Poorly neglected boat, bringing her back to service

[checkoutmyjunk]

I've got a sickness with projects and deals, when the two align I just can't say no.

I was offered 2 motors, a boat, a trailer, a trolling motor, a good deep cycle battery and all the typical trimmings like PDFs and anchors for $700. I said nope, don't want it. Then a week later the price was $500, and I said nope again. Well the seed was planted and I was having a beer with a few of my boating buddies and I casually mention the deal to them. These guys have the exact same sickness as me and judging by their reactions I knew it was too late, they confirmed the deal was too good to pass up. They said things like "if you are gonna pass on that deal give me the guys number" and the "9.9 is worth what he is asking you can't go wrong" Knowing the seller just needed money I gave him $700, :roll:

What I got:

1998 Johnson 9.9 hp w/ electric start, only needs gas, ready to go and it's got a 15 carb. (more on that later)
1975 Evinrude 4 hp - also runs like a top, per the seller
A fairly new Minkota Endura C2 55# trolling motor
Deep Cycle battery in good shape
Cox Trailer with title
14' SeaNymph, no title, but a somewhat shady bill of sales going back 3 owners ago
2 anchors
Several PDFs in serviceable shape
Portable Hummingbird 150 fish finder

In PA getting a boat title is a bit easier than a trailer title, there are pros and cons to both but if the boat was never titled in pa it's a fairly straight forward process. Before 1998 PA did not issue titles for boats at all. Because the boat came with a bill of sale I was able to contact the 3rd previous owner before the trail went cold, he just said he saw it leaning up against a barn and made the "old guy" and offer. He said a title was not needed as it was for a private pond. I called PA Fish and Boat and they said send all the bill of sales I have in and they would contact the last known person to register it and if he confirmed that he sold it they would in turn issue it a title in my name. They said it was last registered in 2000 so 19 years later.... I still need to get the last previous owner to sign a bill of sale for me so I am stalling on that part. Honestly if I can get a title for the boat it's just a bonus.


First order of business was to get the 9.9 cleaned up, make a video of it running on muffs and store it away somewhere dry for the winter.
Looked good sitting on the garage floor

Not so lucky, PO said he was 95% sure it would just fire right up

I could have spliced the wires, but when it comes to a watercraft I don't like cutting corners so I ordered a new CDI and a plug wire

All patched up on my motor stand I made from some scraps.

Gave her a shot of either and a fresh battery, it fired up a split second and purrred, the hose is disconnected at my house so no further testing till I make better arrangements but am confident it's good to go.

Next my attention was directed at this poor trailer.

The bones were fine but the sculpted shag covered bunks and bits of PVC piping and hacked wiring made me cringe.

I stripped it down to give it a quick angle grinder treatment and a brush paint job.

Bunks are gone, I'm done...

After more beers, this is how I left it

Out in the driveway I hit it with the wire wheel, kinda annoyed I could not get a few select areas or the bottom well but eh, it's a 1983 trailer.

When I pulled it inside I cracked a beer and got to thinking, there was only one bolt and nut keeping it from being in two pieces and I am already this far.... Then it was hell, there are only two more bolts holding the axle on...

This is where I left off last night, I need to hit the rest with the wheel, then it's time to roll and brush on some gloss white Rustomeum

TTYL

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Painting the trailer white will make it look good but as an alternative idea why not use aluminum paint? The kind your paint chain link fence with. It's cheap and easy to apply and makes the metal look like new. I did mine with it.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Hey Yellowboat, I gave that option more than a moments thought standing in the paint isle at Lowes. In the end I went with the sheep mentality, most new painted trailers of this vintage are a=some shade of white so that is what I went with.


I forgot how difficult Rustoleum was to work with, goes on thick, then runs and drips, and takes forever to dry!

Just took a quick stab at it with a roller last night after hitting it with the wire wheel again.

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Yeah, rustoleum being oil based, takes awhile to dry. I painted my boat with it. I used the white primer for the first coat and let it dry for 2 or 3 days then used the top coat with a 6 inch roller.

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Ummmmmmm, I hate to mention this, but when you ran the 9.9 for a few seconds,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you ran it dry, you may have destroyed the impeller. Sorry

 

[thedude]

Ummmmmmm, I hate to mention this, but when you ran the 9.9 for a few seconds,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you ran it dry, you may have destroyed the impeller. Sorry

Even if he didn't ruin it, it should be replaced unless he knows when it was last done. Period!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[LDUBS]

Ummmmmmm, I hate to mention this, but when you ran the 9.9 for a few seconds,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you ran it dry, you may have destroyed the impeller. Sorry

Even if he didn't ruin it, it should be replaced unless he knows when it was last done. Period!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

X2. Failure is pretty catastrophic. The manufacturer maintenance manuals might say "check" (instead of replace) the impeller every other service cycle. In my mind if I go to the trouble of pulling apart the gear case I'm going to replace the impeller while I'm in there. On an older unknown it just seems prudent to replace it. Budget allowing, do the full kit.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Ummmmmmm, I hate to mention this, but when you ran the 9.9 for a few seconds,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you ran it dry, you may have destroyed the impeller. Sorry

Well, I said split second, but only a fool runs an outboard dry, I think we can all agree on that. I appreciate the you taking the time to make sure I know the dangers or running it dry.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Ummmmmmm, I hate to mention this, but when you ran the 9.9 for a few seconds,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you ran it dry, you may have destroyed the impeller. Sorry

Even if he didn't ruin it, it should be replaced unless he knows when it was last done. Period!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

X2. Failure is pretty catastrophic. The manufacturer maintenance manuals might say "check" (instead of replace) the impeller every other service cycle. In my mind if I go to the trouble of pulling apart the gear case I'm going to replace the impeller while I'm in there. On an older unknown it just seems prudent to replace it. Budget allowing, do the full kit.

I was told the impeller is a few years old. I was also told it was ready to run and we see how well that worked out for me. The lower unit will get new oil and the impeller is sitting on my bench waiting to be installed. I'd will be willing to bet a decent sum of $ that I when I put the muffs on it she will pump water just fine, but like I said, cutting corners on a watercraft is not my style.

Thanks for the concern fellas! I certainly am no boating expert and appreciate and wisdom you guys care to share.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Here is the kit I got off Amazon.

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Here is the kit I got off Amazon.

Wow! That is really complete! Didn't know the pump housing was plastic though

 

[LDUBS]

Perfect. FWIW, housings on my last two outboards are plastic. Of course the liner the impeller in in contact with is metal.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Mini update:

Threw another coat on the trailer last night. Still have need to hit the bottom side and a second coat on the bits I missed the on the first coat. It's looking much better.

Next I need to address the axle and wheels, then assembly including things like bunks, new winch strap and so on.

Here is the submersible LED light kit I picked up for $22!

 

[1960 yellowboat]

When I rebuilt my trailer, I did much the same as you.
Harbor Freight became my buddy!
New:
Winch
25 Ft. winch strap
Folding jack
Submersible Lights
Two inch coupler
Bearing Buddies and Bra's
New wheels and tires too.
Made guide-ons out of pvc front and rear

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

When I rebuilt my trailer, I did much the same as you.
Harbor Freight became my buddy!
New:
Winch
25 Ft. winch strap
Folding jack
Submersible Lights
Two inch coupler
Bearing Buddies and Bra's
New wheels and tires too.
Made guide-ons out of pvc front and rear

Save the convenience of China Freight being a brick and mortar they are no longer the place to go. $39.99 for the lights and 29.99 on sale at HF, I got them for under $23 shipped to my door in two days. I was working on a jetski trailer that I converted to a yard cart and the coupler I wanted wasn't carried by China Freight so I got that from Amazon too. Walmart.com has better pricing than Amazon these days and the effect Amazon had on shipping expectations it makes it hard to drive the 20 minutes to China Freight just to pay more, even with a 20% off coupon.

 

[LDUBS]

Here is a tip you might want to consider. When you mount the license plate bracket, run a small length of chain from where it bolts to the trailer behind the light to the bolts holding the license plate to the bracket. When the plastic license plate bracket breaks, you won't lose your license plate. I can never remember hitting anything, but seem to have to replace the plastic bracket about once/year.

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Wow!
You got your stuff off Amazon?
I gotta remember that.
Thanks for the tip.
Next boat I work on, I'm definately checking them out!
Thanks again.

 

[Superlucky]

I love stories that begin with "....So I cracked another beer......"

 

[LDUBS]

I love stories that begin with "....So I cracked another beer......"

Hahahah

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Here is a tip you might want to consider. When you mount the license plate bracket, run a small length of chain from where it bolts to the trailer behind the light to the bolts holding the license plate to the bracket. When the plastic license plate bracket breaks, you won't lose your license plate. I can never remember hitting anything, but seem to have to replace the plastic bracket about once/year.

So I have another river boat, and I use it all year provided the river isn't frozen. Pretty much every year the cold water makes the plastic brittle and it snaps off. The last build I figured I would add a few zip ties in case the hanger broke, well long story short the zip ties failed too. I noticed as I was leaving the ramp that my plate was gone so I hooked a Uie and headed back to see if I would get lucky enough to find it in the water. I found a plate and thought " what are the odds". It was a few weeks later when I went to put it back on that I realized the plate I found was not mine. The chain is a great idea, but you gave me an idea, a while back I bought stainless steel cable and the ferrules to crimp it. I think I will make a few safety hangers out of the left overs.