Back In The Saddle Again!

[strick]

Originally Posted by beastley

Congradulations Strick!!! Beautiful boat. So glad the scuppers worked out, I was worried, but they seem perfect. Is that motah around 400#s and is the bracket setback 30"?
John

Motor is 421# Bracket set back is 24.5"

strick

[McGillicuddy]

Yeah strick,
You were right - the Sceptre 20 grows on ya a bit

Looks great! Tell us about the change in performance when you raise the zuke. Balance looks really good. WTG, again!

[strick]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

I am going to be biased to the color combo...since I am doing something very similar.

Love the seats...however in FL. you would burn your A$$ off with the dark blue.

If my wood windshield does not work it will go white...yours looks very sharp in that color.

Excellent job on the 20 a real looker ...what's the plan for the 23?

I think your wood windshield will work out perfect. Painting it white would be a sin after all that work We are still himming and hawing on what to do exactly with the 23. Probably will go with some kind of Island live well/bait station seating combo. First we have to fill in the area where the engine hatch was and then go from there. Thinking aquamist for the color since I still have a full quart left over. Maybe a radar arch ?

strick

[CaptLloyd]

Beautiful job...as always!

Your workmanship, eye for detail, and wellingness to share inspires us all. (But after 2 rebuilds, I must admit, I get impatient and screw the cosmetics, and if it's safe and functional, I splash it!)

You Sir, is what makes this web site so great!

Soooo.... What's next??

Lloyd

[Beaver]

Boats like this are the reason I keep coming back to this site. Well done! I traditionally haven't cared a whole lot for the 20 but now its one of my favorites. Congrats.

[strick]

Thanks Lloyd and Beaver!

OK so today I finally had time to take the boat out for another test run. I always like to run the boat on the muffs at home for a few minutes just to make sure all systems are go before I trailer it down to the ramp. She was idling fine for a while and then the engine died out. Re started it and it died out once again. Now I'm pissed because I really want to get down to the water and Lisa was looking forward to taking her first ride in this boat.

I started pulling things apart and noticed that the fuel line had some clear silicone gunk inside of it. I'm thinking how in the heck could anything have got past the fuel filter and how did anything get in there in the first place. So I took the brand new fuel line off and got to really looking at it and that's when I found that the the inside of the fuel line was delaminating. There is a plastic like material that lines the inner part of the fuel line and it was coming apart and restricting flow. Note the pictures below.








This is Sierra USCG rated fuel line not more then 3 weeks old. I had originally been looking for the regular old black 3/8 line (teleflex) but WM was out of that so I ended up with this crap. DON'T BUY SIERRA FUEL LINE. So I spent most of the day today tearing out all the calking around the fuel and live well hatches so I could remove them to get to the fuel lines and replace them. Finally by this evening Lisa and I were ready to do another test run. There is less spray now that the engine is up 2 more holes but there is minimal gain in RPM. WOT is still at about 5500 RPM and doing 35 knots. I think I need another prop and since I am not really into propnology I will look to the board for help on this one.

strick

[ScottM]

Originally Posted by strick

DON'T BUY SIERRA FUEL LINE.

Amen to that. Although I don't have firsthand experience, I had always been told to stay away from their stuff particularly when in it comes to the fuel system. Too much to worry about there to save a few bucks over OEM or better quality stuff. This is one area where it definitely makes sense to spend the coin on the good stuff.

[Bushwacker]

Strick, I wonder if those were Non E-10 rated hoses that were mislabeled as E-10 rated?! If the boat sat for a couple weeks with E-10 gas in the lines, that might be long enough to cause that problem! I'd be inclined to complain to the place I bought them from, as a recall is probably warranted!

My old lines WERE E-10 rated Sierra hose installed in 2006, and never caused any problems, but just to be safe, I replaced everything between tank and engine a couple of years ago with genuine BRP stuff including the primer bulb, because I'd heard of guys blowing powerheads due to lean operation/fuel starvation from restrictions in the line. Now I'm REALLY glad that I replaced them! That can kill any motor, 2 or 4 stroke, but it's especially bad if you're running a pre-mix 2-stroke because you starve the motor for oil as well as gas!

There is a good message here: ANY TIME your motor suddenly loses power, check it out and try pumping the primer bulb before you just give it more throttle! If it speeds up after pumping the bulb, you may have an air leak in the suction side of the system, a weak lift or fuel pump or some sort of restriction, especially if it slows down again after you quit pumping the bulb! If it doesn't clear up and the bulb stays flat, there is a restriction upstream of the bulb. If bulb is hard there is a restriction between bulb and motor. Running a motor hard when it's starving for fuel can ruin your day (as well as the motor!)

Because of that problem, BRP developed special test equipment that a good dealer will use to check out a boat's fuel supply system on all new motor installations before they even run it. This test consists of installing clear tubing with a very sensitive vacuum gage tee'd into it between the boat's fuel line and the motor. They disconnect the fuel line from the HP pump outlet and install another long hose from the pump discharge back into the fuel tank to recirculate fuel. They plug in the laptop, turn the key on (but don't start motor), and then use the laptop to run the HP pump at max flow and look for air leak bubbles in the clear hose while they monitor the vacuum. It must be a VERY high flow rate, because my I-Command gage, which gets fuel flow from the EMM and remembers fuel used, said I had used 14 gallons during the test which only ran for a couple of minutes! The maximum allowable restriction on the E-Tec's during that test is 0.5"Hg vacuum. I eliminated a couple of 90 degree elbows in my system to get the restriction down to 0.35 -0.4" range. Denny

[beastley]

Strick,

Here's a couple of pics of a Tsunami I was eyeballing a while back. May give you some ideas for your 23. Personally, I really like the bench seat in the rear.

John

[77SceptreOB]

I would think it would be pretty LOUD back there. At least when running on a plane...