240 Rebuild

[JimCt]

Ain't that the truth!

[Mark Sr]

Jim, I know I'm a city boy but,how are you going to work on it lying on the ground.

[JimCt]

Actually, for the tasks I'm doing now, clean-up & stripping paint, its easier on blocks.  Only drawback is that it can't be moved.  While she's on the ground she'll be rolled up on her side to do the bottom work.  I don't relish the idea of working on my back stripping bottom paint.

Speaking of tasks, today spent 5 hours powerwashing:





You'd have laughed your socks off if you could have seen me inside the cuddy cabin going at it with my 2200# pressure washer.  It was like being inside a dishwasher.  Over the course of the day I washed every surface on the boat three times.

 While washing I was able to cut a lot of foam away from the tanks with the 5 deg. tip.  Tanks are now loose.  Tomorrow expect to get the fwd. tank out.  The aft tank is too long to get out through the hatch but we'll be cutting the floor anyway so that's a non-problem

Did more evaluation of the floor situation and so now we know what has to be done on that score.  Before that task is started though I think now's the time to get the bottom squared away.  Once that's done she goes on the trailer and into my hoophouse since all the tasks from then on will require the boat to stay dry.

[Mark Sr]

I don't see any battery boxes.Were your batteries enclosed somewhere?What did you use to spray ir down with? Straight bleach.

[JimCt]

Batteries are located in the engine compartment directly forward of the engine.

Bleach was too slow so just used the powerwasher.  Final washdown after the tanks are out but before the boat is moved inside will be with bleach to kill anything remaining.

[Mark Sr]

I have outside boxes that always glogs up the drains on each side of motor box. I would really like to move them.but there is no way to secure them below. Maybe under the console but then I don't know if there will be any loss in voltage with that distance to the starter.

[JimCt]

If you use the correct gauge wire you can put the batteries where you want them.

[OldSchool]

keep the pictures comming i really like that boat, it looked Huge with the first set of pics, should make an awesome Offshore boat. Jim I may have miss your post, but what powerplant are you going with ?...

[JimCt]

Hi Old School...

Don't know yet what to go with for power, but diesel has always been my preference.  Diesels are dependable, safer, quieter than they used to be, long-lived and more fuel efficent than gas, by a long shot.  Only negative is cost.  4.3L with fuel injection (220 hp) will run about $9K.  5.0L fuel injected (260 hp) about $10.5K.  Diesel, in the same hp range, will top $15K+.  So unless things go really, really well at work and dollars are no object, it'll be gas.

Right now I'm leaning toward the 5.0L.  That'll push her ~ 38 MPH at WOT and with the extra two cylinders there, at the loping-along speeds I'm comfy with, loading on the engine will be proportionately less than on the V6.  

What thoughts from you on this?

Next pictures will be of rolling her on her side to do her bottom... but perhaps that's a poor choice of words...  

[OldSchool]

i'v seen some used diesel engines on ebay, but none that are stern drive.

but with the gas motors i would be looking at torque ratings and v8 wins hands down, espically with that big of a boat.

but if you wanted to reduce cost, keep an eye out on ebay while you rebuild because you may be able to pick up a used stern drive engine, send it out to get rebuilt, put a cam in that has good torque curve at crusing speed say 3000 rpms or so, and you be (close) to new at half the cost. just some things to think about.

something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercruis ... dZViewItem

[OldSchool]

dont know what this will end up going for, but man it would be sweet in your boat...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-Ma ... dZViewItem

[JimCt]

Thanks for the advice & links O.S.  That Volvo looks like it was shoe-horned into that engine compartment.  

I remember you mentioning the cam set-up in your 22-2.  What is the effect of special cams?

[JimCt]

Picked up trailer yesterday.  Hope it's big enough... 25' total length, galvanized, 32 rollers, tandem, 15" tires, spring suspension, electric winch, no rust.  Tow load, including the trailer, will be roughly 6200#.

Fwd. fuel tank out today.  Looks surprisingly good, just dirty. No evidence of salt corrosion anywhere, even on the bottom.  Will pressure wash it and see what it looks like.  If still looks good I'll clean it out and get it hydrostatically tested.  Main 70g. tank needs the floor cut away to get it out which will get done this weekend.

Other little things done were to remove chair pedestals, strip hardware from the console, remove the windscreen, remove the old Kenyon speedo from the thru-hull, and begin to scope out the drain system in the boat.

Have pulled off about 6# worth of SS screws, bolts, washers and other nubbins which I have loose in a big coffee can.  One of these evenings I'll sort everything out into their respective types & sizes and put them in one of those big multi-compartment tackle boxes.  Everything will be in one kit and convenient to find & reuse as needed.

No pix to post today.  By the time I packed it in it was dark.

P.S.  You Fl. guys will be happy to hear we had an inch of snow this morning.  N.E. weather... what we lack in quality we make up for in variety.

[RickK]

Why would I be glad you got snow?  I don't wish that on anybody.  I guess it has to snow somewhere though, so better up there than here.    I never turned on the heat here all season again - got a little chilly in the house on some days but by 10AM it was warm again.

[John Jones]

Why would I be glad you got snow?  I don't wish that on anybody.  I guess it has to snow somewhere though, so better up there than here.    I never turned on the heat here all season again - got a little chilly in the house on some days but by 10AM it was warm again.

Yep.  I'm a little farther north than Rick plus in my old age I am more sensitive to cold but I have not run the heat or air in over two months.

Damn I love Florida.   8)

To get back on Jim's track, sounds like you are making good progress Jim.  As for the SS hardware, a couple of years ago I picked up a 27' Glastron cruiser and junked it.  It had been submerged for quite a while and was rotten throughout.  It had twin 350cu in. Mercruisers but everything was corroded beyond being scrap.  I saved all the hardware and sorted it in those flat tackleboxes.  That was a lifesaver and wallet saver for me.  Probably $300+ in SS screws alone.