irab88's Motorboat and Trailer Build-Up Thread
 

so i traded my 9ft sailboat for a 15ft motorboat


Attachment 158078

:D

more pics soon...

Attachment 158073

Attachment 158074

Attachment 158075

Attachment 158076

Attachment 158069

Attachment 158070

Attachment 158071

Attachment 158072

Wow. I just caught the picture on "post your pics" and had to look for the details. I really like the lines of the boat. Is it from the '60's? The trailer looks like it is vintage too. I bet it really strolls with the 40 HP. Back when I was working on mine I found the restoration forum at iBoats really helpful. There were a lot of build threads. They also have a Johnson motor forum.


http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restor...ull-repair-22/

yeah, the hull is 1963, and the trailer is 1977. the trailer is in decent shape, just needs a new coupler, wheels, and lights. the boat needs a desperate cleaning, maybe some paint, and new/re-covered seats. the engine needs to have its pull-start re-wound and fixed (it's jammed right now) and probably a carb overhaul.

thanks for the link, i'll have to check it out. i want to learn as much as i can about all of this so i can get some use out of it (hopefully this year).

since you've been around boats for a while, maybe you can answer this: is that engine a 2-stroke? not too sure. i'll check the iboats forum (that's like the pirate4x4 of the boating world, right?)

Yes it's two stroke. They are not sold in U.S. anymore due to EPA regulations. You probably know you have to mix your gas/oil 50:1. They are noisier than the new 4strokes but a whole lot lighter. I have a 2005 Johnson 25 hp. They stopped making the Johnson mark about that time but they are one with Evinrude. Bombardier Corporation which I think is Canadian. Most of the parts are interchangeable between Evinrude and Johnson of equal HP's.

IIRC you are an Eagle Scout. Did you ever go to Bayport? My sons are headed there this weekend for the Mariner program!

i never went, but i had friends (older scouts at the time) do the chase program.

thanks for the info! there's just not that much i can find on this motor. i'll probably invest in a shop manual or something.

so after a bit of searching and some help from the wonderful people of iboats forum, i have searched around a bit more. i now know that the motor was made in 1985, and could possibly have an electric starter and/or external oil tank, which would be cool. i really need to open the engine up and have a look inside.

also, i found a few boat ramps around my area that'll dump into either the chesapeake bay or pax river, though i'll probably stay off the bay until i get more comfortable with the craft.

From the Fiberglassics forum:
1.) 5 of the 7 original astronauts owned Hydrodyne boats.
2.) A large photo of a Hydrodyne hung at NASA headquarters for years.
3.) Jacqueline Kennedy took delivery of a 1963 Hydrodyne the day that President Kennedy was shot and killed. To our knowledge that boat is still somewhere on the Maryland shore.


"Jacqueline Kennedy took delivery of a 1963 Hydrodyne the day that President Kennedy was shot and killed. To our knowledge that boat is still somewhere on the Maryland shore."

Maybe you should name your boat "Camelot."

I ordered blue silicone trailer rollers from iBoats a couple of years ago when I was working on my boat trailer. IIRC I got them during a huge sale during winter. They were inexpensive and cheaper than those clear/yellowing silicone rollers most new boats have. They look pretty sharp. If you have questions about the motor the mod usually responds with a copy of the exploded diagram parts page and an estimate on the price.

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/...l.gif~original

wha... oh, wow... uuum... so...


hull number check? owner history? how? this is something i'd like to find out!


yeah, i posted a parallel thread over there, and the mod instantly came back as helpful as can be. i'll be spending a lot of time on that forum. also, i found boats.net for exploded diagrams. first project is getting the pull cord to run. i have a few pictures that are uploading now...

popped the top, doesn't look too awfully bad for a 28 year old motor

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8dca20ae.jpg

i'll check that bottom cylinder for water ingress

Attachment 157592

Attachment 157593

first on the list: fix that damned pull cord. also, the flywheel seems to have marks from a starter gear. maybe in the future i'll try installing one

Attachment 157594

Nice boat, those are good Johnson motors. The first thing I would do is get this http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...1#.Udtk9cu9KSM and change the lower unit oil.

Hopefully no water comes out...also, beg, borrow and steal to get electric start on that. It's the best thing I did to my 14 footer. Should be plenty of parts still kicking around for that motor.

Finally, Nervo, what's this about no 2 strokes being sold in the US? You can still get new 2 strokes, maybe I misunderstood.

no 2-strokes over a certain size, i think

and thanks for the info, it'll be nice to start digging into the motor to find all that's wrong with it. these motors are still available, so no issue on parts

as for the starter:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-STARTER-OMC-JOHNSON-EVINRUDE-OUTBOARD-384163-387684-389275-585063-586280-/360478970598?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item53ee3892e6&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...er+40&_sacat=0

Shouldn't be that hard to install, either. You'll need a button that attaches to the tiller to start it, some wiring and a battery. There may even be a kit, I'll check with my pops in the morning. He was in the marina biz in the eighties. I helped him work on a few of those motors.

Evinrude and Johnson are like GMC/Chevy, as are Mercury and Mariner. BRP owns Evinrude now, but still sells Johnson parts. They probably still support that motor. They also own Ski Doo, who makes some sweet sleds.

Another cool project Ian

found out that vro is an option, but not without a $400 price tag :shocked:

so i think my non-vro will do just fine for now :hillbill:

and for my reference:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/VRO.html

Sweet new2U boat Ian... a little work and you'll be set... don't forget to put in the hull plug before you launch her... everyone does that at least once... I'd consider also getting a small elec. bilge pump... they can save you if you get caught in bad weather or get swamped by some jerk's wake...
Johnson/Evinrude are very good reliable motors my Grandpa always swore by them though he preferred the Evinrude version...

and all the parts diagrams are available online, which make fixing them a little bit easier

the only thing i'm not thrilled about is the dearth of information about hydrodyne boats. i mean, shouldn't there be records somewhere?

Resto you are right! I misspoke meaning you can't get the lightweight 2 stroke like he and I have. When I was looking for a 25 to 30 hp motor about three years ago I really wanted a 2 stroke Yamaha. A couple of places had leftover motors and told me all outboards were going to be only 4 stroke motors. Yamaha does now sell a "direct injection" 2 stroke that is much heavier than my little antique boat needs. Also I think E-TEC motors are 2 stroke but they are very heavy and waaay more expensive than their predecessors. The old simple style light weight noisy affordable 2 strokes that last a zillion years are gone in the U.S. I bought a used 2005 Johnson 25 HP and I needed a short shaft which is a whole other complication.

Irab, if you go to "google images" and search for "Hydrodyne" there are a lot of pictures. I thought the J.F.K. connection was pretty funny. If you look for "JFK boat", you're going to get a lot of PT-109.

yeah, but nothing about my year/model boat. so far, the only thing remotely close is this ad for a hydrodyne 1500 (probably what i have) :

http://www.hydrodyners.com/images/19...nebro3of12.jpg