Classic AquaSport
Aquasport Model Rebuilds, Mods, Updates and Refreshes => Miscellaneous Aquasport Hull Info => Osprey Models => Topic started by: JimCt on March 20, 2005, 04:40:29 PM
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Finally joined the club; '73 17' in practically showroom condition (2 pix in gallery). Has had no mods and is sound as a nut. Transom strong. The original green rubrail, about which there has been some discussion, is as new.
From my readings of various posts I thought all AS fuel tanks were mounted below the cockpit sole, but this one is on deck fwd. of the console where the cooler usually is. I'm happy with this arrangement since the tank can be easily accessed and inspected. Console shell covers the tank so the seat is there, just no cooler.
Motor is '03 Merc 75 2 str. with about 70 hrs. Paint is still perfect on the prop leading edges. Am of mixed feelings about the automatic oil injection system though because of possibility of failure & blowing the thing. I guess I'm just an old worrier, but with pre-mix motors I've had I always knew that the oil was getting to the engine. Anybody have advice / opinions about oil injection in general or Merc's in particular?
One problem so far. The motor bracket completely covers the two rear cockpit scuppers. Only solution I see is to bore holes through the bracket but that plan sets off little red flags waving in my head. Advice about this welcomed.
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Congrats on the new boat JimCt!
Hope she will do you well! She looks to be in pretty good shape.
Take a few pix of the scuppers you mentioned, if you get the chance, so we can have a look...
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Jim,
Congrats on the new boat, she is a head turner. You are definatly going to have a blast with her. I know what you are talking about. I have the same centerline scupper. I keep it plugged. The previous owner drilled just inboard of the stern boxes and installed the brass inserts. He did a nice job but they are not the same distance from the boxes on either side. When the rain passes I will take pics and post.
DD
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OK, will pull the cover off tomorrow after work and get some scupper shots. Beats me how the last owner got water out of the boat.
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Gook looking boat! Congratulations.
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Congratulations, Jim. That's a great lookin' rig.
On an engine that new, I would leave the oil injection connected. I have had boats with both and never had a problem either way. That being said, you have a much harder time getting in trouble with the premix. Premix is just a bit more of a PITA.
Good luck.
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Nice Boat Jim!
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I had the oil injection go out on my '97 250 yamaha and blow the motor.
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Argo, I think it was your post a while ago that I was thinking of.
Merc. Owner's Manual says there's a warning horn if the oil injection fails. Well, that's fine. But the warning is meaningful ONLY if it can sense whether correct ratio oil is actually getting to the carbs. If the sensor is on the injection pump, that tells you nothing. The pump can be pumping happily along but if there's a blockage or ruptured feed line or whatever and the oil never makes it to the engine, then SOL. Also, seems the oil "warning" should be a kill switch just like on a Briggs & Stratton mower engine.
Argo, did your Yamaha have an oil failure warning horn or light? In the last few seconds of the engine's life did the warning system alert you?
Rather than fret over this I'll just pre-mix and be done with it.
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Mercury oil injection is pretty good. I've never know it to fail unless you don't do some basic maintenance. On my '91 175 there are two pieces of oil line they reccomend changing every year. It's inexpensive, so I do it. I don't know if they've fixed that or not. The only oil injection I'd ever bypass would be OMC VRO. What junk!
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Motor bracket update: After looking the whole situation over this afternoon, clearly it would be insanity to bore through the motor bracket to open up the scuppers. This is good. Now I'll be "forced" to bore new scuppers and install those snazzy stainless garboard fittings Wilson & Captain put on their Mako :D !
I need some guidance as to who supplies those fittings.
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Nice boat Jim! Welcome to the 170 club. After seeing the windshield on yours, it tells me that mine is not stock (http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/329/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) , and here (http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/330/sort/1/size/medium/cat/all/page/1) shows the wind catcher it is. One good thing about it is that I at least have something to hide behind in stiff winds.
My fuel tank (aluminum 24gal) sits on top of the floor under the console - again, not sure it's stock either. This boat reportedly came from up north, east coast.
I replaced the green rub rail with the new one shown - couldn't clean up the old well enough.
One last thing, my motor bracket covers half of each drain hole too. I posted an earlier comment on the scupper idea, but as you, hate to punch a hole in the transom.
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RickK, Looks like the last owner was also tired of getting his face doused with spray when working to windward! Must be a lot of wind force on that structure at speed.
Concerning the scuppers, older motors must have had considerably smaller motor brackets. Despite our complaints, the new larger brackets do distribute the motor stresses over a larger area which helps.
My guess is that in the never ending search for a bit more useable space, AS decided to bury the tank under the sole to provide for locker space and get weight lower. Not a bad idea until, 30-odd years later, the tank needs to come out. If I find I need more space I'll try to find a pair of stern boxes like Deck Daddy has. Probably wouldn't be much to build a set.
I've been thinking of hanging a kicker on the back for back-up when the main motor dies (which outboards enjoy doing from time to time). Maybe a 9.9 or something along that size. Small enough not to screw-up the trim too much but big enough to get home with. I guess I'd need a long shaft but I'm not sure how to determine that. How is that measured? From the clamp seat to the anti-cavitation plate?
Nice to hear from another 17'er. Most of the gang seems to be 222's.
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The windshield is great on those infamous cuts through a wave when the spray is thrown out and up for just long enough for you to drive through it. :roll: My wife has been caught up in front of the console once or twice during the "wash" - oops! :lol: Now when we're under way on a choppy sea, she's right beside me, BEHIND the console.
She does 39 mph with the 110 engine ...wonder what she'd do without the windshield? When fishing adrift, the windshield acts as a sail and pushes you along - bummer sometimes. To compensate, I put an electric trolling motor on the rear, not great as a kicker but does move her along if the wind is not too strong (I forget but think it is >50 lbs thrust)
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In the photo gallery I've posted a shot of the scuppers which you can't see. The X's mark the locations.
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Jim - if your scuppers are covered, does the deck have no way to drain out water now?
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Nope.
Haven't a clue why the last owner didn't address the situation.
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Something I did in an old 17' Whaler with a similar problem: I sat a bilge pump in the back of the boat and ran the discharge hose over the transom, with a switch on the console. The pump wasn't attached to the deck it just layed there. It was meant to be a temporary thing, but I used it like that for about 3 years. Wasn't prettty, but it worked.
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Hey, what works works!
While the boat's out of the water and the season hasn't started here yet, I think now's the best time for me to permanently fix the problem. I will be installing an electric pump but don't want to rely solely on that to clear the cockpit.
I went back over Wilson's posts & pix and found the name of the supplier he got the garboard plugs from, Mahoney's in Tampa. I sent Mike, the owner, an email with the picture of the plugs so we'll see what he comes back with. Looks like he carries all sorts of goodies.
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If any one wants to use my stern boxes as a mold just bring some release wax, resin, fiberglass, and beer and you to can have a set. The tops are 3/4 wood glassed over with a cut out for the hatch. Simple, but the only catch is I can not remove the boxes from the boat without it being a major job. But to get the basic shape and cast off from there should be no problem. DD
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How much beer are we talkin' here?
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As much as it takes to get the job done. :lol: I might give it a try for shits and giggles just to see how it comes out. If it ever gets warm out. More snow on the way :evil: . Lucky me.......
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Just ordered the scupper plugs same as Wilson put in his Mako from Mahoney's in Tampa. Got the big ones so when washing down they won't plug up so easily. Apparently they're a hot item; probably a result of Wilson's pictures... Mahoney was out of them but expecting more in next week. Around $15 ea. Can't beat that.
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I was looking at my transom boxes last night. They're actually a pretty simple shape. It doesn't look like making a plywood plug would be that impossible. Hmm.....
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When my engine blew I had no warning. :evil: I do have an oil alarm on it for low oil levels in my remote res and the engine reservoir. They didnt sound off. Right at the end my overheating alarm sounded and put me down to idle and then the motor died. :shock: I had been 30+ miles offshore all day and right before pulling into the marina is when it went on me. Lucky for me and my passenger I would say. Some dude pulled right up and offered to tow within 2 minutes of motor death. Now I am still sitting around waiting to start on my paint job. I managed to pass the time by purchasing a couple of new vehicles and taking a few trips out of town and building a cobblestone circle driveway at the house. Amazing how much extra cash you have when you dont go fishing every weekend. :) I cant wait until I can get the boat done. The most sun I have had is 2 days back to back which is not nearly enough to do the paint/prep work I need to do. I want 2 weeks so I will have to push it back another month or two. Supposed to rain this weekend here and next so they say. We have had only 1 weekend in the past 10 weeks with sunshine. I have been trying to finish another outdoor project since christmas and everything keeps getting muddied up on my digging site.
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Why have an oil warning system at all if it doesn't warn?
Good argument for pre-mix.
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Got a few little jobs done today. Trailer lights (still can't get the brake lights to light), wheel bearing check, battery on charge, paperwork for boat & trailer registration, list of CG required items needed, list of spares and so forth.
Still a mess outside from the snow the other day so I held off pulling the cover off today.
The Merc. manual says I should have a motor brace to hold the lower unit up while trailering. I've looked around the net a bit and don't see any available. Do I really need one?
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Coming right along with the project. Water impeller done, t-stat done, L/U lube done, refasten rod holders done, trailer guides done.
Am going to hold off putting the transom scuppers in till I see where she floats. The previous owner's waterline as defined by the bottom paint is way out of true. What I'd like to do is just get all the bottom paint off and leave here bare.
Any suggestions for stripper that'll get the paint off without attacking the bottom paint?
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By bottom "paint" are you talking about the gelcoat underneath the antifouling paint?
If that is the case, remember the gelcoat will have been sanded with 80 grit before tha paint was applied. It won't be an easy job. Its FAR easier to just repaint
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I misspoke... I meant the bottom paint off the gelcoat. I'm not too sure the bottom was ever sanded. If it was however, I will repaint. If not, I'd like to take all the paint off and leave her bare.
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Finally got her in yesterday. Aside from some strong stbd. helm, most everything went well. Should be able to iron out the helm problem with the motor trim tab.
One thing that struck me was how (relatively) quiet the Merc. is at WOT. But then again, my frame of reference is with '70's & 80's OMC motors.
One habit she seems to have is mildly porposing at WOT, 32 - 35 kts. It is a gentle fwd/aft rocking motion. Adjusting the motor trim some didn't seem to help. At full down trim she settled down some but was still there. Backing down to ~ 22 kts. stopped the porposing. Slowly edging the speed back up she remained stable until the rocking cycle slowly started to show itself again. Any suggestions as to how to remedy this?
All in all, a good day. Will get some pictures next time out.
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Trim tabs or a hydrofoil will help with the porpoising. I'm not sure if you have those already or not.
Trim tabs are ideal but hydrofoils will help and are super cheap. I have a Stingray hydrofoil on my 200. My main goal was to stop porpoising. It worked and also helped me get on plane faster will less bow rise - and to stay on plane at lower speeds.
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Thanks for the info Scott. I went over to the Stingray site & read the explanation of its operation. Sounds like it's just what I need.
My only concern is that my Merc. operation manual has a big warning about excessive down trim because it may make steering unpredictable in turning, possibly causing the boat to spin-out. Do I just trim the motor up to keep the bow up? Will this defeat the purpose of the foil?
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The foil will make your trim adjustments more effective. I think the Merc warning is probably about bow-steer - where the V in the front of your boat digs into a wave. I guess if you were using trim tabs or a hydrofoil to keep your bow down this could be more of a problem. It's never been a problem for me.
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all 17's torque steer to the starboard side. Buy the largest torque tab that will fit , and adjust the TRAILING edge to the side it pulls. This will
eliminate most of the pull. Trim tabs do wonders with porpoising. Don't
worry,you can trim fully down once you adjust the torque tab.
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JP, adjusted the torque tab two notches as recommended & it canceled out the pull to starboard perfectly. Amazing what a small amount of tab deflection can do!
Scott, will pick up a hydrofoil this week & give it a try. Looks like a simple installation.
Thanks for the help!
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Foil made NO difference for me. Bennett tabs will give you the
most benefit. They recommend you install the pump in a "dry"
location,which does not exist in these boats. The trick is to seal
the motor terminals and seams with RTV,which allows you to
mount virtually anywhere. My first pump motor failed from corrosion
in 6 moths. My RTV'D replacement is still going strong 15 yrs later...