Dave,
I like your wind chimes!
The non-skid turned out vey well and I like the stripping ... Gives it a very classic look.
Awesome job ...

Necessity is a mother
 

Thanks, Carla.

I've been working on putting the shiny black parts back together. I'll post some pics as I get them done. Ran into a problem with the u-bolt in the gimbal ring and had to start over after ordering a new one. Had to do a little improvising on tools, too.

There are a lot of specialty tools required to work on marine engines and drives. Some are must-haves, like the hinge pin tool for removing the hinge pins from the Mercruiser Bravo bell housing. It does the job and only costs about 15 bucks, so it’s a no-brainer that you’re going to buy one if you’re going to do your own work.

On the other hand, there are some tools that you just can’t talk yourself into buying. For removing the upper swivel pin bushing from the Bravo transom assembly, the Mercruiser manual lists a part number for a blind bushing removal tool. The part number is for a Snap on set that has different heads for different size bushings, and it only cost $450. I needed to remove the bushing, but I just couldn’t throw $450 at a tool I’ll only use once in ten years. So I put my thinking cap on.

My first attempt at a blind bushing remover was a dismal failure. I cut it out of thin SS plate and it crumpled when I put a load on it. Here’s what it looked like before I killed it.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4025.jpg

After two attempts with the stainless failed, I decided to go with some ¼” steel plate. Using the same shape as the stainless prototype, I cut a stouter piece.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_4034-1.jpg

Once I slipped a shim into the groove in the tool, it gripped the bushing and out it came.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4032.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4033.jpg

I love it when a plan comes together.

Dave

Nice job!

Thanks for the comments Gillie and Will,

Yep. My alignment tool, gimbal bearing tool, hinge pin tool, etc. all came from Heartland.

I got the gimbal ring and steering arm back together on the gimbal housing last night. Hopefully, I can have the rest of the transom assembly back together and mounted on the transom in the coming days.
Dave

Ok, it’s time to catch up. The following pics were taken over the last three weeks, but things have sort of come together, so it’s time to post.

I hit a couple glitches reassembling my shiny black parts. First, the u-bolt for the gimbal ring, then a couple o-rings for the outdrive. I got those parts this week, so things are starting to come together. First, I got the outdrive put back together.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4041.jpg

While I was waiting on the gimbal ring u-bolt, I drilled the transom for the gimbal housing. The motor I bought came with an installation manual and a template for the transom, which made re-drilling the holes a lot easier.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4037.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4038.jpg

I overdrilled the holes and filled them with thickened epoxy when I was working on the transom. I must have put the template in the right place, because all the drill shavings were epoxy. Hard stuff.

I forgot to take pics of the transom assembly as I put it back together. I got as far as re-installing the wire harnesses for the trim limit switch and trim sender and realized that the insulation was dry rotted. I ordered the new parts today and when they come in next week, I’ll be able to install the bell housing. I put about $350 worth of new parts in the transom assembly. Gimbal bearing, seals, bushings, bellows, etc, etc. The single most expensive part was this fancy new stainless steel upper swivel pin. Even at $175, it was considerably less than the OEM part. Hopefully, it will last longer than the last one.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4039.jpg

I went ahead and mounted the transom assembly on the boat. I can install the bell housing just as easily on the boat as off. Although you can’t see it in this pic, I also replaced the gimbal housing anode with a Mercathode thingy. Technology is cool.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4045.jpg

And once the transom assembly was back in place, the Y-pipe was next.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4044.jpg

I’ve got to locate the through bolts for the swim platform brackets before I mount anything else on the inner transom so I don’t mount something in conflict. But having the transom assembly in place allows me to locate some rigging tubes and plumbing without having to worry about conflicts, so that’s probably what I’ll work on next.

Tomorrow, I'll be putting in time in Santa's work shop, but I've got Monday and Tuesday off, so hopefully, I can get some more boat time in.

Dave

Looking good...

All that PM should make things much more reliable once you're done. Looks killer.

Keep at it Bro....they never called me back about the glass....I think it's Lexan or Luan because the "Tap" is definitely different then the tempered.

strick

looks great
 

Looking good, I got an update on the notch, my friend seems to remember it was because of a pulley, but I have a hard time believing it. He was going to take some pics, but I have not seen them yet. I also mentioned it to my marine mechanic and he remembers having to do it on a 23 SC he did as well, but does not remember why! Maybe you will be OK with the 25 but be careful dropping it in, and keep a close eye on the drain plug, because that is where I think the issue is.

Good Luck,

Dan

Thanks, Sean and Terry.

strick,
Thanks for checking. I guess I'm going to go with acrylic for the side cabin windows. The plastics guys are telling me it will hold up to sun exposure just as well as lexan, and it's considerably less expensive.

Dan,
Thanks again for the heads up on the engine clearance. I thought I had saved the oil pan from the other motor, but I guess not. I'll check dimensions on the new engine before I try to drop it in. It probably won't be until the end of January at the earliest. The 350 Mag MPI has an oil drain hose that pulls out through the garboard plug. Hopefully, I won't have to butcher the keel stringer to make things fit.

Dave

I think our set up is the same, let me know if you need any measurements :cool:

Attachment 509

It was the drain hose
 

I just checked with my dad, as I could not see any notch under his motor. He remembered when he had his New Mercruiser MPI installed in 2000 into his 23, he constantly had oil in his bilge. He figured out it was the oil drain hose that you mentioned. His mechanic at the time noticed it was very close, but decided not to notch the stringer to avoid any long term issues. What happed was the hose kept hitting the stringer and would loosen the fitting and let oil out the pan.He tightened the hose fitting, but it happened again a few months later The solution was to remove that hose and put in a normal drain plug and just suck the oil out of the dipstick from then on. It was been that way for 10 years with no issues. If you can figure out where it will hit, make a small notch for that hose and you will be all set, or just remove it and suck it out when needed.

Dan

Thanks for the offer, Terry. I'll let you know if I need any measurements.


Dan, I’ll keep an eye on clearance for the drain hose. My garboard plug is on the starboard side, so if the drain hose is on the port, I may have to do what your dad did and put a conventional plug in it.

So I’ve done a bunch of little stuff. Here are some pics:

Decals for the drive and gimbal housing

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4047.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4048.jpg

I also installed the trim rams and pump so I could verify the health of the system after sitting up for over a year. After running some fluid through it, it looks pretty good. Started out a little stiff, but worked the squeaks out of it with a few in/out cycles.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4053.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4054.jpg

I’ve installed clam shells and sea cocks for two through hulls. There’s a 1 ¼” for engine cooling water:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4058.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4057.jpg

And a ¾” for the live well and raw water washdown:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4059.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4056.jpg

Installed the water tank and got started on the plumbing:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4052.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4051.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4055.jpg

Last but not least, I installed the garboard.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4049.jpg

The only hole left to plug is the one where the outdrive goes. Hey, I may actually have her floating this year.

Dave

Nice work, as usual!

Thanks, Jim.

I spent a weekend working on plumbing and rigging tubes. I’ve got a 1 ½” overflow drain poked through the deck and discharging through a seacock in the transom. Also stubbed the ¾” supply pipes through the deck for the live well supply and fresh water wash down.

I ran the steering cable and some rigging tubes for wiring. I’ve got a 2” conduit from the transom to the helm, a 2” from the front of the engine compartment to the helm, a ¾” from the battery box to the helm, and a 1 ½” from the battery compartment to the engine compartment.

There is a space under the deck between the outer stringer and the chine where I ran the live well plumbing, the rigging tube from the transom, and the steering cable. Here are some pics from each end.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4062.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4069.jpg

The rigging tubes and steering cable come up through the foot rest to the helm.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4064.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4063.jpg

And the thru hull for the live well drain:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4071.jpg

Next on the to do list is the plumbing for the raw water wash down and the bilge pumps. It shouldn’t be long before I’m ready to install the fuel tanks and drop the motor in.

Dave

Dan,
I took a look under the motor and made some measurements. The oil drain hose is on a swivel fitting that stubs out of the bottom of the oil pan in the center. The keel stringer is about 1/4" too high for it to clear. I'll trim the stringer down and re-glass it before I install the motor. Thanks again for the heads up.

Dave

Spectacular..

THT 5% true.
CSC....... Priced less with more value.

Nice work,
GFS

Thanks, guys. More progress...

A while back I put some paint stripper on my cabin window frames.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3980.jpg

I used the eco friendly water based stuff. It took about five days to loosen the paint, but it worked pretty well.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4014.jpg

Fast forward a month and I had them powder coated, bought some Plexiglas, and installed the frames.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4124.jpg

And with the Plexiglas and gasket installed:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4126.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4127.jpg

Moving right along.

Dave

Lol, true.

Blue Heron, this baby is really coming together, beautiful work.

I like the window frames. :)

strick

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen. Chuck, I like the window frames, too, especially because I didn’t have to paint them. The powder coating cost less than a quart kit of zinc chromate primer. That made the decision a no brainer.

Still making progress. I needed a panel to close off the bulkhead between the water tank and the fuel tank compartment. I waxed a sheet of stainless steel I had lying around and laid up a panel.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_4122-1.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...IMG_4123-1.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4132.jpg

I coated my fuel tanks with epoxy and ¾ oz glass cloth to seal them against corrosion a couple weeks ago and got them installed today.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4040.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4133.jpg

With the fuel tanks installed, I could install the tank hatch and the live well seat box.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4134.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4136.jpg

I’ve also been thinking of ways to critter proof the boat. Here in paradise, we’ve got all sorts of bugs, birds, mammals, etc, that love to nest in boats parked in the yard. I’ve had to remove Carolina Wren nests from the center console of my 20 sf two years in a row. And I had a huge paper wasp nest in one of the hatch gutter drains on my Action Craft last summer. So I figured the bilge vents could benefit from a little bug screen:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4135.jpg

I temporarily taped the screen in place and slathered the edges with some 5200 to hold it in place.

I’ve done a bunch of work in the engine compartment, but I’m not ready to post pics yet. Maybe next week.

Dave

Bought a bunch of electrical stuff. Most of it's not installed yet.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4138.jpg

Here are some progress pics. They're pretty self explanatory.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4143.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4142.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4140.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4139.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4141.jpg

Back at it again tomorrow.
Dave

Damn.....I wish I had stock in Charlotte PVC Co. I think you just raised the stock price!!!!! :-)

Dave, It's looking VERY good, very clean and professional.

Great googly moogly, how many trips to the hardware store did THAT take???

I would have a pile twice that big on the floor from changing stuff when it interfered with something else....... GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

Damn good thing you live down south, that looks like a winterization nightmare.

Thanks, Don. You might rather invest in Bluesea Systems. They got considerably more of my $$ than Charlotte Pipe Co.:D


Thanks, Rod. You hit the nail on the head about the hardware store. If I was better organized, I might be able to make one trip a week. But the guys at the local Ace Hardware have gotten used to seeing me two or three times a weekend.

I hadn't thought about winterizing, but you make a good point. Once every 5 or 10 years we'll get enough freezing nights in a row for it to be a problem. I'm pretty sure I can suck the water out of each of the systems with a shop vac if I need to.

Dave

Yeah....I know!!! I looked at all the different marine electrical products out there when I did mine, you know the "China Cheapies" like Sierra, etc., and settled on Blue Sea for everything. It hurt the 'ol check book but there is no comparison in quality. Take care!!

Dave-

I am impressed. I see you have two fuel filters. One for each tank? Or are you mounting a kicker? I only have one common fuel filter that both tanks feed into. If no kicker then why would you need two? I do like the dual bilge pumps. Your kicking butt so keep it going. Not sure about glassing the tanks. Much easier to paint them with something. Did the glass bond ok to the aluminum? I see some air under the glass? Did you have those metal brackets custom made...the ones that the fuel lines feed into? And what is mounted to them?

strick

bilge looks great ! what type of hose are you using to glue to the pvc pipe? I
was a lil worred about it staying together

strick,
The things on the brackets are Flo Scan sending units. The brackets came with the kit. I got a good deal on a Flo Scan for twins on ebay. Rather than set it up for twin engines, I set it up for twin tanks. The gauge will read real time consumption from both sending units, but the totalizer can be switched between the two sending units. So instead of knowing how much fuel I've burned in each engine, I'll know how much fuel I've burned from each tank with the flip of a switch. The fuel filters need to be upstream of the sending units, so one for each tank. The sending units need to be at a low point in the fuel line so air bubbles don't get trapped and screw up the accuracy. That's why all the ups and downs in the fuel hoses.

The two bilge pumps in the pics are the backups. The primary is a 800 gpm located in a sump under the back of the motor. The pump with the float switch mounted on the wood block will also have a high water alarm buzzer connected to it.

I thought about just coating the tanks with coal tar epoxy, but I had laminating resin on hand. There are a few bubbles, but there's epoxy coating the tank even though the cloth bubbled. No worries with the bond. When I stripped one of the bubbles off, it took the zinc chromate with it.

Hey wattaway,
Thanks for the kind words. The white hose is spa hose. It's used it for plumbing hot tubs, hence the name. It's poly vinyl chloride, so it glues up with standard PVC cement and fittings. It's flexibility is a big plus, but its cost not so much. In 3/4" diameter, it's about $3.50 a foot compared with $0.20 per foot for schedule 40 pipe. In 1.25" and 1.5", it's pushing 5 bucks a foot. That's why I only used it on the bends and not the straights. I haven't used corrugated bilge pump hose since a few years ago when I found myself 40 miles offshore with a busted bilge hose that just recirculated water in the bilge. I consider the spa hose money well spent.

Dave

I see. What a cool set up on the dual flo scan's. I'm gonna remember your spa hose arrangement for the next project.

strick

You coming out of retirement to go to work on that 20' Sceptre? Still waiting on pics...

You'll like the spa hose. It's tough stuff and easy to use, just pricey.

Dave

This is probably a stupid question that has likely been covered already but why the hard pvc for the plumbing vs flexible smooth wall tubing? Looks awesome and way beyond my patience.

Mostly cost, but also it's a little neater installation. Schedule 40 PVC is low cost and durable. I used hose for most of the bends, and at each end of runs of hard pipe so it will flex without breaking.

Dave

Good to know, might try it if I ever have the hinkering to re plumb my bilge pumps.

Hey Dave,

Looking good! I'm really enjoying and learning lots from this thread. Looks like you will be getting Denny out before he gets up to Nova Scotia this summer. :)

If you ever get a cold snap and are concerned that the shop vac has not sucked all the water out, just put an incandescent light bulb in the engine compartment. I use a trouble light with a 60w bulb. It gives us a few extra days on the water in fall Pickerel fishing season, although, I have a hard time believing it would get cold enough down there, to snap those pipes...but you never know, with this crazy weather we're getting these days.

I guess you'll be putting that spa up towards the bow somewhere?... :D

Keep up the great work!

Brandon

My buddy Dennis sent me an email about the PVC I used for the engine raw water and got me thinking. I don't really know how hot it's going to get in the engine compartment, and PVC starts to get soft at around 160°. So better safe than sorry, I re-plumbed the cooling water intake with bronze fittings and exhaust/water rated hose. I'm going to watch the rest of the PVC and see how it holds up. It will probably be fine, but I decided that using PVC for a critical function like engine cooling was tempting fate.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4151.jpg

And with that out of the way, I took Friday off to get more done over the weekend. A picture is worth a thousand words, so...

Motah's in!

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4148.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4166.jpg

Thanks to kerneltugboat for the heads up on clearance for the oil drain hose. It would have been a real snug fit if I hadn't notched the keel stringer.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4153.jpg

Laminated a thin fiberglass veneer for the inside of the cabin bulkhead.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4154.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4156.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4168.jpg

Installed the chase to hide the rigging tubes and filled it with foam to critter proof it.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4169.jpg

New Bennett trim tabs installed.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4165.jpg

Last weekend I fabricated the last two swim platform brackets.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_4147.jpg

Getting closer. Mostly wiring, rigging, and boat jewelry left.

Dave

"My buddy Dennis sent me an email about the PVC I used for the engine raw water and got me thinking."

Sometimes you gotta think the industry does things a certain way for a reason...you made the right decision on changing that. Other wise looks great!

Yeah. Got a little snow blind looking for the finish line and didn't let common sense get in my way. I bought a book on marine electrical systems a while back and I'm doing all my wiring according to ABYC standards, but didn't think to get the book on mechanical/plumbing systems. Go figure.

I've got a couple good reference books now and will review some stuff to make sure I haven't built in any problems. According to what I've read so far, PVC is ok for use below the waterline in some boat plumbing systems, but engine raw water wasn't mentioned. :o

Dave