eyerish
New member
Hi All,
First time boat owner/firs time poster. Another user on TheHullTruth suggested my intro and questions might be better suited here.
I just bought my first boat- a 91 Lowe 1720J V-Hull fishing boat.
Previous owner only had it for a few months and needed some quick cash for bills so I picked it up for $1,800. He was told by the prior owner that the impellor was bad, which I understand is a wear item that often needs replacement.
I performed a compression test on it. 125, 122, 121. Using a bore scope, the cylinder walls all appeared to have cross-hatching and the piston tops looked relatively clean. Using a spark tester, each coil was able to jump a 1/2" gap with gusto. The outdrive oil was dark, but not milky or brown. The engine will fire briefly on starter fluid (I know you're not supposed to use much on 2-strokes, but had to try it once). The steering linkage moves freely, and the PTT works both at the throttle and the button on the Johnson 60HP.
As far as the bad- the carpet is pretty sun-beat (it's sat in the Arizona sun, uncovered). Most everything electronic does not appear to work, at least from toggling the switches on the console- navigation lights don't light, the two live well pumps don't run, aerators don't run, bilge doesn't run, horn doesn't run. I'm fairly decent with electronic troubleshooting, so these smaller items are almost appealing to me as projects with my 8 & 10 year old sons (who are equally as excited as I am).
So on to some of my early questions:
1) Is it possible to find or get the original owner's manual for this boat? Wiring schematics?
2) The Johnson has VRO- is that something I should attempt to keep, or do like the rest of the world and eliminate it and mix my own gas?
3) I've already ordered an impeller/water pump kit. Any other typical upgrades for the Johnson 60?
Thanks!
First time boat owner/firs time poster. Another user on TheHullTruth suggested my intro and questions might be better suited here.
I just bought my first boat- a 91 Lowe 1720J V-Hull fishing boat.
Previous owner only had it for a few months and needed some quick cash for bills so I picked it up for $1,800. He was told by the prior owner that the impellor was bad, which I understand is a wear item that often needs replacement.
I performed a compression test on it. 125, 122, 121. Using a bore scope, the cylinder walls all appeared to have cross-hatching and the piston tops looked relatively clean. Using a spark tester, each coil was able to jump a 1/2" gap with gusto. The outdrive oil was dark, but not milky or brown. The engine will fire briefly on starter fluid (I know you're not supposed to use much on 2-strokes, but had to try it once). The steering linkage moves freely, and the PTT works both at the throttle and the button on the Johnson 60HP.
As far as the bad- the carpet is pretty sun-beat (it's sat in the Arizona sun, uncovered). Most everything electronic does not appear to work, at least from toggling the switches on the console- navigation lights don't light, the two live well pumps don't run, aerators don't run, bilge doesn't run, horn doesn't run. I'm fairly decent with electronic troubleshooting, so these smaller items are almost appealing to me as projects with my 8 & 10 year old sons (who are equally as excited as I am).
So on to some of my early questions:
1) Is it possible to find or get the original owner's manual for this boat? Wiring schematics?
2) The Johnson has VRO- is that something I should attempt to keep, or do like the rest of the world and eliminate it and mix my own gas?
3) I've already ordered an impeller/water pump kit. Any other typical upgrades for the Johnson 60?
Thanks!
