69 flatback rebuild

[Necessary Evil]

Really a beautiful job Captain! One question, why did you decide to use a dual lever throttle/shift control? I would have thought a single lever would make for easier handling?

You seem to have hit the jackpot with your power/weight/balance choices. I'm working on a '76 22-2 and leaning towards a Suzuki DF175 on a porta bracket. I hope it turns out to be as good of a fit.

Thanks for taking the trouble to post your work. It is invaluable as a guide for those who come after!

Charlie

[Capt Matt]

Charlie
I looked at a lot of different dual control set ups and the Morse are by far the simplest set up and just about bullet proof. They are good quality chrome with no plastic on them to crack in the sun and they last and last. They have two adjustable nuts on each one to adjust the trntion on the shift/throttle. I have seen 20 plus year old ones still in action. On my flats boat I had to replace the Mercury binacle control every 3 yrs or so, it would simply wear out and have salt damage.

Besides that the Morse controls are way way cheaper than OEM dual station controls or fly by wire controls. If I remember right the Morse controls where about $400 each plus I bought the top of the line shift and throttle cables. Some dual station controls where as much as $6K, seems the sky is the limit on dual station controls. I had ran a few boats in the past with Morse controls and really liked big boat two lever shift throttle thing. Once you get the hang of it its really easy to use and seems to be less work to move the boat around in close quaters by simply bumping the shift knob in and out of F-N-R.
The Morse and Smartcraft fly by wire controls I  have ran on other boats just seemed too smooth/soft and too easy to bump to wide open when riding through sea's with your hand on the throttle.
I also had my controls rigged with no neutral saftey switches but they saftey switches are available. I use the telaflex turn signal witches for the trim and porta lift, they are awesome as you never have to take your hands off the wheel. I recently got two chrome/red throttle  knobs for the controls but  cannot seem to find the black chrome shift knobs. They look way cooler than the stock plastic red and black stock balls on the end of the controls.
The porta lift is a must have, you will love it. For shallow water operation its simply tits. I had no idea how much faster and better it is than a standard jackplate.
I still have some small finishing touches on the boat as she is still a work in progress.  Today I got my Edson finishing nuts for both Uflex helms which look awesome. Even at $45 a nut I feel  these little small detail touches really add more character to the boat.  Tomorrow the last of my LED lights should be hooked up and the last of the wiring tied up. Then when I get a chance I have a little paint to touch up where it got chipped during the rigging. No client or anyone else would ever notice these little things but I do.  I'm just happy she is in the water catching fish and making some of my investment back.
Capt matt

[gran398]

Good stuff!

Morse controls. The standard. Old-style Palm Beach, the good stuff. To an aficionado client...shows that you know your business.

Good deal Matt.

[CaptSteveBetz]

Really a beautiful job Captain! One question, why did you decide to use a dual lever throttle/shift control? I would have thought a single lever would make for easier handling?

You seem to have hit the jackpot with your power/weight/balance choices. I'm working on a '76 22-2 and leaning towards a Suzuki DF175 on a porta bracket. I hope it turns out to be as good of a fit.

Thanks for taking the trouble to post your work. It is invaluable as a guide for those who come after!

Charlie

I agree with Matt on the Morse controls. Very easy to get used to and less expensive that OEM.

I have the DF175 on the back of my 24 proline flatback and love it. Plenty of power and very quiet. Easy to maintain.

The Porta Bracket is the way to go. I have one on mine and I opted to get the built on swim platforms with it. I considered standard fiberglass platform but I liked the built in feature and the look much better.

[Necessary Evil]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am sold on the Porta Bracket, and I'll probably buy the model with the built in platform (seems like a time/labor saver if nothing else). I was toying with the idea of fly by wire controls because of all of the turns the control cables will have to make. Can the Morse control cables handle a sharp bend? I'll be running my cables from the console under the deck (90 degree turn) to the stern, where they will have to turn up (90 degrees), then another (90 degree) turn to go out through the transom to the motor. Though maybe there is a way to run the cables without all the turns... ?

[Capt Matt]

I ran two big rigging tubes and used sewer sweeps instead of 90 degree ends but I don't think there will be any problem if you use by high end telaflex cables. The upper station cables simply go into the lower control box then just one set goes back to the motor. Mine are way smooth, a lot smoother than I thought they would be. I don't think your system would have any more bends than mine does. I know they probably have all the kinks worked out of the fly by wire controls but I think I trust old school cables more.
Capt Matt

[Necessary Evil]

Ditto on simple, reliable old technology! I have the Glendenning fly by wire controls on my Tiara. They are fabulous when they work, which is almost all of the time, but when they get glitch it is a major pain to track it down.

Thanks for all of the advice!

Charlie

[HIFLUTIN]

WOW-Just followed this all the way thru impressive!!!

Gimme some pointers on plumbing the live well behind the CC.
Would like to do something like that on my 17
Pump for fresh/clean water? I plan on keeping mine in the water so Iam a "leary" on a thru-Hull pump as to growth etc.
what about Rec & drain?

Thanks

[Capt Matt]

I bought the hammerhead live well which is probably a little too big/heavy for a 17ft boat. It holds 43 gallons of water which is a lot of weight (300# estimate). I Would suggest something in the 15-20 gallon range for your 17 footer. The hammerhead well is mounted on top of a 2 inch high collar thats made out of fiberglass as you can see in the pictures. The center of the collar is cut out in the floor to run the plumbing then the feed lines and drain holes are cut through the bulkheads, then there is a 11/2 inch  hole in the transom for the drain.
Don't worry about having a thru hull fitting on a boat that will sit in the water I have never had a problem with growth inside and if you want to keep anything but shrimp alive in the Florida summers its the only way to go.
Capt Matt

[HIFLUTIN]

I bought the hammerhead live well which is probably a little too big/heavy for a 17ft boat. It holds 43 gallons of water which is a lot of weight (300# estimate). I Would suggest something in the 15-20 gallon range for your 17 footer. The hammerhead well is mounted on top of a 2 inch high collar thats made out of fiberglass as you can see in the pictures. The center of the collar is cut out in the floor to run the plumbing then the feed lines and drain holes are cut through the bulkheads, then there is a 11/2 inch  hole in the transom for the drain.
Don't worry about having a thru hull fitting on a boat that will sit in the water I have never had a problem with growth inside and if you want to keep anything but shrimp alive in the Florida summers its the only way to go.
Capt Matt

Thanks for the respond-
So the top of the tank "over-flow" is plumbed straight to the transom, Iam "assuming" above the water line if so. how far up or is it just below the bottom level of the tank?
Thanks

[Capt Matt]

The main overflow drain and the end of the day drain (to empty well) are plummed together under the well with a Y pipe. This way you only need one thru hull drain for both, I did my 11/2inch drain right at the waterline so the outpouring water is not loud and does not spook fish in shallow water I can also use a 12 inch drain pipe in the well if I don't want to carry a full 43 gal of water around. Main thing is all the water drains from the tank when not in use. As long as the drain is a straight run below the deck level you will have no problems.  Double hose clamp everything too.
Capt Matt

[HIFLUTIN]

The main overflow drain and the end of the day drain (to empty well) are plummed together under the well with a Y pipe. This way you only need one thru hull drain for both, I did my 11/2inch drain right at the waterline so the outpouring water is not loud and does not spook fish in shallow water I can also use a 12 inch drain pipe in the well if I don't want to carry a full 43 gal of water around. Main thing is all the water drains from the tank when not in use. As long as the drain is a straight run below the deck level you will have no problems.  Double hose clamp everything too.
Capt Matt

I know the key word is "Straight"-Any hints on how? -Hard pipe or what type of hose-Thanks

[Capt Matt]

I used soft 11/2inch white livewell hose for the drain and made it a straight shot out the back
Capt Matt