New boat...Final update!!!

Now that it's cleaned up and fixed, what will you take for it

That's pretty dang sweet!

JBell said:

Now that it's cleaned up and fixed, what will you take for it

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Something about prying it away from cold, dead hands comes to mind.

Excellent work! Congratulations on the project progress!

Thanks all!

So turns out it didn't run out of gas, there was a little in the tank when I added 5g today. Bulb still wouldn't pump up and was sucking air back from the motor into the bulb, so looks like the 1 way ball valve is gunked up and failed. Got my buddy to bring over his portable tank and fuel line and the motor started right up and we let it run for 30 min or so while doing a few odds and ends.

Pulled the prop off the trolling motor to look for line, and this gasket thing is shot. @Spurhunter would this cause decreased trolling speed? I'm thinking not, but looks like I will need a replacement regardless.

megalomaniac said:

Pulled the prop off the trolling motor to look for line, and this gasket thing is shot. @Spurhunter would this cause decreased trolling speed? I'm thinking not, but looks like I will need a replacement regardless.

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Wow! I've never seen one that bad, but I'm not exposed to saltwater boats either. That has to be allowing water into the foot and the bearing behind it. The good news is parts are readily available and cheap. I'm not sure you are going to see more than 2 mph out of that 12V motor, but considering that pic you might after replacing a few parts.

One question……. Did the previous ever wash the boat after being in saltwater

One Statement……. Let SALT AWAY be your new found friend…. And don't forget your trucks rear wheels and brakes.

7mm08 said:

One question……. Did the previous ever wash the boat after being in saltwater

One Statement……. Let SALT AWAY be your new found friend…. And don't forget your trucks rear wheels and brakes.

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No, the prior owner must have done no maintenance on the boat. Younger fellow, not really sure he even knew to.

To be honest, I'm not even sure the boat has been run in 4 or 5 years. He bought it from the original owner at the end of 2013/ beginning of 2014 (the original owner had it custom built in 4/2013, used it for 6 months, then realized he couldn't really afford it and sold it to the fellow I bought it from. The registration stickers on the side of the boat expired in 2017, so he either ran it without updating the stickers or it has sat since that time.

I suspect lack of maintenance in saltwater started causing a lot of little problems that became overwhelming to get fixed, so he never got around to them, then it just sat... and sat... and sat. No hour meter on the motor, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's seen less than 50h run time. Inside the cowling is just pristine, except for all the fire ants that had set up home somewhere in there (must have flushed out a thousand the first time I ran it in the big tub) But permethrin kills the snot out of them, and I'm no longer seeing ants.

And yes, I already have salt-a-way on hand and will use it liberally after every use in the marshes before storing in between trips!

As.far as trolling motor speeds...

This boat is not much heavier than the gheenoe I have been fishing out of... which only has a 30lb thrust motor and will do 2.7mph. I was expecting to get around 3mph with this 55lb thrust motor, even though the boat is a bit heavier (est 250lb hull, 190lb motor, another 75lbs in batteries, 40lbs fuel, plus myself)

If anyone is interested, here is the original thread I found by the original owner as the build was going on. The builders were insanely anal with attention to the smallest of details.

megalomaniac said:

She is Done - New Skull Island

www.microskiff.com

If anyone is interested, here is the original thread I found by the original owner as the build was going on. The builders were insanely anal with attention to the smallest of details.

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Pretty cool.

And fantastic thread. You and your boy working together and it's coming along nicely. I'll be keeping an eye out for future fishing reports. Congrats on the boat, and really like the job you're doing. Thanks for sharing.

We will need too be seeing you in the fishing forum pretty soon.

Good job. I helped a friend replace the impeller on his 4hp mercury kicker motor on his 35 foot sailboat.
It took two days to get the foot off the engine.
Saltwater will work a number on boat parts...

Awesome job on your project! I think you will really enjoy that boat in the fishing you have been doing.

megalomaniac said:

No, the prior owner must have done no maintenance on the boat. Younger fellow, not really sure he even knew to.

To be honest, I'm not even sure the boat has been run in 4 or 5 years. He bought it from the original owner at the end of 2013/ beginning of 2014 (the original owner had it custom built in 4/2013, used it for 6 months, then realized he couldn't really afford it and sold it to the fellow I bought it from. The registration stickers on the side of the boat expired in 2017, so he either ran it without updating the stickers or it has sat since that time.

I suspect lack of maintenance in saltwater started causing a lot of little problems that became overwhelming to get fixed, so he never got around to them, then it just sat... and sat... and sat. No hour meter on the motor, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's seen less than 50h run time. Inside the cowling is just pristine, except for all the fire ants that had set up home somewhere in there (must have flushed out a thousand the first time I ran it in the big tub) But permethrin kills the snot out of them, and I'm no longer seeing ants.

And yes, I already have salt-a-way on hand and will use it liberally after every use in the marshes before storing in between trips!

As.far as trolling motor speeds...

This boat is not much heavier than the gheenoe I have been fishing out of... which only has a 30lb thrust motor and will do 2.7mph. I was expecting to get around 3mph with this 55lb thrust motor, even though the boat is a bit heavier (est 250lb hull, 190lb motor, another 75lbs in batteries, 40lbs fuel, plus myself)

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This project reminds me of my old Key West Stealth, a flats boat. I met a great friend and mentor over it. Worked with several other buddies to get it useable. The best is that it sealed the deal on my love for inshore lowcountry fishing. You sir will hopefully continue to grow a bond that will be tighter than 24 hour epoxy with your son over this boat and big reds!

Thought I had an outside shot of us taking the boat fishing this weekend if weather cooperated... but nope.

Replaced the primer bulb and took the boat back to a local lake for another water test. Started perfectly, idled perfectly as I launched it and allowed the motor to warm. But beyond half throttle, the motor bogs down starving for fuel. Can't quite get on plane.

Fuel line is fine, tested it when I replaced primer bulb. I think the fuel pump in the motor is fine, as I would expect the motor to have gone full bore then bog down as the carbs were waiting for the bowl to fill back up. Throttle cable is adjusted correctly. The only thing I can figure out is the fast jets in the carb are gummed up (would be strange, as the smaller idle jets obviously work perfectly). Motor isn't missing and idles too perfectly for it to be a compression issue in the cylinders. Pulled new spark plug on top cylinder and looks to be running lean.

So looks like this weekend we are tearing out the carbs and refreshing them, plus replacing the jets. Hope the new gaskets are in by this weekend so I can reassemble the carbs and water test again locally weather permitting.

I tore into the trolling motor after I got back... believe it or not, no water got into the lower unit. The inner seal was in fair shape and prevented saltwater from getting inside. There was a little dust from the motor brushes in the lower unit, but no rust whatsoever. Armature looks great. From my research, if I want spotlock to work, I may have to replace the entire head. I'll think about that, in the meantime, got inner and outer seals, o rings on bolts and new housing o ring ordered for the lower unit.

Oh, and the boats floats in almost no water. Just for kicks, I took it to the little sand beach at the lake to see how shallow it will go. When I got stuck, I was in less than 4in of water. Used the push pole to get right off.

Good news, weather looks like it's gonna totally suck for fishing this weekend, so I'll just deer hunt morn and eve, and tear the carbs apart in between.

Well... I may be in trouble...

Replaced the courtesy lights/ marker lights on the trailer Fri eve. Had to bang the old ones off with a hammer and drill the bolts out that held them to the trailer. Took 2 hours just to replace 4 lights. But all trailer lights working perfectly.

Got my buddy who is an expert with small engines help with the carbs. We pulled the assembly with manifold and found this crap in the water jacket. Turns out there are 2 internal anodes, this one has plenty of meat left, but the debris in the water jacket was more bothersome. I'm assuming it's the crap fire ants like to haul around when they invade places they shouldn't.

Knew we had to open up the water jacket on the port side to clean out as well. Took the thermostat cover bolts out and thermostat and found this... the eddy pocket was completely full of grime/ corrosion/ debris.

I don't think the thermostat was working

So... went to pull the bolts to remove the water jacket cover on port size and the first one sheared off. Completely frozen. 2 options... fix it right (pull engine block and take it to a machine shop to drill out the bolts and rethread) or band-aid it.... I opted for no 2... plugged the intakes to the valves on the starboard side and used a pressure washer to completely rinse out the head. Feel very good I got 99% of any debris outta the cooling system. Put everything back together and went to the carbs.

Pulled apart the carbs, expecting them to be completely filthy and plugged, but surprisingly, they weren't bad at all. Some staining on parts of the float and bowl, but not nearly as bad as I would have expected.

2 of 3 main jets had a little fouling, but not bad. The jet tube were open on 2 of 3, with very reduced flow in the 3rd. But still, not really bad enough to cause the fuel starvation issues when revving up in gear i would think.

Regardless, I got all the carbs cleaned, old gaskets cleaned off, and just waiting on new jet tube and gaskets to arrive in the mail to reassemble.

My buddy is wondering if there might be a vacuum leak, so he is pulling the schematics for the carbs from that manufacturer to see if he can locate a problem.

But I fear that rebuilding the carbs is not going to solve lack of power when going up to speed. Will check compression on the cylinders next week, but I just don't see how that could be an issue as the motor starts right up, idles perfectly and quietly, and is responsive when revving up in neutral. Just can't get enough rps when under load to get the boat on plane.

(Any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!!)

Can't help you with the engine but I have loved following your journey.

megalomaniac said:

Pulled apart the carbs, expecting them to be completely filthy and plugged, but surprisingly, they weren't bad at all. Some staining on parts of the float and bowl, but not nearly as bad as I would have expected.

2 of 3 main jets had a little fouling, but not bad. The jet tube were open on 2 of 3, with very reduced flow in the 3rd. But still, not really bad enough to cause the fuel starvation issues when revving up in gear i would think.

Regardless, I got all the carbs cleaned, old gaskets cleaned off, and just waiting on new jet tube and gaskets to arrive in the mail to reassemble.

My buddy is wondering if there might be a vacuum leak, so he is pulling the schematics for the carbs from that manufacturer to see if he can locate a problem.

But I fear that rebuilding the carbs is not going to solve lack of power when going up to speed. Will check compression on the cylinders next week, but I just don't see how that could be an issue as the motor starts right up, idles perfectly and quietly, and is responsive when revving up in neutral. Just can't get enough rps when under load to get the boat on plane.

(Any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!!)

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What did the spark plugs look like?

PossumSlayer said:

What did the spark plugs look like?

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New spark plugs a couple weeks ago with complete service of motor and lower unit. Old ones weren't bad. After running it for 30 min last Thurs, top plug looked to be running lean.