New guy here, too excited to be a part . . .

[Ben87]

. . . of this board.  



In the background, behind my truck is the 1987 Aquasport Osprey 222 which has been powered by a 1987 Mercury 150 BlackMax which we've had new since 1987.  It isn't a great picture as I don't have a digicam, however, I'll post more as I borrow a digicam and get more shots of the partial restoration I'll be doing to it.  

Missing is the bowrail up front which has been welded at least once, at first, the forward most V of the rail broke at the first downrails and which has since been re-welded, however the mounts at the bottom of the rails have broken, so new studs/bolts need to be welded back on.  

I love this hull as it is the only one I've known and in the area of Cape Cod I'm in/Vineyard Sound, I only know of one other Osprey 222 which has a Johnson Oceanrunner 150 and is an older vintage, and another 222CCP which has a pair of 115's on the back, but none like mine.  

As it is, I am even more excited because I ordered a new, 2006 Mercury Optimax 150hp to repower the old girl.  The 1987 Merc I've had, while it has been reliable, is time to be retired.  In her time she has needed only spark plugs, an impeller/water pump and stators which would fail from time to time, but now she needs at least a bushing in the steering tube as she bangs on take off/out of the hole and it is not worth putting any money into her anymore, hence a new 06 is on the way and should be hanging off the back in the next week or two.  

The old 87 Merc would push the 222 to around 42 mph with just me on the boat and some gas, no doubt helped by the flatter deadrise at the back.  I like the fact that the boat gets great gas mileage even out of the old carbed Merc and will no doubt be even better with a 2006 Optimax and I hope for a little more top-end/efficiency out of the new motor, top speed isn't a priority as much as reliabity is.  

I can't say enough good things about this boats fishability and storage and toughness.  The layout has been so simple, from the drain holes for the anchor in the bow to the 3 good sized storage hatches up front.  All 3 hatches have stood up well and I can stand on the hatches without having them bow/bend/deform too much, after almost 20 years this is pretty darned good.  I need to glue the long white trim piece what goes under the gunwale and runs around the entire inside of the boat, it has been a pain every once in a while as it will get loose and hang down, so now that the boat is out of the water and in my driveway I can finally get to cleaning the trim then gluing it in place once and for all.  

The little bit of Teak that is in the boat will be cleaned as well and re-oiled, I've neglected it for so long but it is wood and will clean up nice I'm sure.  The two rodholders and their little bungee cords have been replaced and hog-ringed in place so they are just fine.  

The console is in need of some work, but not bad overall.  I will be getting a new binnacle mount throttle/gearshift as well as guages so I can't wait to see what the dealer is going to do and how they will mount the guages in place of the old Tach, Battery, Water pressure and Temperature guages, I know Merc has the Smartcraft however the dealer said he'd put a guage cluster in but I forgot to ask what guages.  He'll also be putting in a new sender for the gas tank as I had to replace the Merc one that was in there originally, it looks super grungy as I spun off the cover for the access to it and I'll have to de-grunge the area to make easier for the tech to change it out, the replacement one I put in was cheap/a Tempo so it fluttered here there and everywhere.  

I need to take the wood trim around the access door to under the console and glue one of the corners together, while I'm at it I will probably re-varnish or re-oil it to make it all nice and make the access to all the wiring underneath easier for the new install of the controls, binnacle mount throttle, guages and all the new switches we need to put in.  The original switch panel is no good anymore, almost 20 years and the boat living on saltwater for 4-6 months a year and by the water the rest of the time have taken its toll on those switches and their fuses, I'm sure I'll be asking for suggestions on what to replace them with, we are thinking new switches and inline fuses that we can access under the console, and of course waterproof switches.  

I need new Attwood bayonets for the two cockpit lights, anyone know where I could order these?

Here is my biggest question, where can I get a new cooler to fit the place of the old one, our frame for the flip forward seat/cooler is still good, but the cooler is junk, I wish I had the dimensions or if anyone knows, could you please let me know what the dimensions are or where I could buy one that would fit?

Working from front to back, I can't think of anything else of note for this boat other than I have to clean the bottom and re-paint the bottom as I've been doing for all these years.  There is a good build up of paint on the bottom and I've been wondering about stripping it off but am not too concerned about the small performance loss from all the buildup, what would you do?  Anyone use the bottom paint stripper from West Marine for around $67 a gallon?  

I am so glad this site exists and finally was able to log on, I found the site back in the fall and am glad to be a part of it and hope to be for a long time now.  

Ben87

[Tailgunner]

Welcome.

[Ben87]

Thanks for the welcome, Tailgunner, I've seen you on another site, a striped bass site, the reason why is that you use the same name and home base is the Elizabeth Islands, the same islands I lurk around and fish in, good to see you, what AS do you have?

[JimCt]

WELCOME!!!
 We need all the New England owners we can find.

Nice to hear about the work & $ your are putting into the boat; AS's are well worth it.

Regarding the cooler, can it be rebuilt?  If you can scare up a camera somewhere, please post some pictures of the cooler and it's condition. If you decide to junk it there maybe someone here who might want it.  For a new one, I believe if you look on http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... SiteSearch they show a couple of cooler/flip-backrest combo's available although they may be slightly different  in size.

[Ben87]

The top of the cooler seat is real bad, most of the plastic covering the tops of the cooler is gone leaving only the foam underneath exposed.  It is a split-top cooler, you can only open half if you lift up the right hand side of it and it fits right in the space of the flip-back seat.  

Not long ago I tried sourcing out a new cooler but none fit the dimensions of the frame, I'll have to take another measurement and see if I can find a cooler, or else find a new cooler/seat combination.  

I have loved this site ever since I found it this past fall, it is nice to know that others share the same passion for the boat.  I do love this boat and have found it to just work so well and be so simple, just perfect for fishing for way less $$$ than the new boats which go $30+K!!!  A guy down the street wanted to buy our boat but bought a Jones Bros. instead for big $$$.  No doubt the new boats are nice but when I can do the same thing for a fraction of the cost, then by all means, I'll spend the extra on combing bolsters and rods, bait, tackle, gas and 2-stroke oil.

[Tailgunner]

Ben,
I have a 1973 222. Couldn't be happier. I wanted one since 1973. This place is great. Much knowledge here even if most comes via Florida.......

I'm jealous of your new motor. I have an '04 125 Saltwater. I love it but I'd like just a tad more power.

Yes, I use the same handle on all the sites I belong to, Stripers247, Surftalk, THT, etc.

[Ben87]

I'm all over Vineyard Sound all summer long, have been for 20+ years now and I've only seen about 3 other 222's, none with a Yamaha though.  We finally had to bite the bullet and get a new motor, the 87 150 is just past its prime, they are giving us the installation and removal for free/trade so it works out, nothing like a new motor though, right?  I've found the 150 to be more than enough to push the old girl through the water though, and I'm not sure I'm even qualified to call the 87 "old" as there are many more on here that are older, compared, the 87 is the baby of the family.  Even loaded up with gas, coolers, gear and people, the 150 has always done me right and I am sure I will be posting many pictures, before and after of the repower and what the 87 looks like, I, like many of you, love pictures and this site and the internet make sharing so easy.  

I have seen you on the striper sites, I think it is 247 in your avatar with a schoolie, it won't be long before they are back in and among the rocks down there an in Woods Hole and the rips.  And an 04 motor is still pretty darned new eh?

[Tailgunner]

Yeah, an '04 is nothing to complain about. I love my Merc. It has treated me very well. When I was young and dumb we all used to run around Woods Hole with 13' Whalers with 50hp Mercs. How we ever survived is beyond me but I came to trust Merc as a result. If I only had $1 for every sheared prop from those days. We used to hide from the Coasties under the WHOI dock after wake jumping the ferries.

There are four 222's in Woods Hole that are pre 1980 and a bunch of '87 Aquasports but I don't think any of them are 222. I think there are two more 222's in Hadley's and another in Quissett.

That avatar picture is of a schoolie that was smaller than the lure it hit.

I've got a bunch of pix over at http://nbrigham.com/Nix/nix.html that you might enjoy.

[JimCt]

Gunner,  Didn't realize you were out of Woods Hole.  I've spent many summers up around there.  Rode out more than one hurricane in Hadley's.  We kept our Concordia for many years at the yard in Padanarum, back in the days when Waldo Howland still had it.  Lovely area.  That whole neck of the woods up there is the birthplace of the bass boat.  Mackenzie boats I think were the first.   The 22-2's you & Ben87 have are perfect boats for fishing on the sound & around the islands.

Where are you Ben87?

[Ben87]

I'm Great Pond and I know of 2 222's between me and Green Pond and Waquoit Bay.  I'm happy to hear that there are others close by and older ones that are still going strong.  You made me laugh at the sheared props you have had, I did another one this past summer fishing singlehanded in the split/Broadway where the fish are from time to time in front of the Steamship Authority, I had to limp along at 14 mph from having mushroomed my prop, but I've bumped boulder many a time and haven't even so much as scratched the hull, the A-Sport is tough!  

One thing that I have just seen is the Minn Kota trolling motor which attatches to the anti-cavitation plate of the motor, I think it is a fantastic idea, I just would like to know how much and whether or not it has been proven yet.  How nice would it be to be able to manuever around in the calm night, in and around the boulderfields, silently, stalking the fishies and spooking them less than with a 2.5 litre two-stroke engine?  

It won't be long before the fish are back, I'm hoping the dealer gets the motor on in time to maybe catch some squid in the Sound, then the others won't be far behind.  

For the size and simplicity, the Osprey 222 is tough to beat.  One question, and I have many more, is there foam in the hull of this boat?  I know there is no wood, but is there foam?

[GoneFission]

Trolling motors are pretty popular here in the Carolinas on center consoles and bay boats, as we do a lot of flats and grass fishing in shallow water, as well as around docks and piers in sounds and bays.  The motors that mount on the cavitation plate are not very popular for a couple reasons:

1.  They require you to have the engine down to use - this requires a greater water depth than tilting the engine up and using a trolling motor that only takes 6-8" of water.  

2.  You must control the motor from the helm.  This limits maneuvering, as you can only turn about 60 degrees to the left or right.  You want a full 360 degree capability on a trolling motor to get the most out of it.  Newer trolling motors have wireless remote controls that allow you to control the trolling from anywhere on the boat (or anywhere within about 50').  I have even stepped off the boat onto a dock or a rock, moved the boat away and then moved the boat back when I was ready to get back on... kinda like robo-boat!

3.  The engine-mounted motors are in the water all the time, whereas the others are only in the water when in use.  Keeping the motor out of the water when not needed extends the life of the motor, especially in salt water.  

Bow mounted motors give the most flexibility and control.  There are some slick mounts that allow you to remove the motor when you don't think you need it.  This means the lines of the boat are not upset by the motor when you don't need it, but it only takes a few seconds to remount the motor when you plan to use it.  You can also mount a sonar transducer on the motor so you can see what is under/around as you fish.  I have a side-scan transducer on my trolling motor so I can see left and right (as well as down) when I'm fishing and the motor is in the water.  

I've had Minn Kotas and MotorGuides and both perform well.  I prefer the Minn Kota for my Aquasport because the composite shaft is much lighter  weight than the MotorGuide with the 60" shaft length I need for a 22-2 CCP.  The Minn Kota shaft also flexes instead of bending when you hit something hard...   I went with a 65 lb thrust Riptide AutoPilot model with the wireless remote control and a removeable mount, and have been very happy with it.  Riptides are designed for salt water and the AutoPilot has a built-in compass and will hold a course regardless of wind and current - a nice feature.  

One other nice thing about the trolling motor - it is like having a 2-3 HP kicker if your main motor goes out...  I used my trolling motor once in 1978 to get back to the ramp when my Scott-Atwood (remember those?!) broke a driveshaft 4-5 miles away.  It was not a fast trip back, but it worked!  

You can see my boat with the motor on the bow at:
http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery ... 500/page/1

I don't have a picture with the motor removed, but will try to upload one soon.  Basically, it looks the same - just no trolling motor...

[JimCt]

Ben,

Oh yes, there is wood. And foam too!  Check around the rebuilds section.  Lot of info there.

[Ben87]

Thanks for the info on the trolling motor, I thought the idea of the motor being on the anticav plate would be a decent idea, but saltwater and the limited turn radius of the big motor would limit it, the best part about it would be that the big motor and prop would be saved from getting hit, but a regular trolling/juice motor is the trick.  My next question was whether or not a juice motor would be enough to get our 222 around, and you answered that for me, thanks so much, I can't say enough about how invaluable this site is for A-Sport owners.  

I was under the impression that the 87 Osprey 222 had no wood, but hopefully mine is still good and not logged.

[JimCt]

Transom has a plywood core and the floor is glassed plywood.  If you have no soft spots in the floor, it's fine.

Transom test is done on the trailer.  Need 2 people. Tilt the motor up, grab the skeg of the motor and bounce it up & down fairly aggressively.  Second person sights along the top edge of the transom and checks to see if there's any inward/outward flex.  If none is seen, you are good to go.  Check also for any cracks in the gelcoat around the transom cut-out for the motor.  If you see any, seal them up to prevent (more) water from getting to the core.