunchy piece of carbon. I found the missing half of the shutter below, at the elbow, so I used a grabby tool to pick it up.
Next stop- remove the outdrive and find out how much additional damage the previous owner did. OMG! The plastic raw water pump top cover had melted over two of the fasteners, so I used a small propane torch to soften the plastic enough to allow me to disassemble it. The plastic water tube had 'tulipped', meaning that it had softened and basically turned itself inside out at the top. Every time I removed something, I thought "That's not good". The 2nd photo shows the impeller- I think it had something to do with all of this.
Having seen melted plastic on the raw water pump, I decided to check the water pocket cover (directly above the raw water pump) and sure enough, that had melted, too.
The impeller failure caused nothing my hot exhaust to blow through the exhaust into the area around water pump and it killed the exhaust bellows- the hole blew hot exhaust onto the shaft bellows and when I grabbed it, it was as soft as silicone rubber.
I disassembled and made parts lists, so I could buy what was needed and cleaned everything to get it ready for reassembly as time allowed. I took the head to my former boss at the first boat dealership I worked for and asked where he goes with this kind of damage and as it turned out, the guy who owns the land/buildings at that location has his own shop, doing engine work for race cars. For $75, he media blasted the head and magna-fluxed it to check for cracks and finding none, he milled it flat and did a complete valve job, replaced the damaged valve and tested the springs to make sure they were consistent, then reassembled it. Total cost- $300.
The process was slow because I didn't need to get it done ASAP, time and money didn't allow it and I didn't have to pay for storage. The reason I bought this boat was to get back into boat repairs as part of my retirement and this boat was going to serve as a way to practice. When I went to a dealership to buy some inexpensive parts, I asked if they had any 'orphan boats'. I told the guy at the counter what I wanted to do with them (I told him that I had repaired boats at that same place when it was under different ownership) and he sent me to the GM's office. After our conversation, he asked if I would consider doing that kind of work again. I started a few weeks later.
Eventually, I decided that if I was going this far with it, I might as well do the interior, too. I have a friend who owns an upholstery shop and I have done upholstery, too. I'm also a woodworker, so stripping the covers, modifying seat and backrest plywood, rebuilding the hinged rear backrest and glassing the engine cover/adding a larger piece for the drink holders is no big deal.
I'll post more photos and descriptions of the old & new interior and other work but in the meantime, the 3rd photo shows the boat at a local yacht club. The gelcoat was in much worse condition when I got it.
In Aug, 2018, I saw a Craig's List ad for a 1984 4Winns Marquise 170 that contained "I told the kids that if it started to cost money, it would have to go, so here it is" and that it "had a slight overheat".
OK, I had worked for two boat dealers by that time and repaired lots of overheats, but not like this one- he redefined the word. I didn't even care that I couldn't run it before taking it home- it cost $500 and, while the trailer looks like crap, it actually functions very well when I tow it. The boat looked OK, interior was in good condition but as the son of an upholsterer, I hated it because it was a very low-budget design and execution.
Took it home and charged the battery and started the engine- ran like absolute crap. Put it in my garage and checked the compression- nothing in cyl 2. put air into each cylinder to check for leaking valve or gasket and 1/3/4 had air coming out of the intake or exhaust when appropriate but #2 had air coming out of the exhaust at all times. Looked at the time and thought "WTH, it's only 12:30PM", so I did what any curious boat owner would do- removed the top end of the engine to check for damage. The first photo shows the gap around the exhaust valve. OK, I have done this repair, so I kept going.
I had loosened the exhaust riser bellows to get it out of the way, but hadn't removed them, so that was next- the shutter valve was, well, half missing. The O-ring was a crunchy piece of carbon. I found the missing half of the shutter below, at the elbow, so I used a grabby tool to pick it up.
Next stop- remove the outdrive and find out how much additional damage the previous owner did. OMG! The plastic raw water pump top cover had melted over two of the fasteners, so I used a small propane torch to soften the plastic enough to allow me to disassemble it. The plastic water tube had 'tulipped', meaning that it had softened and basically turned itself inside out at the top. Every time I removed something, I thought "That's not good". The 2nd photo shows the impeller- I think it had something to do with all of this.
Having seen melted plastic on the raw water pump, I decided to check the water pocket cover (directly above the raw water pump) and sure enough, that had melted, too.
The impeller failure caused nothing my hot exhaust to blow through the exhaust into the area around water pump and it killed the exhaust bellows- the hole blew hot exhaust onto the shaft bellows and when I grabbed it, it was as soft as silicone rubber.
I disassembled and made parts lists, so I could buy what was needed and cleaned everything to get it ready for reassembly as time allowed. I took the head to my former boss at the first boat dealership I worked for and asked where he goes with this kind of damage and as it turned out, the guy who owns the land/buildings at that location has his own shop, doing engine work for race cars. For $75, he media blasted the head and magna-fluxed it to check for cracks and finding none, he milled it flat and did a complete valve job, replaced the damaged valve and tested the springs to make sure they were consistent, then reassembled it. Total cost- $300.
The process was slow because I didn't need to get it done ASAP, time and money didn't allow it and I didn't have to pay for storage. The reason I bought this boat was to get back into boat repairs as part of my retirement and this boat was going to serve as a way to practice. When I went to a dealership to buy some inexpensive parts, I asked if they had any 'orphan boats'. I told the guy at the counter what I wanted to do with them (I told him that I had repaired boats at that same place when it was under different ownership) and he sent me to the GM's office. After our conversation, he asked if I would consider doing that kind of work again. I started a few weeks later.
Eventually, I decided that if I was going this far with it, I might as well do the interior, too. I have a friend who owns an upholstery shop and I have done upholstery, too. I'm also a woodworker, so stripping the covers, modifying seat and backrest plywood, rebuilding the hinged rear backrest and glassing the engine cover/adding a larger piece for the drink holders is no big deal.
I'll post more photos and descriptions of the old & new interior and other work but in the meantime, the 3rd photo shows the boat at a local yacht club. The gelcoat was in much worse condition when I got it.
