1648 Lowe Refresh part II

[Brackett]

Looks good! I'm sure you will get the seats and heights adjusted to fit you. You will make a few changes/adjustments along the entire life of the boat.

 

[timtaylor1231]

looks great. I have a 1980 16' lowe with 50hp and a 45lb minn kota edge bow mount and its the perfect size. I usually don't ever even get over the 3rd speed. I would suggest rebuilding the carbs including the diaphragm pumps, its cheap, very easy to do and will be worth it in the long run.

 

[Abraham]

Thanks for the comments guys. My friend and I changed out the impeller and housing and got it to start but it wasn't peeing correctly. It was pulsing for lack of a better word, not shooting a stream. I called the fella I got the kit from to ask advice and he said it could be a number of things. Blockage, internal exhaust leak, cracked head, etc. I was almost ready to just drop it off at his shop at let him fix it but he said I'd be two to three weeks out. So in a last ditch effort we pulled the lower unit back off and there were a number of pieces of impeller floating around in there. One good sized piece was on top of the housing but there were also 6 or 7 decent sized pieces down in the bottom. We took the little grilles off the sides and out they came.

After putting it back together it sprayed out about 4 feet. Also got some additive from the BG guy that comes by my work that he claimed worked great. I called a shop owner that supposedly uses it and he confirmed what the salesman claimed. This guy runs it in all his power sports stuff, chainsaws, lawnmowers and anything else two stroke. I put some of that in the tank and it was idling great today. Just trying to figure out the mercontrol now.

Doubt it gets on the water tomorrow since we're going to pond hop for crappies but hope to give it a shakedown run sometime this weekend. Thanks for reading

 

[Abraham]

Boat is dang near finished, I can't believe it. Been two years, countless hours, and many dollars. Everything is wired up aside from the front and rear lights. Need a new outlet and rear light but we're completely legal for daytime hours. Test run should be sometime tomorrow as long as the wind isn't a problem. It's been raining almost non stop the last week or so and the wind has been way up until today. Weather looks good for tomorrow afternoon though.

Got the switchboard mounted.


Everything plumbed up.


Fire extinguisher installed and mocking up an ammo can for storage beside the console.

 

[Abraham]

List of things needed.

Two more cleats for the front. Mounted the two I had on the rear but forgot to get pics.
Number stickers are two years old and wouldn't stay. Got a can of clear to spray over them. Should probably get new ones but oh well.
Some type of battery charger. Solar would be cool but open to plug in style. Suggestions are very welcome
Looking to add one of those fancy roll bar looking rod holder set ups for trolling.
Paddle holders will need to be added but not sure what kind yet.

Hope to have pics of it on the water tomorrow. Thanks for reading

 

[Abraham]

Made the maiden voyage today! Nothing really worked very well other than the trolling motor but got to fish at least. Starter wasn't engaging very often and it wasn't idling very well either. I expected problems since it's been sitting for so long and we were on a small lake anyways so opening it up wasn't going to happen. No leaks at least. Just trolled around and fished and tried to get a feel for the rig and what changes I'd like to make. Probably going to need a starter and some carb work. When I got home I noticed some fuel on the transom so I took the cover off and noticed a small leak.


It's crazy how small the boat feels once you get everything on board. It seemed humongous with a bare layout but now it's pretty cramped. Need to rearrange some things to make more room. Was thinking I'd put some vertical rod holders in front of the console in reach of the front casting chair and back on the port side of the stern. Just a pain in the ass to avoid the extra poles laying on the floor.

Did catch four fish in the hour and a half or so we were there. It's been raining almost nonstop here for the last couple weeks and it started up again today. My friend caught the first fish and hopefully this isn't a precursor of our future trips :mrgreen:



We each got one about that size, he got a 2lb or so largemouth but we didn't get a pic. Fish of the day was this measly channel I guess.


Caught him on a Mepps spinner. Thought I had a monster for a second lol.

Probably going to have to take it to the shop. I will work on old American v8's but I'm too lazy to dig into an outboard . My buddy is a mechanic but not marine and although he could probably do the work, I don't want to bother him with it. I don't pay him enough for his help as it is. As always, thanks for reading.

 

[Abraham]

Since I couldn't get an appointment until the 15th I decided to tinker around with the 40 and see if I couldn't screw something up. Got some sea foam for the tank and some spray for the carb. Got it started yesterday and moved the idle lever until it was humming along at a pretty good clip and started with the seafoam spray. Sprayed a little and let it run and alternated between that and checking the plugs and wiping them off. Eventually it died and I couldn't get it to start again. Feel bad because my neighbors house is like twenty feet away and were listening to a boat either run, or try to for an hour and a half.

Figured I'd check the compression at least so I borrowed a gauge from a guy at work and both cylinders had between 153 and 155 which was a nice surprise. Didn't know you were supposed to ground the plug wire though so knowing my luck I probably burned up the coil #-o

Wish I had a spark tester but expected low compression the way my luck is going. Probably pick one up tomorrow and see how she does. Bad part is that my motor has problems seemingly everywhere. Leaks fuel, the wiring harness is butchered in some places, missing insulation in others, and a combo of both in some others. Would try to get a new harness but I can't even find a serial number on this engine. it says Rocket in raised cast letters on the back right but that's about it.

 

[Abraham]

Found the id number for the engine. It was where it was supposed to be but was covered in filth. Glad to have found it for parts lookups. It as about what I thought, 1978 model.

Ordered a new wiring harness for the engine. Not sure if it's part of the starting problem but it can't be helping with the condition that it's in.


The other side isn't much better. Figured that even if it's not a problem it needs replaced.

 

[Abraham]

Got into the harness again last night and removed the black tape. The wires were missing insulation in a number of spots and just flaked off at the touch. New one should be here this week sometime.


Was happy to trade a set of tires this morning for an early 60's, 5.5hp Johnson for a kicker. Has a couple cosmetic issues but ran well and was fairly easy to start. Hoping it will be enough to trailer the boat in a little wind while I have the 40 in the shop. Not going to try anything crazy but missed out Thursday because it was just a tad too windy for the bow mount troller.

Height seems just right while down but I'm not sure how to lock it tilted up. Seems like it would be able to but I'm not sure.

Looks pretty clean for the year. Hopefully it does a good job.


As always thanks for reading, any suggestions, tips, or tricks, are appreciated.

 

[Abraham]

Should I worry about a transom saver for the kicker? The engine weighs about 40lbs I'd guess.

 

[OutrageGIS]

The wires on my 68 merc were the same way. I couldn't get a new harness so had to make one. Make sure you check the coil wires too, I ended up replacing all the wire.

 

[Gators5220]

Man that boat turned out realy nice bud, pretty good idea on the wiring harness as well, seems like old wires are always a pain in the butt when you out on the water.

 

[Abraham]

Finally an update!

As mentioned earlier, I surrendered and took the boat to the shop and I'm glad I did now. I would have drove myself crazy trying to fix it on my own. I'm in smalltown USA and everything but there's a pretty sharp boat guy a town over and he admitted to it "kicking his ass" pretty well. It received a carb rebuild, one coil, plugs and plug wires, new harness, bendix cleaning, and something else. He was done other than he wasn't getting fire when the plugs were in the engine. They fired great on a spark tester he said but ended up needing wires to make it fire while installed. The last time this thing was registered was 2005 and it showed. Bill was $550.

I had done so many thing bass ackwards it wasn't even funny. The best was how we'd somehow ran the steering cable into the gear box the wrong way and had the wheel turning backwards. That was a fun trailer reload lol. Learned a ton during the build that will help down the line

Went and picked it up last night and took it out this evening after work. It runs great. Fires right up with no choke and idles without effort. The shifter was just slightly out of adjustment he said but I have to push it down awful far before the rpms pick up. He did say they don't test them at wot because it empties their water barrel so I can see how he missed it if that is the problem.

As far as the speed potential, I have lived near this lake for years and fished it many times but have not boated on it much at all. It's full of stumps and a bass boat or three is lost every summer here. I've also never driven a boat until a few hours ago and was quite nervous tbh lol. I wanted to see what it would do but pussed out since the wind was up with some chop.

I forgot to take pics until my friend caught a small channel so I grabbed one of the cove we were in. It was the only fish landed so not much camera time :mrgreen:

 

[Abraham]

I'm going to pretty much live on it this weekend to get more acclimated and see what else I would like to change. Already have a few things to add/alter.

I've been fishing for years but would have probably never acquired a boat if I hadn't stumbled onto this site years ago. Thank you for all the tips and tricks my fellow members.

From this.

To this

 

[Abraham]

Spent about 10 hours fishing from it since my last post and found some things I'd like to change.

1. Have to get some rod holders of some kind. The carpet I chose is way too long and if a lure so much as touches it, it's snagged. Only problem is I'm around trees often and don't want to break a rod running it into something. Might have to go with a rod locker but would rather have the poles at the ready.

2.Found a lane to run it wot but it only seems to get to about 21-23 mph and the only thing I base that on is driving a cj with the windshield down for years. About 30 is when your eyes start to water it seemed. My fishing buddy does stay up front to look for obstacles in open water so that could make a difference but I thought it would have more top end. I was hoping for 29-31 at least.

3. Shouldn't have used wood for flooring. Added 100lbs at least and it's already warping and the seat screws seem to be loosening. Add that to the fact that the seat bases I purchased are cheap garbage and you got a crappy ride. Bushings are shot already. Aluminum frame work and nut zerts or even studs coming up with wing nuts would be much better. The floor flexes as does the seat bases and you can get about a 45 degree angle if you want.

Have been catching fish but nothing like the size this lake produces. Biggest one so far was maybe 2.5lbs. Pics incoming.





My buddy caught this one two weeks ago on a brown pit boss in this same lake so they're out there.



Fished both Thursday and Friday night but when docking last night the steering cable shot the ****. It was old and rusty but at least it broke within 5 feet of the dock on our way back lol. The boat will be down til at least Wednesday I'd think. As long as I get it back together before next weekend I'll be happy. As always, thanks for reading and any tips or tricks are appreciated.

 

[Jake11]

That boat turned out beautiful. How that paint holding up? Fairly durable? I wish I had a bit more room under the center deck of my project for a flush mount seat base but I've only got about 2 to 3 inches. That boat definitely transformed. Very professional looking work!

 

[Abraham]

Thanks Jake. One of the best choices on this rig was the paint. No primer and it's holding up great. Have had a few compliments on the color from other fisherman on the few trips out too.

 

[Abraham]

Tried a couple different cables that the boat man had in stock but neither worked out. He put in an order for me Thursday but I haven't heard from him. I'm expecting to hear from him Monday that it's been backordered or discontinued

Fishing buddy and I went and picked up a 93 Nitro yesterday so my boat might be put on the back burner as far as bass fishing goes and we have another boat for running the river. Might end up selling mine just cause it'll be sitting there. Figured up what I had in it and came up with a little over 3,000 with labor and everything. I think it would do great on the river for setting lines and or camping. Would love to keep using it but will sell it if it's neglected. Maybe remove the seats and flooring for weight reduction and focus on limb/trot lines and bowfishing.

The Nitro. Guy we bought it from was a super nice guy but seemed sort of off. Helped us out a ton but was just a little different.

 

[Abraham]

Took the nitro out tonight and caught one measly fish lol. Nothing but problems tbh. Boat wouldn't start and when it did start it wouldn't idle. Died whenever you put it in gear. Should get the cable tomorrow for my boat and be good to go. I was somewhat frustrated with the lack of speed on the flat bottom but having problems getting this one to start were much worse. I'll settle for a little less speed if it means not sacrificing reliability.

Hoping to set some lines this weekend. Catfish are almost ready to spawn and we'll probably clean house if we make it out. I'll post some pics if we have any luck.

 

[Abraham]

Well, turns out the nitro had low compression on one cylinder and when we took it apart it had a hole in the piston. Might start another thread if I don't get many responses in here but what would you guys do?

He was adamant about us taking a ride in it and it ran great it seemed with him driving it. He'd owned it 7 years or so and I'm thinking he knew how to manipulate it to where it would idle. I mean this thing wouldn't run from the first time we put it in the water. He made a point of having as is on the bill of sale as well. I called him and he acted offended that we'd accuse him of selling a lemon and was constantly telling us god bless ya and other religious stuff. I'm thinking it was just a front. Now he won't return calls or messages.

Is there anything we can do?