Gang,
I was speaking with a friend recently and I was reminded of the need to provide a brief update to this thread. The project has been wrapped up for a while. There had been some serious ups and downs related all to engine trouble...but fist some before after shots:
before:
after:
before:
after:
The boat came out great and I am very happy with it. The problem for me has been the engine. After a series of test runs...testing motor heights, props...and everything else...I killed the engine
. The 225 Johnson was /is fuel starved. Initially I was doing all of this testing (in july mostly) and before I figured out what was causing the check engine light....I ate a piston....stuck ring:
Enter Bigshrimpin who basically talked me through replacing a whole damn piston and ring set...well it worked. Compression and motor are back. Tim deserves a lot of credit for all of his help. He put up with a lot of dumb phone calls and questions...thanks Tim.
Bad news is the problem still bugs the motor. Surge @ WOT. Running lean. I have a few more parts to throw at it (fuel lines/vac switch) this weekend but if it dosnt work its shrinkwrap till next season and then off to a mechanic. New parts include: VRO pump/lines/clamps/bulb/Carb rebuild/link-sync/Vac switch…you name it…its new.
The boat has had glimpses of brilliance and I look forward to getting it straight. The bracket it great…the ride is quiet…comfortable…and fast. So much so that I sold my 20SF and am now a 1 SeaCraft owner. Mostly my "in the water time" has been spent cursing the engine, floating, and standing on the bracket with tools. I did manage a pic some time ago:
On the list for next Spring are Volvo QL tabs, Capt Chuck HDS, and some hardware for the ipod. T-top is a maybe. Also lots of loose ends to tie up and fish rigging stuff.