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View Full Version : Yep, me too



karlow
06-17-2008, 12:37 PM
Yep me too.
I'm working on an upgrade to the PlasticFantastic boat (14' Sears Gamefisher).
I picked up a 1990 Tracker 17" deep V. It has spent most of it's life in the ocean.
The trailer looks like crap, the fuel pump was leaking, the transome had about 8 holes in it.
The oil in the lower end looks like it might have a little water in it too. Ther are a few other spots on the hull where the paint is boubling a little. The cover is also shot. Other than that it, looks great! After I pointed out it's issues to the owner, I walked away. The problem is he reduced the price from $2500 to $1500 so I had to come back
I have spent about 5 hours to date mainly grinding the rust off the trailer. I found the bearings on the starbard side were crap on Monday. Good luck with your new project.
I'm shooting for about 3 weeks, & $300 to water with this one. My Game fisher may be for sale in about 6 weeks. My current fleet is 5 boats! Topless, Pastic-Fantastic, my yak, a 6' blow-boat, and my new project boat Lose Change. The little GameFisher has been a major Strpier killer
boyz.

karlow
06-18-2008, 10:04 AM
I'm still eating dust over here. I thing I have about 3 more hours of it. The 40HP Johson has a few issues as well. It will run as log as you keep squeezing the bulb. I noted on my original inspection that the VRO pump was leaking gas. I pulled the gas line on the tp of it and the gas pump seems to be working OK, b ut the bulb does not stay hard. Originally you could see the fuel level dropping in the filter as the engine ran. Such fun! ALso the motor will not tilt. I spoke to Ray, he said it's been broken for years. There should be some type of cable attached to a plastic lever. How can I tilt it to get at the parts?

karlow
06-23-2008, 01:01 PM
Getting a little closer now. The trailer is largely done now. I'm waiting for the bearings and seals to arrive. After work, I will fix the trailer wiring. I can't reach the center rollers Maybe after the wheels are back on I will be able to use a jack to get them. Then she will be rust free. The motor is another thing. It seems to run on spray only on the top cyl. I pulled the fuel pump off and took it apart & it seems OK now. I put my pressure gage on it, and it holds 4psig. Next, I will pull the cabs aoart and clean them up. That should do it. That is if the water pump works! At lest my other boats work!

one_leg
06-23-2008, 01:12 PM
Impressive, and roomy too.

Looking forward to seeing it on the water any day now!

Ronira
06-23-2008, 04:54 PM
Looks like a nice fishing hull. Congrats on the new ride. You'll stop tasting the sanding dust as soon as you launch that bad boy.

JSAUCE818
06-23-2008, 07:21 PM
dude, nice maching you got there...

GeordyBass
06-23-2008, 07:40 PM
nice hole,i meant project...LOL J/K
Projects are a lot of work!Try anything to fix your motor up and give it a full tune-up...change anode and a lot more stuff to drop cash in...What are you gonna fix the 8 holes with?Try "mighty putty" it worked on a leaky aluminum boat i had a while ago...

paDDy
06-24-2008, 11:53 AM
Looks clean, good luck with the project, it will be worth it in the end.

karlow
06-24-2008, 12:44 PM
The holes were the easy part. First I clean them up with simple green, salt away, and viniger. Then you use a fill to scrap the aluminum oxide layers away. After that I stuffed some open cell foam in the holes. Hit it with a tourch to leave a concave surface. Then I mixed up some epoxy (similar to JB_Weld). I worked it in realy well, and covered it with clear shipping tape untill cured. That was maybe about an hours work.
On Monday, my bearings arrived, so now the wheels are back on. No more jack stands. I Fixed the trailer wiring on the port side. After work I will replace the connector plug. Next, i will tare into the carbs. I'm not sure the water pump is working right. Ray offered to start it w/o attaching the hose. That's not a good sign.

Anode, what anode! if this pig had a Fing anode it would not have holes in it! I have not even found a place where it should have been. The trim tab is plastc not zink.


PS, I don't always eat dust over here. On Friday I took my big boat Topless to Catalina and did my first overnight. You can see the fish report on Allcost, or Bloody decks. It was quite the adventure.

KP
Getherdone, Those stripies are calling me!

one_leg
06-24-2008, 12:47 PM
On Friday I took my big boat Topless to Catalina and did my first overnight.

Is "Topless" a SkipJack like the one witness said he thought it was?

O_L

P.S. I like to kill stripers too!

karlow
06-24-2008, 12:56 PM
Topless
20 open Skipjack
Out of Duarte Ca.
The one and only
Life saver/fish slayer.

Ya that we Joe, and I at the west end last week'

KP

one_leg
06-24-2008, 01:09 PM
Way to go dude!!!

karlow
06-25-2008, 03:34 PM
The trailer lights are done, new connector, new sealed connections.
The cab kits are on order.

karlow
06-29-2008, 08:20 PM
I hope this pans out. I spent a few hours working on the the Tracker today. I pulled the trim assist cyld lower pin. Actual I pounded it into submition. Then I had to chase the treads on the shaft. The connector from the cable to the lever was broken. Then I found three new holes in the boat!

There is always something!

GeordyBass
06-29-2008, 08:32 PM
I hope this pans out. I spent a few hours working on the the Tracker today. I pulled the trim assist cyld lower pin. Actual I pounded it into submition. Then I had to chase the treads on the shaft. The connector from the cable to the lever was broken. Then I found three new holes in the boat!

There is always something!LOL there's a salty aluminum for ya!

karlow
07-01-2008, 10:20 PM
All of the known extra holes have been filled. I fabed a solution for the tilt cylinder cable connector. The only issue is the assist cylinder does not assist. It should be a HP gas cylinder.
The valve require so much force to release it the cable retainer looks like it is going to fail. I rebuilt the carbs, and reinstalled them today. On Wed. I will secure the fuel lines and check to see what is coming form the tank. If all looks well, I may even try to run it again! Then I may be able to check the water pump. Who knows it might even get wet this month! It might even float.

KP

karlow
07-02-2008, 10:30 PM
The carb kits are in. I fixed the gas inlet to the tank.
She runs, not great, but she runs. It might need a little more adjustment, or maybe she just needs to go for a romp. This weekend I will be doing sea trials at P-stone ( I will add about 6 gal of gas first). Which day is the go fast day for boats? I gave her a bath today. Lots of salt-X. Maybe she will stop rotting away!
I hope she wants to run, and not leak!
See you guys on the water.

If you see me waving come and give me a tow!

KP

karlow
07-09-2008, 03:00 PM
We took her out to p-stone on Sunday. We were on the lake for about 3 hours. She took on about 1/2 gal of water buy the time we left. The idle is just OK, not great. The stearing is really stiff. the boat stumbols a bit just off idle, but runs OK at speed. We got the RPM up to about 3800. The trim seems to be set to low (not power). The trolly motor worked for a while and then stopped. The speedo says she only does about 22 MPH It might not be too close it's the Pito type. I might get out to Pyrimid this weekend.

BingJr
07-09-2008, 03:17 PM
the steering can be a PITA. Puting in new cables is a romp. Glad she ran for ya. I run some octane boost in my older out board and it likes it very much. 1/2 a gallon isnt really too much. Check the inlets for the aeroator, my boat was leaking there and I didnt even know it. The outer nut was cracked. Get the steering down smooth and the idle fixed and she should be a striper hunting machine. A rough idle is no fun when trolling.. :(. Great job on the dedication to the boat man. I am impressed.

karlow
07-10-2008, 10:07 AM
The cable is OK, I remover it from the tiller, lubbed it.
The problem is the engine stearing stem seems to be binding up. Most likely corrision.
The idle is going to be an issue. I have fiddled with the adjustments with out much improvement. It's also pretty smokey at idle. I'm searching for air leaks in the gas line system, but I have not found any yet. I may give up and replace all of the hose, or pull it and pressure test it. To get to the pumps,I will have to pull the battery, oil tank, and fuel tank. The water leak is not aproblem unless I want to take it into a bay to fish. I would not want salt water to be leaking in somewhere. That's just asking for trouble. It needs more work, but It's good enough for it's next boat ride. It might start to idle better if I run it more. That strange tic sound has gone away. It would Tic 2 3 4 Tic 2 3 4 Tic at idle.

KP

karlow
07-14-2008, 11:00 PM
Update, I went to Pyramid on Sat.
She died twice at the dock. We ran around the corner to Yellow bar . She was running great!
We were on the water from 8-2pm. There was never enough water in the boat for the bulge pump to work. It smoked at idle, and did not want to run. It did not want to idle worth a dam!
No tow, we got it going. It ran great back to the ramp, and died when I need it to idle! She needs a bit of work.

PS we picked up about 12 stripers, all schooly size. The trolly motor worked OK after I replaced it's battery.
Maybe I will have it fixed for the next ride.

KP

one_leg
07-14-2008, 11:05 PM
Sounds like it just needs a few more part$.

Ain't tinkering with boats lots of fun? :LOL:



Nice job on the stripes.

GeordyBass
07-15-2008, 06:45 AM
LOL it's hard to get a project going!I haven't even done anything to the whaler yet!No time for me!
Hope you get it running good!:cool:

karlow
07-16-2008, 12:57 PM
I installed two rod holders on the stearn.
I adjusted the idle speed up by adjusting the bell crank thing, and the carb linkage.
I vac. checked the fuel line. It looks good.
She still smokes up the place big time!
I'm lucky no one called the fire dep!

KP

GeordyBass
07-20-2008, 09:33 AM
I installed two rod holders on the stearn.
I adjusted the idle speed up by adjusting the bell crank thing, and the carb linkage.
I vac. checked the fuel line. It looks good.
She still smokes up the place big time!
I'm lucky no one called the fire dep!

KPhey,2 strokes smoke a lot!

karlow
07-26-2008, 09:31 PM
On the last trip, she did not want to idle. She did not want to run under 3 knts. The idle speed was too low, and she smoked at low speed like a chimney. I have gone through the carbs again. I have the book, she idles OK on the muffs. I will give here another try on Sunday. I plan to replace the VRO pump with a std. fuel pump and pre mix the fuel. That will solve the smoke problem.

KP